Daylight Balanced Softbank

M

MannHands

Active member
I made this softbank from fourteen 23w fluorescent bulbs for around $160.

http://lindsaymann.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/softbank.jpg

It's not perfect, but it does the trick and it's wicked bright. I haven't metered it yet. The bulbs are all 6000k. The next one is going to be something more like a kino. But this one is probably double the output.

Anyone got ideas on directing the light? I'm thinking eggcrate. But that sounds hard to make.
 
A layer of reflective mylar which you can get in a garden supply really would boost the output quite a bit. Cover the entire back inside and around the socket with the stuff. And it would be a good idea to clean those connections up and make sure they're all covered well.
 
that looks like a GREAt idea!

however, those lights, i find, although they are labeled cool white, are somewhere in between tungsten and daylight, with a SLIGHT green tinge to them.
 
this is nice, if only there was a way to harness these lights to make a hard fresnel, something as bright as an hmi without the heat and problems of the hmi.
 
I was seriously just thinking about making one of these for fun! I have a slightly different approach... but thats a nice $160 set-up you have there. A little tweaking and you will have a production ready soft-light.

Here is a tip:

If your mixing light-sources, these floresents will give off a green cast that can ruin your talents skin-tone. try putting a floresent green correction gel (it looks kinda like a clear-magenta, rosor makes them but I forgot the number) behind your diffusion gel.

I did some photography under mixed lights with some floresents and it ruined my photos! Its almost impossible to color-correct.
 
syncman said:
I doubt it will be Flourescent lighting that will be able to act like a Fresnel, for that you need a "Point Source" and the only way at the moment this can be achieved is with a Light Emmiting Diode"

Great advances have already been made, so it is just a matter of time............
Personally I can't wait!!!

syncman
Click to expand...

Actually, metal halide is another way too--with HMI being part of that family. While the bulbs may get super hot and need to be shielded (because of UV output), the light they emit is very cool compared to tungsten because there is not the infrared component in the light.

I have experimented somewhat with a 60w LED (I got in China) to make an LED pepper fresnel and found it to be unsuitable because of the cost factor (way too expensive), the quality and color temperature of the light, and also the lumens per watt were only 50% better than tungsten at about 30LPW (thus equivalent to about a 180w tungsten source).

So we definitely have a ways to go before we can get a high enough wattage LED (with a good enough light output and cost comes down too) to make it interesting as a point light source in a fresnel or par. Also, no one should believe that any point light source will be cool. The 60w LED I had got super hot and needed serious heat sinking to keep it alive. AFAIK we aren't anywhere near to finding a cool, point/hard light source. The best we can do for now is get a point light source that emits less infrared and thus the output will at least be cool so the light itself reaching the subject won't be so uncomfortable.

I wrote an article about building your own metal halide fresnel last year in my blog. Showed how you could do it for under $500. A good metal halide bulb / ballast combination is typically 4 times better than tungsten for wattage draw and light output (very similar to the way fluorescent works) and is starting to become very cost effective. Just to prove what I said in the article, I started selling our "CDM 150" 150w fresnel recently and it's about the equivalent of a 650w tungsten fresnel, emits the same hard light and is available in a "tungsten" or "daylight" color. Thus, you can get a "daylight" fresnel, the same size and light output as a 650w tungsten, for under $400 that doesn't require gelling and the subsequent loss of light. While the fixture gets a bit hot, its not as hot as a 650w fresnel and the light output is very comfortable. In addition, we put a handle on the back of the fresnel to make it more easy to adjust angle without having to actually touch the fixture.
 
If somebody wants to try something like this with a fixture that is safer and allows more flexibility... get a square cake pan.

They come in various finishes and materials. Wal-Mart has a nice aluminum pan that is about 8" square. This will allow an easy array of 3 across the top, 2 on the sides... and 3 on the bottom.

All you have to do is cut out a mounting plate for the front face of the pan (like a lid would fit) and then mount the sockets evenly apart... formation of a square with an open center if you look directly at the face.

This gives you the ability to put in switches and anything extra inside of the pan... and you have the flexibility of other options and improvements.
 
MattinSTL said:
If somebody wants to try something like this with a fixture that is safer and allows more flexibility... get a square cake pan.

They come in various finishes and materials. Wal-Mart has a nice aluminum pan that is about 8" square. This will allow an easy array of 3 across the top, 2 on the sides... and 3 on the bottom.

All you have to do is cut out a mounting plate for the front face of the pan (like a lid would fit) and then mount the sockets evenly apart... formation of a square with an open center if you look directly at the face.

This gives you the ability to put in switches and anything extra inside of the pan... and you have the flexibility of other options and improvements.
Click to expand...


could you provide a picture please?
 
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