Westcott Spiderlites or just build my own?

Perry · August 5, 2008

Noob amateur here, so forgive me if I use incorrect terms.

I've been reading Scott Kelby's "The Digital Photography Book, Vol. 2" and he seems very impressed with Westcott's Spiderlite. (can't seem to find much about them here using the search function)

Well hell, I've been shooting using cheap Home Depot clip on lights (those aluminum bells), with "Daylight" curlyque fluorescent light bulbs screwed into them for my photowork.

I like to shoot portrait type stuff indoors here at home only. I am making plans to construct a "set" in the basement with various backdrops, a few props, and a wooden frame for suspending lights, backdrops, reflectors, etc.

So what if I built a small array of these [daylight fluorescent] lights I can buy at the store? Have my own lighting system on the cheap. Or am I missing Something Big here?

Also, what's stopping me from buying one of those long fluorescent fixtures that takes a couple of tubes, and putting 2 'daylight' tubes in there? Flicker?

Just seems like for my own in home studio I could do something like this and save some dough. Even though I could afford to just go ahead and buy the stuff.

I like constant lighting...but what do I know.

In fact....what do I know at all? hehe.

BTW, I am not constrained by budget. I'm just hard headed about paying for stuff I could make myself. You tell me I REALLY NEED to buy a piece of gear....I buy it.

Perry
Canon 40D
Canon Speedlite 430EX
Slightly Defective Mark 1, Mod 0 Brain
Limited Morality
No Llamas were harmed in the typing of this message.

ziggy53 · August 5, 2008

Perry,

While I'm not opposed to fluorescent lighting in photography, there are some limitations.

The first is that fluorescent lights are not a continuous spectrum. Fluorescent phosphors work in specific wavelengths only and the mixed phosphors in a daylight fluorescent only simulate continous spectrum lighting. The results with fleshtones are usually less than optimal.

Daylight fluorescent bulbs use a measure for color accuracy called a "CRI" index. Even a CRI of 95 may not be accurate enough to avoid obvious and visible tonal differences.

There are "extremely" expensive fluorescent lights that use extremely expensive techniques to get around the problem, but even they are not perfect.

All fluorescent bulbs flicker. Modern electronic ballasts flicker at a very high rate, so as long as you use moderate shutter speeds, you should be OK. Up to around 1/125th should be no problem at all.

Some of the longer fluorescent fixtures still use older ballast technology and you may have to test to make sure they work at your shutter speeds. (Shoot several frames in full manual exposure and compare them side-by-side on a monitor.)

The flicker can also affect exposure systems so that full manual exposure might be required for best results.

Some daylight balanced bulbs emit significant UV which can affect tonality.

Electronic flash units, by comparison, are generally a much more continuous spectrum. They also generally allow faster shutter speeds and better control over ambient light.

dangin · August 5, 2008

ziggy always beats me to the punch. that guy...

he's right on the money though. with most things, spiderlites included, you get what you pay for. they're [supposedly] more consistent than putting a bunch of flourescent lights together in a strip bank. that being said however, for about $200 and some elbow grease, you can probably put together a pretty nice light bank yourself.

quality of light is a big deal and your best bet is to with more premium tubes that have more consistent color output. do keep your shutter speed down as you'll likely see the color shifts with anything fast. (if you've got a really fast camera, try shooting flourescent lights at 1/500 or faster and you'll see.) and of course, don't forget to custom white balance. good luck!

if you put something together, be sure to share pictures and details. i'd be interested to see how it turns out!

GwagDesigns · August 5, 2008

There was a topic about this on DIY Photographer, you might want to look into it, its pretty interesting and the results he got look pretty good. Alex Campagna was the guy who built it, ill link his blog below this post. Hes been using it for some time now and as you scroll down you can see the plans for building the softbox itself, as well as the light fixture. Its pretty intresting to read all the same.

http://alexcampagna.blogspot.com/

evoryware · August 5, 2008

I had posted this somewhere else, figured it fits here as well:

I've used them and I wasn't overly impressed. Tripod and still subject; great.
I was shooting ISO 200, 1/160th, f/2.8 undiffused with the light 2 ft or less from the subject at a workshop. Once you put a diffuser in front of them you lose even more light. I also am irritated that they used Monte Zucker's natural window light and reflector wedding portrait and captioned it as if it were taken with Spiderlite TD5's.

I've been going back and forth between Westcott Strobelite's and Alienbees, however. Just don't have the money to buy them yet because I have something else on the plate right now. ;/

ziggy53 · August 5, 2008

BTW, I do use compact flo' lights myself. This was taken a couple of years ago:

attachment.php?attachmentid=24548&stc=1&d=1217963525

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?p=442788#post442788

Perry · August 5, 2008

Ok guys....you've convinced me.

If I'm gonna take my work to a higher level, I guess I'd better take a "sure step" rather than a "false step".

So, ok, studio strobe then....AlienBee is my goto choice right now.

Thank you VERY MUCH for your insight. I appreciate it greatly.

Perry · August 5, 2008

ziggy53 wrote:

BTW, I do use compact flo' lights myself. This was taken a couple of years ago:

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?p=442788#post442788

Ziggy,

You took that! Damn! I remember that episode.

Awesome how Kirk and Spock got off that planet!!

Art Scott · August 5, 2008

Perry wrote:

Ok guys....you've convinced me.

If I'm gonna take my work to a higher level, I guess I'd better take a "sure step" rather than a "false step".

So, ok, studio strobe then....AlienBee is my goto choice right now.

Thank you VERY MUCH for your insight. I appreciate it greatly.

Alien Bees won't do you wrong and Ziggy will point to Adorama's Flash Points also......

ziggy53 · August 5, 2008

Art Scott wrote:

... Ziggy will point to Adorama's Flash Points also......

Yep.

ziggy53 · August 5, 2008

Perry wrote:

Ziggy,

You took that! Damn! I remember that episode.

Awesome how Kirk and Spock got off that planet!!

Mork from Ork.

Scott_Quier · August 6, 2008

Art Scott wrote:

Alien Bees won't do you wrong and Ziggy will point to Adorama's Flash Points also......

- I have 4 x AB800 strobes that I use in a variety of situations.

Most recently, I've been using them to light up wedding receptions. They've been working very well for that.

I've read they are not as durable as other units that are designed to be drop-kicked into next week and still work. But, a little TLC and I think these'll last me quite a while.

They have definitely exceeded the ROI point, though it might be time to get a flashtube or two as they do have a limited (though long) lifespan - I think I read somewhere that the flashtubes are rated at something like 50,000 cycles.

Westcott Spiderlites or just build my own?

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