LED camera lights?

JTFCM

Well-known member
Is anyone using an LED camera light that they like? Something durable enough for ENG work?
 

svp

Well-known member
I use the HDV-Z96 on my gear. Great light, wide throw, durable, and you can interconnect multiple lights to mount on a light stand as a powerful light source when AC isn't available. You can get them for about $65 on eBay. I've also used the Litepanels MICRO and Anton Bauer's LED but neither have the wide/even throw of the Z96.
 

svp

Well-known member
One suggestion on the Z96. The swivel ball mount that comes with it is plastic and not very durable. Buy a good metal one (I bought a Manfrotto mount) and you'll be good to go.
 

Berkeley Shooter

Active member
I bought a 312AS on ebay from a Chinese seller. Very nice light, adjustable color and dimable. It came with batteries, charger, cinearm, and swivel mount. I see it's now being sold domestically by Intellytech, a company that has been mentioned by other b-roll posters. They sell it on both they're ebay store & they're own web site. The ebay bundles seem best.

I like the 312as because it's very light, even with the batteries attached. It's large so it puts out a bright, but soft light. The CRI is ok, but not great. As well as using it on camera, I find it's an easy light to hang for a hair light.
 

Run&Gun

Well-known member
LitePanels Sola ENG. Not cheap(pushing close to $600, now), but most importantly, the quality of light is great, plus it's dimmable and focusable. I'm not sure if it's tough enough to be "pool gear"(it's not built like an old Frezzi), but it would probably survive one operator.
 

Ben Longden

Well-known member
Getting the colour temp right is my big issue... the lights are too blue, so Ive had to put an amber gel in front...
 

Necktie Boy

Well-known member
I picked up a Flolight 128. I really like it. Dimmer, Acoording to my Sony Camera, 56k. Nice bright light. Evenly lit. Can use small battteries(Sony, Panny). Comes in a nice carry case with AC, swivel ball mount, and filters. It does use lots of watts, 22 watts.

Use it as a 56k fill light for late afternoon/dusk interviews. The light was just right. Most of the time, I have it at 50%.

Forgot to say, it's metal case. Since this is my first LED, I was afraid to use it in the rain. For that, I pulled out the AB.
 

FeedingFrenzy

Active member
I went to the Home Depot and picked up one made by Phillips that fits into my AntonBauer frame. Color temp is 3000. Its a 10watt bulb with a 50watt throw. Great for night shooting, but not for daylight use. $15.00 Have to use the AB diffuser to spread it out a bit, but it works very well for news shooting.
 

satpimp

Well-known member
flo light

My experience comes from a different angle but I too like the flo-light! Very nice, light and seemingly robust build. There are other great suggestions posted but the flolight just seems well made and is my current wish list item. Time will tell if the build is as I hope, but a great even and controlable light source. Low heat and power loading and depending on which fixture plenty of punch especially at that price point. I hoping to convert all our camtops as we transition.

It'll all be better in the new format,

Omar
 

Ben Longden

Well-known member
I went to the Home Depot and picked up one made by Phillips that fits into my AntonBauer frame. Color temp is 3000. Its a 10watt bulb with a 50watt throw. Great for night shooting, but not for daylight use. $15.00 Have to use the AB diffuser to spread it out a bit, but it works very well for news shooting.
WOW. thanks for that.
Im off to Bunnings in the morning! :)
 

Shootblue

Well-known member
Something that is usually forgotten is the Color Rendering Index values of the LED bulbs may range from pretty close to incandescent quality to downright horrible. It's much more than just color temp and watts used when it comes to LED's and CFL's...
 

Necktie Boy

Well-known member
Tried the LED bulbs at Home Depot and Lowe's. They did cut it. Not bright enough compared to my BAB, and didn't fit in my AB or Frezzi.

I did try the Phillip's bulb...Wasn't bright enough.. And if I remember right, that was a $30 buck bulb.

FeedingFrenzy

What model is it?

Thanks
 

Douglas

Well-known member
I've been beta testing a Litepanels Croma for a couple of months and it is one of the nicest lights I have ever used. Once they become available, I'll be buying one.

http://www.adorama.com/LPACCMLL.html?utm_term=Other&utm_medium=Shopping Site&utm_campaign=Other&utm_source=gbase

I'm sure a lot of people will choke on the price if you're just looking for some piece of Home Depot junk, but if you can appreciate the value of actually having a light that produces BEAUTIFIL images, I suggest you give this a closer look. There's a big difference between merely illuminating a scene, and actually creating a nice image.

Weighs about 12 ounces
100% to 0% dimming with no color shift.
Bi-color so you can dial in any temperature you want from 3200 to 5600.

I've been running it on 6 Everready re-chargable AA batteries and getting almost 2 hours at full power. When dimmed down a little, I don't know how long it will run because I've never exhausted the batteries. For 30 bucks at Walmart I got 12 rechargable batteries and two chargers. Enough for a couple of days shooting without putting any extra load on my camera batteries -- plus I can run it on a light stand with no AC power adapter.

I've been using it as on-camera light for a reality shot pilot I've been shooting, and also on a stand stand as backlight and even as a key light on a couple of shots.

I highly recommend it if you can appreciate something more sophisticated than a glorified flashlight from Home Depot.
 

Nino

Well-known member
When it comes to LED lights there’s a direct relation between cost and quality. I’ve seen them all at NAB and also own at least a dozen of LED on camera lights. The most costly ones are also the least problematic. You walk the floor at NAB and you can actually see the different color outputs of the different manufacturers, and often even within the same manufacturer. BTW, a color temperature meter will not read the spectrum of LED.

The biggest problem is color, they all have a green spike and camera white balance do not remove it, you have to play with filters or play with the colors dials if you have a dual color adjustment. Once you put filters in front of it you give up a lot of output.

Some manufacturers, like Cool Lights, supply color filters for their lights including a minus green to remove the green cast. Although made for light stands, the small Cool Light 256 can be used on camera.

Even thou most LED are rated at 5600K for outdoor they are pretty much useless, unless you are on top of the subject and its backlit. Trying to fill the shadows under bright sun is pointless. For outdoor I still use my faithful AB Ultradaylight HMI, I actually have two that I use in tandem when necessary, I haven’t been able yet to find any LED that will replace the AB.

Indoor we open another can of worms. Let’s talk about my most hated type of shoot, the gang bang. Fortunately I don’t do many of those. There was a time when everyone had 3200K and if you set your camera at the preset you were OK, now colors of lights coming from all the present cameras is all over the place and most of the time there’s no time to color balance, result is awful pictures.

Needless to say I hate on camera light but it’s a necessary evil so I try to make the best out of it.

Nat color temperature indoor is usually all over the place, never 3200 or 5600K, this is one of the main reasons of why most shots taken indoor with the on-board light look awful. After testing just about every light on the market I settled for the Zylight Z90, it’s pricey but priceless. After giving it a good test I got two of them.

In addition of having preset 3200 and 5600K, it can digitally adjust the color temperature from 2500 to 9000K with 100K increments, plus it has all kinds of additional color control features. Once indoor I white balance the camera to the existing light then dial the same color on the light. The on camera light becomes transparent.

Home Depot LED bulbs rated at 3000K for video work?
 

Flaca Productions

Well-known member
i've said it before, i'll say it again: zylight.
30 watts, variable color.
built like a tank.

i do the same thing nino does - get an ambient white balance in the room i'm working, and then dial in the same number on the Z90. also has +/- green settings if/when needed.

i have two of them and have ac adapters for independent, off-camera use as backlight/kickers or eye lights in sit-downs.
not cheap, but i've been very, very happy.
 

Douglas

Well-known member
There's no doubt the Z90 is a nice light, but what I like about the Croma, compared to the Z90, is:

It only draws 9 watts so I can power it from 6 AA batteries at full power for almost two hours. There's no need to use a D-tap that would add to the drain on my camera battery. My F800 already draws 45 watts and I don't want to add a 30 watt Z90 on top of that.

Since it's self-powered it is easy to remove from the camera and place on a light stand, table top, book shelf or whatever is handy. I've had PA's hold it a couple of feet from the camera, and since the beam is very soft I don't have to worry about movement.

The beam spread of the Croma is quite wide and casts a nice soft light, almost like a Chimera. I've used it as a key light on a stand a couple of times already. For sit down interviews I use it as my kicker or my backlight on almost every setup. At only 12 ounces, and running on internal batteries, it is real easy to fly it out on the end of a boom stand.

At 6' the Z90 is only 50% more powerful than the Croma, but the Croma has wider beam for more even coverage and only draws less than 1/3 the power.

I have not used the Croma in any mixed lighting situations with other crews, but the variable 3200K to 5600K color temperature has worked perfectly for me so far in the locations where I have used it.

Price is not an issue for me because I'll spend whatever it takes to get what I think will work best for my needs, but I can't help but point out that the Z90 costs two and a half times more than the Croma.
 

Necktie Boy

Well-known member
Home Depot and Lowe's carry bulbs that are or near 32k or 56k. On the package, it will give a temperature rating, watts, and equivalent watts for a regular bulb. They come in different wattages. You can use the bulbs to replace lamps bulbs to match color temperature that you are shooting at.

I tested one...Not bad...3500k...125 watts....$10 bucks

Check out Ecosmart. You find them at Home Depot. They sell MR 16 bulbs.
 

Necktie Boy

Well-known member
I do agree with Nino, when looking at LED lights at NAB....It's a rainbow effect. hehehe

Tested the waters with the Flolight. It made well...Not a cheap light...Very happy with its output and color.

Like I said, I use it for late afternoon/dusk inteviews, when my 32k would screw up the background. I went with the 56k model, and knowing that with the 32k gel would loose a few watts. But still way happy with the 32k setting.

I did do a side by side with my AB with a BAB bulb and the Flolight. I hate to say that the Flolight was brighter and truer color. (I have a few AB lights and Ultralights)
 
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