Let the Light Shine

It's pretty late but i feel guilty for saying yesterday that I would be up today. Besides I was putting together some lighting for a shoot tomorrow and found an opportunity to do a review. I had some Westcott TD-5 spiderlites mounted on stands with softboxes for some product shooting a while back and I am going to be working with a baby on Thursday an I just find that strobes work better with the little ones. The modeling lights provide a nice subdued lighting while getting ready and the pop of the flash is so short the baby does not even flinch.

Anyhow, on my last tour I was out on the west coast and found a 1-4 adapter for the Westcott Photo Basic tungsten lights at Sammy's Camera. Two issues here. First the Photo Basics gear and then the lighting. Photo Basics is Westcott' entry level lighting equipment. It is very functional but will certainly not hold up to the riggers of active shooting. Here are a couple of images from their website.

This is the plastic light socket that hold a 500 watt tungsten bulb. This bulb gets very hot and it only took a couple of minutes working around it before it was a little irritating.

Here is the softbox and the bulb assembled which was very easy. The softbox is an umbrella and it erects with the bush of a ring that goes around the light socket. Slide a diffusion panel over the opening and you have a softbox. 

So on a Photoshop User TV episode I saw this little device (below) that screws into a light socket and then you can install four bulbs into the adapter. I had my older spiderlites from my Westcott TD-5 and

turned the Photo Basics uLite into a mini TD-5 spiderlite. Here is how the lights look inside all nice and cozy.

I have not shot anything with this setup but it will be a help with the two TD-5's I already have. It is light enough that I should be able to hang it on a Manfrotto articulating (more or less a boom stand) reflector holder for additional light in products.

Hey now it is late and I am going to head of for a good nights sleep.


Cya... Doug


For more information of our photography, visit us at peekfoto.