Strobes/Flash vs. Video lights?

I looked around and could not find info on why Video lights can't be used for still photography??? Is it range? Is it spectrum? Is it beam angle? With the new LED lights getting more and more powerful wondering if there is a way to dive without four light heads if you want to switch between stills and video on one dive.

Thanks...

1, Beam angle and light output. While the brightest video light - might give out the same amount of light as a flash in a second - a second is a mighty long exposure.

2, aperture and shutter speed both affect ambient light and video light.

That said high ISO has changed things and you can shoot with reasonable sized continuous lights.

This article might be worth a quick scan:

http://www.amustard.com/?page=pro&ext=...news&size=s

Alex

Andy Sallmon gave an interesting talk at DEMA last month on the subject. He showed some examples of using Sola 1200's and 600's for macro in San Diego waters. In limited circumstances, with lights close to the subject he was able to get some nice shots with a 60mm macro at around f/8, 1/50th at ISO 320 or so. He also showed some nice examples of using the video lights for balanced exposures on some CFWA stuff. He noted some interesting positives to the approach, being able to see the lighting/shadows in real time before hitting the shutter, for example. Common in a studio but a different approach underwater.

My take away was that if the lighting technology keeps progressing at the current rate it will be an option to consider someday. Given you have the skills of an Andy or Alex and given that your subject doesn't mind staring into the intense light, it's possible now in very limited circumstances. I walked away thinking that it would be another option if all my strobes died on a trip and I got tired of shooting silhouettes and ambient.

Cheers,

Steve

Last page:

http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/canon-5d-ma...ng-shootout/P6/

I deal with wide angle and standard lenses in the review.

I'm not an expert in this matter but this is what I think about it, in order to match a strobe you need to have a light with:

- The same angle coverage.

- Same power as the strobe.

- No hot spots.

- Not scare creatures with the powerful lights.

- Be aware that with a strobe like the Inon Z240 you have 13 steps of manual flash output control.

In order to have a light with same power and the same angle of coverage as a good strobe, you will need a canister light and then you need to add the size and weight of the equipment.

Steve, are you saying I didn't mind staring into bright lights????

Actually, that was the craziest part!!!! Trying to model with no strobe flashes was really weird. -- I was with Andy on all of the dives where he was getting together material for his DEMA presentation - including the WA dives (using 1200s on the Yukon on a less-than-ideal day), and I modeled for him on one of the WA dives.

Again - I must say that the one day we did the Yukon was pretty dark - green water with a thick muck layer that obscured the sun, but he got a few pretty nice face shots of me right next to some metridiums, as well as some shots with brighter foreground where I did the silhouette thing. The results really surprised me. My take is that they are not _quite_ ready for prime time....but I don't think this is too far off!

Steve, are you saying I didn't mind staring into bright lights????

I think young lady, that like every great model, you love the bright lights.

Does Andy have an example or two up on a website somewhere, so the folks here can see what we're talking about?

Cheers,

Steve

Going back to the flash powder beginnings in photography, it was about being able to produce a bright light when it was needed and being able to conveniently carry the energy source.

Despite the changes in technology and the expectation of what is convenient, I guess the same applies today.

If you want a constant light source equivalent to flash in beam angle, colour and intensity, expect it to need a heavier battery.

I think young lady, that like every great model, you love the bright lights.

 

Does Andy have an example or two up on a website somewhere, so the folks here can see what we're talking about?

Oh, Steve - how sweet. But I think you should keep in mind that there is a reason I am often featured as a silhouette shot with a Tokina 10-17 - two words: lens distortion!

Andy is sitting here - he says he has been too busy taking post-DEMA Sola orders to put anything up online yet , but he'll get it done in the next couple of days on his blog - www.seait.com

I looked around and could not find info on why Video lights can't be used for still photography??? Is it range? Is it spectrum? Is it beam angle? With the new LED lights getting more and more powerful wondering if there is a way to dive without four light heads if you want to switch between stills and video on one dive.

 

Thanks...

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=36355&hl=

sometimes I used continuos light in macro, wide macro.

Continous light souces (2 x FX500DX) have been a frustration for me. Firstly, they attract a blizzard of plankton and secondly, lion fish are always swimming in front of my subjects... Though in fairness, those negatives were at night.

Depends on what you are doing. Video lights and strobes have very different characteristics and parameters which will influence the final image and the choices made to produce it. But video lights can be effective for stills photography in some situations. The bottom right image on http://www.paulkayphotography.co.uk/Under_Water.html was taken using available light and 2 x Kowalski Mini Xenons for example and worked well. Strobes are far more versatile though in my experience.

There's also the issue of the quick flash duration of a strobe(s) for macro. I am not sure what the actual duration of an u/w strobe is, but it must be similar to a topside flash, which is about 1/700 sec. This gives incredible sharpness with no hint of camera shake when the image is lit 100% by the strobe. Of course, slow-sync strobe photography, where the ambient light begins to have an effect on the image, is another matter- but this usually isn't the case in macro, where small apertures and low ISO is best. On the other hand, using continuous lights, unless they powerful enough to require a very short shutter-speed, you'll suffer the same kind of camera shake you do when using slower shutter speeds in ambient light topside.