Quality LED solution?

[Al Gardner]

I like that concept. Interesting that a single LED needs a fan?

[Derek Reich]

I'm not certain it's a single LED.... you can't see past the opaque screen. I thought it was interesting that it needed a fan, too. LEDs are not supposed to generate much heat. That said, I did use it on a recent shoot and am quite happy with it. My main concern may not be much of an issue with the fan noise, I used this for an interview in a library and did not detect the fan noise there. A few more shoots and I'll have a final verdict, but so far I'm happy with it.

[Matt Davis]

Originally Posted by Derek Reich

I thought it was interesting that it needed a fan, too. LEDs are not supposed to generate much heat.

There's a chap called Jonathan Harrison in the UK who does great workshops on lighting - I was enthralled by his explanation of the history and technology of LED lighting. He sort of brought it to life.

Yes, they do chuck out quite a lot of heat, but not at the 'business' end - it's at the back. You have to get rid of that heat, as if it makes its way forward, it affects the colour of the LED light. Hence Dedo's big heat sinks on his spots, the large amounts of fresh air circulating in the big fresnel units, and the fan on the 'enclosed' units.

The LitePanels units may be able to justify their cost because of heat dissipation, but there's a story of a studio that outfitted their whole news setup with LEDs that couldn't cool efficiently, and this lead to uneven colour temperature - whole lot got pulled in favour of Fluorescent.

[Derek Reich]

That would explain the fan on the head of the unit, but I have to say that so far the fan noise has not been a problem at all. One interview I did was in a library, and I never noticed the fan, so this does not appear to be a concern now. I was very happy with the performance of this light however! No green cast, spot-on 5600 balance. Very soft right out of the light due to an opaque diffuser, (similar to the output of a fresnel) and a lot of light to play with. I had to dim it down quite a bit. I'm very excited about the possibility of these lights, they offer an incredible array of modifier options from barn doors to snoots and a multitude of softboxes. Try that with your typical 1x1 panel! I can't wait to get a softbox on it.

[James Kuhn]

Mr. Davis...do you have a link to the story?

"The LitePanels units may be able to justify their cost because of heat dissipation, but there's a story of a studio that outfitted their whole news setup with LEDs that couldn't cool efficiently, and this lead to uneven colour temperature - whole lot got pulled in favour of Fluorescent."

I'd be interested in reading the story.

Best regards,

J.

[Taky Cheung]

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Comer CM-LBPS1800 On-Camera LED Light (Sony Battery) | L.A. Color Pros)