Lighting a Conference

Erin Hillert · April 15th, 2006, 09:14 AM

Hi...I know on-camera lighting has been discussed a bunch of times for weddings, but hopefully this is a little different: I have a GL2 I'm using for conference coming up; I basically have to catch all the attendees doing cute and funny things and assemble a 'candids' video from all the footage. The lighting will range from outdoor to indoor to flourescents to low light; I've been advised to get a sungun, but I can't seem to find one to purchase...I googled it and went to b&h and came up with nothing. What other kind of on-camera lighting would you recommend?

And also, with the frezzis, pardon my ingnorance, but with their outputs listed (4 XLR, 5 XLR, car charger), how do you plug them into your camera?

ANY guidance is appreciated. Thanks...

Chien Huey · April 15th, 2006, 02:53 PM

Sunguns are a general term (a bit old school too) used to describe tungsten lights powered by batteries. The 4-pin XLR refers to the power connector. If you're familiar with film cameras or even larger video cameras like the SDX900, they're the power connector of choice. That said, the GL-2 doesn't have these connectors. Nor would you want to power a sungun off the GL2 power as they would suck all the power out in no time.

Normally, sunguns are powered by battery belts or block batteries (http://www.cine60newyork.com/product.html). In all likelihood, an on-camera light that's suitable for weddings would probably suffice for your needs. You probably want to soften the light with some diffusion to minimize any hotspots on your subjects. I'm not too familiar with on-camera lights but if you do a search on this forum, you'll probably find lots of information.

Don Bloom · April 15th, 2006, 04:30 PM

I shoot that type of thing pretty often and find that when using my JVC5000 my Anton Bauer 20W on camera light with a softbox works just fine. I've done breaking news with it (without the softbox on) and it works great for that also. When I use my PD150 I use a Bescor light with a belt or juice box battery and use a 50W bulb with a softbox that knocks it down to about 25 watts. Either way you're not trying to light a big area so the smaller lights work fine. It's about the same as shooting a first dance for a wedding. Just remember that lights like those I mentioned and other small lights really only have an effective range of about 10 feet on a stretch and you're using it for more of a fill light than trying to light up the area.

Don

Henry Gretzinger · April 21st, 2006, 12:47 PM

I've heard nothing but good things about this instrument:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

Again, it uses a power tap (i.e. draws power from your camera's battery) but it's a fairly low wattage unit so it shouldn't be so bad. This package also includes a dichroic daylight (5600k) filter, which will allow you to match your light source to sunlight coming in from a window.

This is another great one, with REEAALLY low power draw:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation

Hope this helps

Henry

Erin Hillert · April 24th, 2006, 05:10 PM

thanks so much for your help...i'll look into these suggestions.

April 15th, 2006, 09:14 AM	#1
Erin Hillert New Boot Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 5	Lighting a Conference - sungun? Hi...I know on-camera lighting has been discussed a bunch of times for weddings, but hopefully this is a little different: I have a GL2 I'm using for conference coming up; I basically have to catch all the attendees doing cute and funny things and assemble a 'candids' video from all the footage. The lighting will range from outdoor to indoor to flourescents to low light; I've been advised to get a sungun, but I can't seem to find one to purchase...I googled it and went to b&h and came up with nothing. What other kind of on-camera lighting would you recommend? And also, with the frezzis, pardon my ingnorance, but with their outputs listed (4 XLR, 5 XLR, car charger), how do you plug them into your camera? ANY guidance is appreciated. Thanks...

April 21st, 2006, 12:47 PM	#4
Henry Gretzinger Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 28	I've heard nothing but good things about this instrument: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation Again, it uses a power tap (i.e. draws power from your camera's battery) but it's a fairly low wattage unit so it shouldn't be so bad. This package also includes a dichroic daylight (5600k) filter, which will allow you to match your light source to sunlight coming in from a window. This is another great one, with REEAALLY low power draw: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation Hope this helps Henry __________________ Henry Kieffer VanAllen Gretzinger DP, NYC

April 15th, 2006, 02:53 PM	#2
Chien Huey Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 59	Sunguns are a general term (a bit old school too) used to describe tungsten lights powered by batteries. The 4-pin XLR refers to the power connector. If you're familiar with film cameras or even larger video cameras like the SDX900, they're the power connector of choice. That said, the GL-2 doesn't have these connectors. Nor would you want to power a sungun off the GL2 power as they would suck all the power out in no time. Normally, sunguns are powered by battery belts or block batteries (http://www.cine60newyork.com/product.html). In all likelihood, an on-camera light that's suitable for weddings would probably suffice for your needs. You probably want to soften the light with some diffusion to minimize any hotspots on your subjects. I'm not too familiar with on-camera lights but if you do a search on this forum, you'll probably find lots of information.

April 15th, 2006, 04:30 PM	#3
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	I shoot that type of thing pretty often and find that when using my JVC5000 my Anton Bauer 20W on camera light with a softbox works just fine. I've done breaking news with it (without the softbox on) and it works great for that also. When I use my PD150 I use a Bescor light with a belt or juice box battery and use a 50W bulb with a softbox that knocks it down to about 25 watts. Either way you're not trying to light a big area so the smaller lights work fine. It's about the same as shooting a first dance for a wedding. Just remember that lights like those I mentioned and other small lights really only have an effective range of about 10 feet on a stretch and you're using it for more of a fill light than trying to light up the area. Don

April 24th, 2006, 05:10 PM	#5
Erin Hillert New Boot Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 5	thanks so much for your help...i'll look into these suggestions.