Anybody use continuous lights (hot lights)?

[j_richard3]

Hello,
I need help in deciding about studio lighting, I keep going back and forth with the whole stobe light v/s hot light. I know most people on here say strobes are best but I was just wondering if anyone out there uses hot lights and if so ...do you like them and what kind are they. I'm trying to keep cost down but still get something that will do a good job.( I will be using them for portraits mostly.)

Thanks

[MikeMcL]

Dont do it man!

I moved along the same path, and the hot lights are a real headache. If you want to get some nice prices on them, try amvona.com

For a long time, I had both. The hot lights just DO NOT put out enough light for normal portraits. you will find yourself looking for a F1.8 lens, and shooting at ISO 800 or higher in many situations. you will also realize that you cant shoot a family of 5 with a F/1.8 setting and get sufficient DOF. you will have people squinting from the intense constant light instead of blinking once per shot... Not to mention the heat issue, which i will not harp on.

I forget the calculation, but a studio strobe puts out many times the light of a hot light - something like 45 times the light or something like that.

Learn from others' mistakes and get yourself a single, nice quality strobe and an umbrella. you can learn through reflectors, lighting and manual exposures... the rest will fall into place.

Best of luck, PM me if you have any specific questions.

[kevie]

Yeah ive used hot lights......link
didnt really get the results i was looking for. And the room was really hot.

[Curtis N]

I used hotlights once.

Keyword: Once.

[s8langwo]

I don't know how to link to a prior post of mine, but I posted a meager attempt at tungsten lighting in the people section displaying a shot of a friend I made using 4 60W bulbs. I shot the image with the 135mm 2.8 SF lens set on a SF setting of 1 (I think). I'd show you but I understand it is poor form to repost an image I already used another thread.

Regardless of whether you like soft focus or not, you can start to get an idea of what inexpensive tungsten can do. I love playing with it.

My inspiration came from a post to a thread that sfaust made a while back. The thread was of the usual vein that discouraged tungsten light usage until he posted. His use of tungsten lighting on several models impressed me greatly. Unfortunately, I can't find that posting either but I'm thinking it was late 2006. I'm sure someone with more saavy could find it or ask him to post it again.

Believe me when I say this, your efforts to find his examples of tungsten light images will be worth the time and energy.

Take time to play with tungsten. It inexpensive and can produce some neat results.

Kevin

[Titus213]

Here's one of his images - very impressive...

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=256743

I've used hotlights - with color corrected photolights. They get hot enough to melt aluminum. Sure, it's WYSIWYG, but it is hot enough to cause serious damage, it's not that bright, and power adjustments were problematic - you moved the light. Of course I'm sure even hot lights have advanced in the time since Edison first developed them.

[PhotosGuy]

( I will be using them for portraits mostly.)

I'd use strobes for portraits, especially if that's all you use them for.
I prefer quartz, Colortran 650s, for product though.

[Curtis N]

Electronic flash is a relatively modern invention. Certainly millions of portraits have been made with hot lights. There's one of my wife's grandfather hanging in our dining room. Flawless, as far as I can tell.

But from a technical standpoint, I don't think there's anything you can do with hot lights that you can't do with a strobe. With the right gel you can get the same color, the same properties in all respects. The only difference is the light is delivered in a very quick burst rather than spread throughout the exposure.

The incredible brevity of electronic flash also gives you the option of using shutter speed to balance the ambient - an option you don't have with hot lights.

[awad]

heres the thing.

i honestly dont think that these two are interchangeable, they both provide VERY different light for different feels. I use both strobes and hot lights, i prefer strobes but they lend themselves better to my work. if you're looking to do traditional straight forward portraiture, then your life will be much better if you invest in a set of strobes, if you're going to experiment a bit, you might get more use out of hot lights.

or, you can get both.