Copy Stand
May 18, 2018 08:44:52 #
I have an old Testrite Copy Stand and lights. I have not used it with a digital camera, but am going to, it's in perfect condition. Does anyone have any suggestions or idea?
May 18, 2018 09:18:20 #
Yes. Ditch the hot lights. Use photography grade CFLs or LEDs (flicker-free, 5000K, 91-93 CRI) in medium size soft boxes (24”x32”) instead. About 150 actual watts of CFL on each side, or 100 actual watts of LED is sufficient.
Soft light evenly illuminates materials with irregular surfaces, avoiding specular reflections and glare.
Use 100% Manual exposure. Base meter readings AND custom (preset... manual...) white balance off of a Delta-1 18% reflectance gray card. That will yield good JPEGs or raw files.
Make a raw exposure of the gray card as a “click balance” reference if you’re post processing, and you will not need to do much adjustment.
I’ve used this sort of setup for 15 years.
Soft light evenly illuminates materials with irregular surfaces, avoiding specular reflections and glare.
Use 100% Manual exposure. Base meter readings AND custom (preset... manual...) white balance off of a Delta-1 18% reflectance gray card. That will yield good JPEGs or raw files.
Make a raw exposure of the gray card as a “click balance” reference if you’re post processing, and you will not need to do much adjustment.
I’ve used this sort of setup for 15 years.
May 18, 2018 09:19:39 #
burkphoto wrote:
Yes. Ditch the hot lights. Use photography grade C... (show quote)
100 Actual watts for LED is hard to find. Where do you find it Burk?
May 18, 2018 10:21:49 #
BebuLamar wrote:
100 Actual watts for LED is hard to find. Where do you find it Burk?
Multiple sockets! (CFLs)
http://www.cowboystudio.com/product_p/vl-9004s-b6.htm
The best light modifiers www.fjwestcott.com
For CFLs: https://www.alzodigital.com/pages/search-results-page?q=cfl
LED is just now maturing. Panels are common. But they are very expensive pro tools.
Best bang for buck (lumens/$) is probably from Cowboy Studio.
May 19, 2018 17:11:03 #
rfmaude41
Loc: Lancaster, Texas (DFW area)
burkphoto wrote:
Multiple sockets! (CFLs)
http://www.cowboystudio.com/product_p/vl-9004s-b6.htm
The best light modifiers www.fjwestcott.com
For CFLs: https://www.alzodigital.com/pages/search-results-page?q=cfl
LED is just now maturing. Panels are common. But they are very expensive pro tools.
Best bang for buck (lumens/$) is probably from Cowboy Studio.
http://www.cowboystudio.com/product_p/vl-9004s-b6.htm
The best light modifiers www.fjwestcott.com
For CFLs: https://www.alzodigital.com/pages/search-results-page?q=cfl
LED is just now maturing. Panels are common. But they are very expensive pro tools.
Best bang for buck (lumens/$) is probably from Cowboy Studio.
2X the cowboy studio item that you linked to gives 4000 watts (each is 2000W); why would anyone need that much for a copy stand, unless they're doing a 60" X 90" hung on a wall and using a telephoto lens?
May 19, 2018 19:15:52 #
Burk!
Checked the 2 links you posted and none of the CFL is true 100W. I wish I can get a true 100W LED 5000K bulb. It would be great.
Checked the 2 links you posted and none of the CFL is true 100W. I wish I can get a true 100W LED 5000K bulb. It would be great.
May 19, 2018 19:46:01 #
Another suggestion: It depends what you are copying.
If you place acetate polarizing filters over those 45 degree lights and use a CPL on the camera would will be able to cut thru any kind of glare or reflections the originals such as glossy photographs, smaller paintings, printed material on clay-coated stock, tintypes old photos or other material under glass etc.
The acetate filters a a bit pricey but I have mine for over 20 years and the are still perfectly usable. You have to make sure the filters on the lights are properly oriented. The are mounted in cardboard frames with index marks.
The color saturation and contrast will improve significantly.
If you place acetate polarizing filters over those 45 degree lights and use a CPL on the camera would will be able to cut thru any kind of glare or reflections the originals such as glossy photographs, smaller paintings, printed material on clay-coated stock, tintypes old photos or other material under glass etc.
The acetate filters a a bit pricey but I have mine for over 20 years and the are still perfectly usable. You have to make sure the filters on the lights are properly oriented. The are mounted in cardboard frames with index marks.
The color saturation and contrast will improve significantly.
May 19, 2018 19:55:05 #
BebuLamar wrote:
Burk!
Checked the 2 links you posted and none of the CFL is true 100W. I wish I can get a true 100W LED 5000K bulb. It would be great.
Checked the 2 links you posted and none of the CFL is true 100W. I wish I can get a true 100W LED 5000K bulb. It would be great.
Four 42-Watt CFLs or two 84-Watt CFLs in each one of those Cowboy Studio “2000-Watt” soft boxes would be fine.
The “2000 Watt” designation is for tungsten-halogen (3200K) quartz lamps. That’s really a measure of the maximum heat it will handle. But Photo grade CFLs are MUCH cooler and more efficient.
May 19, 2018 20:38:38 #
E.L.. Shapiro wrote:
Another suggestion: It depends what you are copyin... (show quote)
I used those years ago. I was using point source DYS/DYW 650 Watt peanut lamps in 5” polished bowl reflectors. The Bencher stand I had accepted frames for the polarizers.
They helped with some items, but not the metal embossed school seals on hundreds of yearbook covers I had to copy. The only way to light those well was with the soft boxes. The trick is to match the intensity of the diffuse highlight to that of the specular highlight (or get close to it, by mixing hard and soft light sources of the same color). Then you don’t need polarizers.
May 19, 2018 22:40:36 #
burkphoto wrote:
I used those years ago. I was using point source ... (show quote)
Exactly! polarized light does not do much for most metallic reflections. I used to find, however, when copying large oil painting the cross-polarization method tended to darken the frames. Possibly they were gold leaf with is metallic or gold paint which is not.
Wioth metal objects, coins, metal foils, gold seals etc, the best method is using a large soft box to create a LIGHT FIELD.
The double polarized method works wonders with old oil paintings which were Damar varnished ,may have irregular or wrinkled canvas surfaces or have, over the years, developed sort of a dichroic stain.
May 19, 2018 22:45:45 #
burkphoto wrote:
I used those years ago. I was using point source ... (show quote)
One of my repeating clients back in the 90s was a glass artist. I used a DIY light table and cross-polarized strobes using 6”x6” sheets...
May 19, 2018 23:31:35 #
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