Question for the pros out there or anyone else who is knowledgeable when it comes to lighting and light tents: Opinions on the one posted below? I know little to nothing about lighting, but I think I'd like to purchase this. I'm a fine art/still-life girl, and I've also been asked to do some product photography.
I like the fact that it's not hot lights, but I could purchase a similar kit with hot lights for half the price. I'm wondering if the cool lights are worth the money?
I bought a light tent with two small lights for about $75, so $450+ looks outrageous to me. Mine is el cheapo for sure, but all it is is diffusion cloth and some lights - you can buy inexpensive lights at Home Depot.
Half the time I don't even need the lights - I put the light tent next to a window and get fantastic light - use a piece of white foam core for a reflector, better than any lights.
Hot lights are tungsten which you'll have to correct and I dont think are ideal for product photography because it takes time and its going to get warm in there... and if you use them later for portraiture, the subject will get too warm too. Also, if you want to play, putting filters, diffusers on the lights etc, this cant be done on the cheap because the lights get too hot (in the past I've made things to use for an effect rather than pay out for expensive gadgets!).
The big advantage of them tho is that you always know what you're getting and dont have to do many test shots. I guess if you're going to be doing a lot of these jobs in the future, and play around with your own stuff, I'd go for cold.
@blightygal Thanks for the advice. Did you happen to look at the link? I wonder if these lights would be sufficient if I wanted to add softboxes to them and use them for studio lighting in the future?
Based on the link, these look like hot (continuous) lights. I think you have your wording backwards.
I really only work with flashes/speedlites, so I'm not sure what to tell you, but the reviews on the site seem pretty positive. I'm sure you can mod them to use in portraits, or you cant just put the light tent around your subject's head :)
As for the white balance, don't sweat it. If your camera doesn't fix it automatically, you can do it in post, but I'd recommended shooting in RAW.
@gurry Thanks! I don't see what exactly you're talking about with my wording being wrong?? At the bottom of the "overview" on the link, it says they are "cool running". So wouldn't they be cooler than the more inexpensive hot lights I found? I know they're continuous so they won't be cool cool, but they certainly wouldn't be as hot, correct?
Ah, I get you. There are two different things going on here.
Hot and cool refer to the amount of heat generated by the lights.
The term "hot lights" refers to continuous or incandescent lighting, mainly because they get hot, just like any household lightbulb that you leave on for a couple seconds. Speedlites and studio strobes also get hot, but not so much that they'll heat a room.
Warm and cold refer to the temperature of the light, or white balance of the image.
As for the "cool running" at the bottom, I can only assume that means they don't generate much heat, because the temperature of the light is completely dependent on the type of bulb you put in it.
Tungsten (and halogen) and fluorescent all have different effects on your image, but I'm pretty sure they can all be corrected with proper white balancing, or a filter, so long as they are not mixed. At this point, I'm in over my head, so I don't want to say anything misleading.
As for the kit, it seems a little expensive for three stands, a boom arm, three lights, and a tent.
If you really want to go with incandescent lighting, I say you buy three lights from Home Depot, find a way to mount them to inexpensive light stands (check mpex.com), and buy a boom arm. For the tent, you can make your own or buy something less expensive. But that's just me.
On the other hand, if you're going to be lining up a lot of product shots, you obviously want something reliable and professional looking, so if you have the cash, I don't see anything bad about it.
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Half the time I don't even need the lights - I put the light tent next to a window and get fantastic light - use a piece of white foam core for a reflector, better than any lights.
The big advantage of them tho is that you always know what you're getting and dont have to do many test shots. I guess if you're going to be doing a lot of these jobs in the future, and play around with your own stuff, I'd go for cold.
I really only work with flashes/speedlites, so I'm not sure what to tell you, but the reviews on the site seem pretty positive. I'm sure you can mod them to use in portraits, or you cant just put the light tent around your subject's head :)
As for the white balance, don't sweat it. If your camera doesn't fix it automatically, you can do it in post, but I'd recommended shooting in RAW.
And yes, I definitely always shoot in raw :-)
Hot and cool refer to the amount of heat generated by the lights.
The term "hot lights" refers to continuous or incandescent lighting, mainly because they get hot, just like any household lightbulb that you leave on for a couple seconds. Speedlites and studio strobes also get hot, but not so much that they'll heat a room.
Warm and cold refer to the temperature of the light, or white balance of the image.
As for the "cool running" at the bottom, I can only assume that means they don't generate much heat, because the temperature of the light is completely dependent on the type of bulb you put in it.
Tungsten (and halogen) and fluorescent all have different effects on your image, but I'm pretty sure they can all be corrected with proper white balancing, or a filter, so long as they are not mixed. At this point, I'm in over my head, so I don't want to say anything misleading.
As for the kit, it seems a little expensive for three stands, a boom arm, three lights, and a tent.
If you really want to go with incandescent lighting, I say you buy three lights from Home Depot, find a way to mount them to inexpensive light stands (check mpex.com), and buy a boom arm. For the tent, you can make your own or buy something less expensive. But that's just me.
On the other hand, if you're going to be lining up a lot of product shots, you obviously want something reliable and professional looking, so if you have the cash, I don't see anything bad about it.