Constant or strobe for product photography?

I was trying a little experiment with product photography for microstock. Is it better to use continuous lights for that type of picture or flash? I saw a video on pro photo life that used a diffused shop light (which is what I did) but wanted other opinions.

Constant light is much easier to use in my opinion. You can see exactly what you will get. It is also much easier to position your flags.

I use flash, personally, but in your case I would probably go continuous light + a tripod. Keep in mind though, microstock is a very demanding field. Every little detail counts.

Strobe. Use the modeling light and you've got both of these in one.

SuperHuman21 wrote in post #12283236
Strobe. Use the modeling light and you've got both of these in one.

That's a good option & generally leads to a cooler studio environment.
Personally, for product, having used incandescent lights from 100wt to 20,000 wt with focusing fresnel lenses, I lean toward them. I just feel that I have more control with them.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #12286115
That's a good option & generally leads to a cooler studio environment.
Personally, for product, having used incandescent lights from 100wt to 20,000 wt with focusing fresnel lenses, I lean toward them. I just feel that I have more control with them.

Yes, I do agree with you on that in theory (only because I've never tried this before). I thought the same thing but went for strobe because a beginner will have so much to learn that he'll get dizzy. I've been thinking about how to have more control with my lights and then add a few more lights to that. I'm guessing flags will be my best bet?

Food can be tricky; hotlights (constants) can literally melt it. I like using strobes with hotlights, or LED light panels which won't overheat anything.

Flags, grids, focusing spots, cardboard "flats"...
Look at the knife & Browning threads here for some ways to get interesting lighting:
FAQ - Studio Lighting
One of them shows an example using just one light source.

Typically you need really deep DOF for product photography, and that is best accomplished with the use of high power strobes. Contstant lights would need very long exposures to accomplish proper exposure with small f/stops! Studio strobes' modelling lights provide the constant, visible effects to optimize light placement with minimal time, while the high output permits use of small apertures without the heat of high output constant lights.

Just don't use hot lights to shoot ice cream.

When I first started in photography I used continuous hot lights as they were alot more affordable. I now use nothing but strobes and you will find that with a little practice and experience you would not regret going this way. As was noted above, use your modelling lamp if you are worried about your shadows.