Hi guys,
I'm a photographer who uses torches as a form of lighting in my work, I'm in need of some help and I figured if theres any place that can give me the answers it would be candlepowerforums
I use high powered torches for light painting my subjects (cars) but I'm very specific about the kind of light I need, here are some examples where i've used light painting before.
Because I rely on my torches so much I'm willing to spend more on the torch I need. However i'm sick of wasting my money experimenting with different torches, I want to know what would suit me best and than just go ahead and buy it.
My requirements are:
- As powerful light as possible, equilvalent to over 1500W incandescent lighting preferred. The more the merrier. 1000W even will be sufficient if it will be easier
- SOFT LIGHT ONLY, so absolutely NO focusing beams.
- PORTABLE POWER, must run off rechargables and PREFERABLY off rechargable AA's, AAA's or D's etc (so in an emergency I can buy some at a nearby store)
- Colour cast (yellow tint or blue) does NOT matter. Colour can easily be corrected in Photoshop.
- If the lighting is NOT soft I DO have the option of placing diffusion material over the light to soften it enough, but this effectively cuts the light that goes through by half. *Definition of "Soft" is when I point it at the wall, I do NOT want to see a visible circular focusing spot.
Currently i've been using a basic $50, 10 million candle powered torch which uses a sealed lead acid battery. Because the light beam is so crap I have to diffuse it with material twice before the light is soft enough to use. Effectively i'm only getting about 2 million candle power through the torch.
I have just recently purchased the 128 LED light from DealExtreme for about $28 and finding it better than my other torch. The reason is because the light is SOFT, so therefore I don't need to diffuse the light anymore, making it effectively more powerful than the 10 million candle powered torch. I also LOVE the fact that it uses 6 AA's so I can use rechargables in the unit. Plus it's a lot smaller physically than the 10 million candle powered beast.
I've been looking at kaidomain and dealextreme at their CREE lights and I have absolutely no idea what the heck they mean, i've been considering to buy their latest CREEx5 torch and than placing diffusion material in front again till it's soft enough to use. Will this be powerful enough? How much more powerful would this be than the 128LED light I currently have? *The other option is to buy ANOTHER 128LED light and just use them simultaneously together!
Re: HID
I do have a 250W HID light but it is NOT portable and used only in the studio. It's equivalent to over 2000W incandescent and is bright as hell, but incredibly clumsy to use as I have to let it cool down before switching it back on again. Also, because it requires a nearby power source I hardly ever use it. Because of my experience with this, I'm a little hesitant to buy the HID torches without your advice first.
I would GREATLY appreciate any suggestions as to what would be the "ultimate" torch for my photographic needs :twothumbs
I'm a photographer who uses torches as a form of lighting in my work, I'm in need of some help and I figured if theres any place that can give me the answers it would be candlepowerforums
I use high powered torches for light painting my subjects (cars) but I'm very specific about the kind of light I need, here are some examples where i've used light painting before.
Because I rely on my torches so much I'm willing to spend more on the torch I need. However i'm sick of wasting my money experimenting with different torches, I want to know what would suit me best and than just go ahead and buy it.
My requirements are:
- As powerful light as possible, equilvalent to over 1500W incandescent lighting preferred. The more the merrier. 1000W even will be sufficient if it will be easier
- SOFT LIGHT ONLY, so absolutely NO focusing beams.
- PORTABLE POWER, must run off rechargables and PREFERABLY off rechargable AA's, AAA's or D's etc (so in an emergency I can buy some at a nearby store)
- Colour cast (yellow tint or blue) does NOT matter. Colour can easily be corrected in Photoshop.
- If the lighting is NOT soft I DO have the option of placing diffusion material over the light to soften it enough, but this effectively cuts the light that goes through by half. *Definition of "Soft" is when I point it at the wall, I do NOT want to see a visible circular focusing spot.
Currently i've been using a basic $50, 10 million candle powered torch which uses a sealed lead acid battery. Because the light beam is so crap I have to diffuse it with material twice before the light is soft enough to use. Effectively i'm only getting about 2 million candle power through the torch.
I have just recently purchased the 128 LED light from DealExtreme for about $28 and finding it better than my other torch. The reason is because the light is SOFT, so therefore I don't need to diffuse the light anymore, making it effectively more powerful than the 10 million candle powered torch. I also LOVE the fact that it uses 6 AA's so I can use rechargables in the unit. Plus it's a lot smaller physically than the 10 million candle powered beast.
I've been looking at kaidomain and dealextreme at their CREE lights and I have absolutely no idea what the heck they mean, i've been considering to buy their latest CREEx5 torch and than placing diffusion material in front again till it's soft enough to use. Will this be powerful enough? How much more powerful would this be than the 128LED light I currently have? *The other option is to buy ANOTHER 128LED light and just use them simultaneously together!
Re: HID
I do have a 250W HID light but it is NOT portable and used only in the studio. It's equivalent to over 2000W incandescent and is bright as hell, but incredibly clumsy to use as I have to let it cool down before switching it back on again. Also, because it requires a nearby power source I hardly ever use it. Because of my experience with this, I'm a little hesitant to buy the HID torches without your advice first.
I would GREATLY appreciate any suggestions as to what would be the "ultimate" torch for my photographic needs :twothumbs
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