Review of Nanguang 5400K LED Video Light Lamp for Camera DV Camcorder Lighting

I purchased 2 Nanguang 5400K LED lights for use with my DSLR from Amazon here. I received them very quickly. They are $20 lights, so I didn't expect much. They lived up to expectation. They are very basic units that are not designed for durability. I had to disassemble one unit to replace the on/off dimmer knob which had come off. Fortunately the tiny screw used was still inside the unit. While I had the unit apart to replace the knob one of the wires broke so I had to resolder it. Crappy build.

Pros: Cheap, good light, accepts AA cells, hot shoe mount
Cons: Cheap build, very fragile - not professional quality at all.

I already had a Sima  led light for my camera. The design and build on it were much better.

Ok for occasional use.

Storage Cases for Fluorescent Photo Bulbs

How do you store the fluorescent bulbs for photographic lighting? I started by using the boxes they were shipped in, including the Styrofoam protective sleeves. After a while, these wore out so I looked for another solution. I wanted a substantial case - but reasonably priced. I found one at Amazon. It is a  Zeikos ZE-HC36 Medium Hard Case which sells for $40. It has foam inserts with the removable blocks so you can customize the fit. The case was shipped in a fairly thin box with some thin bubble wrap wrapped around it. It has a dent in one place. It doesn't affect the operation so I am not going through the hassle to return it. I was able to make a home for three  85 watt daylight fluorescent bulbs. I haven't field tested this setup yet but I believe it is going to suffice for my needs.

Here is an image of the lights in the case and a closeup of the ding provided by the poorly boxed shipping method.

              

Lighting Setup For Tabletop Flowers

Here is a setup that I used when photography some flowers. I wanted a white background. The flash helps with that. I had to stop down to f8 to get a slow enough shutter speed  to fire the flash properly. Anything above 1/250 sec would get the shutter in the way. I also used this setup for the focus stacking experiment I blogged about earlier. It worked well for that. The two 85W daylight fluorescent bulbs give good light. I am happy with the results and will use this setup again.

Photo above taken with setup shown.

Two new artists I found (new to me).

I have recently discovered a couple of new artists that I really like. The first is Rachel Ruysch. You can find her bio here. She paints magnificent still lifes. The colors and lighting on her paintings are incredible. She also adds the occasional bug or butterfly to the setting. I really enjoy looking at her artwork. It's very inspiring as I try to make meaningful images with the camera of flowers and such.

The second artist is Dorothea Tanning. Her bio is here. She was a surrealist painter. She was at one time married to Max Ernst. I like looking at surreal painting - not sure I understand them - but something about them intrigues me.