The Strobepro Power Scale: Comparing Godox strobes, speedlites, and LEDs
Why is it so tricky to check one gentle to some other? It can be unhealthy sufficient to mention that watts, LUX, watt-seconds, and information numbers aren’t without delay related. And except you’ve been round lighting for a very long time, those measurements gained’t even make intuitive sense.
Born from this frustration, I provide the Strobepro Power Scale! Before we get into it, listed here are a couple of disclaimers:
1. Practicality used to be the function
If I got down to do an apples-to-apples comparability in each and every admire, I imagine the usefulness of the information would have suffered. Different lighting are supposed for use in several techniques. For instance, a studio strobe will generally be changed one way or the other, whilst moveable LED panels are absolute best suited as laborious, unmodified lighting.
For this explanation why, all studio strobes, speedlights, and COB LED lighting have been examined with a Strobepro 24”x36” Rapid Pro Softbox hooked up. Most different lighting have been unmodified except differently mentioned (see the legend beneath).
2. Comparing steady lighting to strobes is assumptive
When a strobe flashes, it releases its power over an overly brief time period. That power is launched over the similar time period without reference to your shutter velocity. Therefore, we should recall to mind the time worth for a flash publicity as fastened. That’s why shutter velocity (as much as your most sync velocity) has no impact on flash publicity.
On the opposite hand, a continuing gentle will gentle your scene for all of the period that your shutter permits. The time worth for an publicity with a continuing gentle is variable.
Therefore, in an effort to examine steady lighting and strobes, we should set a benchmark shutter velocity. Because we wish this to be a excellent comparability, I selected 1/125 of a 2d (a tight shutter velocity for an ordinary portrait topic). If you’ll be able to get sharp effects with slower shutter speeds, then energy to you!
1/50 to at least one/60 of a 2d can be extra standard for video manufacturing (assuming you’re taking pictures at 24–30p), however we will be able to’t precisely do a video-based comparability with strobes at the identical record! Nonetheless, you’ll be able to most often be expecting to achieve a give up of sunshine whilst you’re taking pictures video.
3. Distance is at all times an element
If one of the most publicity effects I recorded appear underwhelming, please word that my check goal with my gentle meter used to be 6 ft clear of the supply (measured from the entrance of the sunshine floor or the entrance diffuser). If you wish to have your gentle to punch above its weight magnificence, the most productive factor you’ll be able to do is to transport it nearer! If you cut back the space from 6 ft to a few ft, your gentle turns into an efficient two stops (4x) brighter.
It is strictly on account of this behaviour (the inverse sq. regulation of sunshine) that I selected to place my lighting a bit of additional again than I may in an ordinary portrait consultation. From 6 ft away, I’d acquire a couple of inches’ margin for error with my measuring tape.
SETUP AND METHOD
I used a Sekonic L478-D gentle meter located (as discussed) 6 ft from the entrance floor of the sunshine. A goal gray used to be extensively utilized in order that I may cross-reference symbol information to the information I gathered from my meter. All lighting have been when compared at their most energy. In the case of bi-colour LEDs, the color temperature that produced the brightest outcome used to be used.
Once the information used to be gathered, I rounded each and every outcome to the closest 3rd of a give up and charted it at the scale beneath.
The scale
*Products have been changed for the check as indicated:
-24”x36” Rapid Pro Soffbox: Studio Strobes, Speedlites, COB LED Lights
-Product-specific Softbox: Flex LED Panels, Strobepro Quadstar
-Unmodified: LED Panels, LED Tube Lights, LED Ring Lights
HOW TO READ THE DATA
The Strobepro Power Rating compares most energy. All of those lighting will also be adjusted down from their maximums to various levels.
To learn this knowledge, you’ll want to perceive what a give up of sunshine is. If you’re new to images, you will have to make yourself familiar with this time period. Stop is short-hand for f-stop, however we will be able to use it on any type of gentle and now not simply to the sunshine being let in via your aperture. Each time you upload a give up, you’re doubling your gentle.
Each entire quantity in both column represents a give up of sunshine. For instance, the Godox TL60 (energy score 3.0) is 2 stops (4x) brighter than the Godox R1 (energy score 1.0).
The 2d column displays the information I gathered in keeping with the objective publicity. For the objective publicity, I used 1/125 of a 2d, f/4, and ISO 100 at a 6-foot distance from my gentle meter (measured from the entrance of the sunshine floor or the entrance diffuser). A favorable quantity signifies overexposure on the goal settings, and a damaging quantity signifies underexposure. For instance, the whole energy flash from our QS600II used to be a complete 3.7 stops overexposed at the ones settings.
The third column merely supplies distilled information the usage of our weakest gentle (the R1) because the baseline. To resolve how a lot brighter one gentle is than some other, take the Strobepro Power Rating of the more potent gentle and subtract the score of the weaker gentle. The result’s the brightness distinction in stops.
SUGGESTED USES BY POWER RATING
Beyond evaluating one gentle to some other, there are different helpful issues we will be able to do with this knowledge. We’ve ready some basic suggestions within the chart beneath to assist making a decision which lighting may meet your minimal energy necessities.
Strobepro Power Rating
Suggested Uses
11+
Noon-hour HSS (top velocity sync) with a modifier, huge merchandise, huge teams
10+
Outdoor HSS with a modifier
9+
Outdoor portraits within the colour, bouncing gentle for match images/actual property, HSS with a naked reflector or unmodified.
7+
Light bounces indoors, fill or accessory gentle (flash)
6+
Ideal key gentle (video), fill gentle when blended with flash
4+
Key gentle (video), fill gentle (video or when blended with flash)
1+
Fill or accessory gentle (video), moveable primary gentle for use at upper ISOs, shut proximity gentle for vlogging/streaming, shut proximity accessory gentle when blended with strobes
CONCLUSION
I’m hoping you discovered this knowledge helpful. I sought to declutter the method of evaluating more than a few sorts of lighting. Without seeing the lighting in actual house, it used to be at all times a selected problem to give an explanation for how steady lighting may stability with strobes. No longer! As new lighting are launched, we can stay this record up-to-the-minute.
About the Author
Kevin Greenhough is a portrait and go back and forth photographer founded in Calgary, Canada the place he additionally works because the media coordinator for Strobepro Studio Lighting. You can take a look at his non-public paintings at kevportrait.com. This article used to be additionally printed here at Strobepro and shared with permission.