Best CFL bulb types...

[evilluckycharms]

I am looking to find out the specs for good photography continuous CFLs. I have tried googling my butt off to no avail. The new CFLs with the lower wattage is confusing the heck out of me.

for example:
I have 4- 26 Watt, 5000 K, 1700 Lumen bulbs. The 26 Watts says it's equivalent to 100 Watt regular bulbs. I know 5000 K is slightly shy of daylight. And I have no clue what range is good for Lumens.

I guess my question is, for inside studio potography, using 2 continuous lights w/umbrellas, what is considered a good range for Watts and Lumens?

I hope I worded this right lol

[Benji]

Originally Posted by evilluckycharms

I am looking to find out the specs for good photography continuous CFLs. I have tried googling my butt off to no avail. The new CFLs with the lower wattage is confusing the heck out of me.

for example:
I have 4- 26 Watt, 5000 K, 1700 Lumen bulbs. The 26 Watts says it's equivalent to 100 Watt regular bulbs. I know 5000 K is slightly shy of daylight. And I have no clue what range is good for Lumens.

I guess my question is, for inside studio potography, using 2 continuous lights w/umbrellas, what is considered a good range for Watts and Lumens?

I hope I worded this right lol

The "advantages" of using flourescent bulbs over flash.

1. White balance will need correction every time, because flourescent lamps are made in about 8 different colors.

2. You said you will be using umbrellas to bounce them into. You will need to hire an electrician to rig up an approved fixture that will permit shining about eight or ten of those bulbs into the umbrella because the umbrella speads the light out and softens it up making the bulbs less powerful. This will need to be done twice, once for the fill light and once for the main light. This is going to be top heavy so don't trip on it or the eight cords that are supplying the electricity to these bulbs.

3. You will be forced to use an ISO of 800 or more in order to get a decent shutter speed to freeze motion. You will also be forced to shoot wide open with very little DOF and most lenses are softest at their maximum aperture. If you want to use f/8 you can but you will also be using a shutter speed of about 1/4th of a second (tripod speeds.)

4. Cost. These bulbs are $6.00 each. I'm guessing you will need at least 16 of them in order to get even somewhat of a decent aperture/shutter speed and ISO. This will be about $100.00, then you will need sockets for them and wiring them up.

The advantage of using flash.

1. Perfect white balance every time, simply set the WB on "Flash."

2. Two units will cost $150.00. These are 180 watt second units ready to attach to your light stand, hook up your PC cord and shoot.

3. You will be able to use a lower ISO for better images, and a shutter speed of 125, no tripod!

Benji

[evilluckycharms]

Originally Posted by Benji

The "advantages" of using flourescent bulbs over flash.

1. White balance will need correction every time, because flourescent lamps are made in about 8 different colors.

2. You said you will be using umbrellas to bounce them into. You will need to hire an electrician to rig up an approved fixture that will permit shining about eight or ten of those bulbs into the umbrella because the umbrella speads the light out and softens it up making the bulbs less powerful. This will need to be done twice, once for the fill light and once for the main light. This is going to be top heavy so don't trip on it or the eight cords that are supplying the electricity to these bulbs.

3. You will be forced to use an ISO of 800 or more in order to get a decent shutter speed to freeze motion. You will also be forced to shoot wide open with very little DOF and most lenses are softest at their maximum aperture. If you want to use f/8 you can but you will also be using a shutter speed of about 1/4th of a second (tripod speeds.)

4. Cost. These bulbs are $6.00 each. I'm guessing you will need at least 16 of them in order to get even somewhat of a decent aperture/shutter speed and ISO. This will be about $100.00, then you will need sockets for them and wiring them up.

The advantage of using flash.

1. Perfect white balance every time, simply set the WB on "Flash."

2. Two units will cost $150.00. These are 180 watt second units ready to attach to your light stand, hook up your PC cord and shoot.

3. You will be able to use a lower ISO for better images, and a shutter speed of 125, no tripod!

Benji

while i appreciate your opinion on continuous vs strobe, my question was about continuous bulb types. i am very well aware of the continuous vs strobe argument and i know there are many people the prefer one over the other. i however do not have the funds to spend on a decent strobe set up with a recycle time quick enough to let me take multiple shots in a row, as required of the young and very energetic toddlers i photograph. if you happen to have a link to $150-per-two-pack strobes with a recycle time in the fraction-of-a-second range, i'd love to see it. it would give me something to put on my christmas list

i have had successful shoots with my two pitiful umbrellas and household cfls and very minimal post processing. a touch of brightening was all i've needed thus far. but i'm looking to see what the users of continuous light have to say about bulb stats. if you happen to know the answer to that, it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
alana

[archersdad]

Hi Alana,

The lumen rating is a measure of the amount of light the bulb puts out that the average human eye can see. Some, mostly older, CFLs were high wattage but wasted a bunch of the light to the IR and slight UV spectrum which won't do us any good. So, the higher lumen rating, the better. If you aren't in a hurry, you should be able to find them on sale for less than $3 per bulb. Keep an eye on Lowes, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, etc and you will find a good deal. 26W bulbs are $2.50 each at WalMart right now. Lowes has the ones with the reflector built in for $6.50 each.

[Benji]

Originally Posted by evilluckycharms

if you happen to have a link to $150-per-two-pack strobes with a recycle time in the fraction-of-a-second range, i'd love to see it. it would give me something to put on my christmas list

thanks,
alana

Alana,
See http://www.cowboystudio.com/product/c06/p0602-08.php for a 180 WS unit that is about $75.00. I have about eight of them and at full power they recycle in about 5 seconds. At lower power they recycle much faster, but not in a fraction of a second. They also sell 200 watt compact daylight flourescent bulbs for about $75.00 each. See http://www.cowboystudio.com/product/c06/p0601-09.php for them. I know nothing about those bulbs.

Benji

[Eastree]

Thanks for the link, Benji! I was actually looking for exactly that!