Cheap ($27) light bar / light wand

I wasn't able to find any other threads mentioning this, but for those of us who are interested in doing some light painting and have been looking for a cheap off-the-shelf solution, you may want to consider this:

http://www.harborfreig​ht.com …ood-work-light-60793.html

I bought one while they were on sale at $35, and used a 25% off coupon I found in my motorcyclist magazine bringing my final cost down to $27.

I've been using this light for a month. The flashlight has been reliable and durable. While I'm all for DIY rigs and solutions, I don't think it is possible to build this light for this cost. It comes with a built in lithium battery and a wall wart charger. The light has a high and low output mode, a hook and magnetic base on each end as well.

Here are some results:

1.

Love HF

Wicked sweet. Still have no idea how to light paint, but I love the look.

I have a Craftsman light that I use when working on my car. This past fall I decided to try it to do some light painting as well. However, since the LED's are on one side, and the tube is clear all the way around (although the LED's only point in one direction) I had streaks through the air as the light was wrapping around the tube. Difficult to explain, but hopefully you get what I am saying.

How did you get around this?

Myboostedgst wrote in post #16574204
I have a Craftsman light that I use when working on my car. This past fall I decided to try it to do some light painting as well. However, since the LED's are on one side, and the tube is clear all the way around (although the LED's only point in one direction) I had streaks through the air as the light was wrapping around the tube. Difficult to explain, but hopefully you get what I am saying.

How did you get around this?

The HF light bar only has LEDs facing one side and the LED circuit board blocks the majority of the light from spilling across the back. The light does not fill 360 degrees. For your craftsman light, I would suggest putting some duct tape on one side to cut down the flare a bit.

I'm still just doing some learning, but so far light painting has been pretty interesting. The post processing takes more time than I'd like though.

Coupon code, got it for 33 shipped
38884129

lennlen wrote in post #16574360
The HF light bar only has LEDs facing one side and the LED circuit board blocks the majority of the light from spilling across the back. The light does not fill 360 degrees. For your craftsman light, I would suggest putting some duct tape on one side to cut down the flare a bit.

The Craftsman is the same way as the HF one. LEDs one direction, board that goes from side to side. Maybe I am just expecting too much, and wanting less work in post processing. I have only tried it once so far yet, and that was on a black car, so not the best circumstances.

Ahh... yea... hence my comment about PP taking too much time/effort. My pictures have the same distinctive light painting streaks coming straight out of the camera:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/lenwong/1173826​1454/

Oh my . Yeah, that is exactly what was happening to me (maybe even worse than my quick attempt). Looks like it will just need to be more practice, and especially post processing time.

Thanks for the replies!

This Stanley Barflex light is great too! http://www.amazon.com …-Work-Light/dp/B001U04MHG

I have one and am getting a second one.

I had the stanley barflex doing moderate garage duty. First the internal wires severed at the flex joint, but I was able to resolder and fix. Finally, the plastic in the flex joint itself broke in the second year of ownership.

It was a good light, but wished it was more durable! I haven't put the HF light through the same hell yet. The Stanley was being used for mechanic work, the HF light is only being used for mechanic work.

This is pretty awesome. I never really tried this type of photography but heck, I love my flashlights so seems like a good investment.