Beamshots

[Got Lumens?]

Hi Everyone,
I have been tossing the idea of posting beamshot videos vs beam Shot stills.
I'm thinking it would allow a better comparison.
What do You think?
Would a video be better than stills with the same aiming?
Just thinking. Thanks for reading.
GL

 

[richbuff]

I think you should post both. Videos contain much more information, but still shots serve as bookmarks for key points in the video.

 

[Got Lumens?]

Thank You RB

 

[alpg88]

i think stills are better if taken properly, video will not give you a true "pic" due to camera's auto exposure adjustments, still however can be taken with manual settings, the same aperture\shutter speed\iso\wb, so we can really compare, stills taken in auto mode, where camera adjusts itself are worthless

 

[greenpondmike]

.....

 

[pc_light]

It's more work and I agree with previous statements about varying exposure settings, etc. Personally I find in order of increasing usefulness for conveying information -

Still beam shot < Video < Still beam shot with comparison against some known/comon lights.

 

[Got Lumens?]

It's more work and I agree with previous statements about varying exposure settings, etc. Personally I find in order of increasing usefulness for conveying information -

Still beam shot < Video < Still beam shot with comparison against some known/comon lights.

I agree with this. I think I can pull off a video using panning on the tripod holding the light.

Edit: The hardest part to deal with is the stills can have much better clarity, while the video is half the resolution and appearance between them will differ. Even at a 60 frame rate, night videos can't capture what the stills can, but using the same technique and settings for each light in the video will produce another view of the lights reviewed compared to the single point still shots. My comment being that my Videos may not line up identically with the still shots. The perspective and details of the video may not compare to the clarity of the stills, but will give another review perspective between compared lights.

 

[bykfixer]

To me a beam shot should tell a story. Now it is up to the picture taker to decide what the story is being told.

I have a favorite light red brick wall with a white right angle next to it that shows the hot spot and the spill shows on the white wall at a right angle to it.
Sometimes side by side photos are taken to show various things like tint compared or hot spots compared.
Using that wall means if my white balance is off it does not really show up all that much.

White wall photos apeal to some and tell a story there too provided white balance and metering are correct.

My favorite beam shots are real world settings. What you see in a typical use.

 

[coffeecup66]

Video reference : I loved watching Marshall Hoots' works, those were very good.

Still photos reference : Taschenlampen-Forum.de & FlashlightGuide.com. Excellent stuff.

Both "genres" are interesting.

Cheers.

 

[wayben]

My favorite beam shots are real world settings. What you see in a typical use.

These are the most useful to me. I want to see what I'm going to see in use. It doesn't help much for tint, because camera settings will affect that, but it gives me an idea of beam shape and hotspot size and intensity.

 

[Got Lumens?]

Something Like this?