On Camera LED Fill Lites

Ned Soltz · December 30th, 2008, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.J. Ammons

Ned,

I found a review of the mic-light from about a year ago that mentioned they were going to offer filters for diffusion and to convert to 3200k in the future but I see nothing about that at their website and they have not responded to my email inquiry. Did it come with any filters / diffusion? If not for about the same price the Bescor LED 35 seems like a good choice as it has the filters (no dimming though)

Prompter People folks told me they were not going to offer diffusion for the light or develop it any further. They have some other products on the way but don't know if they really want me to release that at this point. Suggestion was to cut a gel filter sheet and attach with tape.

Ned

Tom Roper · January 5th, 2009, 05:32 PM

Did you get yours yet Ned? Still waiting on mine, should be here sometime this week hopefully.

Chris Swanberg · January 5th, 2009, 07:51 PM

Just as a point of interest in regards to the little SIMA LED light discussed earlier, in the contests forum, there is a film in the Charity contest called "The Dead of Winter" that has some "in vehicle" scenes that were fill lit using a SIMA. You might be surprised how good it looks. In that case I doubt there were many options and the SIMA pulled it off pretty well in my opinion.

Ned Soltz · January 8th, 2009, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Roper

Did you get yours yet Ned? Still waiting on mine, should be here sometime this week hopefully.

Yes. I've been playing with it and it is amazingly bright. Just bought a sheet of 1/2 CTO and will be cutting a piece to fit.

Definitely worth $150.

Tom Roper · January 8th, 2009, 03:20 PM

My Zylight Eng Kit arrived at the distributor, I will pick it up when the Zylight Li-Ion battery pack arrives, which was shipped separately, hopefully tomorrow. Hopefully can trade some observations then. Thanks Ned!

Tom Roper · January 10th, 2009, 12:46 AM

It's here. The Z90 works as expected, but I don't recommend the 8 inch articulating arm, in fact I think it is a waste of money. Well made and clever, but just too darn long and heavy for a hotshoe attachment.

Zylight put their effort into the light, it's not engineered to be cheaply manufactured.

I won't rehash all the features, it's been amply discussed. My comment is just that it produces very even, flattering light, not harsh at all on the skin but it is producing a lot of light and is painful to look directly into.

A couple of impromptu shots had people covering their eyes, and I'm not sure the reaction would be much different even dimmed. It's just really intense for something that is so well distributed, even and flattering on the skin.

Tom Roper · January 10th, 2009, 01:08 AM

It's here. The Z90 works as expected, but I don't recommend the 8 inch articulating arm, in fact I think it is a waste of money. Well made and clever, but just too darn long and heavy for a hotshoe attachment.

Zylight put their effort into the light, it's not engineered to be cheaply manufactured.

I won't rehash all the features, it's been amply discussed. My comment is just that it produces very even, flattering light, not harsh at all on the skin but it is producing a lot of light and is painful to look directly into.

A couple of impromptu shots had people covering their eyes, and I'm not sure the reaction would be much different even dimmed. It's just really intense for something that is so well distributed, even and flattering on the skin.

Ned Soltz · January 10th, 2009, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Roper

It's here. The Z90 works as expected, but I don't recommend the 8 inch articulating arm, in fact I think it is a waste of money. Well made and clever, but just too darn long and heavy for a hotshoe attachment.

Zylight put their effort into the light, it's not engineered to be cheaply manufactured.

I won't rehash all the features, it's been amply discussed. My comment is just that it produces very even, flattering light, not harsh at all on the skin but it is producing a lot of light and is painful to look directly into.

A couple of impromptu shots had people covering their eyes, and I'm not sure the reaction would be much different even dimmed. It's just really intense for something that is so well distributed, even and flattering on the skin.

I agree that the Noga arm could be cumbersome. The other side, however, is that it allows tremendous versatlity. To diffuse its strong output, I would consider either the Chimera whch Zylight sells or the softbox for the Anton Bauer on-camera light. It will fit.

More observations as I shoot more with it.

Ever since reviewing it in 2007, I've been wanting one and my sincere thanks to the client who paid up so I could afford the Zylight ;)

Ned

Tom Roper · January 10th, 2009, 10:48 AM

If you happen to have a link to the Anton Bauer softbox and/or the Chimera would you kindly post? Many thanks...

I find the hot shoe ball mount is more practical for on camera mounting than the articulating 8 inch arm.

Ned Soltz · January 10th, 2009, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Roper

If you happen to have a link to the Anton Bauer softbox and/or the Chimera would you kindly post? Many thanks...

I find the hot shoe ball mount is more practical for on camera mounting than the articulating 8 inch arm.

The Chimera is sold on the Zylight website.

You can also use the Anton Bauer Ultralight Softbox, available from any dealer who sells AB.

Ned

Curt Fargo · January 17th, 2009, 02:18 PM

I'm in the middle of starting to make some training videos on cleaning D-SLR sensors and needed a ring light so that I could light up the inside of the mirror cage when doing some close ups of the cleaning. I wasn't able to find any commercially available ring lights but I did find this thread http://www.dansdata.com/ringlight.htm and ordered the same from eBay

FREE SHIPPING 48 LED Lantern UFO Umbrella AA Tent Light - eBay (item 320302562118 end time Jan-19-09 11:08:18 PST) for less than $10 delivered.

I actually got the light before my new camera and microphone arrived. In the mean time I found this thread and see the the $150 mike light looks just like the camping light (soon to be ring light) I had ordered off of eBay. Once my microphone a BP4029 arrived I tried my camping light on it and wow, it fits just like in the MikeLite demo video. Not owning the $150 MikeLite, I have no idea what the difference is.

My camera a Canon XH A1s arrived from Samy's on Thursday (ordered at MacWorld for $2499) and yesterday I cut the $10 camping light up (30 minutes work) so that it mounts on the front of the lens using the lens hood bayonet. Since I had to cut out the battery compartment and power switch to make it fit around the lens, I ran a 2 lead power wire outside of the light and attached a $1.99 RadioShack AA battery holder that has a built in power switch Enclosed 4 “AA” Battery Holder - RadioShack.com .

I now have a Ring Light for my new camera that cost me less than $15 and less than 1 hours time to complete. I would post some photos here but as a newbie I don't have the privileges needed to do so.

Curt Fargo
Vacaville

Chris Swanberg · January 17th, 2009, 02:59 PM

Thans for the post Curt and welcome to DVInfo. There a bunch of us from the Sacramento area on here. After reading your post I ordered a camping light... I think I will follow your lead.

Again welcome aboard.

Curt Fargo · January 17th, 2009, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Swanberg

Thans for the post Curt and welcome to DVInfo. There a bunch of us from the Sacramento area on here. After reading your post I ordered a camping light... I think I will follow your lead.

Again welcome aboard.

Thanks Chris!

Are there any get-togethers in Sac where you share ideas and knowledge with each other? I have a very extensive background in the still photographic world but this is my first prosumer video camera. I am using Lynda to learn Final Cut Pro and have turned my living room into a chroma key studio.

Unlike the tutorial I found on making a ring light, I opted to use the plastic housing the lights came in and used my lens hood as a pattern to draw my cut lines onto the back of the light. By doing this I am able to use the bayonet mount to hold it in place.

D.J. Ammons · January 18th, 2009, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curt Fargo

I'm in the middle of starting to make some training videos on cleaning D-SLR sensors and needed a ring light so that I could light up the inside of the mirror cage when doing some close ups of the cleaning. I wasn't able to find any commercially available ring lights but I did find this thread How to make a ring light in ten minutes and ordered the same from eBay

FREE SHIPPING 48 LED Lantern UFO Umbrella AA Tent Light - eBay (item 320302562118 end time Jan-19-09 11:08:18 PST) for less than $10 delivered.

I actually got the light before my new camera and microphone arrived. In the mean time I found this thread and see the the $150 mike light looks just like the camping light (soon to be ring light) I had ordered off of eBay. Once my microphone a BP4029 arrived I tried my camping light on it and wow, it fits just like in the MikeLite demo video. Not owning the $150 MikeLite, I have no idea what the difference is.

My camera a Canon XH A1s arrived from Samy's on Thursday (ordered at MacWorld for $2499) and yesterday I cut the $10 camping light up (30 minutes work) so that it mounts on the front of the lens using the lens hood bayonet. Since I had to cut out the battery compartment and power switch to make it fit around the lens, I ran a 2 lead power wire outside of the light and attached a $1.99 RadioShack AA battery holder that has a built in power switch Enclosed 4 “AA” Battery Holder - RadioShack.com .

I now have a Ring Light for my new camera that cost me less than $15 and less than 1 hours time to complete. I would post some photos here but as a newbie I don't have the privileges needed to do so.

Curt Fargo
Vacaville

About a year ago I bought that ring light from ebay just for kicks to see how it would do. The difference in the $10 ebay light and the mic light is the quality of the LED's. The people selling the mic light use the same shell as the camp light does but they replace the cheap LED's with expensive ones that are either 5500 or 5600K for daylight.

The campling light is cook but it is a VERY blue light and definitely not anywhere near 5500 or 5600k.

I only used mine two or three times in a test and one section of the ring of lights stopped working. It was still worth ten bucks and in an emergency I would use it.

I just purchased the lie panels micro that is 5600k and I can definitely tell you the campling light is a lot bluer.

Christopher Witz · January 18th, 2009, 12:11 PM

If we all took all of the cheap LED lights we bought "just for kicks" and gaffer taped them together and turned them on, we'd probably have a blue glow that could be seen from space. hehe.

I have a drawer full if them.... my favorite is the baseball cap with lights built into the visor rim.... I actually have put it to use when heading out to the barn at night to feed the horses. Don't think I'd want to be seen in public with it though.

January 5th, 2009, 05:32 PM	#17
Tom Roper Trustee Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 1,891	Did you get yours yet Ned? Still waiting on mine, should be here sometime this week hopefully.

January 5th, 2009, 07:51 PM	#18
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	Just as a point of interest in regards to the little SIMA LED light discussed earlier, in the contests forum, there is a film in the Charity contest called "The Dead of Winter" that has some "in vehicle" scenes that were fill lit using a SIMA. You might be surprised how good it looks. In that case I doubt there were many options and the SIMA pulled it off pretty well in my opinion.

January 8th, 2009, 03:20 PM	#20
Tom Roper Trustee Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 1,891	My Zylight Eng Kit arrived at the distributor, I will pick it up when the Zylight Li-Ion battery pack arrives, which was shipped separately, hopefully tomorrow. Hopefully can trade some observations then. Thanks Ned!

January 10th, 2009, 12:46 AM	#21
Tom Roper Trustee Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 1,891	It's here. The Z90 works as expected, but I don't recommend the 8 inch articulating arm, in fact I think it is a waste of money. Well made and clever, but just too darn long and heavy for a hotshoe attachment. Zylight put their effort into the light, it's not engineered to be cheaply manufactured. I won't rehash all the features, it's been amply discussed. My comment is just that it produces very even, flattering light, not harsh at all on the skin but it is producing a lot of light and is painful to look directly into. A couple of impromptu shots had people covering their eyes, and I'm not sure the reaction would be much different even dimmed. It's just really intense for something that is so well distributed, even and flattering on the skin.

January 10th, 2009, 01:08 AM	#22
Tom Roper Trustee Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 1,891	It's here. The Z90 works as expected, but I don't recommend the 8 inch articulating arm, in fact I think it is a waste of money. Well made and clever, but just too darn long and heavy for a hotshoe attachment. Zylight put their effort into the light, it's not engineered to be cheaply manufactured. I won't rehash all the features, it's been amply discussed. My comment is just that it produces very even, flattering light, not harsh at all on the skin but it is producing a lot of light and is painful to look directly into. A couple of impromptu shots had people covering their eyes, and I'm not sure the reaction would be much different even dimmed. It's just really intense for something that is so well distributed, even and flattering on the skin.

January 10th, 2009, 10:48 AM	#24
Tom Roper Trustee Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 1,891	If you happen to have a link to the Anton Bauer softbox and/or the Chimera would you kindly post? Many thanks... I find the hot shoe ball mount is more practical for on camera mounting than the articulating 8 inch arm.

January 17th, 2009, 02:18 PM	#26
Curt Fargo Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Vacaville, CA USA Posts: 83	I'm in the middle of starting to make some training videos on cleaning D-SLR sensors and needed a ring light so that I could light up the inside of the mirror cage when doing some close ups of the cleaning. I wasn't able to find any commercially available ring lights but I did find this thread http://www.dansdata.com/ringlight.htm and ordered the same from eBay FREE SHIPPING 48 LED Lantern UFO Umbrella AA Tent Light - eBay (item 320302562118 end time Jan-19-09 11:08:18 PST) for less than $10 delivered. I actually got the light before my new camera and microphone arrived. In the mean time I found this thread and see the the $150 mike light looks just like the camping light (soon to be ring light) I had ordered off of eBay. Once my microphone a BP4029 arrived I tried my camping light on it and wow, it fits just like in the MikeLite demo video. Not owning the $150 MikeLite, I have no idea what the difference is. My camera a Canon XH A1s arrived from Samy's on Thursday (ordered at MacWorld for $2499) and yesterday I cut the $10 camping light up (30 minutes work) so that it mounts on the front of the lens using the lens hood bayonet. Since I had to cut out the battery compartment and power switch to make it fit around the lens, I ran a 2 lead power wire outside of the light and attached a $1.99 RadioShack AA battery holder that has a built in power switch Enclosed 4 “AA” Battery Holder - RadioShack.com . I now have a Ring Light for my new camera that cost me less than $15 and less than 1 hours time to complete. I would post some photos here but as a newbie I don't have the privileges needed to do so. Curt Fargo Vacaville

January 17th, 2009, 02:59 PM	#27
Chris Swanberg Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 904	Thans for the post Curt and welcome to DVInfo. There a bunch of us from the Sacramento area on here. After reading your post I ordered a camping light... I think I will follow your lead. Again welcome aboard.

January 18th, 2009, 12:11 PM	#30
Christopher Witz Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 591	If we all took all of the cheap LED lights we bought "just for kicks" and gaffer taped them together and turned them on, we'd probably have a blue glow that could be seen from space. hehe. I have a drawer full if them.... my favorite is the baseball cap with lights built into the visor rim.... I actually have put it to use when heading out to the barn at night to feed the horses. Don't think I'd want to be seen in public with it though.