Anybody ever used a Coleman gas/propane lantern to shoot with before? Thoughts?

C

CameronMcC

Well-known member
I have an outdoor campfire scene to shoot in a remote area. The scene has people camping so i was considering using a few lanterns as light sources. Just wondering if anyone had done it and what their experience was like.

Also does anyone know what kind of color temp to expect?

Ill be shooting on a DVX100b. Any suggestions appreciated.

Yes i have a light kit, and yes i can use a generator. But would love to hear about the above mentioned.
 
My experience is limited.
I did it a couple of times and was disappointed. The burner is super bright but the radiated light is shallow.

My best results have been to use the lantern light and bring the area up to where you want it using standard lighting. You will have to do some fill lighting or the lantern will cause some hard lines.
 
They say that the lantern is equivalent to a 100 watt bulb but in a dark place it's pretty bright. I used a coleman propane lantern once and found a similar problem, the light is all over the place. I took a piece of metal flashing (the same stuff you can get at Home Depot used around a chimney) and fashioned a reflector on the back half of the light. It increases the output and eliminates the light coming out the back. The downside is it' gets very very hot so you must be careful. As far as color temperature, you get what you get. I assume you'll have a worse color temperature problem with the campfire.
 
Here's the problem you're going to run into. The flame itself will be very bright, but the falloff on everything around it with not be at all. In essence, it would be like lighting a warehouse with a litepanel. It just doesn't put out enough light throw to be viable.
 
CameronMcC said:
I have an outdoor campfire scene to shoot in a remote area. The scene has people camping so i was considering using a few lanterns as light sources. Just wondering if anyone had done it and what their experience was like.

Also does anyone know what kind of color temp to expect?

Ill be shooting on a DVX100b. Any suggestions appreciated.

Yes i have a light kit, and yes i can use a generator. But would love to hear about the above mentioned.
Click to expand...

The experience I've had with using a DVX100b and attempting to capture 'natural flame lit scenery' is at Burning Man.

It's been while since I used my DVX100 there, but as I recall I had to set the gain up to the max available, shoot 'wide open'. The 'fire dancers' who had flaming things in their hands, or were whiping them around on poles, chains and rope, etc. where lit ok. But everything beyond 5-10 or so feet from the flame source, was pitch black.

Here's an example:
(This was not shot by me, but I just found an example on line, don't know the camera details...)




So, I'd recommend thinking about a generator and some form of supplementary lighting...
 
thanks for all the suggestions. Trying to figure out what type of generator I am going to be able to grab. (Got a free one but not sure the power limits)
 
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