LED Lights

[Christopher Witz]

Originally Posted by Alex Raskin

You mean, Flos are inferior in quality of light, in your opinion?

I haven't used LEDs myself, but heard that their light is harsher than Flo produces, although gives a little more throw so LEDs can be positioned a bit father from the subject. True?

the flos are a better light... regarding their light. The leds are better regarding how they travel and how tough they are.... but the flos are more accurate in color.... not by much, but if you A-B them, they look more natural.

yes the leds throw further.... kind of like a cross between a fresnel and a flo. they are fantastic for a soft hair or side light. Throw a scrap of diffusion on them and they soften up nicely.

My reason for preferring the LEDS is purely for their ability to travel well and how light in weight they are. When I travel a few hours with flo lights, I have to make effort to get them not to rattle in the back of the vehicle and to make sure nothing will hurt them.... the LEDS can just be thrown in with the rest of the gear... you could practically drive a car over them!

Would I be happy with a bunch of 500leds and no flos? yes ( they are good enough ) Hell, I love to have 20 of these little buggers! turn em on they they are instantly ready!

But I would LOVE a bigger light! a vertical 18"X24"X2" LED....

[Alex Raskin]

Incidentally, I was looking for a hair/backlight with harder light than Flos give.

Tough construction + lightweight + small dimensions + 12V native + bright + hard light (I want it)...

You guys are raving about LED 500's so much, I'll give them a look :)

By the way, is Flolight supplier the only game in town (on the budget)?

[Christopher Witz]

in the sub $500... yes.... they also sell a 1000led for sub $900... then there is the litepanel 12"X12" but it's above $1500...

Richard can chime in here.... as he is "the man" regarding all of these overseas sourced lights. He will have a LED source out in the future and it will be the light to own!

[Richard Andrewski]

The panel that Flolights sells is made by a company in China called Yuyao Lishaui Photo Facility--in Yuyao China. They also make the non-dimmable flos that Flolights and Fotodiox sell.

I first saw that panel at a show here in China in the Fall of 2007 and thought of picking it up and selling it. I had no idea Flolights was going to sell it. I don't think anyone else in the USA is carrying it either but it wouldn't surprise me to see someone like Fotodiox start carrying it since they also buy flos from Lishuai.

We had already started a project for a 250 light LED small panel around the time I saw that model, which I never did anything with because I didn't like the LEDs we had chosen at the time--its so hard to find good ones.

Anyway, I was looking for something to offer in the LED line at that time. I bought an evaluation model and looked the Lishaui 500 over, but I had a number of issues with it. Thus, that's why I didn't carry it either--including the slight greenish tinge that the LEDs have. I also thought it was a bit overpriced for what it was. We decided we could do it better and could also try to keep a tight reign on costs using our methods and contractor factories, so we've been working on that between our other projects. The main holdup has been finding a really good LED thats not going to break the bank.

I try to find things off the shelf but often end up designing our own to keep costs down and offer the products at miracle type prices whenever possible. I hope our 600 LED panel intro pricing will fall into the $249 to $300 range and that's just about right for the kind of light that this type of panel is and what it can do. It'll be much like a 600 to 650w fresnel stuck in spot mode.

[Marcus Marchesseault]

Darnit, Richard! Hurry up! :)

I need to upgrade my lights SOON. My DIY kit is great for some things, but I really could use something like the 500LED light.

I find that I often set up 3 or 4 lights (daylight) and leave two or three of them alone but one or two of them get moved around constantly when adjusting camera angle. I just can't seem to light a room and keep all the lights stationary. There always seems to be adjustment needed to get rid of a glare or shadow, usually from the key. My DIY lights are a bit rickety and bulky which makes them a hassle if lots of adjustments are needed. They also each take up a 12-gallon plastic crate so three of them is a whole handtruck load.

In other situations, I am in a run-n-gun mode and can only use one light due to time and elements like cramped quarters. A single daylight fixture to balance out a scene in a windowed room can work wonders.

I need something like the 500LED because it has minimal power requirements, it takes up little space in both the kit and location, and it is instant-on so it can be moved from one shot to the next without delay.

Unfortunately, I can only afford one light at this time and I have several paying gigs that need more lights than I own in a couple of months. I can borrow one light but rentals are not feasible due to the extra time needed for pickup and delivery. Small jobs just don't justify an extra two hours (and gas) to rent a light.

Maybe you need a beta-tester sometime soon?

[Alex Raskin]

Richard, realistically, what's the ETA on your LED lights?

I'm trying to determine whether to buy from Flolights, who have LEDs right now - or hold off and buy it from you later. But I need a reasonably reliable ETA on your side. You've been working on LEDs for a long time, but so far there's nothing on your web site.

Thanks.

[Richard Andrewski]

I would say if you're in a hurry then do what you need to do. There's always something new being developed and you can either wait the time it takes or you can't. And, you can have good, fast or inexpensive but not all three. Fast is usually the one that screws things up one way or another when you go for that and get too impatient. Fast and inexpensive are impossible in any case.

Our panel is at least 2 months off yet. Because manufacture and transport is a 2 month process--1 month for manufacture and 1 month for transport. Everything always takes longer than you'd like it too and there are other products we're working on too. People don't realize it but they like our products because we do spend the time to get it right.

I can't make all the various parts that are in process go any faster than they do and everything takes the time it takes. Molds have to be made, a good and consistent LED has to be chosen, things have to be fine tuned, etc. Occasionally, things come back from a process and aren't suitable so have to be sent back for another try. It's all part of doing manufacturing right and if you're only interested in the end of the process of something on the horizon being developed then I would say stick with what's out there already and that applies to everything from PCs to Cameras too.

[Marcus Marchesseault]

"I would say if you're in a hurry then do what you need to do."

What I need to do is conflicting with what I want to do.

"I bought an evaluation model and looked the Lishaui 500 over,"

So, do you want to sell your sample? I'd rather buy it from you even if it isn't one of your products.

[Richard Andrewski]

Its in China right now. No quick or easy way to get it to the USA (or should I say the 50th state) at the moment.

[M. Paul El-Darwish]

Yes the P7 emitters in the Betty Pro are bluish but are easily modulated with filters and as you said- full power only and add ND is necessary to dim them. I discovered a highly unlikely DIY diffuser dome that turns the beam into a 90º pattern, ideal for interviews or whole rooms when nothing else is around. Look here...
http://www.gearninja.com/Images/HV20...V20_Acsy_5.jpg
I cut part of my closet light's 'bulb' ( just plastic) to extract a dome to fit my Lupine Light. I used silicone adhesive to attach it to the bezel. works beautifully!
http://www.iosss.com/shopping/images/ea20-40.jpg

Originally Posted by Bjorn Lardner

Hi all, first post after lurking around here for two years.

Saw that the Betty Pro mountain bike lights were mentioned, so I thought I'd chime in.

I shoot nature stuff - mostly close-ups and macro (snakes, lizards, frogs, evertebrates) but also animals not so close. I wanted a small and lightweight but powerful lighting system, so ca half a year ago I invested in two Lupine Betty Pro (1400 Lumen each) lightheads. I power them by one small Li-ion battery strapped to the handle of my EX1. These lights have a narrow beam that is un-suitable for anything but telephoto, so I have opaque diffusors attached ca 5 cm in front of the lights. Gives very soft and even light for macro shots. If there's a mammal or bird at greater distance, I tear off the diffusors and go tele.

These lights have a very blueish light, some 8600 to 8800 Kelvin. That mostly works fine for me since I rarely have other (disturbing) light sources when out in the field.

The biggest problem with these lights is the dimming circuits. I get rolling interference patterns - you know, like shooting a CRT screan - when dimming the lights. Haven't been able to get around it by any trick. But that's manageable: I just go full power and kick in the ND filter or make aperture adjustments.

The good thing about these lights is the small form factor and their high power.
They are not cheap, though.

Cheers,
Bjorn

[M. Paul El-Darwish]

I use my Mac Custom MAG that way. I set it to flood for a decent main and can bounce it in spot mode or use the spot as a hair light. I haven't done a picture of my actual light but here's the same light 'pimped out'
http://www.gearninja.com/Images/Alu/MacsMag.jpg

Originally Posted by Alex Raskin

Can high output flashlights be used for this purpose?

[M. Paul El-Darwish]

LED-Z is a great company to deal with. As far as I know, they're the only one of about three companies that are serious about LED's in Video lights. I use their LED-Z Mini Par on stands and sometimes mounted on my camera. I can't wait for them to knock out some versions using the Seoul P7 emitter.
LEDz lighting, maker of LED Lighting Fixtures for Entertainment, TV, Film, and Theatre
http://www.gearninja.com/Images/HV20...V20_Acsy_8.jpg

[David Martland]

Originally Posted by Gary Nattrass

I dont care what they say about these led lights and the colour temp I have tried a lot of them and they all look crap to me as they are too green to mix in with any other light source.

I absolutely agree with you Gary, I have been testing all types of LED's and filters and looked at the claims of several video light manufacturers ........ either their colour temperature meters need calibrating or they are just taking the LED manufactures specs as true

[Ken Plotin]

Christopher,
Do you know the brand name of the rechargeable HIDs from Sam's Club? Googling HID brings up a ton of various models, output ranges and configurations.
Thanks,
Ken

[Brian Standing]

Originally Posted by David Martland

I absolutely agree with you Gary, I have been testing all types of LED's and filters and looked at the claims of several video light manufacturers ........ either their colour temperature meters need calibrating or they are just taking the LED manufactures specs as true

Well, for what it's worth, I just ordered a FloLight 500 LED light, and the sales staff there were very up front with me that these lights had a slight greenish tinge that might show up if you're using other lights as well. They recommended a 1/4 or 1/8 minus-green gel to correct the problem.

I went ahead and ordered anyway, 'cause the light looks like a good fit for an upcoming project, and I don't mind taping a sheet of gel on, if I have to. Might even leave it permanently on the unit.

We'll see how it works out.