D90 + Lytecap

Andrew Brinkhaus

Andrew Brinkhaus

Veteran
When is someone going to try this? It makes perfect sense that if no other external sources are affecting the sensor, than the one that is will determine the auto-exposure settings. At least this would be repeatable, and testable.

Some have said it is inconvenient because of the "one size diameter" of the Lytecap, but how hard would this really be to reconstruct? Is it not just a dimmable LED source?

I would do it if I had the time to give it 100% effort, but I don't.

http://www.lytecap.com

I think the only main constraint at this time is not having the technical information from the camera fed to us of what settings are being used during recording. If we had this, we could final dim levels and settings that always reproduce the same effect, and essentially "control" the manual functions that way...
 
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just use the ace hardware close light it works exactly the same, it's $3.00 and instead of dimming the light, either diffuse it or stop down the lens. i also have the sylvania led light that you can dim which was 5bux. the lytecap would be a waste of money.

i can get the same iso/shutter with both lights on every shot without having to move the camera. i can demonstrate it if you want.
 
I wasn't suggesting our only route is the actual Lytecap product, anything that does the same thing would work fine.

Can you link to the closet light your referring to?
 
Car3o said:
ahh, okay, cause we had a thread about the lytecap but the guy never wanted to send out his product to test...gimme 10mins and I'll upload some video from 3 different places with the same iso/shutter

andrew closet light

regular incandescent-non dimmable
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018QDJ8K

led light dimmable
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...com2froogle-_-product_feed-_-D27X-_-100625855
Click to expand...

So how does this work? What is the process? Do you point t he light at the sensor and set your AE lock? Do you do it in total darkness?

Video looks good
 
Using the concept of "control what you can control"...

I use my iPhone to set my D90. I created a series of .jpg files with a white layer over black at 100% to 50% in 10% increments. I pick one of these for my "wall paper". One click on the home button and the wall paper shows up. Hold it in front of the lens in manual mode, click AF-AE lock, click LiveView and I get exactly the same setup every time.

I suggest that you go into Settings on the iPhone and turn off Auto-Brightness and push the screen brightness to full. I played around with just using different levels of brightness to set the D90 but the level is set with a slider with no number so it's hard to get the same level repeatedly.

Before creating the white to grey series I got good results with different iPhone screens. The Recents screen in the phone app is mostly white with some text and worked okay as a baseline for shots in medium light.

Other things I control for consistency...

I use manual mode with a shutter speed of 50, EV at -1, and f-stop of 8 before locking.

I adjust WhiteBalance before locking.

I set the Picture Contol to my modified preset.

This workflow is effective with a manual lens but it's essential for lens without manual iris control. With the kit 18-105mm lens there's no manual iris so changing the image on the iPhone lets me find a good balance for the shot and come back to it anytime I want.

With a manual lens I can set it exactly the same then open the iris as needed. If it's a low light scene I use a low light image (50% for night) and I can still open up the iris a bit if I want.

All of this reminds me of how we used to shoot "back in the day" with light meters and no automatic anything. Most of the pros I work with only use auto for run-n-gun scenes or as a starting point. Most of the time they adjust everything manually no matter what camera they're using.

PS - I've used the lytecap and it has no presets. It was designed for prosumer camcorders where you could turn the dimmer and watch your camcorder hit a 'sweet spot' then lock and shoot. I'd recommend saving your money and use the closet light if you don't have access to a laptop or cellphone where you can choose a consistent light level.
 
i used the sylvania led light. this is what the camera does. the brighter the light, the darker the image...vice versa...guess we've known that for a while now right?

i use a micro fiber cleaning cloth to dim the lit, cause it's way too bright. also use a 3x3 polarized filter as well. before entering live view, i place the light in front of the camera, lock the AE and then go into live view. take out the polarize filter and that's it.
 
i got the incandescent closet light, and I think I am rockin'...finally.
Thanks for the help, Car3o.
 
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