David, No practical experience here as the window light in Chicago has been fine for me with the occasional reflector. Still, here are some thoughts... 1) I don't know why 500 watts vs 250 should make a difference. Buy her some faster film. 2) Dimmers will come with a wattage rating. I can't find any to handle the 1,000 watts for my dining room table chandelier. 3) Look into rug hoops. They make hoops to stretch needlework canvas over as you stitch the pattern. They are 6 to 10 inches in diameter. Similarly for hooking rugs, they make big hoops, 2 feet in diameter. These could form the front of your soft box. They are simply two wooden loops of nearly identical diameter. The larger outside loop has a screw and wing nut for tightening the fabric in place. Regards, Bob S.
On 10/4/05, David <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Here's a little background > > My Mother has been selling quilts in local craft and art shows for quite > some time now but recently she's been submitting her quilts to higher > end shows that require you to send in slides of your quilts to get in. > She has used a local photographer who specializes in quilt photography > for a while but she wants to take the slides herself to save money. She > took a class on quilt photography so she knows most of the basics but > she's having trouble figuring out her lighting. > > Here's her questions: > > Here is what I am trying to figure out: > > 1. I have a pair of Smith Victor A100's bought on Ebay. The listing said > that they would take up to a 500W bulb but the lights themselves list > only bulb types for 250W. I emailed Smith Victor and they responded that > the 500W light extends past my 10" reflectors which is why they don't > recommend using them. Other than the need to be very careful that > nothing touches the bulb, is there any reason why I can't use the bigger > light bulb? > > 2. I want to use a dimmer switch to conserve the color of my tungsten > lights between shots. Smith Victor recommends a DC-1 control but doesn't > say how much wattage I can run through it. Can I use a heavy weight > multiple outlet extension cord and put all 1000 Watts (both lights) > through the same dimmer? > > 3. I am shopping for a cheap solution to buying a soft box for each > light. My objective is to photograph flat art up to four feet square on > an occasional basis (when I can't count on Seattle sun) and I would like > my equipment to be very storable. I found on-line patterns for > non-collapsible soft boxes but they are cumbersome - also couldn't find > a source for diffusion fabric in small quantities (except for 18" X 24" > sheets which I think would be too small). One source said to make frames > out of lathe, attach the cloth, them clip them to posts anchored in cans > full of plaster of paris. Cheap, could work, but need source of fabric > and recommendation for size! > > Thanks in advance for any advise, > > David > > >
