Shooting using flourescent strip lights instead of strip boxes

Chris L

Chris L

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I'd love to be get my hands on a pair of studio lights with 5-6ft strip boxes on them to shoot some portraits but I don't have the money to buy the kit and the only other lights I have are a couple of flash guns.

I was wondering if anyone has tried using 6ft flourescent light fittings stood on their ends as a very cheap alternative?

The ones I'm currently looking at use 70W tubes so I would obviously be working with either 140W or 280W if I got the twin versions. I would need to sort out some sort of reflector to keep the light spill down but I have also seen these for the same flourescent fittings.

Can anyone see any obvious problems I may have missed? I do recall seeing something once about the WB varying slightly depending on when in the phase the shot is taken...would this be noticeable on colour shots? (most shots are likely to be processed in B&W anyway)

Thanks in advance for any advice offered :)
 
One thing which would be worth looking at would be the actual tubes themselves.

Osram do 'Biolux' tubes which are meant to have 98% accurate colour rendering i.e a better quality of light.
 
Thanks for the advice Adam they sound really good (y) Unfortunately I've only seen 5ft versions of these so far and they are also a lower wattage of 58W. I may have to go with regular 6500K 6ft ones for now which does have the advantage of being half the price :)
 
Ebay softboxes ?

think i paid £45 or something for my 180x40 strip box :).
 
kiteninja said:
Ebay softboxes ?

think i paid £45 or something for my 180x40 strip box :).
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Thanks for the suggestion. To go the flourescent tube route would be ~£60 for two brand new twin 5ft fittings and four Osram Biolux tubes compared to £90 for the softboxes.

Do the softboxes have suitable adaptors to work with small flashguns and what would the lift falloff be like using such large boxes with small flashguns?
 
You need high frequency ballasts, ordinary florescent control gear strobes, you can't see it but they are flashing on and off very fast.
Unfortunately this limits you to slower shutter speeds, above a certain speed ordinary florescent lighting becomes unreliable.

I have a few lighting panels and a light table, they all contain 5600K tubes controlled by high frequency electronic ballasts.
 
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Apart from the shutter speed problem and low levels of power, you'd really struggle to get good colour from ordinary tubes simply because they aren't designed for photography and have a discontinuous colour spectrum.

It isn't about colour balance, it's about the lack of magenta in the output.
 
Chris L said:
Thanks for the suggestion. To go the flourescent tube route would be ~£60 for two brand new twin 5ft fittings and four Osram Biolux tubes compared to £90 for the softboxes.

Do the softboxes have suitable adaptors to work with small flashguns and what would the lift falloff be like using such large boxes with small flashguns?
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You can get the adapters of which I'm sure you are aware for around £30 each and shop around for some Cheaper strip boxes I know there are some even cheaper if you look around so could be looking at £150 easy for 2 boxes maybe less.
From all the negatives that people have put about fluorescent tubes plus the sheer size of them and if you nock / drop they will explode and release toxic fumes into your studio I guess you've thought about that as well, plus all fluorescent tubes contain Mercury again another toxic chemical I don't think they are best suited for such a task I personally would save the pennies or try and make something to use with my flashguns.

Why do you need the strip box to be so big?

As for power, you've just got a 5DmkII i see so you have alot of ISO range to play with which will increase your flashgun power no end :).
 
As another option, check these out - http://www.saberstrip.com/

Basically you smack a speedlight on one end and get a long strip of light. Prices don't look too bad but unfortunately they aren't available in the UK yet.

Apparently I'm supposed to be one of the first UK photographers to get to try them. But not so far....
 
Thanks very much for all the good advice everyone.

joxby said:
You need high frequency ballasts, ordinary florescent control gear strobes, you can't see it but they are flashing on and off very fast.
Unfortunately this limits you to slower shutter speeds, above a certain speed ordinary florescent lighting becomes unreliable.

I have a few lighting panels and a light table, they all contain 5600K tubes controlled by high frequency electronic ballasts.
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Would the HF versions be the same sort of thing as these? Link

If so would this then free up my options on shutter speed?

Garry Edwards said:
Apart from the shutter speed problem and low levels of power, you'd really struggle to get good colour from ordinary tubes simply because they aren't designed for photography and have a discontinuous colour spectrum.

It isn't about colour balance, it's about the lack of magenta in the output.
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Would not the daylight rated "954" tubes work? They're recommended for photographic labs amongst others on some sites?

kiteninja said:
You can get the adapters of which I'm sure you are aware for around £30 each and shop around for some Cheaper strip boxes I know there are some even cheaper if you look around so could be looking at £150 easy for 2 boxes maybe less.
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I appreciate what you're saying but that's still close on double the price of the tubes and I still would have concern's about the small flashgun being able to fill the box with enough light for there not to be a significant drop at the ends of the box and I was looking to use them for full length portraits with a pretty even light distribution (hence the 5ft+)

How do you light your strip boxes and how do you find the light levels at either end compared to the middle for reference?

kiteninja said:
As for power, you've just got a 5DmkII i see so you have alot of ISO range to play with which will increase your flashgun power no end :).
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You must be thinking of someone else there...I've not got a 5DII, but if I had that sort of money spare I would keep my 1DsMkII and buy a budget set of studio lights and strip boxes :D

JonathanRyan said:
As another option, check these out - http://www.saberstrip.com/

Basically you smack a speedlight on one end and get a long strip of light. Prices don't look too bad but unfortunately they aren't available in the UK yet.

Apparently I'm supposed to be one of the first UK photographers to get to try them. But not so far....
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They look like a very nice bit of kit! I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts on them when they've finally arrived and you've had a chance to use them a bit please?

Maybe by then I will have got a job and will be able to put a bit more money aside to go with the 7s6d I've currently got stashed away in a high interest account :D
 
How do you light your strip boxes and how do you find the light levels at either end compared to the middle for reference?
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For a cheap strip box I think its pretty even, it does the job has double diffusion to help spread it more evenly it is a little hot in the middle still compare to the edges as it is quite big maybe the shape could be better to help improve the spread. I use a 200w Smartflash head but as soon as i get hold of a hot shoe sfit bracket I will let you know how it fares with a 580EXII assuming with a stofen should work just fine :).

I'm likeing the light strip Idea maybe you could make/Bodge one together :p with a bit of plastic tube :) silver paint etc... maybe :)
 
You get what you pay for. Any reason why you want strip boxes instead of square or even umberellas?
 
JonathanRyan said:
As another option, check these out - http://www.saberstrip.com/

Basically you smack a speedlight on one end and get a long strip of light. Prices don't look too bad but unfortunately they aren't available in the UK yet.

Apparently I'm supposed to be one of the first UK photographers to get to try them. But not so far....
Click to expand...


I like the look of them too actually, when are you going to actually get your hands on them?
 
SparkUK said:
I like the look of them too actually, when are you going to actually get your hands on them?
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No idea. It's been a month since they promised. I'll chase....

kiteninja said:
I'm likeing the light strip Idea maybe you could make/Bodge one together :p with a bit of plastic tube :) silver paint etc... maybe :)
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Plenty of people doing that ;) http://www.flickr.com/groups/thethinstrip/discuss/72157625295271945/

Actually there's some info on fluoros linked there too.
 
OK - I've been in contact with Scott from Sabrestrip.

They are about 6 weeks from launching for sale it "international" photographers. I was offered a pre release next week :D but I just had to explain that I don't think there's much point as I seriously can't see these selling in the UK.

I don't know if prices are public domain yet so I won't talk about that. However, due to their size, estimated shipping, taxes and VAT alone would come to something approaching $200 - which is a lot of money to move what's effectively a poster tube from the US to UK.

I've had to respectfully decline :(
 
kiteninja said:
For a cheap strip box I think its pretty even, it does the job has double diffusion to help spread it more evenly it is a little hot in the middle still compare to the edges as it is quite big maybe the shape could be better to help improve the spread. I use a 200w Smartflash head but as soon as i get hold of a hot shoe sfit bracket I will let you know how it fares with a 580EXII assuming with a stofen should work just fine :)
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I've managed to find a DIY fix for the strip boxes to even the light out at least. The poster was finding he was getting f/45 at the middle, f/32 halfway between the middle and end and only f/16 at the ends at ISO200 iirc. With his mod he was getting less than a stop variance which is good enough for me (though this was using an RX600 head?) Funnily enough the first thing I did for reference was to check and see how much something like a couple of 200w smartflash heads with stands and strip boxes came to and it just over £400 which is why I decided that I'd need to find an alternative.

Please let me know when you get the s fit bracket and you've had a chance to try it using a 580EXII as I also use a 580EXII as well as an old 540EZ :)

JonathanRyan said:
OK - I've been in contact with Scott from Sabrestrip.

I don't know if prices are public domain yet so I won't talk about that. However, due to their size, estimated shipping, taxes and VAT alone would come to something approaching $200 - which is a lot of money to move what's effectively a poster tube from the US to UK.

I've had to respectfully decline :(
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Ouch!

Byker28i said:
It says on their website $135 as an introductory offer
http://www.saberstrip.com/how-can-i-get-them/
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Thanks for the confirmation. So if shipping costs and import duty came to ~$35 then 20% VAT on top would make it $198 and once the introductory period who knows what it would rise to.
 
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Chris L said:
Thanks for the confirmation. So if shipping costs and import duty came to ~$35 then 20% VAT on top would make it $198 and once the introductory period who knows what it would rise to.
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Let me clarify......

The introductory price is indeed $135 (didn't know that was released yet).

Estimated shipping is $100 (probably for up to 4) - welcome to the world of volumetric weights......

As far as I can figure it import duty would be 3.2%. Experience tells me Royal Mail would charge a handling fee (let's call it $20 to keep numbers easy).

So one might cost you ($135 * 1.023 * 1.2) + $100 + $20 = $285 assuming HMRC don't charge you VAT on the shipping by "mistake" (yes, it's been known). Or £184.

In the US they can ship 4 for the same price as 1 so there may be economies to be had.

But I'd want to know they were very VERY good before investing.
 
Chris L said:
Thanks very much for all the good advice everyone.



Would the HF versions be the same sort of thing as these? Link
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Nope, called kino Flos, very commonly used in the video industry, and widely available for hire.

A few places do sell chinese but still very highly rated versions on ebay... another option is a load of those LED panels snapped together.
 
How funny to come across this, I've recently wired up four tubes I had lying around at home. Not sure what power the bulbs are but I think two stood up each side could work with a large aperture and higer ISO. Could make for some interesting portraits
 
JonathanRyan said:
Let me clarify......

The introductory price is indeed $135 (didn't know that was released yet).

Estimated shipping is $100 (probably for up to 4) - welcome to the world of volumetric weights......

As far as I can figure it import duty would be 3.2%. Experience tells me Royal Mail would charge a handling fee (let's call it $20 to keep numbers easy).

So one might cost you ($135 * 1.023 * 1.2) + $100 + $20 = $285 assuming HMRC don't charge you VAT on the shipping by "mistake" (yes, it's been known). Or £184.

In the US they can ship 4 for the same price as 1 so there may be economies to be had.

But I'd want to know they were very VERY good before investing.
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Thanks for clarifying the cost :)

Mahoneyd187 said:
http://fstoppers.com/fstoppers-original-peter-hurley-exposes-the-perfect-headshot/

Check out the video, I think it's about half way through where he goes into lighting a tad. Kino Flo banks. Not exactly what you're talking about, and they're expensive as you like, but I doubt it's impossible to construct something too disimilar.

I'm debating having a play with this idea :)
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I'd be very interested to hear about your results

itsdavedotnet said:
Nope, called kino Flos, very commonly used in the video industry, and widely available for hire.

A few places do sell chinese but still very highly rated versions on ebay... another option is a load of those LED panels snapped together.
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You're not kidding about the price of Kino Flos :eek:

Rob_p said:
Not sure what power the bulbs are but I think two stood up each side could work with a large aperture and higer ISO. Could make for some interesting portraits
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I agree (y) though they'll probably look better in black and white as from what Garry has said earlier you won't get a good white balance with standard tubes. Following his comment I do actually remember trying to shoot some low light portraits using a couple of large Ikea lamps fitted with energy saving bulbs and I couldn't get an accurate skin tone. You can get daylight balanced tubes which may have the magenta output he mentions :shrug:
 
You're not kidding about the price of Kino Flos
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and people moan that photography is too expensive... :p to go from photo to video, add somewhere between one and three 0's to the end ;)
 
itsdavedotnet said:
and people moan that photography is too expensive... :p to go from photo to video, add somewhere between one and three 0's to the end ;)
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Aye, not to mention the exponential rate of editing time required and that's not even taking into consideration 2D/3D compositing! :|
 
guttering or plastic pipe.
sticky backed foil
opaque sticker sheet
ductape and other diy bits.

I'm going to build one this week ghetto style and will update the thread if it works :)
 
JonathanRyan said:
As another option, check these out - http://www.saberstrip.com/

Basically you smack a speedlight on one end and get a long strip of light. Prices don't look too bad but unfortunately they aren't available in the UK yet.

Apparently I'm supposed to be one of the first UK photographers to get to try them. But not so far....
Click to expand...

I saw some DIY version on the strobist flickr group once that actually worked okay - all tin foil and cereal boxes :)
 
specialman said:
I saw some DIY version on the strobist flickr group once that actually worked okay - all tin foil and cereal boxes :)
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I'm all for saving money and making equipment - when I re-started my business some years ago after a disasterous business partnership I made, or tried to make, just about every bit of lighting equipment I could, with mixed results.

But this idea will not and cannot work, for the reasons already given in this thread.
 
Garry - just saying what I saw, not that it's the solution... I'll be frank too - I didn't read all the thread, as my eyes have melted and my brain has mushed due to writing a risk assessment for the missus :bang:

UPDATE: Have read thread. Brain is still mush..... :LOL:

(PS: I'll earmark my first post as my worst of 2011 (y))
 
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I saw some of a 'webinar' with Gale Tattersall (dp for 'House') and he came up with some really cool, cheap ideas for soft lighting...

One of which was sort of a two-part screen-blind, with a frame made out of PVC piping. One side housed white card, the other had diffusing material. He used sail material, but did say that other stuff would work quite well. Open the screen out a little, shine a light onto the card and you can get a nice full-length diffused light. I think the lights he used in the studio on the video I saw were industrial halogens...

For a smaller softbox effect, he used nothing more than a normal lightbulb in one of those paper ball lampshades! He mounts them on booms and uses them when filming 'House'...
 
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