scotchtape
Active member
Hi guys,
Just wanted to update you on my Godox SL series purchases.
I have the SL-200W and SL-60W with me. My original intent was to try to save some $$$.
I was looking for a new key light I could use with Bowens mount octas and some back / rim lights.
Right off the bat - fan noise. Unmodded it's very noticeable, like a medium-loud PC. I did some tests AFTER my fan mods in my bathroom and bedroom - about 1m away from either light you can still pick up the sound of the fan. In my opinion they're too loud to bring on the interviews, at least with the people I work with. I made some test recordings with a lav mic and hyper cardiod mic and I could hear the fans playing back with my Zoom H6 so I didn't even bother to playback on PC.
[I replaced the stock fans with Noctua NF-A8 PWM series fans with the restrictor cables @ 1750rpm]
// Update Oct 2017
I tried replacing the NF-A8 PWM with the NF-A8 ULN and they are quieter (obviously).
More importantly, after an hour the light was 53C (bare) which in this fall weather means it is probably fine in the summer unless the room is really hot.
With a softbox on the front it was 55C after an hour.
I tried with one restrictor cable as well and the light quickly overheated (10 mins)
I think the noise level is relatively acceptable with some light noise reduction. Previously the PWM fans raised the noise floor by about 7-8db.
With these new ULN fans the noise floor is raised by less than 3db using a lav mic about arms length away in a small bathroom - impressive!
//
The SL-60W is pretty quiet but you can still pick it up. The SL-200W has two fans and they're quite noticeable. That being said, if you are using them in a "noisier" environment with other fans, computers, AC etc around, they don't add too much noise. I measured about 38db (33db ambient) for the SL-200W about 1m away (it's a $30 db meter so don't expect much accuracy). Due to the design of the units there's just nothing you can really do about the noise.
In terms of light output... well they're pretty decent but throw about 1/2 the stated lux. The SL-200W I measured at about 6 or 7,000 lux @ 1m. The SL-60W was about 2,000 lux. Not sure what the beam angle is, probably around 120 deg like the Aputure. I have no idea where the manufacturer stated lux measurements are coming from. With the reflector on, the SL-200W threw about 18,000lux @ 1m.
With the SL-200W and the Godox 47 and 32 inch octas and double diffusion, I measured about 2,500lux @ 1m. I made some diffusers out of frosted shower curtains instead and almost double the output @ 1m.
The surprising thing was the Nanguang NG-10X "fresnel" and the SL-60W did about 25,000lux @ 1m at spot (beating the Nanguang CN-60F, $140 vs $400!). The SL-200W only managed around 32,000lux @ 1m at spot - but the NG-10X feels like a toy.
Unfortunately I do not have a spectrometer so I can't comment on the actual quality of the light, but I do want to note that the lights I have are about 6,000K. To my eye they don't render skin tones as nice as the Nanguangs or Aputure stuff, but they also seem a bit magenta instead of green (my guess).
I really wish I did some noise tests before I separated the head from the SL-60W. I feel like it was just a whole bunch of wasted effort since I don't think I'll actually use these lights on any interviews. Live and learn.
Conclusion:
Lux per $ these are still pretty good considering the price (about 50% of the average cost), BUT, might be useless for interviews due to the fan noise, and still have untested CRI / TLCI. I regret my purchase - they aren't bad lights (at least so far) but I'm more adverse to fan noise than I thought. However if you are doing music videos or don't need audio, they're pretty cheap so why not. The modded SL-60W actually isn't that bad in terms of noise (can barely hear it), but it's still there so if you need a quiet set these are a no go.
Good:
Cheap.
Great remote system (even shows you the light output % on the remote!)
Bowen mount
Bad:
Stock Fan noise
Unknown CRI TLCI
Sidenote: I picked up a Nanguang CN-30F. The spot is very tight which is actually pretty cool, but for interviews it's almost too small. They really worked their fresnel well - without the fresnel the light only measured 1,300lux @ 1m - only average output for 30W!
So I'm guessing the Nanguang CN-200F which costs about $1,300USD probably puts out the same amount of light as the $380USD Godox SL-200W... The pluses are the fresnel is well made and it's fanless. However the remote system is so silly. Godox really killed it there, too bad the fan noise is so bad!
I really hoped these would work out for me considering the price. I don't know what I'm going to do next.
// Update Oct 2017
Ok for the lux / $ these are great providing you can do some simple modding on your lights. The Noctua NF-A8 ULN are a great mod and make this light relatively quiet in terms of fan noise if you are using lavs.
I haven't tested with any hypercardiod mics so YMMV if you use those or shotguns.
Just wanted to update you on my Godox SL series purchases.
I have the SL-200W and SL-60W with me. My original intent was to try to save some $$$.
I was looking for a new key light I could use with Bowens mount octas and some back / rim lights.
Right off the bat - fan noise. Unmodded it's very noticeable, like a medium-loud PC. I did some tests AFTER my fan mods in my bathroom and bedroom - about 1m away from either light you can still pick up the sound of the fan. In my opinion they're too loud to bring on the interviews, at least with the people I work with. I made some test recordings with a lav mic and hyper cardiod mic and I could hear the fans playing back with my Zoom H6 so I didn't even bother to playback on PC.
[I replaced the stock fans with Noctua NF-A8 PWM series fans with the restrictor cables @ 1750rpm]
// Update Oct 2017
I tried replacing the NF-A8 PWM with the NF-A8 ULN and they are quieter (obviously).
More importantly, after an hour the light was 53C (bare) which in this fall weather means it is probably fine in the summer unless the room is really hot.
With a softbox on the front it was 55C after an hour.
I tried with one restrictor cable as well and the light quickly overheated (10 mins)
I think the noise level is relatively acceptable with some light noise reduction. Previously the PWM fans raised the noise floor by about 7-8db.
With these new ULN fans the noise floor is raised by less than 3db using a lav mic about arms length away in a small bathroom - impressive!
//
The SL-60W is pretty quiet but you can still pick it up. The SL-200W has two fans and they're quite noticeable. That being said, if you are using them in a "noisier" environment with other fans, computers, AC etc around, they don't add too much noise. I measured about 38db (33db ambient) for the SL-200W about 1m away (it's a $30 db meter so don't expect much accuracy). Due to the design of the units there's just nothing you can really do about the noise.
In terms of light output... well they're pretty decent but throw about 1/2 the stated lux. The SL-200W I measured at about 6 or 7,000 lux @ 1m. The SL-60W was about 2,000 lux. Not sure what the beam angle is, probably around 120 deg like the Aputure. I have no idea where the manufacturer stated lux measurements are coming from. With the reflector on, the SL-200W threw about 18,000lux @ 1m.
With the SL-200W and the Godox 47 and 32 inch octas and double diffusion, I measured about 2,500lux @ 1m. I made some diffusers out of frosted shower curtains instead and almost double the output @ 1m.
The surprising thing was the Nanguang NG-10X "fresnel" and the SL-60W did about 25,000lux @ 1m at spot (beating the Nanguang CN-60F, $140 vs $400!). The SL-200W only managed around 32,000lux @ 1m at spot - but the NG-10X feels like a toy.
Unfortunately I do not have a spectrometer so I can't comment on the actual quality of the light, but I do want to note that the lights I have are about 6,000K. To my eye they don't render skin tones as nice as the Nanguangs or Aputure stuff, but they also seem a bit magenta instead of green (my guess).
I really wish I did some noise tests before I separated the head from the SL-60W. I feel like it was just a whole bunch of wasted effort since I don't think I'll actually use these lights on any interviews. Live and learn.
Conclusion:
Lux per $ these are still pretty good considering the price (about 50% of the average cost), BUT, might be useless for interviews due to the fan noise, and still have untested CRI / TLCI. I regret my purchase - they aren't bad lights (at least so far) but I'm more adverse to fan noise than I thought. However if you are doing music videos or don't need audio, they're pretty cheap so why not. The modded SL-60W actually isn't that bad in terms of noise (can barely hear it), but it's still there so if you need a quiet set these are a no go.
Good:
Cheap.
Great remote system (even shows you the light output % on the remote!)
Bowen mount
Bad:
Stock Fan noise
Unknown CRI TLCI
Sidenote: I picked up a Nanguang CN-30F. The spot is very tight which is actually pretty cool, but for interviews it's almost too small. They really worked their fresnel well - without the fresnel the light only measured 1,300lux @ 1m - only average output for 30W!
So I'm guessing the Nanguang CN-200F which costs about $1,300USD probably puts out the same amount of light as the $380USD Godox SL-200W... The pluses are the fresnel is well made and it's fanless. However the remote system is so silly. Godox really killed it there, too bad the fan noise is so bad!
I really hoped these would work out for me considering the price. I don't know what I'm going to do next.
// Update Oct 2017
Ok for the lux / $ these are great providing you can do some simple modding on your lights. The Noctua NF-A8 ULN are a great mod and make this light relatively quiet in terms of fan noise if you are using lavs.
I haven't tested with any hypercardiod mics so YMMV if you use those or shotguns.
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