Stress_Test
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2008
- Messages
- 1,334
One potential use I could think of is as an impromptu video light. Recording video in dark areas takes a LOT of light if you don't want the image quality to be crap.
I actually tried this for a little while just messing around mostly, to see what light might work for video in a pinch. I quickly discovered that the beam profile is a problem. Any hotspot from the beam will look really exaggerated on video, so the light needs to be as completely diffuse as possible.
So I tried the old Scotch tape trick, but that knocks down the effective lumens quite a bit (and still doesn't quite eliminate the hotspot brightness entirely). And of course, with a diffuse light, it doesn't illuminate very far away.
So yeah, I could see needing a very high output flashlight in that case since it typically will need to be diffused. I eventually got a COB (Big Larry) light to try out because I had nothing in that category at all (good excuse, right?). Great lighting profile, but the other issues warrant a separate thread. It works pretty well as an across-the-room-distance video light though.
Could buy an actual video light, I know, but the ones I've seen for DSLR hotshoes don't look that impressive, and the cost of a REAL video light is probably obscene.
I actually tried this for a little while just messing around mostly, to see what light might work for video in a pinch. I quickly discovered that the beam profile is a problem. Any hotspot from the beam will look really exaggerated on video, so the light needs to be as completely diffuse as possible.
So I tried the old Scotch tape trick, but that knocks down the effective lumens quite a bit (and still doesn't quite eliminate the hotspot brightness entirely). And of course, with a diffuse light, it doesn't illuminate very far away.
So yeah, I could see needing a very high output flashlight in that case since it typically will need to be diffused. I eventually got a COB (Big Larry) light to try out because I had nothing in that category at all (good excuse, right?). Great lighting profile, but the other issues warrant a separate thread. It works pretty well as an across-the-room-distance video light though.
Could buy an actual video light, I know, but the ones I've seen for DSLR hotshoes don't look that impressive, and the cost of a REAL video light is probably obscene.