Would this work? Lighting question...

[Kelsey Emuss]

Originally Posted by Ken Diewert

Kelsey,

I picked up some 2' x 2' cool flo softboxes from Vancouver (via ebay) that work out very well and were really quite cheap (relatively speaking) the compact flo (daylight temp)are arranged in a cluster of 5 and each bulb has a separate switch on the back so they are essentially dimmable. The only thing that really separates them from their expensive cousins is that the softbox frames have to be kept assembled as they were pretty nasty to put together the first time. They look good, are tiltable, don't leak light, run cool, and came with adjustable stands and have the built in diffusion.

I found a link to them - probably won't last long (or will be pulled by Mod) They are sold under the brand name "Inspiron"

2000 W Video Photo Studio lighting Softbox light + Case on eBay.ca (item 360204539348 end time 03-Dec-09 15:46:18 EST)

I've used the cheapo worklight system and while you can (sort of) use them on a film type set, where 'what goes off camera - stays off camera', I think the set up can be potentially disasterous at a wedding, because a) they get so hot - so fast, and b) look like a worklight, and c) you really need to diffuse them - and the diffusion screen needs to be fairly big (to be away from the light, because of the heat).

This is not a great video but you can see the softboxes at 00:20. I can't remember how much I paid (something like 229.00 for a pair of them with stands, but i use them quite a bit, and they have been great.

Bride Prep on Vimeo

Thanks for this information. They seem more affordable than some of the other options I've investigated!

And thanks to everyone else that gave their input/suggestions! I will play around and see what I come up with. Worst case scenario: I have a great light to light up my backyard at next Summers Tiki party :)

[Ken Diewert]

Yeah, I bought a couple of worklights to work as video lights, and now have modified them to works as ... worklights. I've got one hanging over a work bench. Handy things to have around.

I don't mind recommending those particular softboxes because I've had mine for a year and recently ran them for three days straight, 8-9 hours a day with no problems what-so-ever.

[Denny Lajeunesse]

I have those same lights but I bought the 2 softboxes with 10x20 green screen kit from probably the same guy in Vancouver. :)