Hello everyone. I'm a puppeteer in search of the right flashlight for a shadow puppet show. I started out using an older 2-cell D maglite (non LED). I blacked out the reflector and taped black paper to the front with a hole cut out to focus the light a bit. It worked great, except that it was way too dim. I also bought an enercell flashlight from radioshack (84 lumens). Again, I blacked out the reflector (though I didn't have to put a makeshift gobo on the front). It was definitely bright enough, when I would "zoom in" on the paper with the flashlight it blew out my image so it was unacceptably fuzzy. I should probably say here that I'm shooting through fairly delicate paper cut-outs. Some of the words I've cut out are about 1/2" tall. At times I am right up on them and sometimes I pull back maybe 3 feet. (At that distance the enercell flashlight works just fine). The screen that I'm projecting on is about 15 feet away. The show lasts about 10 minutes. In any case, I've been researching and researching. I bought a cree Q5 LED which is a little dimmer than the enercell, but has the same fuzzy problem. I spoke to a sales representative at Surefire who recommended the G2X or the 6PX. I went to a local hunting store to try them out and really did not like the intense hotspot in the middle of the light. The salesman recommended that I look at halogen spotlights. I was tempted since I used a cheap halogen desk lamp for a previous shadow puppet show which worked great (again, I had to black out the reflector). If I could find something equivalent in the flashlight world, that would be great. (I want to do this show outdoors where I have no access to a electricity.) But I was a little put-off by the online reviews I was seeing of the products they had at the store. I tried to call B&H today to see if they had any recommendations. One person thought maybe a fresnel lens on the front of a flashlight might work, but he said he really had no idea. Also, a long time ago another puppeteer said she used diving flashlights for her shadow puppet shows. I am considering buying the liquid image 5.5 watt ultrawide side torch light, but am just wondering if there's a better product out there. I'm sorry this post is so long, but I'm just wondering if I'm trying to find something that doesn't exist? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Recommend a flashlight for a shadow puppet show
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Gunner12
Flashaholic
Something without a reflector might work well for you. Look into Zebralight's Headlamps and Spark's Headlamps. Zebralight's H502, or Spark's SD6, SD73, or SD52 could work.
A good diffuser could also work, but the shadows might not be crisp.
How much light do you need? Runtime? Size?
:welcome:
A good diffuser could also work, but the shadows might not be crisp.
How much light do you need? Runtime? Size?
:welcome:
Thanks so much for these replies and recommendations.
I've been trying to read through past posts on this forum about zebralight and spark. They both look impressive.
The show is only 15 minutes long. I'm not sure to measure how much light I need, but I will say that the brightness of the radioshack enercell 84 lumen was great when it was completely flooded (though the flashlight itself was pretty crappy and my image was pretty fuzzy).
I don't know if it makes a difference but I don't necessarily need it to be a headlamp. As long as I can hold it in one hand (and turn it on and off with one hand) that's great.
I just spoke to someone from maglite yesterday who was trying to turn me on to the maglite 2-cell d or the maglite pro 2-cell d.
This is really not a priority, but I will say that a light that can mimic an incandescent tint rather than that cold white light would be preferable.
Thanks again.
I've been trying to read through past posts on this forum about zebralight and spark. They both look impressive.
The show is only 15 minutes long. I'm not sure to measure how much light I need, but I will say that the brightness of the radioshack enercell 84 lumen was great when it was completely flooded (though the flashlight itself was pretty crappy and my image was pretty fuzzy).
I don't know if it makes a difference but I don't necessarily need it to be a headlamp. As long as I can hold it in one hand (and turn it on and off with one hand) that's great.
I just spoke to someone from maglite yesterday who was trying to turn me on to the maglite 2-cell d or the maglite pro 2-cell d.
This is really not a priority, but I will say that a light that can mimic an incandescent tint rather than that cold white light would be preferable.
Thanks again.
Sub_Umbra
Flashlight Enthusiast
Google:
pelican recoil light
If you've never heard of a recoil light, its LED points backwards into the reflector. Might be good for what you want. They have tight, round beams with almost no spill. They were designed for firemen. Excess spill makes it harder to see through smoke.
Pelican calls it "a true collimated beam."
pelican recoil light
If you've never heard of a recoil light, its LED points backwards into the reflector. Might be good for what you want. They have tight, round beams with almost no spill. They were designed for firemen. Excess spill makes it harder to see through smoke.
Pelican calls it "a true collimated beam."
cyclesport
Enlightened
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I routinely entertain my 2yr old niece with shadow puppets on the wall using a Sipik SK68 with a 3.7v 14500 Li-ion or a 1.5v AA or Eneloop Ni-mh works fine too, but a little dimmer. The Sipik SK68 is an iconic budget flood-to zoom aspheric thrower, and if you're unfamiliar w/this light it can be found at numerous China websites, Amazon, Ebay, etc. for around $6 to $11 every day. (Just google the name and you'll find them everywhere). On full flood at approx 15 feet from the wall you'll get a nice defined pure flood beam approx 12 feet in dia. The puppet or hand needs to remain around 15 to 18inches in front of the light to maintain a crisp image (any closer to the light will blur the puppet).
If it doesn't work as well as you hope, you're only out of a few bucks and it makes a great cheap EDC, or glove box light anyway!
If it doesn't work as well as you hope, you're only out of a few bucks and it makes a great cheap EDC, or glove box light anyway!
Gunner12
Flashaholic
Zebralight and Spark both have neutral white lights. They aren't yellow like incans, but they could work.
The Sipik SK68 or other zoomie budget light could work too at full flood. They make a nice even beam, but they are almost always cool white.
The Sipik SK68 or other zoomie budget light could work too at full flood. They make a nice even beam, but they are almost always cool white.
Sub_Umbra
Flashlight Enthusiast
Thanks for that post. I found Sipik SK68 on Amazon for $5.20 and ordered two. (Free shipping) I think it may be a clone but there are reviews on the page that state that even the clones are well worth the price.
cyclesport
Enlightened
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Great...hope you get good ones! These really are pretty amazing little lights, especially using 14500's. At full flood mode, I think these will meet the OP's need(s).
Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Not really being sure which way to go I ended up ordering a bunch of different flashlights to test them out and thought I'd post my findings.
I've ended up choosing the mag-lite 2 cell D. After removing the reflector, the light is bright, even, big, and crisp. When I zoom right up close on the cut-outs the image still is a bit fuzzy, but I've decided it's acceptable. The words are definitely still readable.
The zebralight was a close second. I was so impressed and surprised by how small the light is, and how wide it throws. It's nice, warm, and even, but the brightness doesn't compare with the mag-lite and the images definitely are fuzzy when I get close to the cut-outs. Interestingly, a friend of mine suggested I put a pinhole in front of an incandescent or HID best optimized for extremely high intrinsic surface brightness (not throw) and maybe put a pinhole in front of it. I thought I'd try this pinhole trick for the flashlights I already had and for some reason it only worked with the zebralight. However, it did shrink and dim the image considerably, to the point where it was no brighter than the old incandescent mag-lite.
The rayovac was nice and bright, but because it was so "indestructible" I couldn't open the thing up to remove the reflector, and therefore couldn't do much about the unacceptable intense hotspot in the middle of the image. The pinhole trick didn't work at all with it.
The CREE Q5 LED Flashlight Torch I had bought before was really bright (brighter than the mag-lite), but still a bit fuzzy and had a slightly purplish hue.
The enercell I bought before actually wins in the brightness category, but it is the worst offender in terms of fuzzing out the image, even with the reflector blacked out.
I ordered a pelican recoil headlamp but when I opened it up and tried to turn it on nothing happened.
Thanks again!
I've ended up choosing the mag-lite 2 cell D. After removing the reflector, the light is bright, even, big, and crisp. When I zoom right up close on the cut-outs the image still is a bit fuzzy, but I've decided it's acceptable. The words are definitely still readable.
The zebralight was a close second. I was so impressed and surprised by how small the light is, and how wide it throws. It's nice, warm, and even, but the brightness doesn't compare with the mag-lite and the images definitely are fuzzy when I get close to the cut-outs. Interestingly, a friend of mine suggested I put a pinhole in front of an incandescent or HID best optimized for extremely high intrinsic surface brightness (not throw) and maybe put a pinhole in front of it. I thought I'd try this pinhole trick for the flashlights I already had and for some reason it only worked with the zebralight. However, it did shrink and dim the image considerably, to the point where it was no brighter than the old incandescent mag-lite.
The rayovac was nice and bright, but because it was so "indestructible" I couldn't open the thing up to remove the reflector, and therefore couldn't do much about the unacceptable intense hotspot in the middle of the image. The pinhole trick didn't work at all with it.
The CREE Q5 LED Flashlight Torch I had bought before was really bright (brighter than the mag-lite), but still a bit fuzzy and had a slightly purplish hue.
The enercell I bought before actually wins in the brightness category, but it is the worst offender in terms of fuzzing out the image, even with the reflector blacked out.
I ordered a pelican recoil headlamp but when I opened it up and tried to turn it on nothing happened.
Thanks again!
Sub_Umbra
Flashlight Enthusiast
Emphasis mine.
Good choice Weedhopper. You have lurched into the truth and followed the true cpf way. May your path be always be illuminated...
