anything new on LED?

[Osmany Tellez]

so sorry if this is way too repetive of a subject...i hope not too much....!!!!

seems like LED should have move a long way since i bought my then expensive Lipanel micro. I bought 2 of them but one just got a short circuit and wont work...besides they produce ver very small light.

I looking to buy a new on camara or off camera LED and look and look but don't seem there is anything new, better or cheaper out there..

i'm taking a look at the HDV-Z96 LED..and it seems like a good light..a bit expensive but i guess is worthy.

any ideas out there? anything better and cheaper? better options?

hope it helps me and others..

thank youuuuuu

[Michael Liebergot]

There are lots of possibilities these days, especially with Chinese LED lights.

There the bi-color temp

LED312AS, Video LED Light Kit

 

LED312AS, Video LED Light Kit

The same LED light but smaller

LED 209AS, Video LED Light Kit

 

LED 209AS, Video LED Light Kit

and there's many others, but these are 2 of the more popular ones these days.

BTW I use the LED312as lights on light stands for wedding receptions. Works great, as I love the bi-color temp and spread. The Litepanels Micro can't compare to either of these lights for strength, spread, and color temp functionality.

[Peter Riding]

I've never heard the Z96 described as expensive. I have six of them. Where are you buying from?

The same manufacturer has just brought out a more powerful R-300 which looks promising. Reviewed on Cheesycam:

New F&V R-300 LED Video Ring Light CheesyCam

Pete

[Les Wilson]

What's new are powerful single LED systems such as the Sola from Litepanels and the Zylight line of lights. The Sola is a Fresnel that lets you shape the light. There's a lesser powered Dedo LEDzilla that is also a single LED fresnel. The Zylight Z90 and the Lowel Blender both let you blend daylight and tungsten balanced LEDs to dial in the exact color temperature you need/want. The Lowel is a multiple LED panel system while the Zylight is 3 LEDs (red, green, blue) that act as one.

What is also new is the ability to control a light remotely. The Zylights let you do this from any one of the lights or from a remote control.

[Adrian Tan]

Peter, I'm glad you mentioned that light. I've been looking around for a ringlight lately...

Osmany, I don't know what's new-new, but here's two on-camera lights I've been using for weddings (in addition to cheap Chinese LEDs, which produce a yucky-coloured light, but are very useful):

-- http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/824710-REG/Switronix_TL_BT200_TorchLED_Bolt_On_Camera_LED.html -- currently on special from B&H. Powerful enough to be used in daylight conditions, has one switch for tungsten and one switch for daylight, and you can mix to create different colours. I think it's been out less than a year.
-- http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/756900-REG/Rotolight_RL_RL48_CCK_Video_Light_Color_Kit.html, which obviously have been out a few years. Produce a very nice quality light. Not all that powerful, though, and, under event conditions, it's a big pain in the butt that they're not dimmable (apart from changing out the filters). But the fact you can mount them over your microphone is something I've found handy.

In the world of more expensive lights, the http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/812828-REG/Arri_553500C_L7_C_Color_LED_Fresnel.html is fairly new I think.

Rotolight and Zacuto are also bringing out very interesting new lights.

[Osmany Tellez]

hello Peter.

I guess the $200 if i include an extra battery is not that bad....i think i paid more for my litepanel. do you own them? how does it compare to the litepanel in terms of light output? is it bright enough?

thanks for sharing info...the ring light looks very cool..i never used ring lights before....worry to have a light wraped around my lens..ummmm.

Hi Michael.

the chinese ones seem good..just a bit under the selling price of the HDV-Z96 LED..you own them? is the light quality good? and strong?

thanks a lot.

[Michael Liebergot]

Osmany yes I have those lights as well as the Z96 lights. The Z96 lights I got off of ebay from China, as they were much cheaper than going with the rebranded (packaged) U.S. based lights.

As I said the 312AS is MUCH stronger than the Z96 lights. While the pure daylight is a little green in it's cast, the light itself is bi-color temp. So it's very easy to dial in your color temp to match the ambient room light.

As I said I use these mainly for wedding reception use. I use (2) LED312AS lights on light stands placed near the dance floor and the PA speakers. I rigged up a remote control for the light so i can turn the lights on/off as needed with a key chain remote. The light spread from 2 lights 10-12 feet above the dance floor is very good.

Just so you know there is also a few stronger LED lights from the same manufacturer.

The Fotodiox Pro LED-508AS and the Fotodiox Pro LED-876AS

I currently shoot with Sony NX5U cameras (not DSLR), and this past season I didn't really have the need to use my on camera lights. If you shoot with DSLR and 1.2-1.8 glass you should be more than fine.

For the times where I didn't want on camera light for added fill light I use the 209AS light. Even though I have the Z96 lights also, I like the dual color temp of the 209AS over the Z96. Although the Z96 works perfectly fine as well.

I never considered the Litepanel Micro because I knew that it didn't have enough throw for me for on camera use. And at the time I had (2) Comer1800 lights. Which were great as well and I highly recommend them. But I for on camera use it was a bit overkill for me.

I have also used the LED312AS for a make shift field studio kit, and it works well for that. For actual studio use I use Coolight LED600 and LED256 lights. Cool Lights LED Fixtures - Cool Lights USA

Just so you know I have also heard very good things on the Torchled Bolt, for both strength and color accuracy.

[Peter Riding]

Originally Posted by Osmany Tellez

I guess the $200 if i include an extra battery is not that bad....i think i paid more for my litepanel. do you own them? how does it compare to the litepanel in terms of light output? is it bright enough?

thanks for sharing info...the ring light looks very cool..i never used ring lights before....worry to have a light wraped around my lens..ummmm.

Hi Michael.

the chinese ones seem good..just a bit under the selling price of the HDV-Z96 LED..you own them? is the light quality good? and strong?

I got all six of my Z96's from ebay store Greenlife Style:
Camcorder Camera LED Light, Lens Hood items in GreenLife Style store on eBay!

They are the genuine F & V ones, not knockoffs. Very affordable but I can't see a shipping rate for your destination.

There can be a very slight difference in colour between units but not so much as matters.

They are very adaptable as they can be fastened together in numerous configurations to make larger light sources.

I use them all with AA rechargeables. On FULL power they last a minimum of around 75 minutes, much longer on lower power. When the juice gets low some units start to strobe. You can get much longer times using Sony batteries instead and Greenlife sell adapters that enable just one sony battery to power up to 4 x Z96's.

I haven't used sony batteries but if I did I'd probably buy third party ones from LA Color, who I think may be members on here. See them via their Z96 page:
HDV-Z96 LED Photo/Video Light Kit | L.A. Color Online

I don't have Litepanels (the units are too large for my purposes) so I cannot compare.

The new ringlights can be placed on lightstands etc so they don't necessarily have to go around the lens :- )

Pete

[Chris Harding]

Hi Pete

I using the on-camera lights called 5010 A on eBay which use 6 x PowerLED's and are much nicer than the multiLED lights..they come with a Sony FP950 battery which lasts ALL night for me!!

Nigel Barker uses them as well and has also found the new one which has 8 LED's which is even better. I have an 8 PowerLED one on order due here anytime now so I'm looking forward to it...Apart from size I find the the PowerLED lights have a better build and a MUCH sturdier mounting base too..on my old multiLED lights I had to end up ripping out the coldshoe mount and bolting a mini-ballhead under them otherwise they wobbled like crazy!!!

Chris

[Osmany Tellez]

Thanks Michael...very very helpful.

now i have a choice to make.

i love the idea of the more power 312AS, and the idea of putting them on stand..but i wonder the size of them..as i'm thinking that if for some receptions i don't wanna go the trouble of setting up light stand and moving it..i will want to just mount it on my camera shoemount and fly it on steady...or take it with me around. ummmmm.

i might have to get one of each...jejeje..
will look at the cheaper one's you metioned.

thanks so much.
feel ready to expend more $$$$ soon...arrrrr.

gracias

[Michael Liebergot]

Osmany, given the choice I prefer using these on a light stand.
There's no cabling required as they're self powered and I have mine setup to be remote controlled. Setup takes me 10 minutes max to setup 2 lights.

It's so easy to reposition these as needed for a shoot.
Mine normally don't move once they're set by the dance floor. But sometimes I reposition them for the garter/bouquet toss and cake cutting.

The image of off camera lighting is more flattering than on camera lighting. As it adds depth to your image as opposed to the flat direct on camera lighting.
I still keep a light (smaller 209AS or Z96) on my camera and use it as needed for fill lighting or lighting away from the stationary lights.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

Hi Pete

I using the on-camera lights called 5010 A on eBay which use 6 x PowerLED's and are much nicer than the multiLED lights..they come with a Sony FP950 battery which lasts ALL night for me!!

Nigel Barker uses them as well and has also found the new one which has 8 LED's which is even better. I have an 8 PowerLED one on order due here anytime now so I'm looking forward to it...Apart from size I find the the PowerLED lights have a better build and a MUCH sturdier mounting base too..on my old multiLED lights I had to end up ripping out the coldshoe mount and bolting a mini-ballhead under them otherwise they wobbled like crazy!!!

Chris

The 5010A LEDs are much brighter than the other cheap lights mentioned & have a much better build quality except for the pathetic little plastic barn doors that fall off when you so much as breathe on them.

[Peter Riding]

I did look at the 5010 family a few weeks back with particular interest in the barn doors, a feature which you cannot easily accomplish with Z96's. But then the 5010's couldn't readily be combined to make a larger light source so I left it.

I often use Z96's on lightweight lightstands to provide fill light indoors for stills shooting - which i do a lot of. They are very good for that. The output of a pair is way over what I need but I have three pairs just in case. Two pairs are permanently configured in landscape aspect using a T-bar rather like this one without the handle and using a ballhead instead:

2x HDV-Z96 LED Light+Hand Grip+Bracket+Bag Kit Fr D800 D7000 D5100 D3200 V1 bh75 | eBay

The other pair is in a portrait aspect n.b. one on top of the other and fastened to a Manfrotto monopod head like this:

Monopod Quick Release Head 234RC - Tilt Heads | Manfrotto

I haven't found the build quality to be a problem. But I think there were some knockoffs doing the rounds and I used Greenlife on Ebay as i knew colleagues had received the genuine article.

I do use a single unit if it is to go on-cam for shooting video because of the weight. Also two units are seldom required but they look the part and that can matter.

Pete

[Nigel Barker]

The six large LEDs in the 5010As do throw the light better than the various 96/128/160 LED lamps so can be used much more as a spotlight. I have popped a couple up on light stands for filming the reception speeches on several occasions usually when the light is very low. However I had occasion the other day when the marquee was illuminated entirely by LED ropes that gave a flickering shimmer on all the cameras (5D2, 5D3 & XF105). Using the 5010As I was able to flood the speakers with enough good non shimmering light to overcome the effect. I'm guessing that they run off transformers like the LED uplighters that can deliver similar shimmering effects they are probably running at something like 47Hz.

BTW Here is a still that I shot at a wedding the other day while the photographer was an upstairs window in getting ready for the group shot in the pitch dark. So everybody could see what they were doing my wife held one 5010A aloft at one side of the crowd while I held one aloft at the other side & then took this shot one handed with my 5D3 at ISO12800. I did apply a little noise reduction

[Mark Von Lanken]

Originally Posted by Michael Liebergot

Osmany, given the choice I prefer using these on a light stand.
There's no cabling required as they're self powered and I have mine setup to be remote controlled...

...I still keep a light (smaller 209AS or Z96) on my camera and use it as needed for fill lighting or lighting away from the stationary lights.

Hi Michael,

I have the Z96 lights. I'm not crazy about their color temp and I'm wondering if the 209AS throws as far as the Z96? Additionally, what remote system are you using with your 312AS lights on stands? Thanks for your help.