I LOVE fluorescent lighting

Ok, not always, but a long bare fluorecent bulb puts out some seriously awesome lighting. Is there some option aside from a saber light that gives a similiar effect?

Military Medial tent lights cost at my store 5.00 each or buy the case of 4 for 20.00

Oops, I should have clarified. Is there a strobe/speedlight equivilant?

Those might be cool for studio, though. Thanks Scott.

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

Thanks Chris. Im not sure how much "bare bulb" that will give though. I find most LED products to have too directional of a light quality. I do have one of those in my basement though.... Ill give it a look.

Take the clear panel off, hit it with some fine grit sandpaper, reinstall.

Im not sure that would work. The LEDS are still all facing the other direction.

I built some t-5 units for a Peter Hurley type seminar. Worked beautifully....

kickmaster wrote in post #16416164
I built some t-5 units for a Peter Hurley type seminar. Worked beautifully....

Sorry. Whats a t-5 unit?

JakAHearts wrote in post #16415989
Oops, I should have clarified. Is there a strobe/speedlight equivilant?

Those might be cool for studio, though. Thanks Scott.

They work great with a inverter on location. Take the fluorescent tub out and the rest of the electric and put a flash inside it works just as good as the saber.

T-5 refers to the type of fluorescent bulb. They allow for using a higher center speed, and are more color correct. Home Depot has them in banks of 4 and 2

JakAHearts wrote in post #16416178
Sorry. Whats a t-5 unit?

just some background:

fluorescent tubes are sized by a "T" and number and then another 2 digit number. the T number refers to the number of 1/8ths in diameter and the next 2 digits the length. a T12-48 is 12/8" in diameter (1-1/2") and 48" long. a T8 or T5 is 8/8 or 5/8 inch in diameter...

T8 and T5 are beginning to replace a LOT of High Pressure Sodium (orangish) lighting and Mercury Vapor (whiter than HPS but still not "white") because by using an electronic ballast instead of magnetic (electronics vs a big coil of wire) they are much more energy efficient and the lumens put out by these smaller diameter tubes is far greater than the T12s...

the issue with using something like this for modeling is that it is really bright and your subject will soon be squinting. i dont know this from actual use in shooting but i work with these at work and it gets very difficult after a while...

the commercially available lighting units have dimming functions and other features that make them more user friendly...

abbadon31 wrote in post #16420717

Sweet!

Thank you everyone for the information and help!

I changed the ballasts in my units to make them dimmable. They can be quite bright! My intent was to build them myself (never a replacement for my Einsteins), and to do a "Peter Hurley" type of shoot with my "Meetup" group that involved use of the square pattern catchlight, and use of negative space. They worked as expected.