Continuous Lighting

[Binky]

Hi,

I am looking for peoples experience and suggestions when it comes to continuous lighting for still life - primarily jewelry(as it appears to be spelled in the US) and floral. I need a steady, flicker free source and would prefer it not to be very hot - I have some 500W Tungstens at present that drive me nuts with the heat they put out. I have read some interesting articles about Dedolights and wondered if anyone had experience of that brand - or wondering if I should go the HMI route.

Thanks in advance

[Alfred D.]

'Continuous lights' are of course a.k.a. 'hotlights', Binky. Not for nothing, as you know. Not only does it require good ventilation to keep circumstances reasonably comfortable, but it is also a considerable fire hazard, and the photographer would wisely check whether his/her fire insurance is paid up in full and would cover mishaps from hotlight photography...
So if you go that route better get one of those cheap fire extinguishers you can get from D-I-Y and hardware stores nowadays.

Flash light doesn't have those drawbacks. Plus it delivers plenty light for low ISO, and high shutter speeds, where hotlights will always demand slowish shutter speeds and high ISO. Flash light is also a lot less bulky to drag around. You don't neccessarily need mains power, so you can go on location a lot easier than with hotlights.

There are very nifty ringlights for macro photography. But they are expensive. An alternative is the D-I-Y route. Or you can fake a ringlight with a modified standard flash light (unless the subject distance needs to be very short).

[Jon]

How about high-powered flourescents?

I have no idea about the "flicker factor" though...

[Carusoswi]

How much light do you require?
I don't know if it would work for you, but, perhaps the lighting available for hiking or biking might work for you. New and more powerful equipment emerges all the time. It isn't necessarily a cheap solution, although, as in any equipment group, you can spend a little or a lot, depending upon what you need.

I've done some work using halogen video lamps (hot) and construction type halogens (even hotter). My concern with those is never so much the fire hazard they present (little real hazard unless you mix Jack Daniels with your photo shoots), but the potential damage they might cause by coming into close contact with your photo gear or the items you are trying to photograph.

Bike lights make strong light sources and little heat, most use rechargeable power supplies or run on AA cells, of which rechargeable versions are in ready supply.

Good luck.

Caruso