DIY Lighting

Ted Jan · September 14th, 2002, 04:42 PM

Where did you find translucent photo umbrella's for $18? I'm interested in getting a couple. Thanks!

<<<-- Originally posted by CentralFla : light. The umbrella's were very expensive at the local photo shop but I found them for 18 bucks if anyone is intersted. Also found the 3200 kelvin GE lamps at Ace Hardware for $5 each. -->>>

Don Parrish · September 16th, 2002, 12:36 PM

Just search ebay for 42" translucent umbrella's, the guy has been selling them there for a while. The two that I got were OK, one rod had a slight bit of rust on it but you can't complain for 18 bucks. his email is dreammaker2@att.net his phone is 800-704-0955 before 11 pm

Hope this helped.

Bryan Beasleigh · September 16th, 2002, 08:30 PM

Re Umbrellas
B&H has herds of em and most aren't expensive.

Re balancing lighting loads.
Bigger isn't always better. Canada and the US both use 15 amp and sometimes 20 amp appliance circuits. Although the voltage is "110" volts it can vary 10% legally (up or down) 120 is usually the upper limit. At 120 volts 1000 watts draws 8.33 amperes, @ 110 volts 9.1 amps. A circuit that is fused for 15 amps should only be used at 80% of it's capacity (12 amps)

What about the lamps, a computer or the TV they all draw something. The lights aren't always the only load in the circuit.

It would be embarrasing to plug into someones recepticles and clear the fuse or breaker. I seldom use more than about 800-950 watts total.

I spent this morning changing out 15 amp breakers for 20's because some engineer couldn't multiply

Chris Simmons · September 18th, 2002, 11:08 PM

Are ther any good tutorials out there on building your own lights?

whiterabbit · September 22nd, 2002, 09:03 PM

Great Thread!

We use a simple lowel kit for most our shoots and some photo optic flourescents we built ourselves though they were costly enough in the end it all works great.

More often than not, however, I find ourselves shooting in tight areas. By the time I bring in the lights its a mess and way too hot, often too bright, seems like a big waste to generate more light than I need then diffuse that with barn doors, gells and reflectors and I dont like to relamp for every shot and I dont have a huge budget either.

For shooting aerobic boxing classes I use all my lights bounced off the ceilings and walls and thats fine plenty of space and I can use all the light I can get but I also shoot allot interviews and board meetings that have sort of an artistic flair to them and for this I go small, really small.

My solution (still under development) The Octopus.

A control head with arms of semi-pliable conduit that can be pulled and bent into place. attached to the arms are low voltage halogen lights the transformer is in the head of the Octopus. which can be located vertically or horizontally. The arms stretch out 6 feet from the head in any direction and we diffuse the halogens with my own little soft boxes and other temporary gadgets.

We started with halogens but now we are working our way into light fibers which are hooked up to a central illuminator. What I am finding is that I am able to create some very dramatic shots in a constrained area with very little fuss.

Not much more to say as yet. Anyone else experimenting with light fibers?

cheers
jp

Jay Gladwell · September 25th, 2002, 06:28 AM

Chris--

I answer to your question in regards to building your own lights, go to the site provided below:

http://www.videomaker.com/scripts/article.cfm?id=9036

Joe Carney · October 2nd, 2002, 08:48 PM

I'd like to add couple of things I've learned.

I went to the local art store and purchased artist light bulbs. They are used by animators to insure as accurate representaton of natural light as possible when adding color to their scenes. florescent and halogen won't cut it when doing color check.

usually they use five or six, put them in adjustable lamps and position them around their desk to remove any shadows.

These light bulbs come in wattages from 40 to 350. the one I currently have in my computer room cost me 6.50 and is still working after 2 years.
They run in cost from 6 to 30.00 US.

If you're shooting indoors and need light that has a more natural warmer look (like sundown....) These could be useful. Put them outside a stage window or something...

As an aside, the one I use makes working on my computer a lot easier on the eyes.

Joe

whiterabbit · October 2nd, 2002, 09:25 PM

I'm big into experimental light also. We are working on a modified fiber optic system but
we just finished building a mini daylight halogen system (mr-16) which puts out 5500 color. Our system is based on the solux 4700 lamp but we have boosted voltage slightly to get to 5500. The graphical test results are impressive, its just like daylight.

On our unit which we eventually plan to market as a kit, one transformer drives 8 heads. which can be mounted in many ways including goosenecked. We can relamp inexpensively to 3500 or 3200 for about $8 per lamp and we can match to our other lights exactly by adjusting voltage sligtly. Its overkill I know. Downside is lamps at 5500 color temp only last around 150 -200 hours.

These are small 50 watt lamps, 8 total and its very nice and low heat too.

John Jay · October 3rd, 2002, 09:38 AM

Heres a tip I picked up recently

you know those old cine projector screens? -- metal tube with tripod stand..

they sell on ebay typically $15

get two

one for bouncing light - their high reflectance makes them great for this

the other one -- remove screen and replace with frosted white diffusion and put a 1000w flood behind it (hell put two behind) -- instant 4' x 4' lightbox

the tripods on these usually allow for hang em high operation

September 14th, 2002, 04:42 PM	#61
Ted Jan Regular Crew Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 36	Where did you find translucent photo umbrella's for $18? I'm interested in getting a couple. Thanks! <<<-- Originally posted by CentralFla : light. The umbrella's were very expensive at the local photo shop but I found them for 18 bucks if anyone is intersted. Also found the 3200 kelvin GE lamps at Ace Hardware for $5 each. -->>>

September 16th, 2002, 12:36 PM	#62
Don Parrish Major Player Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Tavares Fla Posts: 541	Just search ebay for 42" translucent umbrella's, the guy has been selling them there for a while. The two that I got were OK, one rod had a slight bit of rust on it but you can't complain for 18 bucks. his email is dreammaker2@att.net his phone is 800-704-0955 before 11 pm Hope this helped.

September 16th, 2002, 08:30 PM	#63
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	Re Umbrellas B&H has herds of em and most aren't expensive. Re balancing lighting loads. Bigger isn't always better. Canada and the US both use 15 amp and sometimes 20 amp appliance circuits. Although the voltage is "110" volts it can vary 10% legally (up or down) 120 is usually the upper limit. At 120 volts 1000 watts draws 8.33 amperes, @ 110 volts 9.1 amps. A circuit that is fused for 15 amps should only be used at 80% of it's capacity (12 amps) What about the lamps, a computer or the TV they all draw something. The lights aren't always the only load in the circuit. It would be embarrasing to plug into someones recepticles and clear the fuse or breaker. I seldom use more than about 800-950 watts total. I spent this morning changing out 15 amp breakers for 20's because some engineer couldn't multiply

September 18th, 2002, 11:08 PM	#64
Chris Simmons Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 53	Are ther any good tutorials out there on building your own lights?

September 22nd, 2002, 09:03 PM	#65
whiterabbit Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Miami Posts: 37	Great Thread! We use a simple lowel kit for most our shoots and some photo optic flourescents we built ourselves though they were costly enough in the end it all works great. More often than not, however, I find ourselves shooting in tight areas. By the time I bring in the lights its a mess and way too hot, often too bright, seems like a big waste to generate more light than I need then diffuse that with barn doors, gells and reflectors and I dont like to relamp for every shot and I dont have a huge budget either. For shooting aerobic boxing classes I use all my lights bounced off the ceilings and walls and thats fine plenty of space and I can use all the light I can get but I also shoot allot interviews and board meetings that have sort of an artistic flair to them and for this I go small, really small. My solution (still under development) The Octopus. A control head with arms of semi-pliable conduit that can be pulled and bent into place. attached to the arms are low voltage halogen lights the transformer is in the head of the Octopus. which can be located vertically or horizontally. The arms stretch out 6 feet from the head in any direction and we diffuse the halogens with my own little soft boxes and other temporary gadgets. We started with halogens but now we are working our way into light fibers which are hooked up to a central illuminator. What I am finding is that I am able to create some very dramatic shots in a constrained area with very little fuss. Not much more to say as yet. Anyone else experimenting with light fibers? cheers jp

September 25th, 2002, 06:28 AM	#66
Jay Gladwell Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,244	Chris-- I answer to your question in regards to building your own lights, go to the site provided below: http://www.videomaker.com/scripts/article.cfm?id=9036

October 2nd, 2002, 08:48 PM	#67
Joe Carney Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Centreville Va Posts: 1,828	I'd like to add couple of things I've learned. I went to the local art store and purchased artist light bulbs. They are used by animators to insure as accurate representaton of natural light as possible when adding color to their scenes. florescent and halogen won't cut it when doing color check. usually they use five or six, put them in adjustable lamps and position them around their desk to remove any shadows. These light bulbs come in wattages from 40 to 350. the one I currently have in my computer room cost me 6.50 and is still working after 2 years. They run in cost from 6 to 30.00 US. If you're shooting indoors and need light that has a more natural warmer look (like sundown....) These could be useful. Put them outside a stage window or something... As an aside, the one I use makes working on my computer a lot easier on the eyes. Joe

October 2nd, 2002, 09:25 PM	#68
whiterabbit Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Miami Posts: 37	I'm big into experimental light also. We are working on a modified fiber optic system but we just finished building a mini daylight halogen system (mr-16) which puts out 5500 color. Our system is based on the solux 4700 lamp but we have boosted voltage slightly to get to 5500. The graphical test results are impressive, its just like daylight. On our unit which we eventually plan to market as a kit, one transformer drives 8 heads. which can be mounted in many ways including goosenecked. We can relamp inexpensively to 3500 or 3200 for about $8 per lamp and we can match to our other lights exactly by adjusting voltage sligtly. Its overkill I know. Downside is lamps at 5500 color temp only last around 150 -200 hours. These are small 50 watt lamps, 8 total and its very nice and low heat too.

October 3rd, 2002, 09:38 AM	#69
John Jay Major Player Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: US & THEM Posts: 827	Heres a tip I picked up recently you know those old cine projector screens? -- metal tube with tripod stand.. they sell on ebay typically $15 get two one for bouncing light - their high reflectance makes them great for this the other one -- remove screen and replace with frosted white diffusion and put a 1000w flood behind it (hell put two behind) -- instant 4' x 4' lightbox the tripods on these usually allow for hang em high operation