tungsten lights? recommendations?

hi folks,

just wondering what brands of lights i should be looking at for setting up a cheap home studio no using strobes?

got a nice big area and a backdrop on the way, lights are next and i would appreciate steering in the right direction!

Most people consider Arri's top of the heap. Dedolights are very compact and effective. Both are pretty expensive. Tota lights are professional, reasonably priced and plentiful on ebay.

thanks for that champ. if i am looking at tungsten lighting, what is the real difference between dedicated photography lights and say, something you pick up at a lighting store? as long as they are around the 500w mark there is not a lot of difference right?

hot lights are a pain, there hot and very hot. I hope you have great ventilation in your studio.

I have a couple and hate them, but I understand that strobes are a bit pricey.

but well worth the investment yo, i just got one myself and what a diffrence.

You should give a serious look at studio fluorescent lights instead of hot lights. They use a fifth of the power and a tenth of the heat, but put out the same light. For instance, a 150 watt CFL bulb (12 or so inches long) is equivalent to a 500 watt tungsten light. Being low wattage (the same as an incandescent bulb), they can be used in many standard light sockets (although I buy work-lights from Home Depot to put them in).

There are pre-packaged set's out there:

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …iva_Lite_400_1_​Light.html
and there are also places to buy daylight balanced (5000k to 5500k Kelvin) compact fluorescent's where you make your own kit. I by at 1000bulbs.com, and have a 150w, a 105w, and a few 55w and 35w bulbs. I use them in standard silvered softboxes.

You will be shooting with open apertures and slower shutter speeds, but the light is white and creamy, heh. You put 3 150w CFL's up, and you will have a LOT of light output.

The difference between home depot lights and pro lights are the attention paid to the reflectors and how they disperse the light and the ability to accommodate accessories.