Test: Softboxes and color temp

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Archive 2007 · Test: Softboxes and color temp

mbwkrause
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p.1 #1 · Test: Softboxes and color temp

Not too long ago we had a thread about mixing different brands of softboxes and potential trouble with the color temperatures one might run into. So I decided to actually check it - and the results are pretty nasty. While my Photek Illuminata and my big Calumet softbox give pretty much the same output with my Profoto monolight (5500°K), my recently aquired Amvona strip boxes turned out to be pretty blue (5950°K) - yikes. So to actually mix them and still get a proper color temperature I'll have to gel them which is a pain in the butt if you have to break them down often. I haven't checked my medium size Amvona softbox yet but I'm not too optimistic... I also need to tape the flaps for the video lighting with these boxes since they don't close properly and produce some unwanted stray light. You get what you pay for, I guess.

Feb 13, 2007 at 02:34 PM

blackfeather
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p.1 #2 · Test: Softboxes and color temp

....also as they age the white fronts will tend to "yellow"...sometimes washing them will not even help....there are different "shades" of white with different manufacturers as well....

Feb 13, 2007 at 02:44 PM

ktownsend
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p.1 #3 · Test: Softboxes and color temp

I have softboxes from three different manufacturers (Chimera, Multiblitz, and a Chinese import), and they all vary widely in color temperature so I tend to be oblidged to stick to one manufacturer at a time when color matters. It's a pain in the butt sometimes, but that's the way it is.

One of my Chimera boxes has become noticably very yellow with age. It's fine by itself (I can correct the color), but it means I can only use this one box alone, so I tend to use it for portable lighting with a 580ex ... it's light, and easy to tear down.

In the future, I will be sure to purchase all the same manufacturer for soft boxes, having learned my lesson the hard way.

Kevin.

Feb 13, 2007 at 02:58 PM

mmurph
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p.1 #4 · Test: Softboxes and color temp

For studio use I standardized on Photoflex medium and large softboxes a while ago. One reason was to have spare parts - rods, faces, etc. available on hand.

A new face for the Photoflex is only about $6, which is nice.

You also have to be careful with uv coating on tubes and protecting glass. Some are coated, double coated, or not coated (protecting glass.) I have one series of heads that is 5500 degrees and another that is 5900. I use the 5900 on location, so they usually don't get mixed.

Best,
Michael

Feb 13, 2007 at 04:01 PM

MikeDitz
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p.1 #5 · Test: Softboxes and color temp

A few years ago I did a color test of all my heads, spotlights and soft boxes. Nothing matched and they varied in temp by 800 degrees. Most of the time it makes very little difference.

Feb 14, 2007 at 02:53 AM

mmurph
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p.1 #6 · Test: Softboxes and color temp

But, Mike, it is still fun

Sometimes it does matter. Clothes for a boutique, etc. A white sun dress against a white background with a light blond model, etc.

Anyway, MBW, what other attachments do you have to measure? Beauty dish? Those gold inserts for a softbox? (Photoflex has the "Multidome" with gold and silver inserts. I sometimes use two of the gold instead of all four.)

What about variation from lowest power to highest? Profoto should be pretty good. What about bounce flash off your yellow wall?

(OK, just kidding on that last one.)

Best,
Michael

Feb 14, 2007 at 03:28 AM

Paul Buff
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p.1 #7 · Test: Softboxes and color temp

mmurph wrote:

But, Mike, it is still fun

(OK, just kidding on that last one.)

Best,
Michael

For the purists, "What is the color temperature of sunlight?" If it were a one CT world all pix would look the same. The quandry for shooters is knowing when CT matters and when it doesn't, and how to deal with and understand it in both cases.

Paul Buff

Feb 14, 2007 at 04:37 AM

mmurph
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p.1 #8 · Test: Softboxes and color temp

Paul Buff wrote:

For the purists, "What is the color temperature of sunlight?"

As we have discussed Paul, you can correct the color temperature of any *ONE* light source in post (as long as it is full spectrum and has a good CRI.) The temperature can vary from 3200 to 9800, no real problem, just a click in Photoshop or a custom WB in camera.

But if you have *TWO* suns, you lose your frame of reference to get back to neutral.

What if one sun is 3700 and the other is 6200? You either go for a creative effect, gel one of the sources, or do a lot of masking and correction in post!

All three are valid options. But I'd rather know my options going in, than find out in post on the computer that I have to correct a blue cast in blonde hair on 1,000 images! (Like trying to mask hair for a "green screen" dropout. With green color fringing and CA on blonde hair, if you've ever played with that. Tedious!

)

I know some of you will see me as a purist. I am not. I *can be* a perfectionist though.

I love to learn about photography! And I hate not having control over my materials when it matters.

As a professional, that is one thing I try to deliver to my clients. I need a way to get back to "square one" so that any variation is under my control.

That partly comes from the time when 6x7 film was $1 a frame. The film budget for a shoot might easily have been $1,500. And the slide was your finished product, with little chance for correction after the fact.

It is also similar to monitor calibration and printer profiling. I spent two years trying to match monitor to output without going to full calibration. It was two years of total frustration and a lot of wasted time and paper! But, some folks are just finding the need for calibration now in their own work. (I went to 100% digital output in 1998, 100% digital capture in 2002.)

But I also spent 2 years, starting in 2002, working with a Holga and color negative film for some of my personal work. That was an experiment in process, randomness, and lack of control.

Sorry for the long post, there have been a few flames on this. Horses for courses, as the Brits say. By the way, why would anyone ever need a lens longer than 200mm?

Best,
Michael

Feb 14, 2007 at 04:51 PM


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