BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

Lighting

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December 28, 2005

Anyway, the differences are essentially cost and comfort. Continuous lighting is less expensive - it's basically a highfalutin' lamp - but typically the wwattages are quite high and so is the resultant temperature. In other words, if you use a few continuous lamps in a studio after a while they bring up the temperature quite a bit.

Flashes, as their name implies, only shine briefly (1/100th of a second or less), so they do not generate nearly as much heat (nor use as much electricity) as continuous lighting. Unlike most camera-mounted units, studio flashes are not only powerful, but also usually contain so-called "modelling lights", which are low=power light bulbs that stay on to give you some notion of where shadows and highlights will fall. The "AC" part simply means that these lights are plugged into the wall as opposed to using batteries (there are such things as battery powered studio type flash lights as well).

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December 28, 2005

I have a couple more questions. What does the flash variability tell me if it says (Full to 1/32 in .1 stop increments 6 f-stop range)

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December 28, 2005

Now, studio flashes are a different aminal. First, they are not typically able to communicate with the camera, other than to be set off in synch with the shutter opening. Next, they are often used in multiples, and the photographer will place them in various positions to get different effects. Third, they are often augmented with umbrellas, barn doors, soft boxes, and other light-modifying enhancers, again, for specific effects.

The net result of all that is there is essentially no way for the flash set to automatically figure out how much light needs to come out of each head. remember, that studio flashes need to work with not just highly electronic and computerized cameras, but also with manual medium format and view cameras.

So, the shooter needs to be able to set the light output from each flash head as he or she sees fit. If I'm illuminating you from the left with a main light source at 100% power, I might want to put a highlight on the right, aimed from a lower height, and have it output only 25% power to ensure that the shadowed side of your face is not too dark and shadow-y. And perhaps I would put a third light behind you, aimed at the back of your head, for a hairlight - this might only need to be 1/16th as powerful as the main light to get the effect I want.

Whatever - I think you get the idea - studio flashes are lighting tools made to be used by photographers who need ultimate adjustability.

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December 28, 2005

The biggest drawback to hot lights or bulbs, aside from their operating temperature, is that as you use them, their actual color temperature changes, and after awhile, it's actually enough to cause color shifting when shooting on transparency or color negative film. Digitally too, I suppose, although I'm digitally impaired so I defer that issue to someone who would know.

Both pack and monolight systems are available with variable power settings to supply varying degrees of power to either the monolight or separate lamp heads on a pack system. Pack lights are usually "switchable" allowing you to use one or all lights at the same time. Variable power settings is simply like a rheostat to brighten or dim the lamp according to what output you need and lends more control to your lighting. 1/32 of a stop is generally a marketing tool and in practice doesn't mean much. Generally, you'd be concerned with being able to brighten of dim a lamphead in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments. Having a modeling light that ratios down with the variable lamp output settings is a handy feature that wasn't

Also, both types usually have modeling lamps, although they usually either dim or cut-out entirely when the flash trigger circuit is activated. The reason is because modeling lamps are usually incandescent/tungsten and can cause color shifting at lower watt/second settings of your flash lamp head. And, btw, Uv coated flash tubes are available from most manufacturers. They're useful for a number of reasons, among them to prevent flourescing of organic pigments when they're illuminated by the flash.

Pack systems and monos can be used together but not wired together. So, for example, you can use a 1500 w/s monolight in a softbox as a main light and a pack with a number of heads, triggered by some sort of remote device off the main, as fill or accent lights.

As Bob noted, you can get studio lights that will run on battery power, but those are pretty pricey and unless you're working on locations or outdoor without access to power, or worried about tripping over cords, for your purposes they may be an unnecessary expense. While they have advantages, the biggest disadvantage is that as the battery drains, the recycling time increases. :<( When I work outdoors on location, I usually use reflector cards to bounce light back into a subject, and a portable unit called a Quantum T-2 that delivers about 200 w/s at full power off a Quantum Turbo battery.

My preference for monolights are Bowens up to 1500 watt seconds per head which can be reduced down to 250 w/s (although you can purchase less powerful units for less of course) and can be reduced down to 250. For packs, I like and use both Norman (Enterprises) lighting 2000 w/s packs and Speedotron Black Line. Each are durable, reliable, easy to maintain when you need it, and their recycling times are very fast even at full power, usually enough to keep up with a motor drive at 1 frame per second. Very handy for portraiture (or shooting fast-moving products )

Take it light. ;>)
Mark

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December 28, 2005