Whizard Hlavaz Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 Well, my new digital camera is on order... Hooray! And as I'm waiting for it, I got to thinking what else I may need for a "mini" studio... Naturally, I got to thinking about lights. I used to use some small lighting kits back in film school -- just tiny little cans in a suitcase with their tripods. But, I don't remember a thing about them beyond this. So, I come to you folks. Anyone have any recommendations for lighting kits? Nothing large, of course. I'm just looking for two or three cans that I could use to set up a three-point light configuration around my painting table when photographing. And nothing too expensive either, if I can manage it. My local camera store proved very unhelpful. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwawl Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 DIY stores like Home Depot sell some lights with brushed aluminum reflectors and spring clamps for work area illumination. The store here has some with ceramic sockets to accept higher wattage bulbs, I think up to 250w. Cost is @$10 each. I would buy photo floods for them but with a Digital camera's white balance capability it is more important that all lights have the same type bulb. The light from these will be harsh so some diffusion will help. Since they would also be hot I recommend putting a sheet of diffusion material like tracing paper close to the model as a shoot through diffusion panel. Wire hangers make quick frames for this but you can probably make something better. If you have a decent photo store they should have fire resistant diffusion material available. Anyway, just some ideas. I still have one of the studio in a box light setups. It always reminded me of RoadRunner cartoons, "Acme Studio in a Box". I use studio stobes now so the Acme lights illuminate my garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusoe the Painter Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 For minis, I've used the following.... 3 Bendable gooseneck style halogen lamps. $10/each at Target. A holagen filter for the camera, to remove the yellowness caused by the light. Cheap and effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorderl Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Well, my new digital camera is on order... Hooray! And as I'm waiting for it, I got to thinking what else I may need for a "mini" studio... Naturally, I got to thinking about lights. I used to use some small lighting kits back in film school -- just tiny little cans in a suitcase with their tripods. But, I don't remember a thing about them beyond this. So, I come to you folks. Anyone have any recommendations for lighting kits? Nothing large, of course. I'm just looking for two or three cans that I could use to set up a three-point light configuration around my painting table when photographing. And nothing too expensive either, if I can manage it. My local camera store proved very unhelpful. Thanks in advance! Hey Whiz, any chance you could let me know which camera you purchased and why. Usefull features, that type of thing Elias Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whizard Hlavaz Posted February 19, 2004 Author Share Posted February 19, 2004 Thanks for the recommendations, kids. I appreciate it. Elias, I'd be glad to tell you about my new camera. I went with the Pentax Optio 555 for a number reasons. I was looking for a mid-range camera with 5.0 or more megapixels and a decent optical zoom as well as decent macro capability. What's more, I wanted both an automated point-and-shoot camera and full user-control. Finally, I didn't want to spend more than $500. And as much as I'd have liked to have gotten an SLR camera, they're pricey, pricey, pricey. Too rich for my blood at the moment... Heck... Their lenses are too rich for me at present... At any rate, the Optio fit most of those requirements, and I was familiar with the Optio 550, having used my parent's extensively. Here's what I like about the 555: 5.0 megapixels 5x optical zoom, 4x digital "soft" automation -- that is fully auto, but easily and readily user tweaked. Full user-control when necessary Nice viewing window Intuitive menus Strong macro functionality -- best I've seen in a digi-camera Super-Macro functionality (!) -- simply more icing on the cake SD cards -- not Sony sticks!!!! That's another story... A plethora of pre-defined settings and options, including silly tricksy things like panorma and 3-D. Sexy wrist cord... wowzer! Here's what I'm not crazy about: A little pricey, though I didn't shop around enough admittedly. It just tipped my $500 limit Slow start-up from "off" -- but I can cope Slow capture - it doesn't take action shots well at all, but I didn't buy it for that Not an SLR -- poo -- though always something to look forward to... So, that's my story. Why? What are you thinking of? Got a favorite in mind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorderl Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Hey Whiz, that was very helpful, I myself am looking for an affordable camera, basically for taking pictures of minis, but am thinking that I best buy something that my wife can use as well. So it looks like $400 -$500 bucks will go bye bye. The first camera to catch my eye was the HP Photosmart 945, then the Canon Powershot A70, I recently posted about the Canon PowerShot A300 but don't think I'll be getting it. I'm interested in the HP Photosmart 945, I'm hoping for a price drop or sale. In the meantime I'll be learning about all the different features that are best to have in a digital camera, hopefully more people will post about there camera. I'll also check out the Pentax Optio 555 Thanks Elias Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whizard Hlavaz Posted February 19, 2004 Author Share Posted February 19, 2004 My pleasure, Elias. You should check out dpreview.com in your researching. You'll find some good info there. Let us know what goodness you get. -Whiz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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