thanx guys I think I got what I need...(I got a plastic clip that holds 8 aa in series-I'm going to try adding a second clip like that and wire them in parralell to keep the voltage at 12 but double the amperage...then run that to the ac inverter ...should be light enough to wear on a hip pack and be able to run the light on a camera bracket).ps, George, There are battery packs out there with ac inverter, car jumper cables, air compressors etc built in.
These will power your 10 x 20 watt light banks easily (if you need 200 watts buy a pack that puts out 250-300 watts, we have those at Walmart and Canadian tire over here, in the $150-250.00 cdn price range.
here's an example...note that I've hooked up the jumper cables to a second batery to increase the run time. that allows me to use a less expensive power pack...as long as it has the wattage you require one of these units will work and you can still use ac when it's available.

as a side note:
with a short extension cord I ran a 23 watt and a 13 watt bulb in standard lamps for over one and a half hours last night and the motorcycle battery was about half charged...will run it dry from a full charge today with 3 lights to see how long it goes.
Saran Wrap makes bowl cover food container wraps that are like little shower caps...the middle sized one is magenta colored, very close to a fld filter...seems close enough to color balance a digital camcorder....Custom white balance works for stills, but my cheapo camcorder doen't have...

I'm hoping that with the slightly higher oomph from the nickel metal-hydrate d-cells I'll get 20 (or more) minutes off a 13 watt compact for on camera use.

Niblue tell me about your battery? 13.2 might be just what I need....

Don't forget these still work on AC and DC

ok here's the goal....make an inexpensive lighting unit that's portable, battery powered, useable for digital (video and still), for under $80.00 Canadian .
$18.00 ac inverter
$12.00 lamp
$6.00 compact flourescent bulb
$40.00 motorcycle battery.
(alot o which I already had laying around.)
result so far:


the lamp is running off the batery in this photo
one could use a different lamp (clamp on style) or cut the base of the lamp off and mount it to a lightstand with an umbrella.
test shot of my degus:


next goal to run it off smaller bateries...8 aa alkalines blinked on and off...I wonder if eight d-cell nmhds will work...
the inverter 12v dc 8 A max, and puts out 115 ac @ 60 W
the bulb I'd like to use is 13 W.
I have no idea what kind of power the d cells will put out, but if someone smarter than me wants to do the math, I'd like to know, cause I'm not gonna go blow $80-90.00 on rechargeble batteries to find out. and I'm no good at math.

Sometimes splitting the diference is a great way to resolve a dispute....
My kids were fighting over the vcr last weekend.
My older kids wanted "Jurassic Park 2", while my autistic boy and my Two year old wanted "Barney and Friends"
I wish I could've combined the two and had Barney in Jurassic Park....
Barney VS a real Trex..
Now that's my idea of entertainment!
but would it qualify as art?

I think there's little room left to argue on whether the images count as art.
They do. I hope that images I make, will inspire so much dialogue, emotion, thought, as those do.
good art or bad art.....eye of the beholder.
cruel depictions, cleverly sanitized or legitimate sports entertainment....to each: thier own.
any way you cut it I enjoyed this thread.

JR, George, photography is both art and a medium in which to document the condition of the human soul. Photographs compel, inspire, and even haunt us, into facing issues we'd rather not think about, much less talk about.

wow Drew...I admire your conviction and passion.
but if you think bullfighting is bad, you should see what people do to other people....

rough match.
http://web.mac.com/lightexpressions/iWeb/lightexpressionsphotography/untitled%20album.html

Thanx guys.
George said:
lol.
I think you got the joke George in that it was mostly a retorical question geared at pokking a little fun at teenage complexions.....but surprisingly, I'm happy to read so many good replys.
My significant other, tends to shoot lots and leave the editing to me on these types of jobs, (nescessary because of her regular job) with little regard for the demands it places on my time, and my other job: little Mikeys' DA'!
so while I was venting, I felt surprised at how happy it made me feel to have so many friendly people offer to help.
Thank you for the lift guys.

zits zits zitzzzzz...
yeah it's that time-o-year.....
I hate zits.
Anybody got a photoshop action that'll automattically remove zits from grad photos?
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