Ultracheap Lighting to begin with... (Over the Counter Lighting)

[crsouser]

I will start that I did search the forums and read the F.A.Q.s and still have a several questions of the Lighting forum.

I am needing to assemble a basic light system as cheap as possible, and also something that I can store away, move as needed, and of course preferably use some tools I already have laying around.

I read in a couple places that basically that the most important thing is to basically have consistant light types. So not mixing color temperatures you will get better AWB on your camera {a 20d in this case}.

[1] Is this basically correct?

On this I looked at a couple different options:

• GE 'Reveal' bulbs (60w, 100w, 60w Spot, 65w Flood, 120w Flood)
• Sylvania 'Daylight' bulbs (60w, 100w, 150w)
• Phillips 'Natural Light' bulbs (60w)
• Compact Fluroecent 'Daylight' bulbs (various manufactor, primarily Sylvania)
• Halogen Work Lights 250w & 500w
• Home Decor Halogens & Xenon Bulbs (25w)
• I did search for Tungsten lighting but didn't find any...

Perhaps I may be on the wrong track in the first place, but I am thinking that going for a more natural light is at least what I should be going for so that is why I chose all of the 'daylight' style bulbs. Plus I can throw them in a box, use existing light fixtures, and the ultra cheap "clamp" work lights.

[2] Besides producting a lot of heat (as would a halogen) am I at least on the right path? If going for this path, what temperature should I 'really' be looking for (5200k/5400k?)?
[3] Will I get consistant colors temperatures?
[4] Does this type of light really produce 'enough' light to produce respectable results?
[5] Is there another generally over the counter bulb or type of light I should be able to find at my local hardware or general merchandise store?
[6] I read that GE 'Reveal' lights actually produce a pink light vs. a more natural light. Is this true?
[7] There are several 'flurocent' daylights out there, does anyone have a preference?
[8] Has anyone found a CCT chart for the different Incandecent Bulbs out there?
[9] What if any of the above brands /types have people had the best luck with?
[10] If I should be diffusing or modifying the light in anyway? Any cheap over the counter suggestions anyone has?

I realize with lighting it is a 'you get what you pay for' situation...but trying to start out with the basics and a lot of the books / F.A.Q.s I have looked at do not directly address the 'over the counter' lighting topic.

Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

Christopher

[tim]

Welcome to POTN, and well done on reading the FAQs

1) Yes - a single type of light is best. Daylight lights could be better, I have no idea, but there's no harm using them.
2) For hot lighting you're on an ok track. You will have read why constant lighting is bad (models get hot and sweat etc) so I won't list them again
3) If you use the same types of bulb, sure.
4) It'll be better than nothing for sure, but you might be at (guessing) ISO400 F5.6 instead of ISO100/F12 with good strobes.
5) No idea.
6) With custom white ballance who cares?
7) I prefer not to use lights that flicker like that.
8) CCT?
9) AlienBees
10) Yes. Small light sources will give you hard unflattering shadows, so an umbrella will help. One that can take the heat of constant lighting.

Hope that helps

[SkipD]

If I were going to suggest the use of "household" lighting for photography, I would strongly advise against using flourescent lighting of any common type. The reason is that flourescent lighting output often changes its characteristics - both color and intensity - at the power line frequency. There are several threads in this forum about this subject. Just search for "flourescent" and you will find them easily.

"Hot" lights are just that. The most commonly used photoflood bulbs, in my experience, are in the 250-watt to 500-watt range. I have seen lamps in the 2000-watt range used.

You could get by with some 250-watt tungsten household lamps. Forget the expensive colored ones, as your camera can compensate for the white balance. You could use clamp-on reflectors and home-made stands. You would NOT, however, want to point the reflectors right at your subjects. You would be much better off bouncing the light off of flat (as opposed to shiny) white surfaces to soften the light and make it easier on the subject's eyes. A commonly suggested material for the reflectors is "foamcore" - a sandwich of paper with about 1/4" thick styrofoam in between. It is available at the larger office supply stores as poster board. Larger pieces are available, but I don't know where. You could also make reflectors/diffusers by stretching white nylon (or even bed sheets) across a frame made of wood or PVC tubing (plumbing parts - from a home supply store).

[crsouser]

Thank you both for the replies.

I have seen the AlienBees talked about a lot in these forums but don't consider $239 a light plus umbrellas etc to be "ultracheap" and the fact I can only buy bulbs from them makes them even less cheap for me. Though something I will consider in the future perhaps when I have more of a photography budget.

Great idea about the Tungsten lights and that is more my range, though I read that Tungsten lights are still "Hot" and accoding to Sylvania's website tend to be even hotten than Halogens. I also looked at the local hardware stores and was unable to find any 'Tungsten' lighting. Am I just confused and are Tungsten Halogen standard Halogens?

I saw at Home Depot they have "Xenon" bulbs for Halogens that are cooler. But I would assume they are still hot.. any comment on these?

I will say I picked up a very old Flashmaster strobe on eBay today though for about $50 so i could play a little.

Christopher

Christopher