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Where do I get power in abandoned buildings?
I was just wondering... I would love to shoot outdoors. In construction sites, abandonned buildings, old graveyards (with permission) etc. One of the things which kept me from was, that I couldn't get some power in there. Somehow the extention cord wouldn't get me too far. Do I have to rely on the original light? I gues it comes down to a power generator. But what kind of. I don't want it too noisy - but since I'm chaep I don't want it too expensive either...  ) Any experiences in that matter around here? Jul 06 05 12:21 pm Link You can always by a power inverter. That takes 12 volts DC and converts it to 120AC. Just add up your wattage and buy the size you need. Mike Jul 06 05 12:25 pm Link most studio lighting manufactures have portable power supplies, usually battery powered invertors.. my alien bees unit was around $300 if i remember right Jul 06 05 12:26 pm Link Boy I am glad Doug dropped in... Make SURE your equiptment can be powered by an invertor. Some equiptment can be harmed by the use of an invertor. Side note: Hey Doug do you have your generator and blue roof tarp ready? Mike Jul 06 05 12:49 pm Link I have only used generators or powerful hand held unit such as the 60 CT 4. How is the invertor different from the generator? What type of battery does it work off? Any? Jul 06 05 01:11 pm Link Jul 06 05 01:29 pm Link Posted by marksora: They work off of 12v car batteries. Jul 06 05 01:34 pm Link Posted by Mike Cummings: i actually used my car to charge my vagabond unit, so i had lights after charley..still abunch of blue tarps in my neighborhood from the last go 'round.. Jul 06 05 01:40 pm Link Posted by Doug Swinskey: Posted by Mike Cummings: i actually used my car to charge my vagabond unit, so i had lights after charley..still abunch of blue tarps in my neighborhood from the last go 'round.. Thank God we only caught a little bit of each. One broken window. I used a power inverter to run my computer and TV. Handy things they are. Jul 06 05 01:44 pm Link dyna-lite makes a nice inverter, runs a 1000ws pack. Should be safe to use with most packs that power or lower. runs about $1200 though and is good for ~700 pops at full power. Pure sine wave inverter so it's cleaner than a lot of AC outlets. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control … 315&is=REG Jul 06 05 01:45 pm Link The difference between power sources is the output wave generated. True AC is a sine-wave output. Some inverters or power generaters may created a stepped square wave instead. There are power filtering/conditioning devices you can use that will rectify the output to a pure sine wave. An inexpensive solution is to buy a Deep Cycle lead-acid battery and a quality power inverter. Deep Cycle batteries are built to handle long-duration discharge cycles (extended use). An inexpsive trickle charger/conditioner would recharge it after you got back. As for the power inverter, read the fine print. Most are rated showing their PEAK output, with nominal ouput often being half that. For strobes, not a problem since they are more of surge just during charging cycles. For hot-lamps and other steady-power devices you should be a bit more conservative. Sealed lead-acid batteries can also work, but have less capacity. You can buy several and connect them in parallel (NOT in series) to get more runtime. Jul 06 05 01:49 pm Link Look around for the power lines comming in,in most cases they dont turn off the power they just remove the meter... Hint!! Honda generator is the only generator worth mentioning!! Quiet and very dependable.. Inverters are very Rockin dont leave home without 2 of them!! Use a 350 watt and a 1000 watt And a size 27 deepcycle battery The inverter will run everything but my printer Jul 06 05 01:57 pm Link Posted by Hugh Jorgen: Honda does make a really nice generator that is designed to work with electronics. i.e. producing a sine wave and not a sawtooth wave. Jul 06 05 02:16 pm Link Do what we do... get yourself a 1000 foot extention cord and mooch power off the building down the street... LOL! Jul 06 05 02:19 pm Link Britek Lights makes a battery operated Strobe that was on sale for $100 a few weeks ago. A friend picked one up and for a basic light with only full or half power and no model light when running on batteries it's not a bad light for the money runs on 8 AA I think or maybe 6 Jul 06 05 02:28 pm Link Posted by Hartsoe: I rely on good old sunlight... Jul 06 05 02:32 pm Link You bring a Honda generator with you Jul 06 05 02:33 pm Link I have rented Broncolor Mobil 16000Ws capacity and I am in the process of buying Profoto's B2 1200Ws units end of month. Jul 06 05 02:35 pm Link Uuhh - geez... never thought there were so many different solutions... ) Thanks to all of you - I do aprecciate it! I will check every of your replies (hehe - it will take me a while ) ) and then decide what to get. But I'm glad of the variety here - it shows me (again) what a great place this is to get started in photography... Jul 06 05 02:43 pm Link Posted by Hartsoe: Yes this is a Great Place!! (:--- Jul 06 05 02:55 pm Link Posted by Doug Harvey: Agreed! I have the Honda 2000i. I had borrowed a 2000i a few weeks ago for a night time shoot in a local park. We used it to power 2 Alien Bee 1600's, a portable computer and a Wireless Access Point so that we were able to shoot wireless and transmit the images directly to the portable, view the shots and know we got the shots that we needed. The Honda is whisper quiet... as quiet as conversation between 2 people... and it can run nearly 20 hours on a single tank of gas. (and it weighs in at just at or under 50 pounds.) I order mine a few days afterward. Jul 06 05 04:03 pm Link Just realize that the Honda is a gas-powered generator - I don't know how what kind of emissions it gives off nor the noise for indoor use. They are called "super-quiet," but that's compared to *what*? They're also not very flexible when it comes to travel - you can't take gas-powered generators on planes. The dyna-lite and broncolor, on the other hand, are battery-based, compact and safe to travel with (although you should give the TSA a heads-up about traveling with lead batteries). They're also silent. But they're designed to do ONE thing: power strobes. Plug a laptop or hotlights into one and it's drained in a hot second (or two). Gas-powered generators have the edge in flexibility there, and was mentioned earlier, can be pressed into service during things like power failures. Jul 06 05 04:18 pm Link I'm sorry to be following my own post, but I wanted to make it clear that I'm NOT dissing gas-powered generators. I weighed the benefits of both and went with battery. I can easily see buying a gas generator for other purposes though. Jul 06 05 04:21 pm Link Posted by Ephotique: Posted by Doug Harvey: Agreed! I have the Honda 2000i. I had borrowed a 2000i a few weeks ago for a night time shoot in a local park. We used it to power 2 Alien Bee 1600's, a portable computer and a Wireless Access Point so that we were able to shoot wireless and transmit the images directly to the portable, view the shots and know we got the shots that we needed. The Honda is whisper quiet... as quiet as conversation between 2 people... and it can run nearly 20 hours on a single tank of gas. (and it weighs in at just at or under 50 pounds.) I order mine a few days afterward. Same experience. Didn't have all the wireless stuff, but it worked great, very quite, stable power is what sold me as well as knowing a lot about electronics. Jul 06 05 04:22 pm Link Don't forget that a gas generator puts out carbon monoxide like any gasoline engine. There were a few people in Florida last year who forgot that and managed to kill themselves after the hurricanes by running generators inside their homes. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation if you are shooting inside an abandoned building or put the generator outside and run a long cord into the building. Jul 06 05 04:31 pm Link If it is a well ventillated area, gas generator is the way to go. If not. I use yacht batteries and an inverter. Jul 07 05 04:06 pm Link Posted by Brian Kim: Oh Yacht Batteries!! Jul 07 05 04:11 pm Link Harstoe, For me there is only one way (generators make noise, invertors have to be close to cars[where would you put the car in a cemetery?]. For a long long time when I need power outdoors I use my American made Norman 200s. I have the 30 year old one with the third generation batteries. One of my Normans I had modified to be a 400 (as in watt seconds). These units are dependable, indistructible and some even come with international chargers that switch from 110 to 220. I cannot speak more highly of these very good flash units. Armed with an efficient softbox (one that has a silver interior) you can photograph about 75 uniformed young girls (nice shot that one!) per battery. With one unit and two batteries you are set. And then an old Norman is retro and you can find them in eBay. Jul 07 05 04:16 pm Link All depends on how much you need. A 12 volt inverter has different power outputs. Of course the higher it is the more it drains your battery. They're best used with independent batteries you can take along. Inverters and batterey powered lights must have backup batteries. Not all batteries are created equal and some die out much sooner than others. The other which is also mentioned is the gas generator which is I what would use with an exhaust hose out the window if kept inside. The hose will also greatly quiet the engine, of course not to mention keep you from dying from exhaust fumes. Jul 07 05 04:43 pm Link Posted by alexwh: "It Depends" Jul 07 05 06:46 pm Link |
