Lightpainting - what torch?

[hazzel_frazzel]

Hey guys, I've recently been playing around with lightpainting and loving it. So far I've been playing around with really cheap stuff. Small torches I already have, and cheap little led keyrings, that kind of stuff. I am looking to buy a decent torch though which will provide even light over the whole of the beam pattern. The problem I have with mine is that it is far brighter at the centre, and so when I move it around over the subject, you can see the trails where the light has been brightest. I'm not looking to spend 50 quid on a torch, but something for around 15 quid that is going to give good light and last a while would be great.

Thanks a lot.

[Rich K]

I bought a LED Lenser P7 it is more than you want to pay. the beam on wide is spread with no noticable dark patches

It is very difficult to compare torches of such different values ...... the P7 for me is perfect but try this

I spoke to Torch Direct who were happy to give advice before selecting the torch

[hazzel_frazzel]

Rich K said:

I bought a LED Lenser P7 it is more than you want to pay. the beam on wide is spread with no noticable dark patches

It is very difficult to compare torches of such different values ...... the P7 for me is perfect but try this

I spoke to Torch Direct who were happy to give advice before selecting the torch

Ooh that website is awesome! As it happens I had looked at the L7 earlier on, but it's just too expensive for me. I think I'll follow your advice and ask them for their opinion before I buy anything. The K2 certainly looks a very good output compared to its price

[AndWhyNot]

All the pics in this set on flickr have been lightpainted with a TerraLux LightStar 220 which uses a duel mode Cree LED to give outputs of 100 or 220 lumens. Runs off 2xAA batteries which last well, pretty versatile as a result. I'd say buy the brightest you can but no need to go extreme - you can do a lot to control your light by adjusting distance and light-on duration.

Listed on ebay at £26, can't see you finding much else with similar specs at or below that price point.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TerraLUX-LightStar220-TL...

[G600]

I've got 2 of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bright-including-Duracell-...

just as bright as the lenser, high low and strobe settings, focus and no weak spots.

[hazzel_frazzel]

AndWhyNot said:

All the pics in this set on flickr have been lightpainted with a TerraLux LightStar 220 which uses a duel mode Cree LED to give outputs of 100 or 220 lumens. Runs off 2xAA batteries which last well, pretty versatile as a result. I'd say buy the brightest you can but no need to go extreme - you can do a lot to control your light by adjusting distance and light-on duration.

Listed on ebay at £26, can't see you finding much else with similar specs at or below that price point.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TerraLUX-LightStar220-TL...

Wow that's great to see some example shots, and I've just spent an hour looking through your flickr! Is this the same torch you have used for your car lightpainting shots, or do you use something different for that?

[flat-planedCrank]

Rich K said:

I bought a LED Lenser P7 it is more than you want to pay. the beam on wide is spread with no noticable dark patches

Well, I've no idea about whether it's good for light painting, but I also have a LED Lenser P7 - it's superb

Around £40 on Amazon - www.amazon.co.uk/Lenser-8407-Torch-Gift-Black/dp/B...
(that's the gift box version - box, decent belt-case, batteries...)

Edited by flat-planedCrank on Monday 16th April 21:07

[AndWhyNot]

hazzel_frazzel said:

AndWhyNot said:

All the pics in this set on flickr have been lightpainted with a TerraLux LightStar 220 which uses a duel mode Cree LED to give outputs of 100 or 220 lumens. Runs off 2xAA batteries which last well, pretty versatile as a result. I'd say buy the brightest you can but no need to go extreme - you can do a lot to control your light by adjusting distance and light-on duration.

Listed on ebay at £26, can't see you finding much else with similar specs at or below that price point.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TerraLUX-LightStar220-TL...

Wow that's great to see some example shots, and I've just spent an hour looking through your flickr! Is this the same torch you have used for your car lightpainting shots, or do you use something different for that?

Cheers.

Most of my car lightpainting is not done with that torch (or any recognisible torch) but it'd be OK for lighting cars which are pale, non-metallic colours. The other thing about the non-budget LED torches is the colour balance - this torch is pretty much daylight balanced so you know what your white balance should be set to and how to counteract colour casts. Cheap stuff tends to be way off making natural looking images quite difficult to achieve without post work.