Lights and photography

Hi all,

New to the forums here. Found this forum from a google search for "most powerful handheld torch" which led me onto the "Maxablaster" which I have just spent the last 30minutes reading about... very interesting!

Anyway, I'm a photographer and a particular interest of mine is "painting with light" at night, in almost pitch darkness and using a light (usually a torch) I paint the scenerey I want to show in my photo.

For doing this I have only really been using a 5million candle power torch from "Argos(.co.uk)". Which, although it's good, it's not great for what I want.

What I really want, is a steady, constant beam of light, circlular, square or rectangular even!

What suggestions do you guys have for me? :thinking:

Colin.

Here are some photos I have taken so you get an idea what I mean...

there was that famous photo(national geographic?) of the milkyway i think it was in africa and it was stitched photos. the guy used a minimag ican for highlighting the tree in front. it was something similar to this pic


anyway on your pics, some of the shots look like pics of flashlight beams(2,3,5). i think there is too much spill and it's lighting up the foreground. i think some sort of thrower will be better just to light up specifically what you want.

cool. I have dabbled with light painting...nothing as succesful as your pics though. Lasers can be good fun for this too.

Stu

f22shift said:

there was that famous photo(national geographic?) of the milkyway i think it was in africa and it was stitched photos. the guy used a minimag ican for highlighting the tree in front. it was something similar to this pic

anyway on your pics, some of the shots look like pics of flashlight beams(2,3,5). i think there is too much spill and it's lighting up the foreground. i think some sort of thrower will be better just to light up specifically what you want.

Click to expand...

What do you mean by thrower? I'm not very technical minded about this stuff.

cwinhall said:

What do you mean by thrower? I'm not very technical minded about this stuff.

Click to expand...

It means all the light is concentrated into a narrow beam with very little spreading beyond the spot. It's good for throwing light over long distances when outside, but not so good for general area lighting close up. It can also be good in fog and smoke because you get less light bouncing back at you.

is there a simple way to mod my 5mil torch so that it does not spill light as much?

I'm thinking of getting the thor x collusus 18mil torch... would this be a good buy?

cwinhall said:

is there a simple way to mod my 5mil torch so that it does not spill light as much?

I'm thinking of getting the thor x collusus 18mil torch... would this be a good buy?

Click to expand...

I really don't think that a "thrower" is the answer. I thought that your pics were great and didn't see where throwing light a great distance would be of much benefit.

I think that if anything you would want to diffuse the light even more than it is already. As far as those so called candlepower ratings go, you can pretty disregard those numbers for rating performance levels. They are completely ridiculous figures that have nothing to do with real life, whether they state 1-30 million. It's all marketing non-sense.

I would recommend an HID light with 4200K color temp and the ability to flood or diffuse. A 35w HID light produces about 25% more light than a so-called "18 million cp" spotlight and has much longer run-time. They are also much smaller and lighter.

Here are two HID options that might suit your purposes:

The X990:
http://www.magnalight.com/pc-97-44-...ens--focusable-beam-pattern-to-3000-feet.aspx
These are on special for CPF members. During check-out, use coupon code: CPF30 to get it with free shipping for $369.00

The N30
http://batteryjunction.com/n30-3161.html
For 5% off your purchase use coupon code: cpf2006 during check-out.

Both of the lights mentioned above are 4200K color temperature and they're both reasonably priced. The X990 has the advantage of a focusable beam which will give you a lot of flexibility for photography. The N30's key feature is the price and the fact that it's even smaller in size....think- 1/3 of the size and weight of the "18 million" spotlight but is not focusable like the X990. To diffuse this beam you'd need to modify the lens with the addition of diffusion film or with some other method.

If you need more info about HIDs, visit the Spotlights & HID section:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=7

Good luck.

The best way to make a light not spill is to paint insides black and use a lens. Not the best idea for an incan.

Also, the "XX million candlepower" lights you see at most stores struggle to break 300,000 candlepower.

You should look at a HID light next. 4200k Color temp should be good. Check the HID section(linked to above).

The N30 would be good because it has a good sized beam and is bright. The LED can also be used for navigation.

:kewlpics:

:welcome:

Thanks for the replies.

I cant use your links to buy those products coz I live in Scotland. I can't seem to find those products from any UK retailer...

I do think they might be above my budget anyhow... I'm looking at about the £50 ($100US) mark.

cwinhall said:

Thanks for the replies.

I cant use your links to buy those products coz I live in Scotland. I can't seem to find those products from any UK retailer...

I do think they might be above my budget anyhow... I'm looking at about the £50 ($100US) mark.

Click to expand...

Since you're limited with logistics and budget, as most of us are, A Sam's club HID from someone in CPF marketplace would be your best best. Otherwise you'll be limited to the incan spotslights that you can purchase locally.

Would a multi LED setup work?

Something like this(with batteries and charger will still be under $100 USD). But color might be a problem.

It won't be as bright or throw as far but it would be more portable.

The Sams Club HID can be had for under $50, you might be able to get someone to ship the light to you for under $100, but it might be too cool with a 6000K bulb.