Saturday, May 2, 2015

Lighting Test





I'm playing around with the idea of a large, box light for the layout. I had a few from work and hung one up just to see what it looked like with it's softbox light and I think I like it. It has potential. Th light is even and - once I get them mounted properly, they will cast a light down directly and blast away some of the wall shadows.

 There's an interesting bent to this setup. There are multiple lights inside. So, I can switch on more or less light as needed for the desired effect. I can also add one or two colored lights - orange or blue - to get an evening light look if I wanted - switching over from one to another with a few simple clicks. 
 


I still need to play with the amount of light and bulb types, but it's far better than what I have currently and...well...it's free and already in my possession! :)







Here is a shot with the old light setup - a single point to the far right of the shot.....


And then a similar shot, but with the new light softbox setup above.....


I think it's working better with the softbox.







You can also see the difference with the shadows being cast on the wall. In the back right, there is no light with strong wall shadows.


The idea of including colored bulbs for dusk and night shots seems like a lot of fun. Now I just need to sort out hoe to hang them properly while still being able to access the switches. Once I get that locked, I can get the colored bulbs, mark their switches (white paint by the switches for plain bulbs and colored paint for the colored bulbs) and be good to go with another item on the list! VOOTY! :)

There is a major difference when there are different amounts of lights on as well. I believe the light shown in these images are three bulbs. I'll be able to take that number down and still get a good amount of light on the layout. 

The softbox light is grand. I'm not leaving them on for long periods of time and not having them on when I'm not in the room for safety reasons, but the bulbs are not burning that hot, so it shouldn't be an issue. 

Thoughts?

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4 comments:

  1. Hi Malcolm,
    The light box sure puts the light where you want it and gets rid of most of your shadows.
    When those curly fluro's die put some LED's in and that will cut down the cost of your light
    bill in the train room.
    Layout looking Great.
    Cheers
    Ros

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ros!
      Yeah, I was going thought to that - and LED swap later.
      I won't be running the lights that often, so it shouldn't be that major a sting money wise for a while.
      Now, to mount them to the ceiling properly! hehehehe
      Cheers!

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  2. Much better after adding the light. The light of softbox is even, it gives you a mid day lighting. You may try some spot light to get other effect. Spot light can give you more shadow, if you try an orange spot light, it will give you a sunset effect. A LED spot light is highly recommended.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it'll be great to have various options once I get these hung! The effects that you achieve are inspiring. Colored lights - controlled with the flick of a switch - will be fun as well. Additional lights being used to create tone will be a blast.
      Thanks for the feedback, Rios!

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