 Keith Power |
Quartz or Tungsten ? I am considering setting up a studio and am looking at continuous lighting. Most of my business will be portraiture. Can someone tell me, what are the pros and cons of quartz and halogen? I shoot both film and digital. Is one type of lighting preferred over the other? Your comments are very welcome!
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
First of all, may I ask why you have decided on continuous light as opposed to strobe?
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Ricky Lloyd |
I am as courious as Jeff, why continuous? Continuous light sources are slightly cheaper but for shooting protraiture there not as practical. They blind the subject (much more than modelling lamps in flash units) and dont let them relaxe. They also produce alot of heat which again can be uncomfotable. Also tungsten lights need tungsten film or a filter to balance this depend on the colour temp. But I assume your awear of that so I wont go on. When using continuous I've only ever used halogen globes (which are 3400k) I've never really used quartz but the cons for halogen are as above - Heat, Blinding light and either tungsten film (which is expensive) or a filter. I've never used quartz so I won't say much about it. Hope that helps.
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Keith Power |
I had considered continuous lighting over strobe because it seems easier to "model" a subject, seeing where the light/shadows fall, and the effects of such. Being able to see this effect is important and I am not certain that strobes will allow me this. Their modeling lights are capable of providing this feature, but isn't this more of a compromise? I won't rule out strobes, but the jury is out on this one. Your help is invaluable. Thanks.
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
If you get strobe with strong enough modeling lights (my Photogenics use 250w modeling lights) you will have no problem seeing the shadows. It also helps to turn down/off the ambient light (room lights) whether you're using tungsten or strobe.
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Keith Power |
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Excellent food for thought. Jeff, you use Photogenics strobes. Why Photogenics, and do they do the job for you? BTW what type of photography are you doing? thanks.
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
I have a couple of Photogenics and an Alien Bee. I like the Photogenics because they are heavy duty, powerful, infinitely adjustable, and have powerful modeling lights. I like the Alien Bee because it's light, infinitely adjustable, and very portable. The only thing I don't care for in the Alien Bee is the weak modeling light. It works ok in the studio but if I use it on location and there is a lot of ambient light it can be difficult to see. That being said, the next light I buy will probably be another Alien Bee. They're inexpensive, full featured (except for the modeling lamp), and I really love how light they are. I do portrait and wedding photography. You can check out my work at www.imagesbyjeffkennedy.com. If you ever have any questions feel free to email me. :-)))
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John A. Lind |
Jeff, Interesting to see your comments about the Alien Bees and Photogenic lights. Been considering a pair of 1600's. Read the very positive review on them by Bob Shell in Photo Techniques magazine some time last year. I've got a pair of low power monolights and have used a friend's pair of Photogenic lights. Curious about which Alien Bees light you have and what wattage modeling lamp you are using in it (Alien Bees recommends using no more than 150W quartz halogen in them). -- John
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
The A/B I have is a B800. I find the 800 to be plenty powerful for most situations. When I need more I use the Photogenic. Right now I've got a 100w quartz holgen in it. I can't seem to find a 150w that will allow me to put the plastic bulb protector on when not in use. The 150w's are all larger profile than the 100w.
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John A. Lind |
Jeff, Outside the scope of this thread a bit. Visited the Osram site. They make two series of their 120V "Halolux" lamps with E27 bases, the "BT" and the "Ceram." The "BT" have a slight bulge; all are the same size, 117mm x 48mm, from 40 Watt through 150 Watt. The "Ceram" is slightly shorter and smaller diameter with straight sides; all are the same size, 105mm x 32mm, from 60 Watt through 250 Watt. Philips also makes the "Halogena" in a BT shape; according to their catalog the 100 and 150 Watt bulbs in this series are the same dimensions. Philips catalog also lists their life at 3000 hours (longer than the Osram). The "BT" shape bulbs from Philips and Osram, or perhaps Osram's Ceram size may or may not help. I believe you may have encountered the A19 and slightly larger A21 styles . . . which look more like standard incandescent bulbs. -- John
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
Thanks John, I'll look into it and see if they have something that might work. You are a whiz at info! ;-)))
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John A. Lind |
Jeff, I should thank you for your impression of the A/B lights. Other than not being "built like a tank" compared to [much] more expensive ones (i.e. Photogenic), they seem to get good reviews in everything I've been able to find. -- John
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
Ironically, I think the fact that they aren't built like a tank is one of their virtues. I don't think you have to build things out of steel these days for them to be durable. Since their housings are plastic they are much lighter than the more "heavy duty" lights. I would be comfortable using one on boom like a pack & head style light whereas doing so with the Photogenic would make me nervous.
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Ron Burgis |
I think most people are missing the point. Hot Lights or Strobes, experience (and a light and/or a flash meter) is the most important factor. Shooting, recording (so you can do it again at will), and experimentation is the key. The shadows your eyes see from hot lights are not the same shadows your film will record. I agree with the comments on the drawbacks already mentioned. As to ease of use and portability, Strobes are the way I go because of the flexability they offer, Umbrallas, Softboxes, Color Gels, ect. let you adapt them to whatever you need. Also you can put slaves on your little flashes to supplement the scene. Ron
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Deb Thomas |
Keith, I was recently in your shoes, I was sure I wanted continuous light so that I would have WYSIWYG, I was looking at the PhotoFlex Starlite. I read any reviews and also posted questions, finally one person responded that they had purchased a StarLite to do portraits but it was too hot so they only used it for product photography. Since I mainly want to focus on portaiture right now, I can to the realization that I needed strobes. I purchased 2 Alien Bees, 1 B400 and 1 B800 and a used Sekonic 328 flash meter. I couldn't be happier, my first shoot with the lights and meter went wonderful and I'll be doing another shoot this week. I'm using the 100watt modeling lamps right now and can see if little other light is in the room but I hope to pick up the 150w bulbs this week. Deb
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