Anyone got any user experience of on camera LED lights?
Anyone use an Ikan iLED 155?
I'm just looking to throw a little fill light into on the run interviews, back lit outdoors etc. on my XHA1, not looking to replace my Lowel kit.
Thanks Rich.

The LitePanel Mini kits are by far the best quality, best built and work well. I used one to shoot a cocktail party scene for a bonus feature on the most recent "Breakfast at Tiffanys" DVD release. That said, the LitePanels Micro is not a very well built light, they fall apart. You have to pony up the bucks for the Mini, forget the Micro. The Zylights are outstanding too, a really pro grade piece of gear that you will also find useful as a regular light in your lighting kit as well as an on-camera light.

That said, there are a dizzying array of small, cheap and cheaply built LED on-camera lights all over the place. If you are a pro and have a decent camera and are making money, buy quality and consider the Zylight or LitePanels. If you are a hobbyist, the Ikan or one of the other low cost products may suffice. Things I look for? Quality dimming without radical color shift, minimal green spike, barndoors are nice and the ability for you to accidentally drop the light onto a hard floor without it disintegrating into multiple pieces.

YMMV

Dan

One word, Comer CM-LBPS1800 On-Camera LED Light (http://www.lacolorshop.com/products/item.asp?id=CM1800)

I have tried LitePanels micro (crap) and the LP MicroPro (much better than Micro), the LP mini is nice, but gets expensive, Zylight Z90 (Best overall light but very expensive and not self powered), Torchled TL50 (Nice but need more spread).

The Comer 1800 is the best of all of them currently, as it's dimmable, self powered, well built, and has great throw for an LED light. the only real downside to it is that it is on the larger side, and if you use a Sony NP 970 battery it gets even heftier. I suggest using a NP 770 battery for run time as well as weight.

Like any light, I don't like placing it on the front of my camera, as it throws off balance, so I mount my lights on the camera handle via handle bracket. This way my camera stays nicely balanced.

Hi Michael:

4500k on that Comer light? That's pretty green. Do you use any minus green gel to compensate?

Dan

I haven't had any issues with the color temp. I actually kind of like the mix I get eitehr outdoors or indoors.
Personal preference. I have used a minus green from time to time as well as 3200k filter, depending on what/where I am shooting.

But 9 times out of 10 I use the light unfiltered, except for diffuser filter.

Michael,

I've read your review of the Pro-160 LED. Have you noticed any flickering when you dim it?

Bang for your buck I like the Comer 1800. Strong, portable and affordable. Sets up in seconds. If you're looking for a lot of control over the light and color temp take a look at the Lowel Blender. Not as much throw as the Comer but I really like the ability to play with the color temp. About twice the price of the comer though.

Garrett

I've read your review of the Pro-160 LED. Have you noticed any flickering when you dim it?
I haven't noticed any flickering in my unit until yesterday, when I dimmed the light. Only happened the ne time though.

As I mentioned in my review, this is not my normal light of choice. As I only use it sparingly with a DSLR camera. For everything else it's the Comer1800 or off camera lighting.

Hi Michael:

4500k on that Comer light? That's pretty green. Do you use any minus green gel to compensate?

Dan

Dan, 4500K actually is a very nice color temperature to be used. I now don't use the tungsten filter at all. Love the 4500K delivering a neutral white mix in the scene. Check out this video I did recently, after 1/3, all the reception video was done using 3 comer lights (2 on camera, 1 on light stand).

http://lacolor.com/video/highlights/?id=SophiaHugh

I've read your review of the Pro-160 LED. Have you noticed any flickering when you dim it?

According to the manufacturer, The Pro 160 and Pro 126 light will flicker with the dimmer when powered by AA batteries. It will be fine using Li-ion battery.

I agree with Dan. If you are a pro, get the Zylight, if you are a hobbyist, get a budget light. There are so many of the budget lights out there, it's almost impossible to know what works. I don't have one, but there are lots of good reviews on the Comer, that may be the best budget light available.

The Zylight is a pretty amazing tool. I just wish the price point was a little lower so we all could afford more of them. Since the Zylight provides 3200 to 5600K light, it can easily be matched to the venues lighting and provides the softest and smoothest fill you can get.

...That said, there are a dizzying array of small, cheap and cheaply built LED on-camera lights all over the place. If you are a pro and have a decent camera and are making money, buy quality and consider the Zylight or LitePanels. If you are a hobbyist, the Ikan or one of the other low cost products may suffice. Things I look for? Quality dimming without radical color shift, minimal green spike, barndoors are nice and the ability for you to accidentally drop the light onto a hard floor without it disintegrating into multiple pieces.

YMMV

Dan

4500K is not a good temperature to play with.. it will mess your skin tones in both daylight and tungsten environment.

I bet to differ. I have been shooting using the Comer light at it's 4500K color temperature. No need to color correct anything at post. The results are beautiful. You can scroll up to see a video I posted earlier. Here's another one. It was done with 3 Comer lights all in 4500K

LA Color - Wedding Photography and Videography serving Great Los Angeles Areas (http://lacolor.com/video/hd/?id=Charles-Susan~80thBirthdayParty_ExtendedVersion)

At NAB I saw the FloLight Microbeam 128 and it looked pretty good.

MicroBeam 128 (http://www.flolight.com/microbeam-128.html)

My VidLED is starting to fall apart so it's time to replace it.

I also saw the Comer and it's quite nice, too.

Between the Microbeam and the Comer, the Microbeam seems a bit more along the line of what I'm looking for. I liked the slightly more compact profile of the VidLED, and the Microbeam is similar, but apparently twice as bright as the VidLED. Also, the Comer's built-in hot shoe mount isn't exactly what I'd like -- I built a custom mount for the VidLED, and will use the same system for whatever light replaces it.

As for how tough the VidLED is supposed to be, the plastic case of my light is starting to fracture even though it's never been dropped. A couple corners of the cover have already chipped off, and it won't be long until the whole thing spontaneously falls apart.

BTW, in my line of work, shooting shoreline fishermen at night, the LED light fits right in with what most of these guys are now using: LED headlamps.

Many of those headlamps are often way above 5600k.

The on-camera light acts mostly as a fill light and I rely upon the headlamps for much of the illumination. With a little luck, it adds a bit of drama as well. And so far I've been lucky.

Microbeam 128 is 746 lux at 3 feet NOT diffused. Comer 1800 is 1800+ lux at 3 feet diffused. For Microbeam 128 to be used indoor, have to add the CTO gel. To have a even spread of light, the diffuse filter has to be used too. In that case, it weaken the light output. Comer is ready to be used indoor without any filter and is diffused. But it's true that the Microbeam is a lot more compact in size. :)

I bet to differ. I have been shooting using the Comer light at it's 4500K color temperature. No need to color correct anything at post. The results are beautiful. You can scroll up to see a video I posted earlier. Here's another one. It was done with 3 Comer lights all in 4500K

LA Color - Wedding Photography and Videography serving Great Los Angeles Areas (http://lacolor.com/video/hd/?id=Charles-Susan~80thBirthdayParty_ExtendedVersion)

I've used the Comer light and I personally think that the color correction filters just can't deliver the right color temperature. What happens when you need a 3200K light source? I need a light that will change between daylight and tungsten at a flip of a switch. Any ideas?

As far as I know Zylight and the new Lowel Blender are the only two on camera lights that allows to change color temperature without the use of filters or gels.

In addition to a quick 3200 to 5600 button the Zylight allows you to dial just about any color to match existing ambient lights, I have two of the Zylight 90.

Zylight - Intelligent LED Lighting (http://www.zylight.com)

Lowel Blender (http://lowel.com/blender/)

I upgraded from a couple of LitePanels Micros to MicroBeam 128's. Nice form factor, build quality and more output than the Micro's. Unfortunately, more weight also. Comer's are too bulky for my application, ZyLight would be the ultimate, but I dislike remote power for RNG applications.

Zylight does look very interesting, we use the FloLight Microbeam 128 and build quality is excellent, all aluminum case. Perfect softlight - in my opinion you can't really have any more light up front when interviewing - that would blind anyone in front of the camera and make them uncomfortable, I have to use the dimmer when interviewing..
MicroBeam 128 (http://www.flolight.com/microbeam-128.html)

I've used the Comer light and I personally think that the color correction filters just can't deliver the right color temperature. What happens when you need a 3200K light source? I need a light that will change between daylight and tungsten at a flip of a switch. Any ideas?

4500k is too warm for daylight fill, and bit too cool for 3200 tungsten fill. With an intermediate color temp, it's not ideal for either situation.

Using a 5500k light works for most of what I do: daylight fill and at night when most of the people I'm with are using LED headlamps.

For off-camera lighting I'm gradually converting to daylight sources: LED and fluorescent. Eventually I'd like to get an HMI or two. Daylight sources are a lot more versatile than tungsten. They're easily gelled to match any existing lighting.

If I have to fill in tungsten conditions I add the appropriate filter to drop the VidLED to 3200k. With indoor situations, and for most of what I do, the on-camera light provides additional fill and is often not the primary light source. I don't like to bathe the subject with direct light. So the light is almost always dimmed down. Only if I have to reach out do I crank it up but otherwise I do my best to physically close the gap and be close to the people I'm covering.

The Microbeam 128 just arrived. It's replacing my VidLED, which was also 5500k. Looking forward to working with it.

As for power, I mount a nano-phosphate battery on the back of my shoulder mount. It's out of the way and helps counterbalance the EX1.

I took a look at the Microbeam 128 today and noticed right off the bat that it isn't as weather resistant as the VidLED. The VidLED is a solid plastic block. The Microbeam 128 is a vented fixture with circuit boards and wiring visible through the vents along with an exposed toggle and dimmer knob. So I'll have to come up with a solution to keep it protected from salt spray. Probably a Ziploc bag and gaffer tape.

It's definitely brighter than a VidLED with what looks like a broader beam spread.

Nice compact package. It'll run for a couple of continuous hours at full power off the 13.2 V, 2.2 AH A123 battery packs I built. However most of the time I'll use it at reduced power.

It comes with a minus 1/4 and minus 1/2 green filter. Which one you choose is dependent upon taste I suppose. In my experience all daylight LED lights can use some green filtering, and my limited spectrophotometer testing indicated as much.

I like the form factor and the fact that I can mount it atop my own custom standoff to clear the mic and the windscreen. Some lights have a built-in shoe mount that limits the adaptability and adds additional unwanted bulk. I'd rather see a 1/4" x 20 threaded hole at the base of the light.

to my eye a good combination to convert to 3200 with the microbeam is a half cto...youll have to cut it yourself...and the quarter minus green. this is with the 3200 preset wb on an xl2.

4500k is too warm for daylight fill, and bit too cool for 3200 tungsten fill. With an intermediate color temp, it's not ideal for either situation.


Dean, I posted some video links above that you can take a look. Those are shooting 4500K indoor without any filter. The footage looks great! I stop using the tungsten filter anymore. It's too orange to my taste. But the 4500K indoor is just beautiful.

Much more expensive but also a higher quality build is the Ianiled 7 from Ianiro.

To be fair they don't sell it as suitable for ENG but it is a lovely piece of kit and you can adjust the colour balance to whatever you want.

Just thought I'd flag it up as something to look at. I'm the proud owner of one and I love it but it is a bit fiddly to use in a "run and gun" and outrageously expensive compared to the far eastern imports.

http://www.ubms.net/product.php?id_product=4129

Dean, I posted some video links above that you can take a look. Those are shooting 4500K indoor without any filter. The footage looks great! I stop using the tungsten filter anymore. It's too orange to my taste. But the 4500K indoor is just beautiful.

It's a nice video you put together but with all the mixed lighting it's difficult to tell what the Comer is contributing to the scene.

That was an incredible church. And that limo was huge!

Dean, thanks for your nice comment. I guess the whole point is there is no issue using 4500K color temperature mixing in the scene. In fact, the neutral white output is just nice. I didn't have to do anything special in the camera (auto white balance) and no need to color correct in post. The video turns out great.

There is another video here you can see using 4500K color temperature is perfectly fine
LA Color - Susan and Charles 80th Birthday Party (http://lacolor.com/video/hd/?id=Charles-Susan~80thBirthdayParty_ExtendedVersion)

I took a look at the Microbeam 128 today and noticed right off the bat that it isn't as weather resistant as the VidLED. The VidLED is a solid plastic block. The Microbeam 128 is a vented fixture with circuit boards and wiring visible through the vents along with an exposed toggle and dimmer knob. So I'll have to come up with a solution to keep it protected from salt spray. Probably a Ziploc bag and gaffer tape.


Zip lock bag or clear plastic bag works fine. Someone I know said this is a great addition for the light since i puts out practically no heat. I love the Microbeam 128. It comes with everything, and case! How sweet is that?!

Is that a new thing? Mine just came in a box padded with egg crate. No case for me.

Thanks everyone for your great input.

Dean, seems like you and I are shooting in similar environments, I am shooting a documentary on extreme surf fishermen in Montauk in NY, here is a link to a teaser; Montauk Rocks Trailer on Vimeo.

Weather proofing is very important for me as I spend quite a bit of time filming out on rocks in the surf zone, lots of salt spray and even an occasional immersion. Up until now I have shot a lot of night vision using a homemade IR rig but it's not a look I really like, although the IR lights run cool and are easily waterproofed with condoms. If the Microbeam 128 runs cool enough to be "waterproofed" then it may be the way to go.

Thanks again, Rich.

Richard... Nah. You got me beat!

The water's warmer. The guys aren't wearing wetsuits. And the camera doesn't get submerged.

You got some cool footage!

The Microbeam 128 doesn't get hot under normal shooting conditions: on for a few minutes, then off for much longer. But if it's on at max power the whole time, then it's going to need some ventilation.

I know Richard A. did not intend for this purpose, but I have used my Coollights LED 256 as an on camera light with an HMC-150 and it was great.

Cool Tim, do you have a picture of how you mounted it? In other words, on hot shoe or on an arm?

Hey Richard.

I have a little hotshoe adapter with a 1/4-20 threaded swivel post, much like what comes with the LED 256 for mounting on a light stand.

This light is no heavier than my Lowel ID light I used to use for on-camera lighting and I do not need a battery belt!