An opinion on 160 LED lamps at DVinfo.net

Marius Tatarasanu · May 7th, 2012, 09:57 AM

Hello, I want to invest the little I have in some lights. My budget and also my needs aren't very big, so I thought I should first buy myself three small 160 led lights like these below:

Pro CN-160 LED camera video lamp light for Canon Nikon | eBay
Or maybe this pack:

TTV-160 CN-160 YN-160 LED Video Photo Light for DV DC DSLR Camcorder Camera x 4 | eBay
I won't need that much light and will be using them for interviews mainly.
I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these kind of lights and my concerns revolve around two aspects:
1.The colour temperature of the lights, as I understand that some owners have problems and I also find it difficult to put my finger on what exact brand they are, because I seem to find them in a thousand different combos and names.
2.Flickering. As I saw at some owners of YN-160 video light and Canon T2i, this combination limits them to only use 1/30 shutter speed.

My main reason to choose these lights are the costs and portability. I basically want good cheap lights that I can carry everywhere, and these seemed to fit the profile.
If you could advise other brands, I would be more than thankful.

Don Bloom · May 7th, 2012, 11:12 AM

I have 3 of the 160s and honestly I think they're all built in China with different names on them. I used them for weddings this year and found they do have some power to them. The daylite filter is a bit off but not enough for me to worry about it. The indoor filter which is supposed to be 3200k is also a bit off so I use a bit of gel instead.
As for interviews, I used them last week for just that. I actually liked them for that as long as I didn't have to go for a wide shot. I kept the lighing to within no more than 10 feet from the subjct and with a bit of diffusion and control on the power wheel I had very nice key and fill lighting and used the 3rd as a backlite.
Frankly for the money I'm reasonably happy. Do they replace the big lights and softboxes or umbrellas or whatever one uses? Nope but for fast, down and dirty stuff and the weddings I do they work just fine.
Overall I's give them an 8 out of 10. Hey for 40 bucks you can't really go wrong.

Buba Kastorski · May 7th, 2012, 11:35 AM

Hey Marius,
take a look at

these lights, they have less green cast and 126 version is noticeably brighter than TTVs 160
I have both, but now i use only apurture, almost clean 5600k and brighter, i really like them and would also give em 8 out of 10 :)

Taky Cheung · May 7th, 2012, 11:38 PM

If you don't want to risk buying off eBay, I can offer this same PRO160 light to you at $39.

Pro 160-LED Video Light | L.A. Color Online

Just email me at info@lacoloronline.com for the DVInfo member discount. :)

Marius Tatarasanu · May 9th, 2012, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buba Kastorski

... they have less green cast and 126 version is noticeably brighter than TTVs 160 ...

As I am to understand color corection can be easily done with the use of gels. Also, how can 126 LEDs be brighter than 160? Does the Apurture have higher output LEDs?
Any evidence, like a video, or a manual with technical specifications?
One of the reasons I want to go with the YN-160 (or one of the other hundreds of brand names under which it is sold) is that many people claim it is the brightest LED lamp in it's class.
I have seen than in the brief specifications of both lamps that the YN-160 has a power 9.6W while the Apurture 160 LED lamp has a power of "<13" so mainly there is validity in your claim.

If the Apurture is really brighter or at least, close, and also has less green cast, it would seem a superior choice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taky Cheung

If you don't want to risk buying off eBay, I can offer this same PRO160 light to you at $39.

Thank you for the offer, but I think it would be more practical to order from China, as it is closer, and overseas shipping seems maybe to much overkill for three 40$ lights. But I see you have some interesting stuff on sale so I'm sure to comeback.
Never thought about the risk of buying from Ebay and also from China, but there's nothing much I can do. If I buy locally, besides the fact that they cost double, the risk is basically the same, as I didn't yet find such lights in real-life stores. Most of them are online, so you don't really have the option to check the product before buying.

Ryan Jones · May 9th, 2012, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taky Cheung

If you don't want to risk buying off eBay, I can offer this same PRO160 light to you at $39.

Pro 160-LED Video Light | L.A. Color Online

Just email me at info@lacoloronline.com for the DVInfo member discount. :)

Taky, I'm curious how a panel like this compares to more 'spotlight' design like a Comer 1800?

Andrew Dean · June 6th, 2012, 09:36 PM

I'm a bit late to this discussion, but I think with LEDs that "brightness" is really only one of three factors to weigh.

1. brightness (its definitely important)
2. color. if the light has a harsh green spike or has a cri that makes people look sickly, i don't care how bright it is.
3. spread. Lights like the 160 have a lot of punch, but are quite "spotty". That might be the look you want, but I find spotty LEDs look like headlights and require difusion to be useful to me.

I'm a big fan of the z96 lights. They have more punch than a lot of the fixtures with more leds (the number of LEDs isn't directly an indicator of brightness, as some leds are brighter than others and 200 crappy LEDs can be dimmer than 4 really bright ones). They also have a nice even spread and one of the better color renditions of any of the lower priced LED fixtures. I bought mine with a clone sony f970 battery and charger off ebay. I haven't done a full drain test, but i've gone over 6 hours off one of the batteries without any issues. (the z96 flashes when it is underpowered or the battery has gone too flat. I haven't had that happen yet.)

I didn't do this, but it illustrates the differences pretty well. You may prefer the brightness of the 160s. I preferred the "quality" of the z96 color and spread, even though its not as bright as the 160.

cheers!

May 7th, 2012, 09:57 AM	#1
Marius Tatarasanu New Boot Join Date: May 2012 Location: Bacau, Romania Posts: 22	An opinion on 160 LED lamps Hello, I want to invest the little I have in some lights. My budget and also my needs aren't very big, so I thought I should first buy myself three small 160 led lights like these below: Pro CN-160 LED camera video lamp light for Canon Nikon \| eBay Or maybe this pack: TTV-160 CN-160 YN-160 LED Video Photo Light for DV DC DSLR Camcorder Camera x 4 \| eBay I won't need that much light and will be using them for interviews mainly. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these kind of lights and my concerns revolve around two aspects: 1.The colour temperature of the lights, as I understand that some owners have problems and I also find it difficult to put my finger on what exact brand they are, because I seem to find them in a thousand different combos and names. 2.Flickering. As I saw at some owners of YN-160 video light and Canon T2i, this combination limits them to only use 1/30 shutter speed. My main reason to choose these lights are the costs and portability. I basically want good cheap lights that I can carry everywhere, and these seemed to fit the profile. If you could advise other brands, I would be more than thankful.

May 7th, 2012, 11:12 AM	#2
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	Re: An opinion on 160 LED lamps I have 3 of the 160s and honestly I think they're all built in China with different names on them. I used them for weddings this year and found they do have some power to them. The daylite filter is a bit off but not enough for me to worry about it. The indoor filter which is supposed to be 3200k is also a bit off so I use a bit of gel instead. As for interviews, I used them last week for just that. I actually liked them for that as long as I didn't have to go for a wide shot. I kept the lighing to within no more than 10 feet from the subjct and with a bit of diffusion and control on the power wheel I had very nice key and fill lighting and used the 3rd as a backlite. Frankly for the money I'm reasonably happy. Do they replace the big lights and softboxes or umbrellas or whatever one uses? Nope but for fast, down and dirty stuff and the weddings I do they work just fine. Overall I's give them an 8 out of 10. Hey for 40 bucks you can't really go wrong. __________________ What do I know? I'm just a video-O-grafer. Don

May 7th, 2012, 11:35 AM	#3
Buba Kastorski Trustee Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,414	Re: An opinion on 160 LED lamps Hey Marius, take a look at these lights, they have less green cast and 126 version is noticeably brighter than TTVs 160 I have both, but now i use only apurture, almost clean 5600k and brighter, i really like them and would also give em 8 out of 10 :) __________________ I love this place!

May 7th, 2012, 11:38 PM	#4
Taky Cheung Inner Circle Join Date: May 2007 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 2,114	Re: An opinion on 160 LED lamps If you don't want to risk buying off eBay, I can offer this same PRO160 light to you at $39. Pro 160-LED Video Light \| L.A. Color Online Just email me at info@lacoloronline.com for the DVInfo member discount. :) __________________ LA Color Pros Blog RODE Authorized Reseller . Comer LED Camera Lights . TakyBox HTML5 Menu Generator

June 6th, 2012, 09:36 PM	#7
Andrew Dean Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Motukarara, New Zealand Posts: 475	Re: An opinion on 160 LED lamps I'm a bit late to this discussion, but I think with LEDs that "brightness" is really only one of three factors to weigh. 1. brightness (its definitely important) 2. color. if the light has a harsh green spike or has a cri that makes people look sickly, i don't care how bright it is. 3. spread. Lights like the 160 have a lot of punch, but are quite "spotty". That might be the look you want, but I find spotty LEDs look like headlights and require difusion to be useful to me. I'm a big fan of the z96 lights. They have more punch than a lot of the fixtures with more leds (the number of LEDs isn't directly an indicator of brightness, as some leds are brighter than others and 200 crappy LEDs can be dimmer than 4 really bright ones). They also have a nice even spread and one of the better color renditions of any of the lower priced LED fixtures. I bought mine with a clone sony f970 battery and charger off ebay. I haven't done a full drain test, but i've gone over 6 hours off one of the batteries without any issues. (the z96 flashes when it is underpowered or the battery has gone too flat. I haven't had that happen yet.) I didn't do this, but it illustrates the differences pretty well. You may prefer the brightness of the 160s. I preferred the "quality" of the z96 color and spread, even though its not as bright as the 160. Cheap LED VIdeo Lights Shootout. - YouTube cheers!