Light for a Z1U. at DVinfo.net

John Mahoney · May 2nd, 2013, 06:56 AM

I'm considering the purchase of a Sony HVL-20DW2 to use with my Z1U. My present light setup is 4x250W Halogen work lights. "Work" as in "Workshop" that get used for my still photos. They give me good results apart from the need to let them cool after the shoot before trying to dismantle them. I'm wondering what everyone else thinks would be suitable. Would the HVL pose a problem as far as amount of light on the subject goes? Distance from camera to subject would be no more than about 10 ft. Would the HVL alone be enough light?
Many thanks.

Warren Kawamoto · May 2nd, 2013, 09:00 AM

I have 2 of those Sony HVL-20DW2, very happy with them as they have an extremely small footprint. I also love the fact that the bulbs are tungsten, the colors render true and accurate for skin tones. I don't really understand what you are trying to shoot by your description, but I found the Sony HVL-20DW2 to be sufficient for doing interviews, and as an on-camera light to fill shadows.

John Mahoney · May 2nd, 2013, 04:24 PM

Hi Warren. Thanks for your reply. Will be shooting indoors stuff, like family vids. Or parties. Basically use it as a fill light. I saw it mentioned in a post that was discussing a wish list of items that were "essential items" for the Z1U, and realised I may need a light. I was considering an LED light, but thought that type might not stack up.
I had not considered I might need more than one, tho'.
Do you have any thoughts on the use of the halogen lights for the same situation. My thinking is that the halogens might give me more coverage.
What battery do you use? I have a 970 I think will do.
Many thanks.

Warren Kawamoto · May 2nd, 2013, 09:53 PM

Come to think of it, I've been using the Sony light for almost 10 years now! It's always been in my bag of tricks and never let me down. I'm also using a 970 battery to power it. I don't know how long it'll last because I never shot with it until it died. (Probably over 2 hours) I use it mainly for parties, dancing, wedding reception interviews, and general fill light. Recently I've been experimenting with the Chromo 160 LED (from Amazon) which is bigger and bulkier, but uses the same battery. The Chromo puts out way more light than the Sony and is super cheap, but it has the dreaded green spike which makes people's skin greenish. A magenta filter comes with it which may help a bit. I have not yet used the LED on a real shoot. The Chromo also comes with a daylight to tungsten conversion filter, but I've read that the color correction is not that accurate. I'll test this a little more before I use it on a real shoot.

Don Bloom · May 3rd, 2013, 05:17 AM

I have 2 of the LEDs that Warren described although they are a different name. I'll be quite frank here and say that 1) they are plastic so they seem a bit fragile but I've kicked mine around and they're fine but I don't recommend dropping them from any height. 2) I haven't had a problem with the green spike. I've put a lot of hours on them both on camera and on stands as a key and fill for stand up run an gun interviews as well as 2 person sit down set ups. I WB to a white card under those lights and in post I've looked for anomalies and haven't found any. Finally for the $35 or $40 each that they cost if there was some green spike that others have noticed I can use the magenta filter that comes with the kit and be quite happy if for no other reason the money and the light spread, but then I'm also not as critical as a lot of people either but I can assure you I wouldn't put martian green folks in my work.
I had one of the Sony lights many years ago and while it put out a good amount of light it was IMO very harsh and far more offensive to peoples eyes than 90% of the LEDs out today. I got rid of it and went with an Anton Bauer Ultra light with appropriate bulb size for the work I was doing along with a softbox for indoors and a filter for outdoors. Still have that light, it was/is one of the best I ever used. Guess that's why they're still in use today by many news stations.

Arthur Gannis · May 3rd, 2013, 07:33 PM

The HVL-20DW2 projects a spotty beam and not well suited when your lens is set on wide. It has no dimming capability other than the high or low setting. On the high setting it sucks out 30 watts from the bat for an equivalent lux @ 3ft measurement ( if you want to compare it to leds) is roughly 900 lux. considering a spotty beam angle of around 35 degrees. I had a few of them myself and the biggest issue I hed with them was that when the voltage starts to drop near the end of the battery charge, the color temperature starts going orangeish or deep yellow and faces need a little CC in post. Leds are really good in color rendition, depend on the model, but the advantages are many. Many models take readily to the Sony L series or NP-F batteries.

John Mahoney · May 3rd, 2013, 10:29 PM

The more the merrier. Opinions and experiences, that is. Thanks Arthur. I guess LEDs would have a different effect from what I would get with the work lights with the down side of not really knowing until I try. In any case I'll see how the work lights go first. I've not tried to whilte balance with a video camera,so may go down that track first.

May 2nd, 2013, 06:56 AM	#1
John Mahoney Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Gympie Australia Posts: 47	Light for a Z1U. I'm considering the purchase of a Sony HVL-20DW2 to use with my Z1U. My present light setup is 4x250W Halogen work lights. "Work" as in "Workshop" that get used for my still photos. They give me good results apart from the need to let them cool after the shoot before trying to dismantle them. I'm wondering what everyone else thinks would be suitable. Would the HVL pose a problem as far as amount of light on the subject goes? Distance from camera to subject would be no more than about 10 ft. Would the HVL alone be enough light? Many thanks.

May 2nd, 2013, 09:00 AM	#2
Warren Kawamoto Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,435	Re: Light for a Z1U. I have 2 of those Sony HVL-20DW2, very happy with them as they have an extremely small footprint. I also love the fact that the bulbs are tungsten, the colors render true and accurate for skin tones. I don't really understand what you are trying to shoot by your description, but I found the Sony HVL-20DW2 to be sufficient for doing interviews, and as an on-camera light to fill shadows.

May 2nd, 2013, 04:24 PM	#3
John Mahoney Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Gympie Australia Posts: 47	Re: Light for a Z1U. Hi Warren. Thanks for your reply. Will be shooting indoors stuff, like family vids. Or parties. Basically use it as a fill light. I saw it mentioned in a post that was discussing a wish list of items that were "essential items" for the Z1U, and realised I may need a light. I was considering an LED light, but thought that type might not stack up. I had not considered I might need more than one, tho'. Do you have any thoughts on the use of the halogen lights for the same situation. My thinking is that the halogens might give me more coverage. What battery do you use? I have a 970 I think will do. Many thanks. Last edited by John Mahoney; May 2nd, 2013 at 05:24 PM. Reason: added text

May 2nd, 2013, 09:53 PM	#4
Warren Kawamoto Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,435	Re: Light for a Z1U. Come to think of it, I've been using the Sony light for almost 10 years now! It's always been in my bag of tricks and never let me down. I'm also using a 970 battery to power it. I don't know how long it'll last because I never shot with it until it died. (Probably over 2 hours) I use it mainly for parties, dancing, wedding reception interviews, and general fill light. Recently I've been experimenting with the Chromo 160 LED (from Amazon) which is bigger and bulkier, but uses the same battery. The Chromo puts out way more light than the Sony and is super cheap, but it has the dreaded green spike which makes people's skin greenish. A magenta filter comes with it which may help a bit. I have not yet used the LED on a real shoot. The Chromo also comes with a daylight to tungsten conversion filter, but I've read that the color correction is not that accurate. I'll test this a little more before I use it on a real shoot.

May 3rd, 2013, 05:17 AM	#5
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	Re: Light for a Z1U. I have 2 of the LEDs that Warren described although they are a different name. I'll be quite frank here and say that 1) they are plastic so they seem a bit fragile but I've kicked mine around and they're fine but I don't recommend dropping them from any height. 2) I haven't had a problem with the green spike. I've put a lot of hours on them both on camera and on stands as a key and fill for stand up run an gun interviews as well as 2 person sit down set ups. I WB to a white card under those lights and in post I've looked for anomalies and haven't found any. Finally for the $35 or $40 each that they cost if there was some green spike that others have noticed I can use the magenta filter that comes with the kit and be quite happy if for no other reason the money and the light spread, but then I'm also not as critical as a lot of people either but I can assure you I wouldn't put martian green folks in my work. I had one of the Sony lights many years ago and while it put out a good amount of light it was IMO very harsh and far more offensive to peoples eyes than 90% of the LEDs out today. I got rid of it and went with an Anton Bauer Ultra light with appropriate bulb size for the work I was doing along with a softbox for indoors and a filter for outdoors. Still have that light, it was/is one of the best I ever used. Guess that's why they're still in use today by many news stations. __________________ What do I know? I'm just a video-O-grafer. Don

May 3rd, 2013, 07:33 PM	#6
Arthur Gannis Major Player Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: New Jersey USA Posts: 504	Re: Light for a Z1U. The HVL-20DW2 projects a spotty beam and not well suited when your lens is set on wide. It has no dimming capability other than the high or low setting. On the high setting it sucks out 30 watts from the bat for an equivalent lux @ 3ft measurement ( if you want to compare it to leds) is roughly 900 lux. considering a spotty beam angle of around 35 degrees. I had a few of them myself and the biggest issue I hed with them was that when the voltage starts to drop near the end of the battery charge, the color temperature starts going orangeish or deep yellow and faces need a little CC in post. Leds are really good in color rendition, depend on the model, but the advantages are many. Many models take readily to the Sony L series or NP-F batteries.

May 3rd, 2013, 10:29 PM	#7
John Mahoney Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Gympie Australia Posts: 47	Re: Light for a Z1U. The more the merrier. Opinions and experiences, that is. Thanks Arthur. I guess LEDs would have a different effect from what I would get with the work lights with the down side of not really knowing until I try. In any case I'll see how the work lights go first. I've not tried to whilte balance with a video camera,so may go down that track first.