Basic Bright White Light Needed

[unidh4x0r]

I mainly take macro photos outside and the sunlight is just too inconvenient. The season is changing and the sun is become more unreliable. I need help in finding a good lighting source, for beginners, that provides bright white light. I've looked into strobe lights but I don't know if they are any good for what I need to get done.

Here are some examples of photos I usually take:
http://www.touchtip.com/wp-content/u...s2-542x406.jpg
http://www.touchtip.com/wp-content/u...ps-542x406.jpg
http://www.touchtip.com/wp-content/u...up-542x406.jpg

I want something that will give me consistent level of brightness in my photos. I'm using a basic point and shoot which is all I need for now.

[Ads]

[bogeyguy]

I thought all lightning provided bright white light.

[unidh4x0r]

Some lighting tends to give off that yellowish light. You've never seen that?

[MLeeK]

Does your point and shoot have a way to trigger and expose properly for external lights?
Constant lighting would require very long shutter speeds in order to get enough light.
A 100W bulb is giving off 100 watts of light over one full second. If you are shooting at a fast shutter speed you are only shooting at maybe 1/500th of a second. You would only be getting .2W of light. In order to actually get 100W of light you would have to have 500 each 100W constant bulbs.
SO... to answer your question about strobes or speedlights/speedlites: Yes, they're the best option as far as bright white light goes.
If you are using a tripod, trigger and always inanimate objects a constant light source would work.

Light that gives off a color is fine-as long as it is all the same color light. You can then use a custom white balance which would fix that problem. All light has a color temperature to it. The yellow is just one you happen to notice often because it's the color of household lights and it's a PITA.

[unidh4x0r]

Does your point and shoot have a way to trigger and expose properly for external lights?
Constant lighting would require very long shutter speeds in order to get enough light.
A 100W bulb is giving off 100 watts of light over one full second. If you are shooting at a fast shutter speed you are only shooting at maybe 1/500th of a second. You would only be getting .2W of light. In order to actually get 100W of light you would have to have 500 each 100W constant bulbs.
SO... to answer your question about strobes or speedlights/speedlites: Yes, they're the best option as far as bright white light goes.
If you are using a tripod, trigger and always inanimate objects a constant light source would work.

Light that gives off a color is fine-as long as it is all the same color light. You can then use a custom white balance which would fix that problem. All light has a color temperature to it. The yellow is just one you happen to notice often because it's the color of household lights and it's a PITA.

Awesome. Would you be able to recommend some good, and cheap, strobe lights? I don't need it to be gigantic. Just a focused strobe light will do.

[MLeeK]

What camera are you using? Need to know in order to get what you'll need.
Speedlites are the cheapest and easiest solution. The YN series by Yongnuo are incredibly inexpensive. I'd want to have a light tent for what you are doing too. Those are cheap too. WHat's your budget?

[unidh4x0r]

What camera are you using? Need to know in order to get what you'll need.
Speedlites are the cheapest and easiest solution. The YN series by Yongnuo are incredibly inexpensive. I'd want to have a light tent for what you are doing too. Those are cheap too. WHat's your budget?

I am using a basic point and shoot that's nothing too fancy: Cannon PowerShot SD1100IS. I don't need super expensive lights. Budget ones will do fine for what I'm doing. Check out the photos I provided in the post.

[unidh4x0r]

Also, I rather have a lighting source that connects to an outlet. I don't think the point and shoot can use the speedlites.

[2WheelPhoto]

lowes.com

look at the LED or "day-lighter" fluorescent lights

[MLeeK]

Also, I rather have a lighting source that connects to an outlet. I don't think the point and shoot can use the speedlites.

You can't really use strobes either, then... so... Go to lowes like 2WheelPhoto said.
And a tripod. you're going to need it.

[2WheelPhoto]

Also, I rather have a lighting source that connects to an outlet. I don't think the point and shoot can use the speedlites.

You can't really use strobes either, then... so... Go to lowes like 2WheelPhoto said.
And a tripod. you're going to need it.

^^^^YUP!

[unidh4x0r]

Thinking of getting this:
Amazon.com: Feit Electric ESL40TN/D 42-Watt Compact Fluorescent High-Wattage Bulb, Daylight: Home Improvement

One issue I'm concerned with is the lamp I plan to use it with. It has a maximum limit of 60 Watt type A bulb. The product specs of the bulb says it's equivalent to a 200W incandescent light bulb.. I can't use the lamp right? Also, thanks so far



//Also, already have a tripod. Don't understand why I would need it. Sorry guys, I'm new to this stuff.

[MLeeK]

Thinking of getting this:
Amazon.com: Feit Electric ESL40TN/D 42-Watt Compact Fluorescent High-Wattage Bulb, Daylight: Home Improvement

One issue I'm concerned with is the lamp I plan to use it with. It has a maximum limit of 60 Watt type A bulb. The product specs of the bulb says it's equivalent to a 200W incandescent light bulb.. I can't use the lamp right? Also, thanks so far




//Also, already have a tripod. Don't understand why I would need it. Sorry guys, I'm new to this stuff.

We'll say that bulb is the equivalent of 200Watts. If you use a shutter speed of 1/125 (slowest I'd recommend for hand held) you would only be getting 1.6 watts of light per bulb in your camera. That's like a christmas light. You would need to have 125 of those bulbs in order to get a 200 watt light.

In order to get exposure with one, two or 10 of those in a normal setting you're going to need a very slow shutter speed to get exposure. If your shutter stays open for a long time you can shake it, move, etc. If it is on a tripod it's perfectly still. You will also need a way to either time it so that the shutter goes off a second AFTER you push the button or you will need a remote of some sort for it.

Try taking a shot in your brightest lit room in your house. Light it up like you own the electric company. Turn your flash off and take a shot. See if the image is blurry. That's what you will get without a remote and tripod when using constant lights.

[unidh4x0r]

Thinking of getting this:
Amazon.com: Feit Electric ESL40TN/D 42-Watt Compact Fluorescent High-Wattage Bulb, Daylight: Home Improvement

One issue I'm concerned with is the lamp I plan to use it with. It has a maximum limit of 60 Watt type A bulb. The product specs of the bulb says it's equivalent to a 200W incandescent light bulb.. I can't use the lamp right? Also, thanks so far




//Also, already have a tripod. Don't understand why I would need it. Sorry guys, I'm new to this stuff.

We'll say that bulb is the equivalent of 200Watts. If you use a shutter speed of 1/125 (slowest I'd recommend for hand held) you would only be getting 1.6 watts of light per bulb in your camera. That's like a christmas light. You would need to have 125 of those bulbs in order to get a 200 watt light.

In order to get exposure with one, two or 10 of those in a normal setting you're going to need a very slow shutter speed to get exposure. If your shutter stays open for a long time you can shake it, move, etc. If it is on a tripod it's perfectly still. You will also need a way to either time it so that the shutter goes off a second AFTER you push the button or you will need a remote of some sort for it.

Try taking a shot in your brightest lit room in your house. Light it up like you own the electric company. Turn your flash off and take a shot. See if the image is blurry. That's what you will get without a remote and tripod when using constant lights.

If I use the tripod and a remote (or I use a timer on the camera) than using one of those bulbs is fine right? Also, would there be any problem with the lamp?

[Helen B]

Thinking of getting this:
Amazon.com: Feit Electric ESL40TN/D 42-Watt Compact Fluorescent High-Wattage Bulb, Daylight: Home Improvement

One issue I'm concerned with is the lamp I plan to use it with. It has a maximum limit of 60 Watt type A bulb. The product specs of the bulb says it's equivalent to a 200W incandescent light bulb.. I can't use the lamp right? Also, thanks so far



//Also, already have a tripod. Don't understand why I would need it. Sorry guys, I'm new to this stuff.

It is usually OK to use a 42 W CFL in a fixture rated for a 60 W incandescent. The 200 W equivalent figure is for light output, not for heat output or electrical power input.

You may, however, have problems with brightness and colour temperature if you use this outside in daylight. It is very likely that the colour of the light ("Correlated Colour Temperature" or CCT) does not match daylight exactly. It may be quite dim compared to daylight. To give some perspective, we use 12.5 kW and 25 kW lights to match daylight - you will not need that much, but 200 W would be a struggle.