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HOT LIGHTS vs. STROBES...photog and models opinion
Mark Heaps wrote: you should have both! Nov 19 08 11:18 am Link R Nello wrote: I AGREE Nov 19 08 11:21 am Link Mark Heaps wrote: An HMI is about 4-5 times more expensive than a tungsten light... So I don't know what kind of cool light you are looking at, but I wouldn't say it's affordable... :-) Nov 19 08 11:52 am Link I'm one of those people that likes to fit the tool to the job. If I'm shooting something where people are moving quickly, or I need the depth of field, in a large studio, and i'm using a lot of them, I'll use strobes. running 10 or so 1000 watt hot lights will blow your circuit breakers at times. If I'm in a smaller space, where I need to mimic sunlight, I'll use hot lights. Ultimately though, the question falls to what am I shooting, how am i shooting it, and what does the client want? and if there is no client, then what feeling and mood do I want? That all factors in. Your best bet, if you can, RENT! There is no shame in renting equipment! It beats buying and selling it like mad. Rent what you need. Nov 19 08 11:57 am Link Mark Heaps wrote: Probably a typo, but halogen lights are NOT cool to the touch. In fact you should never touch the glass envelope of a halogen lamp ever! Nov 19 08 11:58 am Link I'm a straight up strobe junkie. It's the the feel of a studio lit by modelling light, the sound of the pack fans, the light pop and recycle beeps. With some good tunes mixed in, of course. Not the most empirical position, i recognize. Nov 19 08 12:35 pm Link I've had too many things lit on fire from hot lights. Those things ranging from expensive imported rugs to photo subjects themselves. It gets worse the more people you have around. When I worked with a crew they would knock lights over, and everything else not nailed down, all the time. Just this past weekend I went to move something and it knocked over a light. A strobe, no big deal. If it had been a 10K, or even a 1K, I would hate to think of what would happen. I was working on a shoot with hot lights when someone walked in front and mentioned how hot they were and asked if it was safe. I pointed, from several feet away, at the heat-resistant glass safety barrier. The woman nodded and, no joke, the glass actually shattered and sent shards flying towards her. None managed to hit her, thankfully, but we were both quite shaken by the experience. It wasn't my light and I made my feelings quite clear. But then these are things that will never happen to you. Until they do. Nov 19 08 03:06 pm Link You just can't beat the quality from the strobe light. That why most or all pros use strobes for commercial work. Of course there is always exceptions. Just like some of the great images came from a pin hole cam. In the studio, I love my strobes. Nov 19 08 03:17 pm Link Olaf S wrote: Yes, CFLs are "cool" to the touch (and even when I use mine they arent what I'd consider cool right when I switch them off) Jun 29 09 10:00 pm Link One advantage of strobes is you can battery power them. Every lighting setup has it's advantages and disadvantages; neither one is better than the other, but strobes tend to be more common around these parts. Jun 29 09 10:11 pm Link The Living Canvas wrote: Way to resurrect a 2 year old thread dude ! Jun 29 09 10:23 pm Link glide on fade photo wrote: Dan Winters, one of my favorite photographers, uses hot lights. Jun 29 09 10:23 pm Link Mark Heaps wrote: For me strobes are more economical and versatile than Hotlights. I used hotlights back in my B&W days found them lacking power and a good way to easybake models. Strobes were easier to use in any situation and gave me greater creative control. Jun 29 09 10:42 pm Link doesn't really matter.... what ever is clever at the time needed 'strange' Jun 30 09 08:39 am Link halogen hotlights are a pain. strobes are much better. haven't tried the cool fluorescents. Jun 30 09 08:41 am Link I shoot with whatever I feel. Tungsten fresnel lamps have a great look to them and I enjoy working with them, there's no reason not to buy them. But if you motivation is that you'll save money buy them of strobes, well, any savings you get by buying those will be eaten up by increased electric bills, especially if you get higher watt fixtures like 1 & 2k's. You could use lower wattage ones, 150's to 300's, even 650's. They might not be so bad, unless, of course you end up using several of them. There's HMI's, which look and function just like Tungstens but use a different technology you'll have to tap into your trust fund to rent them, let along buy. But they do not use as much power and are much cooler. These days it's pretty much what most motion picture/TV production is done with. There's fluorescent, like Kinoflo's, but they're very low in output. A bit of rumor control, I've never had anyone complain about strobes when I use them, and there's no proof that I've read or seen that indicates that strobes damage the eyes in any way. If that were a problem it would be well known by now as people have had strobes blasted away at them for about 50 years. Strobes are cooler running, which is nice, match daylight, highly controllable, lots of price points and types and sizes available and very versatile. So, what advice do I have for you? Really, none, it all depends on the look you want and the price you want to s[pend for it. And remember, you can always rent stuff. Jun 30 09 09:00 am Link Have both, prefer strobes Jun 30 09 09:17 am Link I bought a set of hot lights to start out with. I got tired of having to shoot at high ISO's, slow shutter speeds, etc. They've been sitting in my garage ever since. Well, sometimes on a cool night I'll set one up on the deck to keep me warm and give me some light, LOL. My hot lights ended up costing me more than if I would have just bought strobes in the first place. Big waste of money on my part. Jun 30 09 09:44 am Link Hot lights are great if you want to shoot with a wide open lens. (4x5) Strobes for me. Jun 30 09 09:49 am Link Mark Heaps wrote: You'll never shoot a quality high key shot with hot lights..ain't going to happen. IF you did get enough light, your model would be krispy fried Jun 30 09 09:53 am Link Paul Brecht wrote: I thought people got thrown in the brig for this....If not...they should! Jun 30 09 09:55 am Link
Post hidden on Jun 30, 2009 03:53 pm
Reason: violates rules Comments: No BS, No Drama. Jun 30 09 12:51 pm Link
Post hidden on Jun 30, 2009 03:53 pm
Reason: violates rules Comments: Quoting a BS post isn't helpful. Jun 30 09 12:55 pm Link  Moderator Warning!Rebel Photo wrote: Paul Brecht wrote: I thought people got thrown in the brig for this....If not...they should! Posting in older threads and remaining on-topic is usually perfectly fine. Jun 30 09 03:52 pm Link Anna Marie Ware wrote: no, i fully agree. with hotlights, I always found the model had very small pupils. i just found this very unattractive. with the flashes, the eyes adjust to much dimmer modeling lights and the blacks of their eyes show catch lights much better. Jun 30 09 08:06 pm Link |
) But you can get cool to the touch halogen's now that are almost a pure white and are fairly affordable. Ever try em?
