I'm looking for a reasonably priced floodlight for drain photography and thought I'd come to the experts for advice. I prefer a rechargeable that will give me 40+ minutes of light and can provide directional lighting for smallish junctions (sorry, that's not very descriptive). I've done a bit of searching and here are the contenders:

All prices are in CAD and are from memory! My search results for the lights was mostly frustrating.


Globe LED Lightstix ($29 at Rona)
Cordless light. Yellow rechargeable light with AC/DC charger. Made of plastic. Flashing, weatherproof, 360-degree swivel hook.27 LED lightbulbs. Batteries included.
http://www.rona.ca...g-electricity_shop


Bayco SLR-9000CPDQ 13-Watt Rechargeable Cordless Work Light ($49 at Canadian Tire)
Includes charger, cords and battery for both 12 volt and 120 volt operation
Run time - approximately 100 minutes
Charge time - 1 hour or less
Equivalent To 75w Incandescent Bulb w/Natural Daylight Illumination-6500 Kelvin
Charges using 120 VAC or 12 Volt DC
http://www.amazon....ls-20&linkCode=asn


NOMA - Rechargeable LED Trouble Light
Can be used plugged in or cordless. Flashing hazard light. 360° swivel hook attaches anywhere. AC & DC chargers. Ideal for car, boat, RV and roadside safety. Weather resistant. 27 LED bulbs provide bright white light where you need it. Reflective backing increases visibility. Charger shuts off automatically to prevent overcharging. Ergonomic and heavy duty rubberized casing
http://www.shoptoi...uctId_3147278.html


Alternatively, would I be better off with one of those million candlepower spots and use some sort of diffuser?

How large of a tunnel are you trying to light up, and how long of an exposure are you willing & able to do?

edit: My main "light-painting" light is a 100-lumen Surefire L4... 100 lumens can go a long ways underground, especially in light-colored condete pipe. I think a super-floody light like a Zebralight would be about perfect, assuming that 100-200 lumens is enough for you.

The Bayco fluro is great, if you know how to use it. It can be kind of a pain to work with, because it's so bright, and doesn't throw the light very far. And since it's so bright, when it has direct line of sight contact with a lens, it freaks out and explodes with a giant flare. One way to get around this, is letting your camera expose for daylight.

It's great for light painting, and general use in a drain.. really good ambient light when you're setting up your gear, and such. It HATES water, though, and the build quality leaves much to be desired. I know this, as I've gone through two so far.. one in Niagara, and another in Etobicoke.


This is a direct exposure. I photoshopped out the massive flare that was a result of leaving it exposed.


In this, the fluro is placed in the far, far right of the photo. It's really good for filling light over time. This was 20 seconds.


This is light painted by slowly walking around the scene with the fluro covered by my body. It's tricky to do, because you sometimes leave leg shadows.


And finally, this was taken using natural light, while moving quickly down the RCP, while covering the light with my body. Here you can see the leg shadows.. I find the key to avoid them is spread out your legs.


I know mortimer has two LED dildo/fluro lights that he uses.. he gets great results from them, as they seem to take being exposed to light a bit better. I'm sure he'll chime in here.


Oh, for a bonus.. here's a shot of the fluro exposed for a few seconds. I then turned it off to allow my spotlight fill more of the scene.

Posted by tick How large of a tunnel are you trying to light up, and how long of an exposure are you willing & able to do? edit: My main "light-painting" light is a 100-lumen Surefire L4... 100 lumens can go a long ways underground, especially in light-colored condete pipe. I think a super-floody light like a Zebralight would be about perfect, assuming that 100-200 lumens is enough for you.

I'm comfortable with exposures up to 30 seconds, maybe more for one offs. It's difficult for me to say what size tunnels but something like this for sure:

Posted by Bryan

I have a Fenix E20 and some other Cree-powered LEDs. They're all decent spots but not so good floods. I'm not familiar with the Zebralight so a-googling I will go.

Thanks!

Bryan,

Great feedback on the Bayco - thanks. It was the one I liked the best of the three and as a bonus Canadian Tire also sells extra batteries for $19 (I think), which is very convenient. I wonder, are there are any mods you can make to it to make it hate water less?

The problem of leg shadows would not have occurred to me. Thanks for the head's up; though to be honest I have a hard time even telling where they are in your RCP picture. Hell, if I were able to capture that scene that well I'd be bloody pleased with myself.

The effect the fluoro provides in http://i22.photobu...ryantologycopy.jpg is sort of what I'd see as its primary purpose for me - provide background fill lighting that is supplemented by the Fenix or other light.

A dildo is the (usually) white plastic "cap" that slips over the end of the flashlight, right? Gotta get me one of those. I actually tried cutting a hole in a ping pong ball and managed to fuck that up. I have a couple more to try before that experiment can be considered a failure.

Finally, I love the Lord of the Rings/Star Wars/whatever vibe I get from this picture.
I now understand better how you got the effect. If I remember correctly this is where the fluoro had its demise?

I love the effect that light gives off in these situations. Absolutely awesome shots!

Posted by rob666 Bryan, Great feedback on the Bayco - thanks. It was the one I liked the best of the three and as a bonus Canadian Tire also sells extra batteries for $19 (I think), which is very convenient. I wonder, are there are any mods you can make to it to make it hate water less?

I've thought about this, and the number one thing I would do is tape the battery to the light with electrical tape. In addition, tape the base of the light where it means the handle.. that's why is dies when it gets wet.. the wiring gets fucked up. The batteries are fine, and the bulb is fine. So, if you tape that, there's a chance you'll pro-long it. I managed to salvage my battery from the one I dropped into Niagara, so now I have two.

The problem of leg shadows would not have occurred to me. Thanks for the head's up; though to be honest I have a hard time even telling where they are in your RCP picture.

If you look at the bottom of the RCP, you'll see a black line going down.. these are my legs casting shadows. It's easy to avoid, but can be tricky at times.

A dildo is the (usually) white plastic "cap" that slips over the end of the flashlight, right?

A 'dildo' is a Nova cordless LED light (I think). mortimer has two that he uses. The battery lifetime is around 6 hours, with rechargables, I think. You can sort of see it here:
http://www.jonmuld...14251_grskn13p.jpg

One more thing to mention, I think the flare might be dependent on your lens (if you have a DSLR).. I use a 17-40 F/4L, it's pretty sharp, but I think the results would be different with another lens. I'll confirm this sometime.

Also, here's one of the first fluro shots I took.


It was done by having a friend walk forward (as a light fill), covering the fluro, and then staying down the right RCB, while letting the camera expose for the newly lit right tunnel.

Posted by Bryan If you look at the bottom of the RCP, you'll see a black line going down.. these are my legs casting shadows. It's easy to avoid, but can be tricky at times.

I see, but honestly it's hard to tell. It looks like the bottom is slightly discoloured from water flow.

Posted by Bryan One more thing to mention, I think the flare might be dependent on your lens (if you have a DSLR).. I use a 17-40 F/4L, it's pretty sharp, but I think the results would be different with another lens. I'll confirm this sometime.

I'm using a fairly basic DSLR lens: Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR (on a D60)

Posted by Bryan A 'dildo' is a Nova cordless LED light (I think). mortimer has two that he uses. The battery lifetime is around 6 hours, with rechargables, I think. You can sort of see it here:

I thought a dildo was a diffuser like this Fenix one:

Posted by Bryan Also, here's one of the first fluro shots I took. http://i22.photobu...ryantologycopy.jpg It was done by having a friend walk forward (as a light fill), covering the fluro, and then staying down the right RCB, while letting the camera expose for the newly lit right tunnel.

I think that worked out really well. There's a good balance of light and you can see some wall texture on the right side. I'd be really pleased with a result like that.

I have the bayco and have tried the noma & eliminator led dildos.... the fluro is best because its way brighter. But your going to need to use many different light sources to get different effects, so a 1 mil torch and maybe some other light sources could work. I really like the Stanley LED tripod I got over christmas. Since it was $11 I got 3 I can take and set up. I put little rubber covers on the leg after i heard mortimer talking about how his shorted out from water. I used the fingers of rubber gloves on the legs...no issues so far.

Maybe I should DIY something for the fluro? I'd hate to pay $50 to replace that.

Posted by Air 33 ...But your going to need to use many different light sources to get different effects...

You're going to use this thread as an excuse to buy another light aren't you?!?!

Alternatively, would I be better off with one of those million candlepower spots and use some sort of diffuser?

Don't forget the 6v $4 light!

Posted by rob666 You're going to use this thread as an excuse to buy another light aren't you?!?!

you beat metawaffle to it .

My own family won't stop ribbing me about it.

And I did get a new small LED yesterday. I got a weatherproof dorcy.



I had hoarded a few of these small 9 led pocket lights that take aaa batteries, but to be honest, for even $3 a piece I won't get one again. They don't work after a few days after being a drain for a few hours and the battery life is pretty unreliable/predictable. The remainder of them have been strapped to my two tripods!

I can't cast judgement on anyone. I went to the supermarket yesterday to buy some cold and 'flu medicine, and noticed a portable fluoro lamp marked at below half price, so I bought it

Posted by metawaffle I can't cast judgement on anyone. I went to the supermarket yesterday to buy some cold and 'flu medicine, and noticed a portable fluoro lamp marked at below half price, so I bought it

This is more a support group I suspect.

Posted by rob666 Alternatively, would I be better off with one of those million candlepower spots and use some sort of diffuser?

I've been using one of those almost exclusively lately, but it all depends on what look you're going for and how you work. I think the spots are good for learning because you can do a lot with them and it's easier to control where the light goes. You also have some level of control over the intensity if you quickly press and release the trigger and they're great for being able to bounce light off of walls and whatnot.

Course, the drawback with those spots is that they usually only last about 20 mins. They also produce that yellow cast which may or may not be a good thing, depending on the look you're going for.

LED and fluoro wands tend to spill all over goddamn place so they can be frustrating to use. The LED ones I've tried aren't even that much brighter than your average headlamp. The Bayco's pretty overpriced for something that doesn't do well with dampness. I went through one already, and won't be buying another unless they're 50% off.

Posted by micro I've been using one of those almost exclusively lately, but it all depends on what look you're going for and how you work. I think the spots are good for learning because you can do a lot with them and it's easier to control where the light goes. You also have some level of control over the intensity if you quickly press and release the trigger and they're great for being able to bounce light off of walls and whatnot. Course, the drawback with those spots is that they usually only last about 20 mins. They also produce that yellow cast which may or may not be a good thing, depending on the look you're going for. LED and fluoro wands tend to spill all over goddamn place so they can be frustrating to use. The LED ones I've tried aren't even that much brighter than your average headlamp. The Bayco's pretty overpriced for something that doesn't do well with dampness. I went through one already, and won't be buying another unless they're 50% off.

I don't mind the yellowish cast. The 20 minutes part is less than ideal though. And it would be nice if they were able to adjust between spot and flood. But they are relatively cheap and I suspect they're pretty tough. I have two of them but I think I'd be lucky if I got 20 mins from a charge.

Posted by rob666 I don't mind the yellowish cast. The 20 minutes part is less than ideal though. And it would be nice if they were able to adjust between spot and flood. But they are relatively cheap and I suspect they're pretty tough. I have two of them but I think I'd be lucky if I got 20 mins from a charge.

I have also found that when I shoot black and white it seems to be way more forgiving of my spotlight then when I shoot digital, but the 10d I use probably isn't the best camera for this type of work, unless you do really long exposures ( a few minutes).

So, I finally got one of these babies on sale at Canadian Tire for $17.99 regularly $39.



God what a disappointment! It's just not very bright. I want bright dammit. So I'm thinking about one of these:



http://www.dealext...ails.dx/sku.19767

It's a SpiderFire SSC P7 SSC P7-C 2-Mode 900-Lumen LED Flashlight and it's $35. Now I don't really expect that it's going to provide 900 lumens but 600+ would be nice.

It takes 18650 which I know nothing about. A reviewer suggests Trustfire 2400mAh protected 18650 batteries so I'd probably get 2 or 3 of them and a charger.

In addition to being just really damn cool, I'm thinking it would be helpful for photography in big drains such as those located in the Niagara region.

Thoughts?

Posted by rob666 It's a SpiderFire SSC P7 SSC P7-C 2-Mode 900-Lumen LED Flashlight and it's $35. Now I don't really expect that it's going to provide 900 lumens but 600+ would be nice. It takes 18650 which I know nothing about. A reviewer suggests Trustfire 2400mAh protected 18650 batteries so I'd probably get 2 or 3 of them and a charger. In addition to being just really damn cool, I'm thinking it would be helpful for photography in big drains such as those located in the Niagara region. Thoughts?

18650 batteries are great! They give about twice the runtime than two 16340 (rechargeable versions of CR123A) batteries, at about the same physical size. If I had my time again, I'd go straight for the 18650s and never buy another CR123A light All my 18650s are 2200 or 2400 mAh.

I never did end up getting a P7-based light, and there are very, very few of the 'name brand' manufacturers used them. They're terribly bright, but I gather they're prone to quick failure or degradation because of the heat generated, particularly with the cheap models. The other thing is that they're mostly floody lights, not a far-throwing spot light, which is good to know.

You're right, word is that they're more like 600 lumens or so, but that's still a huge amount of light!

Cree's answer to the P7 has recently come out, and both JetBeam and Fenix (and probably others) have models available, with big reflectors to make the things throwy, but they're horribly expensive. Cree quotes 600 lumens or something, and I read somewhere on the internet (so it must be true) that it and the P7 are roughly similar in output.

Wait, what were we talking about again?

Oh yeah, that light. Well, $35 is much cheaper than the cheap P7s were a few months ago, and that one has good user reviews, so hey, why not! Hmm, I need to order some CR2s from DX... maybe I need a new light, too...

About the 900 lumens, I think they're all pretty much measured either at the emitter directly, or by aiming the beam at a light meter that's 6 inches or so away under studio controlled conditions.

I've had lights that are visibly brighter than lights that supposedly have a higher lumen rating. Until I get the LED for my new light (crossing fingers this week), my P3D Premium Q5 Fenix on "Turbo" is my brightest. I don't quite believe the ad copy that it's over 200 lumens, but it will absolutely light up a room. One thing I've noticed with lights, whether you're talking about an LED or incandescent, I don't think the lumens matter very much. What matters is a bright emitter and a reflector/head wide enough and shaped well enough to direct the light where you specifically want it. My Pelican M1 LED is only supposed to be 33 lumens, but it keeps up well with my Fenix L2P which is supposed to be 43 lumens, but has a narrower head. I think any handheld light with somewhere around a 30-40mm diameter head will be plenty bright as long as it's got a decent emitter stuck inside.