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Lighting Small Objects Made Easy
A review of the Lowel Ego |
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In the past, when we needed a product shot
for a magazine article, or a photograph of an item we were going to
auction on eBay, we had to go through the hassle of setting up light
stands with flash units bounced into white umbrellas. Discovering the
Lowel Ego
digital imaging light changed our workflow and makes it easy to do product
shots with less than a five-minute set up - and no light stands or wires
to trip over. |
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The Ego’s compact size (17” x 16” x 6”) makes it excellent
for those with a small shooting space. The light is fitted with a white
Plexiglas front and two 27 watt daylight florescent bulbs. These lamps
produce the equivalent of 100 watts of light each at a color temperature
of 5500 degrees. A standard female tripod socket (quarter-twenty) on the
bottom can be used to attach it to a tripod or light stand. Also included
is a 12x32 inch folded white Coroplast reflector for bounce fill. Using
just the Ego and reflector gives you a functional lighting system for
objects 14 inches and under. Adding a second Ego light and a Lowel
Ego-Sweep background gives a photographer a more versatile setup, useful
for shadow less lighting. To photograph larger objects, the Ego can be
mounted on a tripod or light stand and used just like a white umbrella. |
Glass vase photo taken with the CoolPix 8400
and two Lowel Egos as seen below
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The Ego-sweep is a simple,
background paper holder made of corrugated plastic. Two clips hold a sheet
of the included assortment of background papers, allowing for a seamless
backdrop sweep behind the item you are shooting. At only $20 the
Ergo-sweep is a very good deal for table top photographers. |
The Ego florescent lights are daylight balanced, so digital
cameras can either be set on Auto or Custom White Balance, though a
consistent white balance is recommended for repeatable results. Turning
off ambient room light is a good idea, as the amount of light coming from
a single Ego light is not as intense as a powerful flash unit and will
effect both exposure and color balance. Our exposures ranged from about an
eighth of a second at f5.6 when working with a single Ego to about 1/125
at f4.7 when using two units. |
The Lowel Ego (with reflector) retails for $125 and the
Lowel Ego-Sweep for $25. The combination makes a good set up that will get
any level photographer into the good results range with little work.
Adding the recommended second Ego will bring many more options to the
table when shooting small products. |
More photos taken with the Lowel Ego |
Lighting using a single Lowel Ego and white reflector
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Lighting using two Lowel Egos
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Lighting using two Lowel Egos
A photo created to sell my camera on eBay
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