May
picturelineNews
|
 Handy
Lights
There is a time and place where every photographer,
shooting indoors, runs out of light. You know what
I mean, there just isn’t enough light for
the f/stop needed to cover the product you are
shooting for the web or there isn’t enough
shutter speed for your fast moving young model.
Provided the fates have been kind to you, just
pull out that multi-thousand dollar flash getup
and proceed. If the equipment bulk is too much,
the time demands doesn’t warrant it, or the
fates just haven’t been that kind, then you
need something simple, easy to use, yet able to
withstand the test. That’s when you reach
for the handy and reliable Lowel lights.
Lowel manufacturing pioneered the concept of location lighting back in 1959
when the founder, cinematographer Ross Lowell, saw the need to create lighting
tools specifically for the demands of location work. Ross began inventing small
lightweight fixtures in his home, and soon had a growing business. Lowel continues
that spirit with a wide variety of innovative lighting systems that are suitable
for virtually any location need. Lowel's design innovations have resulted in
an Academy Award certificate, an S.M.P.T.E. John Grierson Gold Medal, and over
20 U.S. patents.
Lowel makes ten different types of tungsten and fluorescent lights and hundreds
of accessories to extend their usefulness, but the first light to reach for
is the Tota-light. A time honored favorite, the Tota-light can be used with
an umbrella or a gel-frame and diffusion material as a soft key, fill, or backlight.
With its adjustable reflectors, it can be used as a smooth and even background
light. In its simplest usage; just point it toward the ceiling to raise the
ambient (base) light level of a room to get that extra f/stop. Tota is also
widely used for photographic copy work and digital product shots for the web.
Another great thing about tungsten (bulb) type lighting is that you see exactly
how the light is falling on the subject, as opposed to electronic flash lighting.
Tota will accept bulbs from 300 watts up to 800 watts all in a tidy four-inch
by eleven-inch fixture.
A five and a half inch by eight-inch Omni package is the perfect companion
to the Tota. The Omni is a wide range focusable round reflector light that
is useful as a flexible key or backlight. You can add optional barn doors for
more directed light control, add diffusion or an umbrella, and it becomes a
soft fill source. Swap the power cord and lamp and it becomes a battery powered,
hand-held light. Available with a host of accessories and built for heavy-duty
long life, the popular Omni will accept bulbs from 100 watts up to 500 watts.
If you need portable light, check out the Lowel Pro-Light. With its high intensity
#2 Reflector and Prismatic Glass, the tiny focusable Pro-light is more efficient
than a mini-fresnel of equal wattage. It gives an exquisite even light, with
fresnel like shadow quality, evenly dispersed flood, and a uniform spot with
significant barn door cut. Used with today’s more light sensitive digital
cameras and film stocks, it’s compact size makes it the perfect low-level
key or accent light, fill light (with diffusion), or back-light for interviews
and other small shooting areas. In addition to a wide variety of customizing
and control accessories, adding a DC adapter cable and swapping its bulb for
battery operation can increase the versatility of this five-inch cube. Replace
the Prismatic Glass with Clear Safety Glass for a non-focusing super-spot for
special use situations.
For maximum light output the Lowel DP is champ. In a peened, parabolic reflector
focused for flood light the DP provides 16 foot-candles in a softer non-crossover
beam with axial filament orientation for improved shadow pattern and gel life.
Insert the interchangeable super spot reflector and the FEL 1000 watt bulb
and the DP pumps out a whopping 209 foot-candles of light in a 13 degree beam
at twenty-five feet. This eight-inch cube accepts numerous accessories and
bulbs from 500 to 1000 watts.
One of the unique lights made by Lowel is the Rifa-lite. It utilizes a fixture
which extends the tungsten bulb directly forward and is surrounded by a protective
transparent shell for heat and fire control. The fixture is attached within
a push to open softbox shell that includes a translucent front cover. The Rifa-light
is available in four sizes up to a 32 x 32 inch box with a 1000 watt bulb for
a hot light softbox with control accessories.
Recent advances in electronics have allowed Lowel to utilize a flicker-free
light array ballast and different types of fluorescent tubes to build cool
temperature broadlight arrays. The Light-Array system uses standard 48-inch
high CRI (color rendition index) tubes for large area lighting systems. Smaller
arrays in the Caselite and Fluo-Tec series utilize biaxial 55 watt tubes for
smaller jobs. The Lowel Scandles system operates with protruding biaxial tubes
in a cone shaped reflector, or other accessory reflectors, to provide the smallest
unit in the fluorescent line. All of the fluorscent systems are cool to the
touch, portable, and affordable.
View our selection of Lowel products
in our retail store or on-line
at pictureline.com. |
