Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => The Coffee Corner => Topic started by: EdRosch on August 20, 2009, 11:49:16 am
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One problem with shooting at the 'golden hours' of dusk is that they are followed, often all to quickly, by the stygian hours of night. If one has hiked up to some lovely vantage point, one could find oneself in a difficult position with injury as a real possibility if one lacks a decent flashlight.
If your mental image of a flashlight is still the old Boy Scout 2D type that's pretty clunky, or an AA model that while fairly easy to carry but is barely brighter than a couple of candles, I'm here to tell you that the technology has really taken off in the last several years. I recently received a little pocket torch called a Quark (http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=297_306&products_id=1653&osCsid=afe92722a81dc545d49d7c5941bccd26) that is truly amazing. Here's what I got for $59 (USD) delivered:
A flashlight that's not much bigger than my thumb, weighs only a couple of ounces and is completely unobtrusive either in my pocket or next to my cell on its included belt holster. Yet...
On maximum highbeam it lit up the entire front of my neighbors house close to 100 yards away under suburban conditions, in really dark conditions I have no doubt that it would illuminate objects at a hundred yards or more away bright enough for easy identification. It will function at this level for over half an hour and has a regulation circuit such that it does not dim as the battery drains.
At lower levels, it is more than bright enough to find your way down a trail with a 13 hour runtime, and at still lower levels for tents or real emergencies it will literally (and I mean literally, not the figurative literal that is so often misused) go for days, in fact two and a half days continuously at 3.5 lumens and 15 days (!) at .2 lumens. Which might not sound like much but in a totally dark emergency scenario would be a heck of a lot better than nothing.
Furthermore, while I got the one that uses the less common CR123 battery, which is the smallest and lightest, they are also are made to take the far more common AA's. They are built as modules so I could for twenty bucks buy the AA body which fits my head. This would be useful if I was to travel to an area where AA batteries were all that were available. My understanding is that these is more most common size worldwide.
The link goes to the exact one I bought, but if you explore around you'll see that it really is a lighting system that lets you mix and match to a great extent. I have been in more than one situation where not having a flashlight would have left me in dire circumstances ranging from being up on a balcony in a windowless warehouse during a power failure to many times being caught out on a trail after nightfall, so I pretty much now always carry one. So I supposed I could have titled this 'meet my new best friend'.
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When shooting I need my hands, tripod, bags, filters camera, I don't want to carry a light on my hand. I found headlamps much useful for photography, those with a red LED or a red filter over the leds are great since they can be used at night too.
I always have a Fenix P3D on my backpack but 90% of the times I use a headlamp
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I too prefer a headlamp for hiking/photography, though I would think there are probably some headlamps out there now with similar technology. The one I have is a few years old, and probably not as efficient or as bright as the newer models so I've been thinking about getting a new one. luigis do you feel that the red LED/Filter really makes a big difference in preserving your night vision?
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When shooting I need my hands, tripod, bags, filters camera, I don't want to carry a light on my hand. I found headlamps much useful for photography, those with a red LED or a red filter over the leds are great since they can be used at night too.
I always have a Fenix P3D on my backpack but 90% of the times I use a headlamp
While headlamps are OK, I have to admit I'm not a fan. For one thing, they are difficult to have with you all the time and it's the nature of delightful emergencies that they are unexpected.
The Quark comes with a rubberized gizmo that looks like it's intended to hold the light and attach it to a headband easily converting it to a useful headlamp. Like I said, a modular system. There are also headbands (http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/CAMOmnifindQueryCmd?langId=-1&storeId=226&catalogId=40000000226&searchCategory=&ip_state=&ip_constrain=&ip_navtype=search&pageSize=24¤tPage=&ip_sortBy=&searchKeywords=flashlight+headband)that are designed to allow you to convert a small flashlight to a headlamp giving you the best of both worlds, while I haven't tried one, I think the Quark would fit just fine. I've found that headlamps make for poor flashlights.
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I too prefer a headlamp for hiking/photography, though I would think there are probably some headlamps out there now with similar technology. The one I have is a few years old, and probably not as efficient or as bright as the newer models so I've been thinking about getting a new one. luigis do you feel that the red LED/Filter really makes a big difference in preserving your night vision?
I think the red LED/filter is only needed if you are going to do astrophotography or shots at pitch dark conditions, at dusk or doing normal landscape work you are fine with the headlamp at minimum level.
If you want to research a new headlamp there are many models from the Princeton Tec Apex Headlampthat is awesome for hiking and powerful to the
Petzl Zipka or the Petzl E-light that are super compact to carry around.
This is the e-light:
(http://www.brightguy.com/images/bgimages/PETE02P.jpg)
This is the Apex:
(http://www.brightguy.com/images/bgimages/priapx.jpg)
Images from http://www.brightguy.com/ (http://www.brightguy.com/)
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Thank you so much for the link, Ed! I've been looking for a good tactical light for ages, and this seems to fit the bill.
My backup light is a thumbnail-sized LED light, but something a bit more powerful is needed for many applications.
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I have several of the 'Inova' brand flashlights. Some use the 123 expensive lithium batteries, and some use conventional (cheap) alkaline AA's. The 'AA' flashlights I have are only about twice the size of a single AA battery (they use 1 battery), and the light is very good and long-lasting.
But those are 5 years old now, so I would imagine you could get the little Inova lights now that would be even better, and very fuel efficient. They are also very well made - very strong machined aluminum.
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I don't like walking around with a headlamp, but I sure like my Petzl headlamp when I'm cleaning a sensor.
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do you feel that the red LED/Filter really makes a big difference in preserving your night vision?
I have a Petzl headlamp with red filter. I tend to use white light when hiking in the dark for safety reasons (greater luminance and range).
But I use red light when I am actually setting up at a location, switching lenses, etc, when I want to preserve night vision. Lights go out when I'm actually working, as I can operate camera and tripod controls by touch.
I sure like my Petzl headlamp when I'm cleaning a sensor.
+1 on that, definitely makes it easier.
Paul
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I think you headlamp fanboys are missing the point I've been trying to make. Sure, for certain specific circumstances, headlamps, or 4D Maglights, or portable spotlight lights are better. However, they are all large and awkward enough that you can't have them on you all the time, and they can fail, so even if you're using one, having a second independent light source is a good idea. What I was attempting to do was inform the community at large of a general purpose lighting tool that is small enough (see the pic) to have on your person pretty much all the time but has capabilities that most people would not expect at either this price point or size factor.
To reiterate: It can illuminate a rabbit the length of a football field away. It'll light up a rough trail and allow you hike all night. If, Heaven Forbid, you find yourself trapped in a dark place for a protracted time, it will give you light for two weeks. And it can live unobtrusively in your pocket or (in my case) right next to my cell to be ready to hand when needed. In other words, comparing it to a specialized tool such as a headlamp is like pointing out that the new G11 isn't a View Camera. True but irrelevant.
[attachment=16166:Flashlight_1.jpg]
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I think you headlamp fanboys are missing the point I've been trying to make. Sure, for certain specific circumstances, headlamps, or 4D Maglights, or portable spotlight lights are better. However, they are all large and awkward enough that you can't have them on you all the time, and they can fail, so even if you're using one, having a second independent light source is a good idea.
I keep my Petzl in my camera bag or backpack all the time, even when I know I'm shooting in broad daylight. It's small and light enough that it's a non-issue.
Over the years I've held enough small flashlights between my teeth while putting up a tent in the backcountry or setting up a camera and tripod in the pre-dawn darkness to know that if I need both hands free to work, a headlamp is the best available tool.
Paul
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I think you headlamp fanboys are missing the point I've been trying to make. Sure, for certain specific circumstances, headlamps, or 4D Maglights, or portable spotlight lights are better. However, they are all large and awkward enough that you can't have them on you all the time, and they can fail, so even if you're using one, having a second independent light source is a good idea. What I was attempting to do was inform the community at large of a general purpose lighting tool that is small enough (see the pic) to have on your person pretty much all the time but has capabilities that most people would not expect at either this price point or size factor.
To reiterate: It can illuminate a rabbit the length of a football field away. It'll light up a rough trail and allow you hike all night. If, Heaven Forbid, you find yourself trapped in a dark place for a protracted time, it will give you light for two weeks. And it can live unobtrusively in your pocket or (in my case) right next to my cell to be ready to hand when needed. In other words, comparing it to a specialized tool such as a headlamp is like pointing out that the new G11 isn't a View Camera. True but irrelevant.
[attachment=16166:Flashlight_1.jpg]
Do you have a link for this please
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Do you have a link for this please
Ed gives the link in his first post: http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cP...49d7c5941bccd26 (http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=297_306&products_id=1653&osCsid=afe92722a81dc545d49d7c5941bccd26)
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Petzl makes headlamps with both red and white LEDs so you don't need to use a color filter. The red output is bright enough to be useful (reading maps, etc) but not so bright as to destroy night vision. The white output is adjustable, bright enough to see to 50 meters or so. The one I had in Iraq ran on 3 AA batteries and would run for hours on a set even at full brightness.
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I carry one of these in my pocket always. It's ALWAYS available. It saves my bacon daily. At less than ten dollars, you can have spares.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.18630 (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.18630)