Finally, after about 1 month of checking reviews, pouring over pictures and staying awake at night trying to decide. i have finally ordered a silver prophecy v3 with the diamond board .Cannot wait for it to arrive and being a landscape photographer , i am looking forward to sharing my shots with this forum . Got it in consular green with sunriders destiny foc as my initial startup . Thanks everyone for the help and advice
As a photographer myself, just a few thoughts on that. The saber is at a continuous brightness, and it's going to look best when balanced just right against the ambient light. From what I've seen so far, that's about 15 minutes after sunset in an open area (or before sunrise, of course). So, if you're in the woods, it'll be a bit earlier. I jokingly call this "the Jedi hour", and it's the only time I bother igniting the saber outside.
Before that time, it's too bright outside, and the saber won't "pop" as much - it'll look more like a colored stick.
After that time, it's too dark... you'll be dealing with longer shutter speeds, and the saber will burn out into a blob. Though, you could create a font that reduces the brightness to give you a bit more leeway - essentially dimming the saber as it gets darker outside. I haven't done this yet, but plan to. I've found that when it's very dark outside, and you're wielding a saber at full brightness, it's virtually blinding to look at!
Frankly, same thing goes for videography... I see a lot of videos shot with inappropriate ambient light (and I'm sitting here face-palming). If you're going to put all that effort into making a video, shoot it with the right light! You really only have about a 15-minute window on most days. Ambient light changes more than you might think (our eyes don't perceive this as much as a camera will), and a 1-stop difference either way is going to make a big difference in the results.
After playing with my saber for a month or so, I have a new perspective on what an "actual" saber might be like. The ones you see in the movies are kind of impossible - glowing equally during the day or at night. Unless the saber is sensing the ambient light & changing the light output to compensate, what you see on-screen isn't possible. I'll bet this has been the subject of many discussions among cinematographers for Star Wars movies!
Good luck with your saber - they're totally a blast!