Lighting

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What can I say, it's a kick ass light that's not too big, and not too small. It's color changing to make blending in with other lighting an easier task. It's dimmable down to 0%. Even with the Sony batteries on low, we didn't notice any flickering. The double Sony battery tray keeps it portable, but could be powered through it's built in AC input. When mixing it in with daylight colored lights, this one is our Hair Light on a long boom stand turned to tungsten to add a bit of warmth. These are one of Olivia's favorite lights so far, so we thought we'd give it a proper introduction on build and features. I'll be doing a side by side test against some other common lights soon too.

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Uni Color 312 LED with only Dimmer

There's actually two versions of this light if you don't care for the Color Changing option. Not many people actually carry the second type. The other 312 uses ONLY Daylight colored LED bulbs, and 'Yes' it's actually much brighter than the color changing version which has to cut the LED count down to half in order to be at one color. You can see in the video that in order to change colors, the Bi-Color version has one set of Daylight and one set of Tungsten colored LEDs. Outside of that, the Bi-Color and Uni Color lights are exactly the same. You can find both versions through the link below.

312 LED Video Light
find-price-button 312 Bi-Color Changing Dimmable LED Video Light

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Screen shot 2011-05-06 at 5.21.23 PM

The 144 LED Video light was quite elusive. I've seen this light available from a few retail companies with pretty inflated prices for a few months now. Unavailable on the big auction site up until a few days ago, the 144 Bi-Color LED Video lights are now available via eBay at more than half off other retail website prices. These are a smaller version of the popular 312 LED Video lights that are powered on Sony batteries, looks like the same manufacturer. Color changing from Tungsten to Daylight and also Dimmable. Great build on these little lights, and very good overall light output. A small chance to catch the few amount online while they are available.

Screen shot 2011-05-06 at 5.21.44 PM
find-price-button 144 BI-Color Changing Dimmable LED Video Lights

If that 144 count isn't enough, it appears that the 277 LED video lights are back as well: http://cheesycam.com/277-bi-color-dimmable-led-light-review/

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find-price-button 277 LED Bi-Color Changing LED Video Lights

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find-price-button 310 LED Bi-Color Changing LED Video Lights

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Just a day ago, I posted about the 800w RedHead kits that were back in stock. The search results also showed a few CFL (Fluorescent) lighting kits too. New questions came about these 5 bulb CFL light heads compared to the 800w halogen RedHeads, but I really couldn't speak on it. I've never had the chance to test these things out ....... - until now.

5 CFL Bulb Lighting Kit

Turns out, these are fairly popular for talking head type interviews for their broad diffusion, low heat, and low power. I was pretty worried that they wouldn't hold up to the same light output, but in comparison, they are fairly close. They specs call for 1000w equivalent, i'm not sure about that, but they do hold up pretty well against the 800w bulb. I have to say, I'm pretty surprised. I was also doing my tests at F/4.5 cutting out a good amount of light. For talking head interviews, you can get your aperture wider.

Keep in mind that CFLs are very very diffused lights, and won't provide the same harsh shadows I sometimes desire on a set like Halogens would. If that's not your style, then these a good choice for basic studio lights. The only Cons you need to be aware of is that they are pretty hard to travel with using 5 large CFL bulbs each, and that they can present flickering if your shutter speed is set at certain speeds. They are dimmable by turning off individual bulbs at a time, so they are also not the most accurate in light control. One thing that is nice, is that they are actually cheaper than both LED lighting and Halogen kits.

5 CFL Bulb Dimmable DImmer Switches

The Heads aren't of the highest build quality, mostly plastic except for the Ceramic area on the bulb mounts. The softbox is a pain in the a## to assemble, so I don't suggest these if you require speed on your shoots. The softboxes don't have a speed ring, they are attached directly to the light heads. You'd have to just travel with the complete head and box. The light stands that come with this kit are of good quality, which I can use on some of my heavier setups. The kit also comes with a travel bag, useful only if you want to break down the softboxes.

5 CFL Bulb Light

I can't speak on the many other CFL heads on the market, but beware of that dreadful flickering. My tests on these particular ones showed you can probably squeeze in about 1/160th shutter which is not great, but more than enough for in studio video. If you're trying to use these for photography, know your limits. In the end, I was surprised, and these are some pretty nice source of lights. Even with the small interior diffuser and external diffuser panel on the softbox, the light output was fairly decent in comparison to the 800w head. I might do a test with a few of these for our next 'Infinite White background' video. These are available in both 2pc and 3pc kits found below.

Screen shot 2011-04-28 at 10.24.42 AM
find-price-button 2pc. 5 CFL Bulb Lighting Kit Softboxes Lightstands Travel Bag

5 bulb CFL lighting kit boom arm
find-price-button 3 pc. 5 Bulb CFL Lighting Kit with Softboxes Light Stands

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Linda_Le-2
Cheap 3pc Lighting Kit on set with Linda Le

These kits can be found in a bunch of different places, but the ones that come with the soft boxes and carrying case disappeared pretty quickly. They're finally back online and available on both eBay or Amazon. If you're not too familiar with these kits, these are Halogen 800w bulbs each with an inline dimmer to control light output. This 3pc continuous lighting kit comes with three stands, two softboxes, and one set of barndoors and a carrying case. You can catch an old article about these lights and a few samples here: http://cheesycam.com/cheap-3pc-lighting-kit-photography-samples/

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find-price-button 3pc 2400w Dimmable Video Lighting Kit Softboxes

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find-price-button 2400 watt 3 lights Continuous Video Light Kit

Kit + Green Screen
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find-price-button 2400w Green Screen 10 x 12 ft Lighting Kit

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Ring-LED-Light

A new LED Ring light becomes available. This one looks like the same build as the 352 LED Ring light that I've been using, except the count on this comes to 360 LEDs. I've heard rumors about a new improved version that was being developed, but I can't say if this one is it. It sure does look like the same bracket in the additional photos. This one is powered the same via 12V AC adapter or an optional 12V battery similar to the 352. There's a few other listed specs for the 360 that are better than the 352 including dimmable down to 0% and about $70 dollars cheaper. Now time to hunt down a video review..

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find-price-button 360 LED DSLR Video Ring Light w/ Battery

Here's the other 352 LED Ring light Version (below).
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find-price-button 352 12V Capable Dimmable LED Ring Light

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I posted an article about some new 277 LED Video lights not long ago, but there was only two available for sale online with no real information on performance and quality. These new Socanland LED lights come in a few different flavors in a few different sizes, most popular right now are the 277 and 310.

Cam Cornelius was actually at NAB2011 when he picked up his Socanland 277 Bi-Color DImmable LED light, which he seems to be really impressed with. Cam's put together what appears to be the first video review about the Socanland 277 LED light. With a wide angle lens you can see it doesn't seem very spotty and covers a large area of the screen. A solid build, good form and fuction seems like Socanland is getting off on the right foot with DSLR Video. If this is a light you'd be interested in, they aren't available at this time. But check back here in a few, i'm on the ball to let you know as soon as they become available. [Thanks Cam]

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find-price-button 277 LED Bi-Color Changing LED Video Lights

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find-price-button 310 LED Bi-Color Changing LED Video Lights

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Here's a simple frame grab using only 900 LED Video Light panels. 1/50th, F/4, ISO 100 on Canon 7D.

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find-price-button 900 LED Dimmable Photography Video Light Panel

No worries about heat or power draw that will blow out house breakers. The 600 and 900 LED versions come with Sony V Mounts, so you can also invest in batteries to take them off the grid and portable. You can see placement of lights in the first frame grab. Not the best test here, but hopefully you get an idea about power output, throw, and diffusion. [Thanks Olivia for sitting in.]

You can find more LED Video Light Panels in different Sizes below
600-900-1200 LED
find-price-button 500, 520, 600, 900, 1000, 1200 LED Lights and More

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Well here's another article that will probably get quickly outdated. Remember those 240 LED Bi-Color (Color Changing) on camera LED lights from here: http://cheesycam.com/color-changing-dimmable-240-led-video-light/? Well, I was lucky to grab a set and then they were gone, never to be seen again. Apparently there might be some type of exclusive distribution that won't allow them to be sold on eBay, but if you really really wanted them, you can find them for almost twice the price at some retail locations.

So for on camera lighting that adjusts to the ambient, you've got a choice on the 312 Bi-Color LED lights which 'totally rock' BTW (I have a set and will do a video tomorrow), but those are still running about $230-$499. Here's an interesting one that just showed up and comes in a bit cheaper with 277 LEDs from maker Socanland with the same color changing features and powered by what looks like Sony style batteries.

daylight-color tungsten-led-color

States only two available at this time, so this could be one of those times it's here today and gone tomorrow. Apparently Socanland was at NAB and are manufacturers of other large LED video lights. The only video I could find about this company is the one below on some larger 1x1 sized light panels.

So for now, only a few of these smaller 277 Bi-Color Changing Dimmable LED Video lights from Socanland are available along with a 310 Bi-Color version. Personally the 310 version looks overkill on the whole digital display and I feel it's overpriced. You would be better off with the 312 Dimmable Bi-Color LEDs if you wanted to go that big.

Not sure how long this company has been around, but it looks like in the near future we could be seeing a line of Socanland products competing in the LED Video light market.

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find-price-button 277 LED Bi-Color Changing LED Video Lights

310-Bi-Color-Changing-LED310-color-changing
find-price-button 310 LED Bi-Color Changing LED Video Lights

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kreiss-ledkreis90-ring-light

So the elusive Kreis90 LED Ring light finally surfaces. I first blogged about it in this article http://cheesycam.com/dslr-led-ring-lights/ but have never seen it outside of that video. Don't get too excited, it's probably nothing special. I don't know a single person who uses this, nor have I ever seen a video of this in use by anyone (except for the manufacturer video). The Kreis website pretty much sucks and just trying to find prices is a pain.

For an LED Ring light, it seemed easier to just buy the 352 LED Ring light that i've been using found here http://cheesycam.com/last-minute-glidecam-mods/. I guess one benefit would be that it's just smaller, lighter, and cheaper. It can be battery powered, and yes dimmable, but only to about 50%. Effective? Who's to say. If anyone cares that it really does exist, there's more information on the auction page.


kreis-led-ringlight
find-price-button Kreis90 LED Dimmable Ring Light