Camera Top Light
 

I have to do some pick ups and don't feel like dragging all of the lights along as there is pretty good ambient light on this particular shot.

However I do need to punch in a little front fill...what are some recommendations for a very very good light that I can mount on the 2100?

Hang the expense...money is no object!!! Ha!!!

MP

i hear the sony 10/20 is the best for the vx2100

LitePanel
 

If you are going to use a top light a lot, think about the Litepanel. It can really warm up an interview. I use the spot version because I think the throw on the flood is too short. You will spend about $700 for the DV kit, but for the amount I have used the light, it was money well spent.

Sony also has an LED (HVL-LBP (LED Battery Video Light) light that will be out in a few month, that will work with their 970 series batteries.
check it out here:

http://bssc.sel.sony.com/Broadcastan...-V1U/acce.html

Also Varizzom has just released a new LED light (S-2010) that looks promissing, but I haven't heard any feedback on it yet. It runs on whatever battery connection you need for your camera (different battery connection for different cameras).

check it out here:
http://varizoom.com/products/batteri...10_series.html

I currently use and love, a PAG C6 light system, that gives a fantastic even light source. It comes with barn doors, and daylight (dioptic) and diffuse filers attached to the light. It is made of a hard plasic so the light body itself does not get real hot, and you can swap out bulbs 10-30w, in a second.

I actually have everything the barn door filer attachment (lets me atatch various gels to the light as well as extra batteries.

check it out here:
http://www.paguk.com/c6/

Question about the PAG C6 system: What kind of connector does the power cable have at the battery end of the cable? Friction or locking?

If you want something very flexible for an on camera light check out the Zylight. Adjustable CT via push buttons and more, much more as well.
It's way more than just an on camera light but certainly cost wise up there with the Litpanels. Smaller and more flexible though.

Kino minis are great, as are the litepanels. If you need "punch" and money is no object, nothing beats a jokerbug with a baby softbox. It'll be hard to get that kinda punch otherwise.

I just received mine on Wednesday. Very impressed with it based on limited test footage.

I'll be using it tonight on a "Jolly Trolly" ride from the wedding rehearsal to the rehearsal party, then tomorrow night at the outdoor wedding reception (isn't Florida great?). Ask me again next week how what I really think.

If price is REALLY no object, you could look at the Frezzi line of onboard lighting:

http://www.frezzi.com/products.htm

Or, for the ultimate in flexibility, The Paglight system allows you to have one onboard light, then replacable backs that can SWITCH from halogen to HMI:

http://www.paglight.com/

I really like the Paglight, as it really does run cooler than similar onboard lights, it's focusable, it's dimmable if you get the PowerMax/VariLux lampholder, and you can always upgrade later to the PowerArc (HMI) option.

Hvl-bpl
 

Anyone hear a price quoted for the sony HVL-BPL???

Bill, how'd it go?

Sorry for the delay in replying, but I've been BUSY!

The day after the wedding I shot a landscape seminar with one fixed camera and one trying to follow the movements of the speaker plus closeups of what she was showing.

The next weekend my son and I shot approx. 13 hours of footage at a SF convention. For me, the personal highlight was when it was all over and my wife and I drove Vernor Vinge and Harry Turtledove to dinner, had them sitting at our table all night long, then drove them back to the hotel! :-)

OK, back to business.

The Varizoom LED light was a great performer, allowing me to capture a lot of footage that would otherwise have been lost or noisy with high gain.

On the way to the rehearsal dinner on the "Jolley Trolley" I was able to use it as a fill light with the sunset in the background. Excellent exposures of the faces while retaining beautiful sunset colors.

At the wedding reception (night time, outdoor under a tent with low ambient lighting) it allowed me to perfectly capture events like the 1st dance. The diffuser did an great job of softening the light, and the color balance couldn't have been better!

At the SF con I was able to capture footage such as at the audience at the obligatory Rocky Horror Picture Show.

You just have to remember that it is only a 40W equivilant light and that you won't be able to light up the whole room.

It probably helps that the light was almost 10" above the lens on top of my NRG 3-way shoe adaptor. This also let me camera mount my Oktava MK-012 mic on a shock absorbing camera mount.

The Varizoom wasn't cheap, but I feel it was worth the investment!

Litepanel and camera size
 

anyone know how this series balances on top of the camera? The litepanel is about 1/2 the size of most of the DV cameras!

I have one. It's balanced well when using a shoe mount / ball head. But, if the light is off centered (on a Noga arm) the side to side balance will be affected. It's not that bad, but you should be aware of it.

Speaking of Litepanels...

DV Magazine (which arrived in the mail today) has an advertisement for a "new" Litepanels MiniPlus. Basically, it will be 30% brighter, with an optional remote dimmer available. There is a $200 rebate on the MiniPlus DV Kit, until 4/15/07 or while supplies last. Just thought I'd share.

cool, thx for the info.

Thanks Brian - was in the market for a second litepanels mini for my new Sony V1U camera and almost bought one of the "old" lights - now it sounds like it is worth waiting for and also save some money to boot. They don't even have the new light on their website yet.

Varizoom S-2010f LED light
 

I've been using this new S-2000 series LED on-cam light from Varizoom for several months now, and have grown to greatly appreciate and depend on it. You can read my review of the kit in this month's issue of DV Magazine.

B&H has them priced under $370.

Hi Matt, nice article, as I read it last week.
I have a question about the light distribution.

How would you rate this light for light output (throw light distance wise)?

I have heard reports, that the LED lights have much less throw ability compared to their tungsten counterparts.

That's a good question. I've not seen any head-to-head comparisons made, and don't really have a good comparitive light to do one myself. If you look at specs quoted by each mfr, maybe that will shed some light on the subject (har har har)...

Varizoom claims output is 550 lux at 1m.
Frezzi 35watt Micro-Fill specs claim 103 fc at 5ft.
Obviously these two companies speak very different languages. :-)

Fortunately for us, Google can translate lux to footcandles, and returns 550 lux as 51 fc. So there is definitately a disparity, and perhaps those numbers support the argument that LED lights throw shorter than tungsten? As a comparison (and to further confuse), I've read that Litepanels put out 60 fc at 2ft and 18 fc at 8ft.

In practice, the Varizoom LED at full output can light a subject at 10' in a dimly lit setting well enough to get a nice clean image using a Sony FX1 or Z1U with little or no gain. That is with the light's 3200k filter and diffuser engaged. If you back off to 15', I would say that it's time to remove the diffuser. This focuses the beam quite a bit, and would bring the subject up to the level of light at 10' diffused. For me, that capability is more than enough. More often than not, I'm dimming the light down. Thankfully the light dims down to a level that is comfortable to look into, so it works well when used as a close-in fill or catch light.

That output capability coupled with the battery life, simple onboard filters, and general ease of use make the Varizoom LED my on-cam light system of choice.

Thanks Matt. I currently use a PAG C6 light system (with 35w bulbs). And ahve been very happy with it. but I am looking for a more powerful and maybe compact light, which is why I was interested in the Varizoom or the new Sony light.

My next light will be either one of those or a NRG Varalux Pro light and battery belt. This light is dimmable with built in dispersion grid and it's 100w so I could bounce the light off of the ceiling if needed, or shoot across the room with it. although it's on the larger side.

BTW how big is the Varizoom light? This and the Sony look pretty honking in size.

The real small lights like the Mite-Lite and the Mini-Fill, are just too narrow a beam for me.

Man I hate making decisions like this.

The dimensions listed in official specs are pretty close...3.9" x 2.9" x 2.4"
Though I personally would have measured it at 4" (tall) x 3.25" (deep) x 2.4" (wide). Bear in mind those are for the light itself. The battery mount clamp (sans battery) is 2.5" x 4" x 1.75"

There's a hi-res shot of it mounted on a Sony FX1 in the review. It's hi-res online anyway, I haven't seen my print copy of DV yet... :-(

Hope that helps.

I own the Varizoom LED light - it's very good for a fill, but, as with my other posts throughout, I partially demoed this light for "x company" and while it's great in terms of the parallels of the DV article, the throw distance is not anything great - particularly when compared to the other LED-based lights....about 6 or so feet at full brightness is about the max....the spread isn't too bad for HD or SD (16:9) but as with any LED, the throw is NOT going to be as powerful as a halogen or similar.

Mike - if you want, give me a call and I'll bring it to our next meeting.

I am also looking for a good camera light for my Canon XL-H1 but I am not sure what to buy. So many choices and it is hard to find reviews.

These are some models I have been looking at:

IDX X3KIT
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...On_Camera.html

PAG 1001 C6 camera top lighting kit
http://www.creativevideo.co.uk/publi..._number=pag_c6

Sony HVL-LBP led on-camea light (would mean I have to buy Sony batteries)
http://www.creativevideo.co.uk/publi...r=sony_hvl-lbp

Litepanel Canon kit:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...amera_Kit.html (not sure wether to go for Spot or Flood)

I might invest in an Anton Bauer or IDX system as otherwise I will have so many different batteries.

yet 1 more
 

look at the Varizoom S-2000 series.
they are led (so they don't change color when dimmed + low power usage), dimmable, comes with barn doors and indoor filter. Uses same battery as the camera (not at the same time but u can use your spare). It fits in the hotshoe. Only thing is where to mount the battery holder. Check it out. Mine works well if u only need about 10 watts

The Varizoom is not even shown on the website. Has it been discontinued?

I don't think so. Mine is only 2 months old. Try going to B & H photo.

Yes, not listed on the Varizoom website but listed on BH Photo Video.

Here they are at B&H
I love these lights.

Yes, I know they show them on B&H but they are out of stock for my Canon mount. I went looking for other retailers from the Varizoom website. Can't find Varizoom lights anywhere on their own site.

From those that you mentioned, here's what I have to state...

The top three recommendations, in listed order of most favorable to least are:

1> Sony LBP
2> LitePanel (Tungsten)
3> Varizoom

The varizoom light is nice...see my other posts. The LitePanel has very nice widescreen-type distribution and the overall throw and color representation is fantastic. The only thing I don't like is having more cords go between the camera and my belt, and also the fact that it must use two of the same batteries which adds some weight. The tungsten adds a nice warm color and can be day-light balanced but if you buy the day-light and use a cto, you'll lose about a stop. I use the Mini Plus series (the newest ones).

The Sony LBP light is wonderful as well. It has some weight to it and makes the camera very front heavy, and you need to use a large Sony battery (3rd-party batteries won't work). It has a battery tester and indicator, with barn doors, a diffuser, and a magnifier which throws some really great yet blinding light. My complaint about this light is that it takes about 1-1/2 seconds to turn on and about eight seconds for checking battery status. It's a very long time when in run-and-gun situations. It's day-light balanced and a 1/4 cto does just fine for the warmer look.

"My complaint about this light is that it takes about 1-1/2 seconds to turn on and about eight seconds for checking battery status."

I am really getting sick of companies instituting Draconian measures to protect an insignificant part of their business and hurting the users of their products. Eight seconds to wait in event videos would seem like an eternity. I am a person that generally likes Sony products but their various digital protection schemes are blatantly offensive to their own paying customers. I'm not just talking about batteries. Their whole corporate philosophy seems to have turned into a "defend every penny, even at the cost of a dollar" mentality.

If this kind of thing keeps up, Canon or Panasonic are going to get a new customer. As it is, I'm definitely no longer saving up to buy their video light.

Ah, I see. Well, I do know that SWIT makes them for Varizoom, and I believe they also sell them under the SWIT brand. So perhaps if you can find a SWIT reseller...

It's about a 1-1/2 second delay from turning the light on to it actually being on...the 8 second delay is the time it takes to show you the charge capacity of the battery. And yes, it's annoying with what they did with the battery issue; I had 27 Lenmar batteries that I used with the PD170's a few years back and when I got my first Z1U a few years ago and found out that it only worked with Sony's, I spent a fortune replacing all of my batteries - which Sony's are not only more expensive but they don't last as long, either. I now have 20~ Sony batteries and several more Z/V1U cameras and it was a heck of a cost.

That's why I want to go Anton Bauer/IDX with my Canon XL-H1. Really not planning to invest in proprietary batteries from whatever brand.

Double post.

Hi,
Anyone have experience with Unomat video headlamps?
I want to use with my GL2 /XM2 in wedding situation.
http://www.unomat.de/en/sub-produkte.asp?cat=83&PAGE=4
(Canon VL3 is just 3W, VL10 is a big, heavy lamp, i want something else..)

Here, i like the 20W version DC3000 and DC220 SP/BP.
(SP seems heavier but its in local store here)
Do i need a softener in front of it?


thx,
Marton