Where is the On Camera LED I really want

[Brett Sherman]

I'm not sure if I'm weird or what. But nobody seems to come even close to making the on camera LED I'd be interested in. Basically I want something that can add a little punch to augment natural light in those situations where there isn't quite enough light. And I want it small enough and light enough to sit on the camera all the time, even in the bag. And I want it 3200K. Indoors is where I need it.

So my ideal light would be a horizontal array of 3200K LEDs maybe 3" wide that can be powered by two or 3 AA batteries or a sony L series 550. The unit would have a hot shoe mount, but no tilt adjustment to keep it low to the camera. It would be at most 1" high and 5" deep. I realize it wouldn't be powerful, but that's not what I want. If I need power I'll swap it out with my Comer 1800.

Maybe it's not technologically feasible or there isn't a market for it. But I can't be the only one who wants something like this.

[Dan Brockett]

What you want already exists, other than size. The Zylight Z-90 can do everything you want and more.

But the size you want is not technologically feasible yet as LEDs cause heat and the heat needs some room in the housing to disperse. In order to make a housing that could hold enough LEDs to make the light worth anything, you need a decent amount of LEDs. ProVideo Coalition.com: FRESHDV by Matthew Jeppsen & Kendal Miller $875.00

Dan

[Brett Sherman]

I know about the Z90, but it's too expensive, large and powering options are separated from the light, so it's not an attach to your camera and forget it situation. It would be great if you have a power tap. However, I shoot with an EX1 so a power tap is not possible.

It could be my size requirements are a little too low. However, there are a lot of smallish LED on camera fixtures but they are oriented in a square shape which is actually worse for heat dissipation. My suggestion would be to take a light like the Varizoom 2010 for example, but instead of stacking the LEDs, put them in a horizontal array. Stick a battery sled on the top behind the LEDs or have the AA's horizontal. Everybody seems to be making their LEDs vertical and I want it horizontal to keep it low.

[Min Lee]

Grip On tools 37199 72 LED Light Bar

This comes close to what you're describing. lt was adapted as an on camera light on another forum. Fairly low profile and cheap. Bad news is no dimmer. It’s daylight balanced but a gel can fix that. If you don’t want to DIY, then lite panel micro (or countless similar LEDs) is the next closest thing.

There’s also a little led light that mounts on the tripod hole on the bottom of the camera. Not very powerful but it might be stackable.

[Frederic Segard]

I know it's not 32k, but it comes with a cto filter, and it's powerfull enough to compensate for the light drop. It's the Flolight Microbeam 256. And the price is affordable compared to other stuff on the market.

[Annen James]

I second the MicroBeam 256. I absolutely LOVE IT. It is perfect. Well built, long even throw, dimmable, Sony NP batteries. I cannot recommend this light enough.

[Jay Houser]

I replaced my 2 LitePanels Micros with a pair of MicroBeam 128s. Waay more light, metal construction, nice switch and dimmer. Only downside - weight.

[Colin Rowe]

Check out the Rotolight, Rotolight - Professional Shotgun Mic Mounted Camcorder LED Light. I believe a new model is imminent. I have one, it is the handiest, lightest light ever, awesome.

[Mark Wheeler]

There's a lot of mysticism in cine LED marketing.

The manufacturers that I've seen just refer to their LEDs as 'high power'. I haven't seen a manufacturer of cine lights own up to the LEDs that they use yet though that's not to say that one is not out there.

The Luminus SST-90 (2,250 lumens) and the Cree XP-G (367 lumens) are currently the most talked-about high power emitters available in the retail channel. Seven Cree XP-Gs wired in series on a metal core PCB (MCPCB) are equivalent in size (40mm), output (2,500 lumens), and price to a single star-mounted SST-90 and are far more efficient (i.e., longer battery life).

Power to LEDs can be 'direct drive' (drawing directly from the battery) but most use 'buck' or 'boost' drivers. A buck driver is used when the draw is lower then the source while a boost driver is used when the draw is higher then the source.

You're spot on if you think that heat is an issue with high power LEDs. Both the LEDs and the driver need cooling. A cool component is a long lasting component and unless a manufacturer is extraordinarily forthcoming you'll not know if your fixture is going to die an early death due to heat or not. If a fixture is cool to the touch that may only mean that it's well insulated, not necessarily cooled properly.

The diversity of color temperature available in LEDs is amazing but no LED is both 3200K and 5600K. If you have a manufacturer telling you that their fixture is both what they've done is combined 3200K emitters with 5600K emitters and allow you to switch between them. This is fine, but keep in mind that half of the real estate of your huge LED fixture isn't being used at any given time. If I have a fixture with ten LEDs and five are 3200K and five are 5600K and my competitor has a fixture with seven LEDs that are all one or all the other then his is going to be the brighter, smaller, and lighter of the two.

There are third party LED components galore and more coming every day. Once upon a time access to technology restricted LED solutions to manufacturers who could custom assemble the components required but now everything required is available 'off-the-shelf'. If you do the research you are 110% empowered to create your own LED fixtures.

Given what a lot of manufactures charge I found the learning curve required to be a solid investment.

[Mark Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Brett Sherman

I'm not sure if I'm weird or what. But nobody seems to come even close to making the on camera LED I'd be interested in. Basically I want something that can add a little punch to augment natural light in those situations where there isn't quite enough light. And I want it small enough and light enough to sit on the camera all the time, even in the bag. And I want it 3200K. Indoors is where I need it.

So my ideal light would be a horizontal array of 3200K LEDs maybe 3" wide that can be powered by two or 3 AA batteries or a sony L series 550. The unit would have a hot shoe mount, but no tilt adjustment to keep it low to the camera. It would be at most 1" high and 5" deep. I realize it wouldn't be powerful, but that's not what I want. If I need power I'll swap it out with my Comer 1800.

Maybe it's not technologically feasible or there isn't a market for it. But I can't be the only one who wants something like this.

How bright do you want it? This shouldn't be hard to assemble. The dimension would be approximate 40mm wide, the depth TBD, and could be either narrow (10 degree), medium (25 degree), or wide (40 degree) focus.