1000w lighting kit... opinions?

[Jody Arnott]

Hey guys,

I know there are countless "what lights should I get" threads, so my apologies for starting a new one. However, I have a question about a specific lighting kit. I'm in the market for some lights, mainly for interview use, but my budget isn't very high. I found this kit online:

http://tinyurl.com/mleeozn

It looks like a pretty decent kit for the money. I did a bit of Googling but didn't find much. It uses QL1000 bulbs, and there's a slightly more expensive kit that uses HL1000 bulbs. Has anyone had any experience with this kit or anything similar?

And if not, can anyone recommend any other kits similar to this? Also, is there any way to run these off a battery for outdoor use?


Any advice appreciated.

[Arthur Gannis]

Running them off battery power would not be practical as the power draw of 1000W and a 240 V voltage would require an inverter ( DC to AC ) to step up the DC voltage to the much higher AC 240. As a quick calculation using a car battery of 13.5 Volts DC , and a rated capacity of 650 wh (watt hour) , you would be looking at approximately 20 minutes of run time with the consideration of converter loss, if such a converter exists for that 240 VAC step-up. As the battery starts to wear down, you may notice a lowering of color temperature to complicate matters. To gain run time you may need to parallel 2 batteries and for a 2 light set-up you will need 4 batteries. Those are mighty heavy to lug around. If battery operation is a main requirement, you can either go for the much lighter 14.4 volt DC bricks to power LED panels or just use a portable generator, again a heavy proposition. I custom made a led light using 12 power class leds to get 1000W filament equivalent using just a brick battery. Do you really require 1000W for interviews ?

[Jody Arnott]

Originally Posted by Arthur Gannis

Running them off battery power would not be practical as the power draw of 1000W and a 240 V voltage would require an inverter ( DC to AC ) to step up the DC voltage to the much higher AC 240. As a quick calculation using a car battery of 13.5 Volts DC , and a rated capacity of 650 wh (watt hour) , you would be looking at approximately 20 minutes of run time with the consideration of converter loss, if such a converter exists for that 240 VAC step-up. As the battery starts to wear down, you may notice a lowering of color temperature to complicate matters. To gain run time you may need to parallel 2 batteries and for a 2 light set-up you will need 4 batteries. Those are mighty heavy to lug around. If battery operation is a main requirement, you can either go for the much lighter 14.4 volt DC bricks to power LED panels or just use a portable generator, again a heavy proposition. I custom made a led light using 12 power class leds to get 1000W filament equivalent using just a brick battery. Do you really require 1000W for interviews ?

No, I don't require 1000w. Any suggestions of something more practical would be appreciated though :)

How do mobile new crews and such power their lights when doing field work?

As you may have gathered, lighting is something I haven't had a lot of experience with. This purchase will be my first set of lights.

[James Redmond]

I have to say that I got a couple of the Sabre lights (made by Art) and am very happy with them. I had mine configured to work off of Canon batteries and they work very well. I also got the one that had dual color temperature so I can use the color temperature I need. With using batteries, they are quick and easy to setup. James

[Arthur Gannis]

For outdoor field use, especially when the sun is out, filling in shadows require a huge amount of light unless the subject to light source distance is very short. Field crews have HMI lighting and at times generators for the multiple HMI heads with output equivalents in the thousands of watts 1K, 2K, 4 K, etc. Not something that is battery operated. For indoor settings, or when the ambient light levels are low, then that is a different set-up altogether and one can get away with far less light light output requirements. Many light manufacturers spec their products in light intensity as LUX units at a certain distance for reference. A 900 lux light at 3 feet distance is around a 50 watt light bulb. 1800 lux at 3 feet is around a 100 watt bulb. The Watt figure is NOT a measure of brightness BUT the POWER consumed from the electrical powering source, wether it is from the wall socket of from a battery. Led lights would roughly consume about 25% of their bulb counterparts, so a 100 watt common kitchen bulb ( 1800 lumens ) can be matched by a led unit drawing 25 watts. Many other factors should be considered but this is a rough guide. Battery operated LED panels for interview work are very popular and `i would suggest at least those that have a minimum lux @ 3 ft. specs of at least 2400 lux.
Camera sensors are great at low light capabilities nowadays and led units are a viable choice for ease of set-up and portability. You can check out Coolights leds which are rugged and have a variety of choices. Great for studio,interview, commercial use.

[Jody Arnott]

Thanks for the input. I'm looking at something like this now:

http://www.photoshack.co.nz/afawcs01...l#.UhVUnBZVhFQ

5900lux @ 3ft with battery plate and adjustable colour temp.

My only concern is that it's a lot cheaper than most other LED of that type I've seen. Should I spend the extra and go with a decent brand like Ikan?

[Jerry Porter]

If you're going to spend the money on LED's I would go with coollights. Ikan is not top shelf in my opinion.

[Jody Arnott]

Originally Posted by Jerry Porter

If you're going to spend the money on LED's I would go with coollights. Ikan is not top shelf in my opinion.

They're not available in my country unfortunately. And shipping costs make it not worth the effort.

[Arthur Gannis]

The 5900 lux spec at 1 meter is most likely at the neutral ( both warm and cool sets of leds ON ) position, as being around the 4000K color rendition. At the 5600K setting it would probably be more like 3300 lux and at the warm 3200K setting in the 2600 lux. By having both sets ON it would be at the 5900 lux brightness. The cooler (5600K) leds always put out more brightness than the warmer (3200K) counterparts. I am just putting out numbers here as I have not seen their detailed photometric specs. Still, it's not a bad light that can consume 36 watts from a brick V mount battery. You should easily get well over 2 hour run time from a 90wh V mount battery. Most panels that size are usually about the same in brightness and differences are in materials used and ruggedness. Similar panels can vary greatly in pricing as there are hundreds out there to choose from. To me it looks like a versatile unit and should be great for interview work.
Two of them would allow more control of lighting possibilities. See if they offer a power adapter that allows AC operation from the wall socket, as that can be very useful at times. Will more expensive units be better ?
Hard to answer that question as many manufacturers place a premium on a brand name product but I would test the light on a real interview set-up and determine if it does the job fine. A return merchandise policy would be nice unless there is a store that you can go and compare different models on hand.

[Jody Arnott]

Originally Posted by Arthur Gannis

The 5900 lux spec at 1 meter is most likely at the neutral ( both warm and cool sets of leds ON ) position, as being around the 4000K color rendition. At the 5600K setting it would probably be more like 3300 lux and at the warm 3200K setting in the 2600 lux. By having both sets ON it would be at the 5900 lux brightness. The cooler (5600K) leds always put out more brightness than the warmer (3200K) counterparts. I am just putting out numbers here as I have not seen their detailed photometric specs. Still, it's not a bad light that can consume 36 watts from a brick V mount battery. You should easily get well over 2 hour run time from a 90wh V mount battery. Most panels that size are usually about the same in brightness and differences are in materials used and ruggedness. Similar panels can vary greatly in pricing as there are hundreds out there to choose from. To me it looks like a versatile unit and should be great for interview work.
Two of them would allow more control of lighting possibilities. See if they offer a power adapter that allows AC operation from the wall socket, as that can be very useful at times. Will more expensive units be better ?
Hard to answer that question as many manufacturers place a premium on a brand name product but I would test the light on a real interview set-up and determine if it does the job fine. A return merchandise policy would be nice unless there is a store that you can go and compare different models on hand.

Great, that's exactly the answer I was looking for. Thanks, I appreciate the input.

After a bit of research, I've found that the light I'm looking at is the CN-600CSA (seen here http://tinyurl.com/krxupu4)

Anyone had any experience with them? I'm just hoping it will be bright enough for outdoor interview use.

[Arthur Gannis]

I see that they include the AC adapter with the unit.
Their specs indicate that the `LM ( lumens) output of 3334.3
That is an extremely exact figure to go as far as a decimal place. Assuming that is correct, there is no way that figure equates to their 860 watt tungsten light equivalent.
A 100 watt tungsten light ( your common kitchen bulb) radiates 1800 lumens and at the 3334.4 lumen spec would correctly be a 185 watt light bulb. That makes much more sense than 860 watts claimed.
Seems they all claim a much higher output than it actually produces.

[Jody Arnott]

Was just browsing Ebay and found this:

YONGNUO YN 600 600pcs LED Studio Video Light for Canon Nikon Sony Camcorder DSLR | eBay

It seems to be a new product judging by the lack of info on the internet. They're incredibly cheap for what you're getting.

I'm thinking of buying one to test out. But before I do, has anyone used or had any experience with these?

[Tim Lewis]

Have you seen the flickering dance floor in one of the other threads? Everyone there seems to be of the opinion that it is caused by the "cheap Chinese" LEDs, especially when they are dimmed. Pulse width or something. That said, I have been looking at the lights you refer to in your last post and thinking a pair might be nice.