EOS lighting?

[Taleman]

Has anyone heard of EOS Lighting? Is there product any good? I like the prices but I've never heard any mention of them before. Anyway here is the website:

http://www.eoslightingllc.com/index.html

[TPF Sponsor]

[reg]

Never heard of them...

[Bifurcator]

They're using DayFlo fluorescent lights in their systems. At least according to their website. Fluorescent lighting is kinda limited. It runs cool and cheap but if you need the light IN the shot or need to put the subject within a few inches (3 feet??) of the panel it causes lots of problems with some (or maybe all?) digital cameras. The problem is that they pulse (flicker) at pretty low speeds which can cause any of several problems. Also if you light one portion of your model with fluorescent and use another type of light on a different portion you'll have two different white balances on the different parts of the subject which can be difficult or maybe impossible in some cases to edit.

That doesn't mean they aren't good though. If you can work within whatever real limitations there actually are in your environment with your equipment they might be just the thing. <shrug>

[Garbz]

If you light one portion of your model with fluros and the other portion of your model with fluros you're not guaranteed the same white balance either. They vary quite wildly, much more so than different powered incandescents.

That said save your money. For $70 you can go to the local hardware store, buy a few ceiling fluros with mounting bracket, mount them sideways on a stand, cover the front with a sheet and have an identical result. Saw a guy do this on youtube, worked quite well. Just be sure to get the same brand and type of fluros, and when one goes it may pay to replace them all.

[Village Idiot]

If you're using multiple different light sources, you should be using gels on the flashes so that you do get the correct WB.

[Taleman]

That said save your money. For $70 you can go to the local hardware store, buy a few ceiling fluros with mounting bracket, mount them sideways on a stand, cover the front with a sheet and have an identical result. Saw a guy do this on youtube, worked quite well. Just be sure to get the same brand and type of fluros, and when one goes it may pay to replace them all.

You don't happen to have a link to that video... do you?

[Bifurcator]

Lots of good stuff at these sites too:

• http://www.diyphotography.net/
• http://prophotolife.com/2008/06/26/q...te-background/
• http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/digital-c...tem-164079.php
• http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent
• http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/hp_cam...649651,00.html
• http://www.sackmesser.de/tutorials/?...news&news_id=4
• http://www.instructables.com/id/Budg...g-%22tent%22./
• [ame]http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=v_UcoCjAcik[/ame] --> http://jp.youtube.com/user/prophotolife

Etc. There are literally thousands on the net.

DIY is usually the way to go for lighting and seasoned pros will more often than not recommend DIY rigs over buying stuff when it can be done.

[Taleman]

Lots of good stuff at these sites too:

• http://www.diyphotography.net/
• http://prophotolife.com/2008/06/26/q...te-background/
• http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/digital-c...tem-164079.php
• http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/light_box_light_tent
• http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/hp_cam...649651,00.html
• http://www.sackmesser.de/tutorials/?...news&news_id=4
• http://www.instructables.com/id/Budg...g-%22tent%22./
• http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=v_UcoCjAcik --> http://jp.youtube.com/user/prophotolife

Etc. There are literally thousands on the net.

DIY is usually the way to go for lighting and seasoned pros will more often than not recommend DIY rigs over buying stuff when it can be done.

Nice, thanks

[Bifurcator]

NP!

If you light one portion of your model with fluros and the other portion of your model with fluros you're not guaranteed the same white balance either. They vary quite wildly, much more so than different powered incandescents.

Yep.

When I was looking for links for Taleman I came across this guy. Pretty good common sense stuff. [ame=http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=mUJKqzlRtYo]This one video here[/ame] shows just how different the colors can be. I guess we all already knew it but it's fun to watch. His youtube videos are pretty extensive and cover with nice demo and explanation, just about every piece of studio and DIY lighting rig you're likely to encounter commonly. The presentation is pleasant and straight forward too. All these together are kind of a rare combination so I thought I'd promo it a little.

I'm almost done watching all of them. Poor guys in the "I spy" thread are probably getting anxious.

[Garbz]

I think it may have been this one. I can't confirm because I'm running a system without flash on it so I can't see the video, but I remember it was at diyphotography.net and used fluros.

http://www.diyphotography.net/the-st...wont-strip-you

[Bifurcator]

Ha ha! I love that S. E. Grin he flashes at the end of the vid.

I rather think it's because of the model however and not the $35 lighting rig.

[blacksheepfoto]

Hi, I wanted to chime in as I was researching EOS Lighting LLC/Dayflo FX Lights as well. The kits look amazingly cheap for a lot of light output. Alas...these are apparently the next generation of Britek lights which supposedly are built better, but who knows. They often showed love/hate remarks in previous incarnations.

In any case, I would be VERY cautious at buying from Eoslighting.com, dayflolighting.com, or anyone else selling these exact lights. Apparently these are all different sites/domains/LLCs for the same guy who has had a lot of complaints as they operated under numerous names...the last I could find the most info on being Pacific Coast Lighting. If you did a little research, you would notice the contact info is the same for both.

http://dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=109736
(many other discussions about them as well elsewhere, just google Pacific Coast Lighting)

Complaints of outright fraud, not shipping orders, broken products with no customer service, etc. Sadly no real reviews of these newer "Cheapo-Flos".

If I ever tried them, I would definitely demand COD delivery...and if they didn't want to do it, good luck lasting in the market place with those business practices.

I use home depot bought ballasts and 4' T5 Daylight balanced bulbs...and they do work wonderfully for certain things (like photographing artwork). I personally found them really hard to work with when trying them for full length portrait though and never could quite replicate that DIY video in terms of pulling out his fstops and shutter speeds. (which is what sparked the interest).

[Bifurcator]

Do you have a link to the video you mentioned at the end there?

[nadine]

I bought a big kit of lights from EOS Lighting, but the order went missing, then they sent only the bulbs, then they sent the wrong unit, then they sent a light box that was incomplete. It took over 8 months to get all the pieces I ordered. They were unhelpful and obviously didn't care about their customer. They had their money, and apparently that was all that mattered to them. The lights work well, but the experience of trying to get my order was a nightmare. Be very careful about buying anything from them.

[Stan Snyder]

Has anyone heard of EOS Lighting? Is there product any good? I like the prices but I've never heard any mention of them before. Anyway here is the website:

Studio Lighting, Video and Photography Lighting- Eos Lighting LLC

EOS lighting appears to formerly be pclightingsystems, a company in Neenah WI. Three major on-line suppliers offer pretty much the same items in both fluorescent and halogen lighting systems. To keep the costs down, all three deal in primarly imported products, mainly from China.

These are all good lights, nicely complimented with stands (usually shock absorbing), booms and light modifiers such as soft boxes and barn doors. Steve Kaeser and Image West are both located in the west, Ventura County CA and Las Vegas NV respectively, and EOS is in the east. That can be a consideration in shipping costs. Prices will vary a bit between the three vendors All three vendors have been around for several years.

Hopefully this will help in your decision making process. Here are some links:

Studio Lighting, Video and Photography Lighting- Eos Lighting LLC

www.stevekaieser.com

www.imageWest.TV

The third is my site - give us a visit sometime.

Stan - Image West