Strobe vs Continuous

[solrac8126]

Is there one better than the other or do they have different uses?

 

[Alpha]

Strobe has several distinct advantages.

1) The ability to freeze motion.
2) Less heat output (more comfortable for the model)
3) Generally more consistent color temperature
4) The ability to tether (the very high end ones)

 

[ann]

several questions to ask yourself.

how often will you be using the sytem?

what is the subject matter?

what is your budget?

 

[kundalini]

strobes = easy mobility

 

[Big Mike]

For shooting still life, continuous lights can be adequate because you can use a tripod and keep the shutter open as long as you need to. Also, it's easier to envision the shot because WYSIWYG.

When shooting people (or without a tripod), longer shutter speeds will cause blur. Strobes fire very quickly, thus eliminating blur from most movement.

 

[Alpha]

several questions to ask yourself.

how often will you be using the sytem?

what is the subject matter?

what is your budget?

Forgive me for disagreeing with you here but I think this is a silly line of questioning. I know they're stock questions to ask of people on a budget who are looking at lighting options, but in reality there are few still photographic applications (aside from small-scale product photography and some still life) for which continuous lighting is preferable to strobe, and in those situations the output and color consistency requirements tend to drive up the costs of continuous lights anyway.

 

[solrac8126]

i was looking at this site, for info on kits, i'm thinking to get a hot shoe flash that i can use on and off camera , off to use it with a stand and an umbrella,
(i will shoot people) hehe, most of the time some products that i could sale on websites like ebay or such.
I like to shoot landscapes or stuff like that just for fun , i like to go with my camera to see if i can get a nice picture...

But if i'm going to make money with the camera, i'll start with people portraits , so that's the light i'm looking right now. And about budget don't actually have it right now but i guess around $400 - $500?

 

[ann]

silly, perhapes, but how is one to know what advise to offer if one doesn't know what the final intent maybe.

For someone who just wants to experiment with some still life images a strobe unit may be over kill.

If one is interested in serious studio work it calls for different types of equiment.

and how deep is your pocket always is critical.