Looks like a new led light from China. Seems like they fixed some of the complaints with the previous light. The flimsy foot has been replaced 1/4” thread and adapter. AA battery compartment is fully enclosed. Not sure about the tungsten filter. Not as many LEDs as the other but the cool thing is that you can connect multiple lights.

Gadget.brando.com (http://gadget.brando.com/mergeable-cordless-96-led-dc-dv-light-with-magnet-color-filters_p01373c067d003.html)

Has anyone bought this LED? Review?

I haven't bought this light, but a friend bought one of these cheap LED on-cam lights and his is rather nice. It is called a CL-160 in the online auctions and has a dimmer wheel on the left side with white print. It also comes with the CTO and diffuser gels but they don't affix with magnets like this one. The CL-160 has decent color temperature LEDs and is rather bright for a small light. We tested it out and it was just enough to use as fill outdoors with one person about 5 feet from the camera - similar to a one-person interview or a standing newscaster in the field. A 96-LED light won't be nearly as bright, but the CL-160 is rather large to put on a smaller camera.

I just looked around on the site in the first post and they have the 160-led light I describe. I'm assuming these are made in the same factory and sold to all these stores.

I have the 126 LED light from the same guys and it's more than adequate for weddings. The adjustable stem is easily fixable by removing the thumbscrews and replacing them with standard bolts and nuts. Tighten them up and it stays where it is!!

The 126 LED unit is best used with the diffuse filter (I found that my cameras battled to balance indoor light with the yellow filter) Even indoors with predominantly 3200K light it still performs very well and most of the time you do need to use the dimmer. I must admit I didn't like the "open back" battery panel (so you can also use a camcorder battery) but the cells have never fallen out!!!

I cannot see a reason why one would have to use multiple units of the new "mergeable" light on camera as I have found that just one 126 LED bank is more than enough to cover a decent filming area!!! The 160 would be even better but I couldn't see myself using even 2 of the new lights at the same time..I already get comments with the 126 LED like "Gosh, hand me my sunglasses"

Chris

We have a review written by Michael Liebergot at LV Productions about the Pro 160-LED light

Pro 160-LED Light Review | L.A. Color Blog (http://lacolorshop.com/blog/view.asp?id=82)

Min Lee,

That is an interesting light. Even more interesting is this other light they have: Gadget.brando.com (http://gadget.brando.com/the-professional-studio-600-led-light-with-color-filters_p01393c067d003.html)

Looks like a CL-LED600 knockoff. $200 cheaper if you count the included battery mount. It dims too.

This light looks identical to the Comer.

Gadget.brando.com (http://gadget.brando.com/high-power-video-led-light-with-condenser-lens_p01404c067d003.html)

Interesting.

I could not resist and today ordered the 96 LED light. For $70 including shipping I don't think I can go wrong. I had a LitePanels Micro that had the same crappy mount that my 126 LED light bought off ebay for $49 including shipping had. Looks like this one may be better.

I really like the 126 ebay light I have. I ordered a chinese Panny battery clone for $18 to power it and it lasts 2.5 hours per charge. The light is great with the only weakness being the flimsly shoe mount which like the litepanel micro is hard to tighten where it won't move and the filter to take it to 3200k is way too s trong. It is not usable but I have a roll of CTO gel and cut a piece to place with the diffuser and it worked great. The only other complaint was the size is just big enoug that when mounted on my NRG trimount adapter next to my Rode NTG2 microphone it rubs against the microhpone shockmount a little it is so wide. The Litepanel Micro had a narrower footprint and did not do this. This 96 LED light looks like it might be a little smaller also.

This 96 LED light looks promising because of the mount that looks better and the magnetic filters that attach. Will have to see if they really work and don't come off.

If this light works well I am going to order one of the 168 LED lights off ebay like the 126 LED one I already have and use those two and this 96 LED light as a portable 3 point lighting system. I found a camera shoe to lightstand adapter for $15 each I will need to buy some of to make it work.

Got the $70 96 LED light from China in the mail yesterday. Have not had a chance to use it in a shoot yet but playing around with it a little I am very impressed.

And yes this is the exact same light a company is just introducing this month for $296 in advertisements.

It uses AA batteries or my Sony camera battery. The LED's seem very bright and the magnetic diffuser and 3200k filter are brilliant.

How does it build? Does it survive a small drop? Let's say, from the camera to the floor?

Vincent,

I am not willing to test it!!! Like my LitePanel Micro and the 126 LED light from China I got off ebay it has a plastic housing so I am sure it could break if dropped onto a concrete floor, etc. Having said that I never had any issues with my LitePanels Micro or the chinese light and I don't expect to have with this one.

Other than the case being plastic the build seems to be good. I have only played with it handheld so have not attached it to the camera yet to test that mount. I can say that it has a single large screw hole going in to the light for the mount as opposed to four tiny screws holding the mount in place on the 126 LED chinese light I bought from ebay. That seems much better.

For $70 you can buy a spare in case you drop one and still be paying less than half what most lights like this cost.

I also own this light- for the money it's bright, easy to use, and lots of battery options. The big problem I have with it, is the dimmer. Anything below 100% results in a high pitched whine- the result of cheap components. Could def mess up audio as it gets louder the lower you go. But then again it was so cheap.

I was hoping to get 3 of them- and create an inexpensive, portable, battery operated three point light kit for quick and dirty interviews. But to get a proper lighting ratio means I would have adjust the brightness, and that would create a sound issue.

As long as its kept at 100% brightness- it's virtually silent though.

D.J. Ammons,

Could you test yours to see if it has the same "whine" Ed's does when dimmed below 100%?

Stockton, I will test it tonight when I get home. I did not notice a whine but I probably had the light on full intensity 99% of the time.

Stockton,

I just got done doing a short test of my Z96 light to check for the whining noise Ed reported with his. At first I did not think there was any noise at all but if I hold the light directly up to my ear there is a very faint whine for a portion of the dimming range. It starts off silent then a little ways up the very faint whine starts and then it goes away as you near 100% illumination.

It is so faint I don't know if most microphones could pick it up if you wanted. However since generally I usually use these type lights at full intensity I don't expect it to be an issue.

The only scenario where I would see this causing a problem would be if you were using multiple Z96's by hooking them together, one of the selling points. If you had four or six of these all on at the same time dimmed within that range of small noise the accumulative effect of that many units might be too loud.

I also checked my 126 chinese LED from ebay and it does not make any noise at all throughout the dimmer range.

FYI I tested both units with Lithium batteries rather than the AA. The Z96 with a Sony camera battery and the 126 LED chinese ebay unit with a Panny battery.

Hi Guys

My 126 LED lights also are completely silent...I looked at the circuitry and the dimmer pot has no electronics so maybe the 96 LED one dims thru a device called a triac which will often be a little noisy sometimes when the frequency is just right.

Chris

D.J.,

Thanks a lot for putting the light through its paces. This will give folks give folks a clearer picture as to how these things perform.

Stockton

I ordered my light about 10 days ago and it arrived this morning.

The light was packaged better than I expected. Came in what looks like a regular 'retail' sort of box with info about the light. Inside were the light with filters attached, cheap hot-shoe swivel mount, and instruction booklet.

I slid a generic Sony style battery on the back and fired up the light. I listened for the whine and as noted in other posts, I could hear it faintly at somewhere around the 50% point but I had to have it right up against my ear to hear it. My LP-Micro is silent. I haven't tried it yet with AA batteries so don't know if the whine will be present using them.

The filter mount and filters are much better than the LP and overall build quality is about the same if not a tad sturdier with the Z96. Have not yet had the chance to look at the light temperature but this thing is bright!

BTW, manual is typically poorly translated ("...then cover the battery compartment cover, hear a sound like " carbazole" that means installing completed.") I think this means when you close the battery door, you will hear a "click". Dunno..

Also, the clip for joining multiple units was in the box, underneath the molded compartment.

Reed,

I agree that this light seems really bright. I thought the advertisement that the LED's were brighter than most was probably hype but last night I turned both the Z96 and my 126 LED chinese ebay light on to full intensity and my anecodtal observation was that the Z96 was brighter even with 30 les LED's.

Later I will try to do a more objective test with my light meter.

I wish my $300 LP Micro had not disappeared so I could compare it also. It was the mysterious disappearance of the Micro and some other equipment that caused me to be in the market for a new LED light in the first place.

They are not lying when they advertise that the Z96 LED lights are brighter than most. The 96 LEDs registered more lumens on my light meter at about 2 feet and the same at about 4 feet as the 126 LED chinese light from ebay.

how about the color from these LEDs? A couple previous cheapo led lights were really blue and really green...

Reed & D.J.,

Thanks for the pics an comparisons to the Pro 126-LED (CN 126). I just plunked down $60 bucks for the 160 when Link Delight had them "on sale". The Z96 is smaller than the the 126, right? Maybe I'll pick up a few Z96s and sell the 160.... Who knows.

Did you guys order from Brando? I've emailed them several time asking for info on their 600 led panel. They have never responded.

Stockton

I wouldn't consider buying things from vendor that don't answer customer emails (even before you make the purchase). Imagine if you need service for the product and you don't hear from them.

Stockton,

I ordered from the link in the initial post or two in this thread. The footprint of the Z96 is smaller than the ebayk Chiese 126/160 LED lights. That is one of the reasons I ordered it.

The 126 LED light is well worth the money and works fine but the footprint is so large that when mounted on the dual shoe adapter on my Sony V1U camera the light actually rubbed against the shockmount of my Rode NTG2 microphone. That worried me. I would have used my NRG shoe adapter since I believe it is wider between the shoe mounts but strangely the 126 LED light would not fit into the shoes on that adapter.

I think the Z96 is an incredible deal for the money and would be handy for anybody to have on hand for a backup light if nothing else.

Hi, the battery options are 6 AA's or a Sony style battery , is that correct?

This takes FIVE AA batteries and I know it runs on my Sony L regular and generic batteries. A US distributor (LCD4Video.com) sells the same light for about 4 1/2 x more. Their site says adapters for other batteries are available.

I would recommend this light for anyone on a tight budget or if you need a light that might be expendable. The build quality is about on par with the Lite Panels Micro although the Z96 filter system is superior to the flimsy film/holder on the LP micro.

Reed, hows the color output on it.
Is it green?

This is one of the only complaints that I had about the 160LED light.

Michael

I don't have a light meter (I know, I know.....) but unscientifically, when I white balance manually with my Z5 on a white card, the uncorrected, un-diffused light gives a reading in the camera display of 7200K. With the tungsten gel on, the camera shows 3700K.

By comparison, my little Lite Panels Micro shows 5100K without gel and 2800K with the tungsten gel which is a lot closer to where you want to be.

Reed

Reed, you don't have to stick with the full CTO with the LP Micro. You can try using the 1/4 CTO that keep more light output but it still works okay indoor. Comer light is in 4500K by default. It works very well indoor without any filter too.

Taky

Thanks for the info. I took a look at the Comer last week after my z96 arrived as I wanted to get an idea about the differences in output. The Comer could be my next light! Thanks.

Reed, I just checked the spec for the z96. They only say it's 800lux but didn't mention the distance. Say like, Comer 900 is 900 lux at 1 meter distance. LP micro is about 260 lux at 1 meter. But this light only mention 800lux. so it's difficult to compare.

From their sample, the light is still more brighter in the center with dark corners. But it's not as bad as LP Micro. It has a 65 degree spread. Comer is 90 degree spread so it fills the 16:9 all evenly. Z96 is selling at $296. Price is okay. Comer 900 is now $249. The good thing also for the Z96 light is the dimmer. Comer 900 has only 2 level of brightness. Comer 1800 has a full dimmer.

That $296 Z96 is ridiculous. No one should pay that when it is readily available for under $75.

Taky

I really can't complain too much as this light was ordered through a link I found online and it cost only $67 shipped. Took about 10 days from Hong Kong. For the price, not too bad! Certainly would not have been happy had I spend $290+!

haha.. well at that price, I won't even sweat if I drop breaking it =)

Turns out Brando had responded to my email. It was caught in my spam filter.

Just to set the record straight.

Ordered one. Was contemplating buying a lite panel but at this price, can't go wrong :)

Just bought a 600 and two 96s, am anxious to see how these things work.

If well I can see getting a slew of these 96s for different things.

This light looks identical to the Comer.

Gadget.brando.com (http://gadget.brando.com/high-power-video-led-light-with-condenser-lens_p01404c067d003.html)

Interesting.

Yes, Rob, I thought it was interesting too. So I bought one. Cosmetically, it is identical to the Comer 1800. But turn it on and that's where the similarity ends. I don't know if I got a bad one or what, but the so-called dimmer control does nothing. If you tap the dimmer a couple times, the light gets a bit brighter or worse, flickers. And there is a difference in how the light is dispersed. The Comer is very even whereas the knockoff one throws light in a distinct circle, like a flashlight.

Needless to say, it's on its way back to Hong Kong.

Sherri,

Wow. That sucks. Thanks for sharing with us; I was really contemplating getting one - the "specs" say it's slightly better than the Comer.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to get one of these 96 led light, but my only gripe is that it uses 5 batteries. My AA charger only charges 4 at a time. For those with the light, can you please tell me if it's wired in parallel or series, i.e. will it work with just 4 batteries. If so, does it have a major effect on brightness? Thanks.

I bought two of the 96's, and received them Monday.

First nice thing, they are a perfect match to some low end lightweight light stands I bought last year, and the accompanying swivel works great.

Second- the magnetic difuser panels, are great. Very powerful magnets. And they are stackable, though you really wouldn't want to stack diffusers, it would be great to have a set of barn doors that stacks on to those magnets.

I put one on a stand last evening, and set my Canon 5D at about 640 ISO, with my Nikon 50mm at 1.4 wide open, shut off all other lights, and walked into the frame about 6 feet away. Looked pretty impressive to me. in the brief viewing.

As I do mostly narrative stuff, I think the benefit of these lights will be to light tight areas, and to fill in night shots.

So far I have only used my Sony L batteries, but I am curious how long they will last on the 5 AA batteries.

I too bought one of these little lights after reading everyone's thoughts on them. Mine arrived today via US Mail. First off, for $70 its not bad. I decided to run a few tests to see where it is color balance, color temperature and output wise. I used a Minolta IIIf color meter, Sekonic L558 and a B&S flicker meter (first version). Measurements were made in a darkened household room.

Out of the box at 1 meter, with 100asa and 1/60s exposure, the reading for output was F1.4.
Color temperature was 6950K, LB +38 and CC 18m. Basically meaning, too blue and too green.

I then cut a piece of Gamo 106 minus green gel and a piece of Rosco 3410 CTO. The results are below.

Gamo 106 only. Color temp 6410K, LB +26, CC 4m, output is now F1.0 + 8/10.

Gamo 106 and Rosco 3410. Color temp 5510K LB 0, CC 4m, output is now F1.0 + 5/10.


WIth both filters in place I have lost 1/2 stop of light, but my color balance is much improved.
Next I add the supplied 3200k filter.

Supplied 3200k filter and Gamo106. Color temp 3430, LB +21, CC 9m, output is F .7 + 4/10
Supplied 3200k filter, Gamo 106 and Rosco 3410. Color temp 3150k, LB -5, CC 9m, output is F .7 + 3/10.

Flicker at full power is 2-3%. At 1/2 power also 2-3%. At the dimmest setting flicker is 12-13%.

For $70 plus the additional gels its not a bad little light. The build quality is decent, you can power it from AA batteries, a Sony NP style battery or an external power source. I plan on buying several more.

David Rogers
Nashvegas

Purely on impulse, I just sprung for one of these now. I figure for seventy bucks, I can't go too far wrong. I already have a Sima 36-LED light, and while it does OK, I think I paid too much for it. Plus it has no replaceable battery, only an internal, rechargeable Li-Ion unit, and the endurance isn't great, maybe 1.5 hours.

It looks like a decent light and I like the fact it is stackable. I have contacted my suppler and will be carrying this item in stock in a week. =)

Hi Taky,

That's good news! Will you be charging $70 for them too?

Best,

That's very good news, Taky. I would buy from you if prices are competitive. I also found these lights for $65 free shipping on eBay.

Good to see Taky, you can probably count me in for a couple.

hey i am thinking of getting a Z96 off ebay for my z1 because of how bad it is in low light?

would it fit on the hot shoe mount and is it any good?

Ollie :)

Ollie,

Seems like you didn't read the thread.. concensus I read is that most are pleased enough to buy more than one.

Ollie,

It does fit on the hot shoe of my Z1 and while the color temp is not quite what they claim it is, with the supplied filters it is adequate. I'd rate it as "Good Value" in that it is very reasonably priced if purchased from the vendor in China.