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photo:led_lighting
continuous source LED photographic and video lighting
introduction
LED lights have largely replaced flourescent and tungsten continuous light sources as they run cool, without flicker, are generally balanced for daylight, are dimmable, last longer, and are much more portable and require lower power consumption and thus smaller, lighter power sources
avoid cheap LED lights which are not designed for photography as they generally do not have good colour quality, although for monochrome work or where colour is not critical, they may be very handy and affordable.
many are now controllable by proprietary WiFi solutions and some can be controlled via the more universal DMX controller systems
how bright are they?
these lights are generally rated in output levels in
lumens where 1 lumen = light flux from 1 candle
the Westcott Ice Light 2 is rated at 1750 lumen at full output, and at around 1m from the subject, this gives exposures of around 1/125th sec, f/2.8 at ISO 400 (
light value of around 3) which is about 1-2 stops brighter than average household lighting levels, but certainly would not be useful in sunlight or even cloudy days, and really is best used indoors or after sunset outdoors. It could be useful for macro work in the shade when held 6“ from subject.
power source
some are AC only which limits use
some have DC inputs
some have a proprietary built-in lithium ion battery
some have a proprietary swappable lithium ion battery
some have a V-mount battery plate which allows industry standard batteries to be used
some have an Anton-Bauer battery plate
LED hand holdable light wands
Westcott Ice Light 2
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NB. version I had some quality issues and fixed battery, and vII is 50% brighter and CRI is better
uses removable lithium battery pack as well as AC power supply via the DC adapter (optional car adapter)
USB is only for firmware upgrades NOT power supply
comes with 2 clips to allow gels to be used
1,740 lumens at 15W maximum output level allows f/2.8, 1/100th sec, ISO 400 when held about 1m from subject and battery lasts ~ 1hr at this output
LEDs are daylight-balanced at 5500K with 73deg beam angle and Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 96 (max. score is 100) for excellent skin tones, and rated for 50,000 hours, or 17+ years if used 8 hours every day
18 step flicker free dimmable
both ends include a 1/4”-20 thread to mount to a light stand, tilter bracket, or tripod
battery indicator, battery takes 2.5hrs to recharge
metal housing
bluetooth remote control for future smartphone apps (not yet available Oct 2015)
wt: 20oz / 570g
21.6“ x 7.5”
optional barn doors
optional tungsten gel
great for soft wrap around lighting but really needs to be < 2m from subject and preferably around 1m
power off and on is instantaneous
RRP $US549
youtube video tutes:
Neewer BestLight
Travor MTL-900 ii
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much less expensive but cheaper build quality than the Ice Light and lets some light out the rear, although slightly wider and longer light source giving slightly softer shadows, and 2 stops brighter than the vI Ice Light
uses standard video cam batteries
controls are on the light side which is annoying
power off is delayed
Godox LC500 light stick
introduced 2018 - cheap copy of the Ice Light but adds remote control and is heavier
$AU250
remote controller 10-100% in 6 groups and 16 channels
5600K or 3300K modes, CRI > 95; TLCI >= 95; 516 LEDs;
tripod mount
clip on barn doors
14.8V 2600mAh battery takes 2.5hrs to charge and gives 2hrs at 100% (18W 1200 lux at 1m)
565mm long; 760g excl barn doors;
hand holdable spot lights
Lowel GL-1
light stand fresnel lights
Godox S30 focusing LED light
adjustable beam wheel gives 6 to 55 degrees beam via aspherical lens, dimmable to 10%
very useful for product photography although better with 3 of these
CRI > 96; TLCI > 96
11,300lux at 1m as 6 degree spot; 2800lux as flood at 1m;
907g
30W 15V 4A DC adapter or 10W max via either 7.4V Sony L series lithium ion NP-F battery (NP-F930/950/970) or 5V 2A USB power bank
optional:
SA-P Projection attachment ($AU90) with options of 3 different lenses ($AU110-195 depending on focal length - 60, 85, 150mm)
SA-05 scrim set to allow graduated intensity effects, etc ($AU30)
SA-06 iris diaphragm for sharply defined small circle of light ($AU90)
SA-07 set of 4 framing shutters to create slits of light ($AU15)
SA-08 barndoor set ($AU50)
SA-09 Gobo set of projection patterns ($AU30)
SA-10 Gobo Set Holder to insert the gobos ($AU30)
SA-17 Godox Bowens Mount to S30 Mount For Projection Attachments to allow the above accessories to mount onto other Godox LED lights such as Godox FV200,VL150,VL200,VL300 ($AU75)
SA-20/30 softbox ($AU30)
SA-11C/T color gel sets ($AU30 ea)
CB-15 kit bag ($AU95)
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Fotodiox Pro DY-200 Daylight Fresnel LED
Aputure 2X Fresnel Lens Mount
cheap Bowens S mount module which fits LED lights with Bowens S mounts
larger (6“ lens), heavier (1.24kg), twice as bright and more easier to use than the original version and now has a rear lens
$AU199
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Aputure Fresnel Lens Mount
large area soft lights
Godox soft video lights
Fotodiox Pro FlapJack LED Edge Light
large area non-diffused studio lights
Godox video lights
WiFi remote control
LED500L (R with barn door style reflectors): 500 LEDs, 250x170x45mm; 2,900lux at 1m; 32W; 620g for R version;
LED500: 500 LEDs, 390x300x60mm; 2,900lux at 1m; 32W; 1.44kg;
LED1000: 1000 LEDs, 430x460x100mm; 4,400lux at 1m; 70W; 2.44kg
LED1000D II:
70W 1024 LEDs; CRI 96; TLCI 98; dimmable to 0%; 4 barn doors; diffusion and yellow and blue color filters;
usual WiFi remote control or new ethernet port DMX control capability;
5,400lux at 1m; 430x460x100mm; 2.51kg;
13-16.8V DC power or Sony BP-L battery;
LED1000DBi II:
bicolour version of above with 512 white and 512 yellow LEDs at 1m giving 2,600lux at 5,600K, 4,800lux at 4,200K, and 2,200lux at 3,200K
Fotodiox Pro LED
large area flexible panel LEDs
Godox Flexible LED
WiFi controllable
not sold in the US
CRI > 96; TLCI > 98; dimmable to 10%
16.8V DC or V port battery
FL150S: 150W; 4300lux at 1m; 60x60cm; 3.9kg;
FL150R: 150W; 4300lux at 1m; 30x120cm; 4.37kg
FL100: 100W; 3300lux at 1m; 40x60cm; 3.47kg
FL60: 60W; 1800lux at 1m; 30x45cm; 2.87kg
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conventional style studio lights
Godox ML ultra-compact silent series
Godox ML60
introduced late 2020
60W battery powered LED light using 2x NP-F970 batteries
69000 lux at 0.5m with reflector and at 100% output
output down to 1% (SL60 only down to 10%)
Godox mount (optional S2 adapter for Bowens)
CRI 96+; TLCI 97+;
smaller than many camera lenses at only 145x88x88mm excl. grip and reflector
8 preset FX effects
very quiet practically silent fan, much quieter than the SL60 and can also turn fan off but this limits light output to 50%
long AC power cable
770g w/o grip, reflector or batteries
optional RC-A6 remote control, 16 groups, 32 channels but can't change the FX effects via the remote
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Godox UL series
Godox VL series
Bowens S mount; CRI 96; TLCI 95;
stepless dimming down to 0%;
much better than the SL series
fan cooled by a quiet fan
433MHz wifi remote control system via:
Godox remote control device, or,
Bluetooth smartphone GodoxPhoto app: 6 groups, 16 channels
DC power, or, two high capacity V-mount batteries
VL 300:
VL 200:
VL 150:
need to add an extra 2kg for the adapter and controller unit and further for the optional V-mount batteries
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Godox SZ series
SZ150R
AC only
announced Dec 2020
150W LED
both RGB and bi-colour offering a range from 2800K up to 6500K with high CRI and TLCI ratings of 97 and 96
zoomable head adjustable beam angle of between 20° and 65°
Bowens mount
RC-R9 remote, a smartphone app as well as DMX control
2.65kg
$US559
Godox SLB series
SLB60W:
same lithium ion battery as the Godox AD600
60W; dimmable to 10%; CRI/TLCI ratings are 93 and 95; Bowens S mount;
2kg; 60 minutes run time; 433
MHz remote controller, 16 channels, 6 groups
optional AC adapter ($AU195)
$AU575
Godox SL series
AC power only
Bowens S mount
433MHz wifi remote control system in version I
2.4GHz wifi remote control via RC-A6 controller in version II
CRI > 93; TLCI > 95;
dimmable to 10%;
2 color versions of each power: white (5600K) or yellow (3300K)
SL-60
SL-100
SL-150
SL-150II - adds silent mode, 8 FX effects, 58,000lux 1m; 2.95kg
SL-200
SL-200II - adds silent mode, 8 FX effects, 74,000lux 1m; 3.33kg
Godox FV series
functions as continuous LED or as an LED flash
Bowens S mount
AC only power
CRI 96; TLCI 97
16 channel remote control
flash mode can reduce down to 1/16th
LED continuous mode:
dimmable to 0%
8 special effects modes
FV150: 150W; 3.13kg
FV200: 200W; 3.24kg
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Aputure Light Storm 300X
announced April 2020
adds bicolour COB LED light by incorporating a custom colour-blending element in front of the LED to turn it into a single colour-changing light source for consistent colour across the entire projection
colour temperature range of 2700-6500K
CRI of 96, TLCI of 96 and CQS of 95.
dimming from zero to 100% with 56,000 lumens output and a 105° field of view
Four different dimming modes are available on the LS 300X, including Linear, Exponential, Logarithmic and S-Curve, with five common colour temperature presets for 2700K, 3200K, 4200K, 5500K and 6500K and 50K increments in between the warmest and coolest for manual fine tuning.
9 built-in lighting effects
Bowens S-Type mount
fan cooling system; 5 pin XLR connector; 2xV mount batteries; AC or 14V DC;
11.4kg
$US1199
Aputure Light Storm 300D II
announced Apr 2019
ballast now internal, shorter unit, batteries now on each side and 20% brighter
Longer 7.74m cable
more silent as no fans but relies on a heat sink
new wireless control functionality
runs on 2 batteries but can now power it up to half power with just a single V-Mount battery
8 effects are built into the control unit to simulate things like nightclub strobes, TV flicker, lightning effects and explosions
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Aputure Light Storm LS 300D COB
300W (eq. 2000W tungsten; 48000lux with reflector at 0.5m, 9000lux at 1m, 142,000 with fresnel at 0.5m or 44,000 at 1m) Bowens S mount, 2.4GHz remote control works to 100m and can control 4 groups of lights; AC power with 6' cord; mount high frame rates so minimal if any LED flicker;
5500K +/- 200K, 95+ CRI; TLCI 96; LED unit itself has two fairly silent fans
external ballast power unit with somewhat noisy fan and requires 2 cables - AC power source and the cable to the controller box.
long external controller box which has cable to connect to LED unit, and a power cable to connect to AC power ballast unit.
optional battery power:
optional Sony V or Gold battery mount plates for the controller box
requires two 12A batteries each with a capacity of at least 190WH - realistically you need 4 batteries.
two Anton Bauer Digital 150’s give 50 minutes of 100% output.
2.1kg
$US1100 / $AU1699
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Aputure Light Storm LS C 120D Mark II
re-designed version, 25% brighter, 5500K and adds DMX512 compatibility and redesigned handbrake-locking yoke
180W;
5 pre-programmed lighting effects: Paparazzi, Fireworks, Fault bulb, Lightning, and TV
dimmable to 1%; CRI rated 96+ and TLCI rated >97; Bowens S-type,
even at maximum power, the fan noise doesn't exceed 18 dB
V-mount battery plate for external battery power when mains power is unavailable
SOONWELL 190WH or 230WH or COMER 190WH appear to work well with these lights
1)
2.4GHz 3channel remote control works to 100m;
2.17kg
$US745
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Aputure Light Storm LS 120D COB
135W, CRI,TLCI 97+; Bowens S mount;
two models with two different colour-temperatures: the LS C120t (3000K) and the LS C120d (6000K).
2.4GHz 3channel remote control works to 100m;
1.6kg;
15V 9A 135W DC: optional plates for SONY V mount or Anton Bauer mount batteries on the external controller box
$AU1050
modular systems
Anthem One
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various “light cards” available such as 20,000 lumens at 4,000K, 21,000 lumens at 3200K, 25,000 lumens at 5600K, and 30,000 lumens at 5,600K.
Spiffy Gear's Spekular LED light kits
photo/led_lighting.txt · Last modified: 2020/12/24 09:08 by gary1