Why not use continuous lighting ???

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I was just watching the Lencarta video on continuous lighting, and was wondering what are the main disadvantages, i'm guessing the heat problem for prolonged use, but besides that what else ? the thing i liked about it is you can see exactly what your getting before you take the pic, where the shadows are dropping etc etc, i suppose i'm missing the bigger picture here (pardon the pun :D) as flash always seems to be the number one choice, so can you nice guys please enlighten me some more :)
 
Now there's a good question, especially with 'daylight' lamps and low power LEDs around at reasonable prices now.
 
I have always wondered the same.. just another puzzle in all the lighting flash world i dont enter :(
 
because all the power it has takes a full second to register so its impossible to A kill daylight or B get a lot of light through the less efficient modifiers

also studios with hot lights tend to mean porn, 'photographers' we all can look down on :D
 
david1701 said:
because all the power it has takes a full second to register so its impossible to A kill daylight or B get a lot of light through the less efficient modifiers
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I dont follow... all the power it takes? what takes?

david1701 said:
also studios with hot lights tend to mean porn, 'photographers' we all can look down on :D
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Or envy ? :)
 
andrewc said:
If you're shooting people their pupils contract as they get used to the bright lights. With a flash they don't react in time to contract.
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Seems like a good answer to me :)
 
I use continuous light all the time in the form of a video light. There are numerous advantages in that
a) you are right, I can see exactly what shapes I'm getting
b) I can adjust the light intensity easily
c) extremely portable, I use it at weddings for very fast bridal portraits
d) great for shooting boudoir in tight spaces
e)I can also change colour balance on mine and warm up skin tones

So yes it does have it's place. I do also use SB900's too and it's just a case of using the right tool for the job

The larger light panels are also very very expensive!
 
Ali - you mention shooting in tight spaces? How does using continuous lighting differ in the space requirement compared to flash?

Also, what power lights are you using and what shutterspeed/ISO do you typically get?


Drawbacks, I would think, would be power consumption, requirement to have power sockets available, heat, light output (flashes put out a LOT more light for their size and weight, meaning smaller apertures are possible, and/or lower ISOs)
 
I suppose it is as you have described, 400-500w of light constantly on your model, they will get hot....

Is it to do with the bulbs as a flash bulb is white and tungsten bulbs cause orange cast...

Maybe with modern technology LED etc.. maybe we dont need flash so much ???

:thumbs:
 
I could spend all day answering this question - but I'm not going to as there is already a lot of info on this subject. But here are the main reasons, with the most important ones in bold...

1. Heat. Not really a problem with fluorescent lights, only with 'hotlights' AKA tungsten lights. If you use tungsten lights you will have fire safety issues as well as heat issues.
2 Lack of power. In very rough terms, a continuous light takes one second to produce the same amount of light as a flash of the same rating, i.e. a 300 Ws flash will produce about the same amount of light is say 1/2000th second as a 300 watt continuous light will produce in one second, so you might need some 6" nails to keep your subject still, if you want to use continuous lighting - or use very high ISO, which will affect the image quality
3. Lack of lighting modifiers. Decent flash heads can take a vast range of different light shapers, and this is vitally important. Continuous lighting heads generally can't take any
4. Lack of adjustment. Flash heads can be adjusted downwards, typically to 1/16th or 1/32nd of full power. Most continous lights can't be adjusted downwards at all, and even if they can they don't have enough power when at full...
5. Uncomfortable for sitters. Although continuous lights have very little power in photographic terms, they appear very bright and it isn't nice to have them shining in the eyes.
6. Poor colour rendition. Only the very best fluorescent lights have a high Color Rendition Index. The cheap ones are pretty poor, with the result that some colours reproduce very badly, e.g. reds photograph as orange
 
david1701 said:
because all the power it has takes a full second to register so its impossible to A kill daylight or B get a lot of light through the less efficient modifiers
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Not sure on that one myself :thinking:

andrewc said:
If you're shooting people their pupils contract as they get used to the bright lights. With a flash they don't react in time to contract.
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Yep can see the logic in that :)

If you look at the Lencarta video HERE, Garry does seem to get some good results, i for one wouldn't know if flash or continous lights were used for these shots.
 
Garry Edwards said:
2 Lack of power. In very rough terms, a continuous light takes one second to produce the same amount of light as a flash of the same rating, i.e. a 300 Ws flash will produce about the same amount of light is say 1/2000th second as a 300 watt continuous light will produce in one second, so you might need some 6" nails to keep your subject still, if you want to use continuous lighting - or use very high ISO, which will affect the image quality
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Sorry i am still struggling with this..... "lack of power" ? does the lighting plug into a wall socket or have some other power source requirement?
 
explaining myself a 500w continuous light puts out over a 1sec exposure the same light as a 500ws flash does 'instantly' so you lose most of the power

for low light they're epic I've used someone elses video light as a hairlight when shooting stage stuff :D
 
KIPAX said:
Sorry i am still struggling with this..... "lack of power" ? does the lighting plug into a wall socket or have some other power source requirement?
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lighting power, the power to give DoF at low iso through a big mod
 
david1701 said:
lighting power, the power to give DoF at low iso through a big mod
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So youir saying its simply not as strong as flash so cant produce the same effect

seriously mate I am a complete know nothing when it comes to anything other than ambient lighting ..
 
yeah its not as powerful as flash, but because of being a continuous not instantaneous light it behaves just like ambient light
 
Just a few more comments.

Modelling lights show you what you're getting with flash. Edit: with digital and hot-shoe guns, the LCD image gives you a quick view of the actual lighting effect, though it's a bit tedious working like that.

Flash duration. You need massive power to get action-stopping shutter speeds with continuous light, vital for kids.

The thing about dilated pupils with flash is very important in creating attractive portraits. They say it's all in the eyes, and that's part of it.
 
Denyerec said:
Ali - you mention shooting in tight spaces? How does using continuous lighting differ in the space requirement compared to flash?

Also, what power lights are you using and what shutterspeed/ISO do you typically get?


Drawbacks, I would think, would be power consumption, requirement to have power sockets available, heat, light output (flashes put out a LOT more light for their size and weight, meaning smaller apertures are possible, and/or lower ISOs)
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I use a portable battery powered video light that is 80W dimmable so I can hold it in one hand, pop it on a lightstand, on the end of a monopod or have a helper hold it. If I'm shooting boudoir in a tight space it replaces a studio head and softbox so is much, much smaller. Yes I could use a speedlight but they don't usually turn down as low as a studio head and are not as controllable. I much prefer the video light.

Because it is battery powered I don't have any problems with a lack of sockets and it does not produce any real heat. I can get 2 hrs of shooting from one battery.

I shoot with a D700 and I'll shoot boudoir at f2.8 with no problem and if the shutter goes below 1/60 I just up the ISO :)
 
AliB said:
I use a portable battery powered video light that is 80W dimmable so I can hold it in one hand, pop it on a lightstand, on the end of a monopod or have a helper hold it. If I'm shooting boudoir in a tight space it replaces a studio head and softbox so is much, much smaller. Yes I could use a speedlight but they don't usually turn down as low as a studio head and are not as controllable. I much prefer the video light.

Because it is battery powered I don't have any problems with a lack of sockets and it does not produce any real heat. I can get 2 hrs of shooting from one battery.

I shoot with a D700 and I'll shoot boudoir at f2.8 with no problem and if the shutter goes below 1/60 I just up the ISO :)
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I keep hearing amazing things about their use in low light
 
I seem to be the photographic equivalent of a vampire because I spend most of my time shooting in low light :) I'm now scared of the sun!
 
AliB said:
I seem to be the photographic equivalent of a vampire because I spend most of my time shooting in low light :) I'm now scared of the sun!
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don't get me started on the joys of subdued light, sunday I got to shoot 'trashy alice' in blazing sun :(
 
Also it is the on-off short burst that freezes any movement just like a strobe light in a night club.. A constant light would not have this affect. A flash burst is also timed to give it's power as the shutter opens.

Well that is how it was put to me a few years ago...
 
At the theatre, you have have hot lights, that are on all the time, and imagine a smalle room with 1000's of watts of lighting in it

Expensive on the electric, hard to modify cheaply, and uncomfortable.

Heavier = larger stands, and less portable

Add in fire / burn hazzard and you see why we use flash

---

Then.. flash actually has a short duration, which is why we like it - freezes mortion etc..
 
This fella prefers high grade fluorescent lighting such as Kino Flo over flash lighting, it certainly looks interesting but I expect that the price of the stuff would bring many a tear to thine eye.

I have to admit, Peter Hurley's headshots do look superb though...a combo of Kino Flo as the main support and flash for the backdrop....

Hurley mentions that he'd like to upgrade to the next level of flouro's but they cost 10K a light! :eek:

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Tomas Whitehouse said:
This fella prefers high grade fluorescent lighting such as Kino Flo over flash lighting, it certainly looks interesting but I expect that the price of the stuff would bring many a tear to thine eye.

I have to admit, Peter Hurley's headshots do look superb though...a combo of Kino Flo as the main support and flash for the backdrop....

Hurley mentions that he'd like to upgrade to the next level of flouro's but they cost 10K a light! :eek:

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They're movie lights! I think he uses them more for marketing than anything else. He even says he uses a Hasselblad because it looks cool! And quite right too.

That guy's successful because of him more than his lights. And the more beautiful people you shoot, the more beautiful people want you to shoot them.

Whatever it is, it seems to work ;)
 
Tomas Whitehouse said:
This fella prefers high grade fluorescent lighting such as Kino Flo over flash lighting, it certainly looks interesting but I expect that the price of the stuff would bring many a tear to thine eye.

I have to admit, Peter Hurley's headshots do look superb though...a combo of Kino Flo as the main support and flash for the backdrop....

Hurley mentions that he'd like to upgrade to the next level of flouro's but they cost 10K a light! :eek:

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He is still using flash you can see it on the film and the radio trigger gives it away too... not sure what the flash is pointing at though so it could be the BG..
 
I've also seen Jerry Ghionis use litepanels and they are fabulous but again the expense!!!
 
Rough Edges said:
He is still using flash you can see it on the film and the radio trigger gives it away too... not sure what the flash is pointing at though so it could be the BG..
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Quite likely the background. Imagine you'd have to use the fluorescent light to bleach the backdrop white. 1 1/2 stops over demands almost three times as many lights.

I don't see how the tubes would give any different light, if the flash is well diffused. However, it is great to see the changing expressions in the light they will be captured though.
 
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