Work Application: Need mega power spotlights

[Stress_Test]

Greetings fellow maniacs. This time it's a question for business rather than pleasure, but I'm sure it'll be enjoyable all the same


At work, in the near future, we're going to be using high-speed cameras to take images of a test subject that is approximately 27 feet tall by 23 feet wide. The subject will be filmed from all sides.

High speed photography requires A LOT of light when recording at high frame rates, due to shutter exposure times in the microseconds range.

We need our lighting to stand off some distance away to allow for a clear field of view for the cameras, so I'm thinking something in the spotlight flavor rather than worklight style halogen floods.

I searched Google for spotlights and floodlights, but at best I only got hits for those "1 million CP" handhelds.

I'm thinking something much larger scale, such as a searchlight-class setup. The highest powered conventional light arrays I found in a catalog were 1000 watt halogens, but those looked more like flood setups. I think I need a more focused spot in order to be able to move the lights back the necessary distance from the subject.

Ideally it would be nice if it were something that would plug into standard 120 volt outlets, but we also have the option for 240 or 480 volt systems.

So, does anyone have any ideas, or point me towards a company that sells or rents such lights?

 

[XeRay]

Greetings fellow maniacs. This time it's a question for business rather than pleasure, but I'm sure it'll be enjoyable all the same


At work, in the near future, we're going to be using high-speed cameras to take images of a test subject that is approximately 27 feet tall by 23 feet wide. The subject will be filmed from all sides.

High speed photography requires A LOT of light when recording at high frame rates, due to shutter exposure times in the microseconds range.

We need our lighting to stand off some distance away to allow for a clear field of view for the cameras, so I'm thinking something in the spotlight flavor rather than worklight style halogen floods.

I searched Google for spotlights and floodlights, but at best I only got hits for those "1 million CP" handhelds.

I'm thinking something much larger scale, such as a searchlight-class setup. The highest powered conventional light arrays I found in a catalog were 1000 watt halogens, but those looked more like flood setups. I think I need a more focused spot in order to be able to move the lights back the necessary distance from the subject.

Ideally it would be nice if it were something that would plug into standard 120 volt outlets, but we also have the option for 240 or 480 volt systems.

So, does anyone have any ideas, or point me towards a company that sells or rents such lights?

AC output is not any (very) good for High speed frame rates. You need high power 35 or 50 watt DC output HID for that.

 

[Stress_Test]

Our AC incandescent (halogen) lights do work. The filament can't respond fast enough to the 60 Hz voltage to cause any noticeable flicker, even at high frame rates. (Florescent lights do show a flicker however)

 

[Databyter]

AC output is not any (very) good for High speed frame rates. You need high power 35 or 50 watt DC output HID for that.

Really?

Are you saying that between every interval of ac pulse the filament cools off enough to be distinguishably dimmer?

To the OP, look under security lighting, they offer solutions for spot and flood for security applications. (google)

 

[paulr]

Why do you want lamps at all, instead of a xenon strobe?

 

[XeRay]

Really?

Are you saying that between every interval of ac pulse the filament cools off enough to be distinguishably dimmer?

To the OP, look under security lighting, they offer solutions for spot and flood for security applications. (google)

HID (arc not a filament) with rates of 400 Hz (AC) typically, it can be a problem for some of our customers who chose to use only DC output HID instead for this reason.

 

[liteitup]

one example of this if you were watching the olympics was at the ski jumping, the super slow motion picture would get bright and then dark likely from the same thing xeray is talking about. You could almost see the flicker from the hid lighting in the super slow mo.

 

[csa]

Have you looked at theater lighting rigs? They meet most of your requirements, being bright, portable, and designed for throw. You can probably rent them locally, but get someone who knows how to work with them to come along and help you set them up.

I'd probably light it with whatever the appropriate number of Source Fours is for your application. A couple dozen of those will put out a LOT of light...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_Four

 

[Databyter]

Have you looked at theater lighting rigs? They meet most of your requirements, being bright, portable, and designed for throw. You can probably rent them locally, but get someone who knows how to work with them to come along and help you set them up.

I'd probably light it with whatever the appropriate number of Source Fours is for your application. A couple dozen of those will put out a LOT of light...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_Four

Neat idea, since I belive you can rent stage lights, which would cut down costs for a temporary need.