Flashlight for photography

Thanks djozz. In Australia we do most things upside down! I was copying the Bitlighter that seems to use an aspheric that’s frosted on the back (not certain… never held one). But if you think the front is better, I’ll try that.

Thanks Max-Max. That ticks nearly all the boxes perfectly. Love the 5700K high CRI and decent power in a tiny, cheap flashlight. It doesn’t have a zoom, but at this price it would make sense to just get a couple and keep the cinefoil glued to one to snoot it down by hand.

Scratch what I said. I just checked with two cheap zoomies with plastic lens, frosting one on the front, the other on the back. First, the frosting needs done very evenly because any unevenness in the frosting directly causes a flakey beam, and second: the beam unevennness is much worse with the front of the lens frosted than the back. But it does get rid of the orange edge and makes the edge softer in general. I suggest to do check how the frosting is with a already frosted film like DC-fix to keep the beam even, but you then have no control over the amount of frosting of course. I just got the best result using careful sanding with 1000 grit sandpaper on an acryl lens.

Wow! Thanks, djozz for trashing two lenses to help answer a question. I really appreciate it. Just to clarify - it was frosting the back (nearest the LED) that got rid of the orange edge or frosting the front that got rid of it? I don’t mind unevenness within reason - it’s the colour that’s really bugging me. Making the edges softer is a very good thing for me.

Good idea regarding the film. I’ve got a Rosco swatch with every possible strength of diffusion and hadn’t even thought of using it. It’s designed to use against hot tungsten lights, but I may still keep the fire extinguisher handy just in case, though!

Looks like that Bitlighter is another example of overpriced photo equipment. While it’s performance probably is worth it to a busy pro photographer, there sure is a healthy margin on the product…

Anyway, it seems they use a Nichia 144 emitter and a frosted (backside) aspheric lense with a short hood/snoot. This is a good and simple approach, so following their lead wouldn’t be a bad idea. The large LES (light emitting surface) of the 144 should help achieve smoother beam profiles.

I’d be curious how a large SunLike COB emitter would do with a frosted or dc-fix modded aspheric lense. I’m not sure if a larger or smaller diameter optic would be better, nor what focal length is better. My gut would steer me towards larger diameter and shorter FL - but really i don’t know. UF-1504 host maybe with a XHP35 driver and a GT-FC40 5000K 95CRI emitter? Should be good for ~1500lm @ 1.25A.

Thanks, Jared. That’s impressive reverse-engineering. The curve on all the lenses I’ve seen suggests seriously short FL, but I don’t have a point of references for flashlights of what’s considered long or short. Would the FL be the distance of the lens to the emitter at full zoom? If so, large diameter and short FL would capture the most light, but I’m not sure of the effect of the dome or not on the emitters. I’m Googling the rest of your terms to try to keep up!

I do a some photography with flashlights myself, but it’s a totally different type of photography. I have some photos in the link in my signature below, and a few in here too: Exploration photos with my flashlights

For me what is important is the width of the beam in full flood mode. Almost all of the zoomies I’ve found are too narrow for my purposes. I’ve only found one that is wide enough without requiring modifications to the body: https://www.fasttech.com/products/1601/10002775/1206500 This body can be found all over the place with different names.

However, I replace the driver with one of my own and also install different LEDs so I still modify them. This light gives a nice uniformed beam, but bare in mind that I’m not too concerned about the edge of the beam. This one does have a little shift on the edges.

The Wuben TO50R is not the “ideal” light you are searching as it doesn’t have zoo, but it has 5000K 90CRI leds, it has 2800 lumens on max, floody beam with no artifacts, uses protected batteries, has different levels for brightness adjustment.

Not sure if it suits your needs, but maybe you can take a look :beer:

It looks good, and I see has optics available giving slightly more throw. The smooth beam pattern is perfect too. Thanks for the suggestion!

Taken from my review of the light:
Distance: + 50m

:+1:

Hi Mike, nice pictures! How do you get the light so even along the length of the long tunnels? I love the shots with the ambient light streaming in mixed with flashlight, and the deep multi-exposure (3/27/17) is delicious! I wouldn’t be able to resist gelling the lights slightly blue and yellow from different directions, and it would probably end up looking like a disco.

Almost all of those photos are long exposure shots, so I’m either running around “painting” with the flashlight, or painting from a stationary position. For longer tunnels (that I’m not running around in) I start with widest zoom and then gradually zoom in. It usually takes a few shots before I get the “choreography” right.

I’ve seen many photos similar to mine but with multiple colors. I think it’s very hard to get it right, most of them like you say end up looking like discos, and personally I don’t think that suites those kind of environments.

Thanks, but that one isn’t a multi-exposure shot, it’s a single exposure with a lot of running around :slight_smile: While switching locations I only use a dim headlamp and never point it in the direction of the camera.

There is Jaxman Z1 zoomie with XHP50 Hi CRI (5000K, CRI 90)

I normally use Klarus P20 on low setting to provide some extra light on the subject indoors during longer exposures. Nichia 219C and a smooth beam pattern.

Here’s one recent example:

Maybe a noctigon meteor M43 with SST20 3000k high CRI. Then you can buy the carclo triple optics to control the beam from spot to super diffused floody. It can easily sustain 1000 lumens and uses a constant current driver with no pwm.

That’s clever!

Wow! Results are lovely. You’ve clearly spent a while perfecting your craft.

Looks perfect for close-ups. Nice moody product shot!

Looks great and easy to control. Couldn’t swap the optics on a job though - a zoom would be easier.

From all the discussions, it’s looking like a strong contender with the back of its lens slightly frosted. Do you know if it’s easy to change its existing operating system to make the interface easier, and if there’s a slightly higher CRI emitter option?

I assume your “voice activated light stand” would provide a zoom capability i.e. feet.