What lighting to use with a small light tent?

L

lisali

Guest
Hello,

Could you please recommend some good lighting to use with a 50cm (20'') light tent/cube?

I will be taking photos of glass jars (not empty), indoors. So ideally, I'd need something that is not bulky as I do not have much space, and something that will not set me back a fortune.

Any ideas about what light/bulbs I could use?

Many thanks for any suggestions!
And please be kind - I'm a complete newbie!
:help:
 
Ally said:
Just a couple of desk lamps would do it for you, these things defuse light very well so you can use a bear light and the end result will look like a softbox, someone please back me on that? I'm sure thats right though. Even window light?
Click to expand...

Yes, virtually anything will do, but with a couple of caveats.

1. Not the cheap fluorescent lights designed for non-photogaphic use. Their Colour Rendition Index will be too low, with the result that some colours will be reproduced badly. This is NOT correctable in PS.
2. Brighter light means shorter exposure which means less heat generated in the camera, which means less digital noise.
3.If you're using any form of continuous lighting make sure no daylight is getting in. The colour of the light will be different (usually very different) and if, for example, daylight is affecting one side of the shot then you won't be able to correct the problem in PS. In other words, make sure that all the light is he same colour
 
Cheap asda lamps are fine, but seek out some decent bulbs. Check out this link here for the ones I've used. They seem great, and WB is fine.
 
Hi there,

Many thanks to all of you for your kind help and advice.

Today I went to ASDA but they did not have those lamps. Instead I got two of these at Argos:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4308980/Trail/searchtext%3EFLEXI.htm

I hope they're ok. If not, they were only £3 each. I just need to get some bulbs now.

I already have one of those pop-up tents off Ebay that looks like this:

http://www.mytopchoice.co.uk/Mytop/pics/MIS/MIS051/MIS051_2.jpg

What kind of bulbs could I use with these lamps that I have bought? They takle max 40W ES GSL, it says. Even though I do not like them (and they contain Mercury), it looks like I'd have to go with CFLs as one 20W CFL is equivalent to about 100W regular.

Thank you!!
 
lisali said:
What kind of bulbs could I use with these lamps that I have bought? They takle max 40W ES GSL, it says. Even though I do not like them (and they contain Mercury), it looks like I'd have to go with CFLs as one 20W CFL is equivalent to about 100W regular.

Thank you!!
Click to expand...

This is where you need to be careful. Any E27 (standard ES fit bulb) should work, but you need ones designed specifically for photography. The reason for this is that unless the Colour Rendition Index is at least 90 (daylight is 100 and tungsten light is around 99) some of the colours simply won't reproduce accurately.

My advice is to not buy any lights unless the CRI is specifically stated and is over 90.

...And before someone chips in and says that white balance can be corrected in PS, CRI is nothing to do with white balance and can't be corrected.
 
lisali said:
Ok, how about these:

http://www.androv-medical.com/product/60/

Says that CRI is 95.

On the other hand, if I choose to go with regular light bulbs, what cheap lamp could I buy? Most lamps seem to only take up to 50-60w?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


Yes, those lamps should be fine.

Ordinary incandescent light bulbs would work but would require very long exposures, which would add to the noise problem. Also, because they're very 'warm' in colour (around 2000K against 5,500K for average daylight) they record very little at the blue end of the scale. The colour temperature can be corrected in PS but it's impossible to introduce blue light that wasn't recorded in the first place.
 
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