I've stepped, lightly, into the LED world.

[Lensmith]

Just tossing this out there...I know these new lights I bought are not the "end all" when it comes to LED interview lights.

I picked up a pair of these Ikan LED light heads...mostly for sit down interviews. But used one yesterday on a job when a little extra, last minute fill was needed.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/968572-REG/ikan_ifb576_a_ifb576_bi_color_led_light.html

Added Photoflex swivel heads to let me hang them better off my Avenger stands and, have to say, I could not be happier.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not at the freelance level of many here. I tend to be a little more "thrifty"...balancing it all with my neveer ending goal of "best bang for my buck".

I wish the CRI was a little higher. CRI of 87.

However, these lights have exceeded my expectations on all levels.

Love the size and weight.

Love how I can power them off my AB batteries, when needed, and the color control puts a smile on my face too.

That said...I now open the door to those who would like to educate me on something I might have missed in my "decision making process".

Don't be shy with your comments.

I'm a big boy...with a fairly thick skin!

 

[dhart]

I have some Chinese knockoffs (Scoland) that I'm quite happy with (they are a little heavy but well constructed). Needed a little color correction. Swivel head is a great idea as the barn doors really don't fit through the yoke. Battery power is worth the price of admission. I love the bi-color (since I still carry a bunch of tungsten lights). Not familiar with Ikan but welcome to the LED club!

 

[Lensmith]

Another friend of mine from CNN in Atlanta had one of these same Ikan light heads on a live shot when we bumped into each other.

He was another reason I took the plunge.

This light head only weighs five pounds and the swivel head adds barely another pound.

The total weight is so much lighter than my Divas!

 

[Starman]

dhart, I have the Socanland Bi-color as well. Pretty happy with them, the newest ones have a 90+ CRI. I am waiting on a free demo from Dracast to come to see how they do. My favorite thing about LED's is that you can run them off a brick for a really long time since they use so little power and generate so little heat.

 

[Tv Shooter]

I have a couple of the same Ikans. They are reasonably priced, look okay and are lightweight. Not as rugged as some, not as expensive. Overall pretty happy with them.

 

[cyndygreen1]

Three Flolights and they have changed my life. No more cords snaking around...and since I use them almost exclusively on interviews I do have a warming card. When you have plenty of ambient (or other) light they work fine as fills. It's when they're the primary light source you see the shift and need the warming cards.

 

[Necktie Boy]

Welcome to the dark side....LOL

LED do have their advantages. As most have said, quick setups and can be powered with a battery. The downside is color quality. But as long as you use the same make, you will have less problems.

I do find LED a bit harsh, so I like to soften them a bit. The swivel brackets are made by a few companies. If you notice that extra hole is meant to fit an umbrella. I have a few that work with my speedrings for my Totas. Those brackets can handle the extra weight.

I hope you went with a spot version since those are brighter, but I see that you can adjust the color balance. There reason I mention that is that you loose some punch with using the 32k filter.

Nothing wrong with your choice. I went with Flolights to test the waters. I picked up my first on-camera LED at NAB, a few years ago. I went with it since the metal casing. I have picked up a second, higher wattage. I do have an older Flolight LED that is okay. Even they admit it's not the greatest, but it's was their first LED. But it does a good job. Looking to get a 512 to add to my lights.

 

[Lensmith]

I did pay attention to the beam angle of these lights...60 degrees...which is flood, not spot.

I knew they wouldn't give me the punch of other offerings. But I am also limiting myself, at present, as to how and when I use them.

I have a nice set of HMI lights for bright outdoor situations.

Planning on only using these two I bought now to fly for two-camera sit down interviews.

I wasn't sure about getting single color or bi-color lights. A couple of my friends who already have LED lights, and used them for over a year, said they bought single temp/color lights at first, and now wish they'd bought bi-color. I know there is a loss of "punch" when you get the bi-color instead of having a full bank of LED's all the same temp/color.

I figured I'd use the falloff of these lights as a plus, in my mind, to be able to control the throw. Knowing they won't blindingly light up a room but give me the light where I want it. I'm sure I'll be expanding my LED "collection". Until then...I've got plenty of tungsten to choose from to paint the background or rim light the subject(s).

One reason I chose this light was because it came with a diffuser which works pretty well...in my opinion. Always with the understanding there is something better out there.

I agree with all the advice offered so far. And I'm not trying to shrilly justify my purchase as "best". It is the beginning of a transition for me and my work load has been picking up quite a bit over the last year...which should put me in a position to upgrade my kit with additional LED choices.

It's kind of funny, to me, because I look at this switch to LED lights much like we all went through going from SD to HD...or beyond. It's going to happen and I'm just trying to begin that journey of change instead of stubbornly using what I've always used.

Again, I know this light head is not the end-all best out there...but it fit my current budget.

 

[Douglas]

A couple of my friends who already have LED lights, and used them for over a year, said they bought single temp/color lights at first, and now wish they'd bought bi-color.

I'm just the opposite. My bicolor lights are set for daylight 99.9% of the time so I might as well have just bought single color lights.

 

[Lensmith]

I too was surprised by their strong suggestion of bi-color.
But it was suggested having the bi-color option for the first couple of LED heads purchased would pay off during the "transition period".

<adding this>
I used to always try and light everything 5600K. But the majority of my lights, at present, are tungsten. Yes, I'd spend the extra time to gel them to get as close to daylight temp as possible for the simple reason I felt that color temp gave me a richer color and better image, no matter what camera I used.

However, for the last year I've had these, really cool, warm cards sold by "some creative guy" which are now always a part of my lighting set up. I don't worry about putting gels on lights to get that richer color. The warm cards do it for me and actually end up saving me time!

I'm only adding this as a reason I wasn't leaping to go all 5600K with my recent LED purchase.

Those cards have been one of the surprisingly best investments I've made!
And, since I shoot a lot of jobs using my EX3...several producers have noticed the higher quality image produced because of those cards!

 

[Necktie Boy]

It seems the card increases the red channel. I made a few "cool cards" and tested them out. Not as nice at the store bought ones, but do the job.