Continuous Lighting ?

Dominic5749

Dominic5749

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Hi all

Im thinking of buying a Video light or Some kind of continuous lighting so I can use for Wedding shoots, I dont know alot about these but I read some where that you can control the amount of light and also change the warmth of the light?

Anyone recommend a brand they use or something similar, I use a Nikon D700 and D300 and SB-900 flash. Also interested in getting some sort of pocket wizards that I can use with off camera flash thats not going to cost a fortune that TTL compatible.

Any help will be great

Regards

Dominic
 
Don't know about changing the warmth of the light unless you change the bulb? You can control the light but be warned - continuous lighting is extremely hot - if you use it indoors in a confined space it won't be long until your bride and groom are sweating like a fat bloke clubbing.


Dominic5749 said:
Hi all

Im thinking of buying a Video light or Some kind of continuous lighting so I can use for Wedding shoots, I dont know alot about these but I read some where that you can control the amount of light and also change the warmth of the light?

Anyone recommend a brand they use or something similar, I use a Nikon D700 and D300 and SB-900 flash. Also interested in getting some sort of pocket wizards that I can use with off camera flash thats not going to cost a fortune that TTL compatible.

Any help will be great

Regards

Dominic
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Sophotogenic said:
Don't know about changing the warmth of the light unless you change the bulb? You can control the light but be warned - continuous lighting is extremely hot - if you use it indoors in a confined space it won't be long until your bride and groom are sweating like a fat bloke clubbing.
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depends if its tungsten or way high power led (been looking into this a little bit)

I know some have multiple gels build in to tweak wb cto and ctb on a daylight bulb
 
So does any one have any recommendations they use? I will want to use in and outdoors. Im sure if the do get hot they will have a built in fan?
 
Dominic5749 said:
So does any one have any recommendations they use? I will want to use in and outdoors. Im sure if the do get hot they will have a built in fan?
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outdoors you are likely to run into the power thing, battery powered video lights are epic in low light, see some of the wedding guys on here

for outside its speedlights for subdued or big heads if I want to kill the sun
 
Their is a bit of a more in depth thread HERE, regarding continuous lighting ;)
 
The best wedding one is the Lowel ID Video light. (100w dimmable)

I use one called an R3 (80w dimmable) Mine had barn doors and a CTO filter that folds over the lamp. The battery last about 2 hours on a shoot but switching it on and off when I want it means it will last as long as I need it.

They don't get hot.

I would not really attempt to use it outdoors unless it was almost dark!

It is best used indoors to give accent light/fill light or in a dim location to get good directional light
 
Thanks, Tbh It will be used indoors thinking about it more, the only reason I said outdoors is to do some shots in the evenings when dark so I got direct light onto my subjects. cos surely its nearly impossible to focus at dark unless you have some light or do you focus with a torch? etc... babbling on now! lol

AliB said:
The best wedding one is the Lowel ID Video light. (100w dimmable)

I use one called an R3 (80w dimmable) Mine had barn doors and a CTO filter that folds over the lamp. The battery last about 2 hours on a shoot but switching it on and off when I want it means it will last as long as I need it.

They don't get hot.

I would not really attempt to use it outdoors unless it was almost dark!

It is best used indoors to give accent light/fill light or in a dim location to get good directional light
Click to expand...
 
For focusing in the dark I have seen a pro using a torch. The assistant held the torch till he got focus and then she killed the torchlight just before he took the shot. The shot was lit by flash but there is no way the camera would have got focus in the dark. It was shot on a beach so there was little ambient at all.

I keep a little mini maglight in my bag anyway just in case of emergencies or if I ever need to work in the dark, I can hold it in my teeth, just don't tell my dentist! ;)
 
AliB said:
For focusing in the dark I have seen a pro using a torch. The assistant held the torch till he got focus and then she killed the torchlight just before he took the shot. The shot was lit by flash but there is no way the camera would have got focus in the dark. It was shot on a beach so there was little ambient at all.

I keep a little mini maglight in my bag anyway just in case of emergencies or if I ever need to work in the dark, I can hold it in my teeth, just don't tell my dentist! ;)
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Maybe not, but the active autofocus on a dedicated flashgun could have focussed it.
 
Dominic5749 said:
Am I being thick here? But how does the flashgun Auto focus ?
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Here's a short extract from one of my tutorials. I'm actually talking about the active autofocus systems used on some point and shoot cameras, but it also applies to dedicated flashguns.

Active Autofocus
The camera sends out pulses of infrared light. The subject reflects the invisible infrared light back to the camera, and the camera's microprocessor computes the time difference between the time the outbound infrared light pulses are sent and the inbound infrared pulses are received. Using this difference, the microprocessor circuit tells the focus motor which way to move the lens and how far to move it.

Infrared sensing can have problems. For example:
· A source of infrared light from an open flame (birthday cake candles, for instance) can confuse the infrared sensor.
· A black subject surface may absorb the outbound infrared beam instead of reflecting it
· The infrared beam can bounce off of something in front of the subject rather than making it all the way to the subject.

One advantage of an active autofocus system is that it works in the dark, making flash photography much easier - some flashguns have their own autofocussing system, based on active autofocus.

To use infrared focusing effectively, be sure the emitter and the sensor on the front of the camera have a clear path to and from your subject, and are not blocked by your fingers or by a nearby fence or bars at a zoo cage. If your subject is not exactly in the middle, the beam can go right past the subject and bounce off something else in the distance, so be sure the subject is centred
 
Dominic5749 said:
Am I being thick here? But how does the flashgun Auto focus ?
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canon ex guns (not 220/270ex) project an IR grid that the AF sensors can lock onto, will let you focus on a plain featureless wall in the dark. One shot only (for canon at least)

needs trigger to be hooked up to pc port and speedlight firing disabled, so will only work with some triggering systems
 
david1701 said:
canon ex guns (not 220/270ex) project an IR grid that the AF sensors can lock onto, will let you focus on a plain featureless wall in the dark. One shot only (for canon at least)

needs trigger to be hooked up to pc port and speedlight firing disabled, so will only work with some triggering systems
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By which time you could have shot it using a torch ;)
 
and start at £3K :gag: for one big enough to be any real use that is.

as for being a gear head, I wholeheartedly agree :) Much as I love my technology with the pace of a wedding I also rather like very simple easy solutions that don't involve setting up, measuring, getting cables and triggers sorted. Video light out the bag, point it in the right direction and off we go :)
 
AliB said:
and start at £3K :gag: for one big enough to be any real use that is.

as for being a gear head, I wholeheartedly agree :) Much as I love my technology with the pace of a wedding I also rather like very simple easy solutions that don't involve setting up, measuring, getting cables and triggers sorted. Video light out the bag, point it in the right direction and off we go :)
Click to expand...

**** loads to be said for that, why I'm considering learning off camera ttl for the fast pacedness of weddings - just that I know manual really really well :bang:
 
I use two methods for off camera TTL. A long bit of cable and Nikon's wonderful CLS. Ace stuff both ways.

I also have a cracking very easy tip on OCF. Stick it on P (Yes, i know!) and dial in two stops underexposure, stick the flash on ETTL on a cord or use an ST-E2 and off you go.

Can you tell I like easy things ;)
 
AliB said:
I use two methods for off camera TTL. A long bit of cable and Nikon's wonderful CLS. Ace stuff both ways.

I also have a cracking very easy tip on OCF. Stick it on P (Yes, i know!) and dial in two stops underexposure, stick the flash on ETTL on a cord or use an ST-E2 and off you go.

Can you tell I like easy things ;)
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where did you get your Lowel ID Video light and battery pack from?
 
bleurgh the camera tends to live on manual with a little av, after reading hotshoe diaries I'm gonna work on learning matrix metering
 
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