Alzo 300 LED light

Hey guys.

Back to chime in more of the light. I actually ordered two more of these lights but get this... I ordered that RPS Studio version because I saw them at Samys camera. Between the RPS and the ALZO there is ZERO difference in the light itself other than the mounting yoke and the handle on top of the Alzo. Also, the dish in the RPS that I got is smooth silver where as the Alzo is dimpled texture (which works a bit better in evenness of the light throw). Being the light is the same, the dimmer is in "clicks" of what they say are 1/2 stops (I haven't measured that as when I light with continuous source it's all by eye baby).

Are the lights top quality? They are what they are. $300 lights. But I'll say that next to my $2800 Sola 6 and my $1000 Skylux units I'm not seeing anything I'm remotely concerned with about the RPS or the Alzo. But lights throw light differently to other lights in all forms. My Arri tungsten fresnesl throw differently than my Moles do. That is why one learns to work with different brands.


Yes, they are Chinese. But what isn't these days? At $289 lowest price I suggest you buy one and see if you can work with it or not. I now have 4 of them.

Paul F. Yes, Bowen mount works with the units. I have some bowens moonlights and the accessories fit the LED units of mention.

Here is a still I took with some LED's.
1234889_10202079690337075_1550626317_n.jpg
Conclusion... I bought 4 of them. They work. Should you buy them? That is for you to decide. Oh by the way, they are very light in weight.
 

Thanks for the update Rusty.
How do the units compare for fan noise? How is the fan noise?

I know you don't have one, but since you are now an expert on two brands :) what are your thoughts about the nicefoto (second link in my post) from what you see? It claims more light output and it has a different LED array. Any comments?

The RPS housing looks cheap (I mean really cheesy) from the photo. Comments?
 
I'm very happy that these take bowens mount modifiers as I have a set of calumet travelite strobes already.

That may truly be the icing on the cake. I want one of these.
 
I would just really kill for a light meter reading at 10 feet away, with meter set to 800ISO, 24fps, 1/48th

Anyone?

:D
 
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Dusty, was there any documentation with them? any hard CRI claims? also, which of the two would you say had the more rugged mount? the RPS looks plasticy from the photos

cheers
 
I like the packaging of the Nicephoto unit. Nice aluminum extrusion and well formed other bits. Their website confirms the dimmer is continuous. They spent some money to tool this unit. This is not their first one. They also have a bi-color unit and several flash units in similar packages.

http://en.nicefoto.cn/Products/LED_Video/2013349.html#3

Bonus - they have

300B (30watt) for $97. Smaller package
600B (60w) for $128. Smaller package.
100B (100w) for $150
150B (150w) for $200

http://en.nicefoto.cn/Products/LED_Video/2013336.html
 
looks to be the same repurposed housing that many chinese monolights use, such as the adoramas.

but again, those are all wide arrays, but if they have a good CRI and are overall just good, then yea why not. the cheapness of them would have me skeptical
 
Darren Levine said:
Dusty, was there any documentation with them? any hard CRI claims? also, which of the two would you say had the more rugged mount? the RPS looks plasticy from the photos

cheers
Click to expand...
Well the RPS mount is at the bottom. You push in a "palm" type of button and it angles down by clicks. The Alzo is side mounted as you see and is a smooth rotation.

Sorry Dennis. I carry no light meters anymore. In fact, I know of zero photo friends that even have a light meter. But here is a shot using an Iphone light meter with the light reading of my hand at 10 feet.
photo.jpg
As you can see, my palm is a tad hot in that image too. So I would give that an F8 at 1/60 640Iso.

Paul, there is a fan and it's very quiet.

Al, the price can range from $248 to $320. Here is the light I just ordered for $248 http://www.ebay.com/itm/271309706108?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Actually the housing is quite nice. All metal but for the dimmer knob. The light itself is very light. It's built quite decently.

I'd be weary of a unit that continuously dims that does not have a large ballast included. You will get color shifts without a decent ballast.
 
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How does one evaluate CRI on ones own. Not actual measurements to get a number, but relative performance between lights, besides just looking at the results. Will a vectorscope tell you anything?
 
I do this insane thing where I shoot a grayscale and try different gels on my lights. Check the RGB values in my NLE and dial it in. Write notes on tape on my problem fixtures (like, my chinese biax flos need minus green AND CTB - they're a little yellow...)

I know, not as hardcore as a colorometry spectro-anal-izer, but it does work... ;)
 
Michael Carter said:
I do this insane thing where I shoot a grayscale and try different gels on my lights. Check the RGB values in my NLE and dial it in. Write notes on tape on my problem fixtures (like, my chinese biax flos need minus green AND CTB - they're a little yellow...)

I know, not as hardcore as a colorometry spectro-anal-izer, but it does work... ;)
Click to expand...

Very good ideal Michael. Thanks.
 
dustylense said:
Sorry Dennis. I carry no light meters anymore. In fact, I know of zero photo friends that even have a light meter. But here is a shot using an Iphone light meter with the light reading of my hand at 10 feet.
View attachment 78979
As you can see, my palm is a tad hot in that image too. So I would give that an F8 at 1/60 640Iso.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, plugging that into my handy-dandy Sekonic L-398 that comes out to about 240 Footcandles... ISH... That is a lot of light for a 100 watt draw. Now there is a lot more to it than that, of course. I can see getting some of them in the near future I think.
 
David G. Smith said:
Hmmm, plugging that into my handy-dandy Sekonic L-398 that comes out to about 240 Footcandles... ISH... That is a lot of light for a 100 watt draw. Now there is a lot more to it than that, of course. I can see getting some of them in the near future I think.
Click to expand...

Yes somewhere around there, and an ARRI 650W fresnel in medium spot (30 degree) gives you around 220 fc. Remembering of course that a fresnel is nice hard light and this Alzo300 is more of a soft source... plus its daylight color balance.

For further comparison a 500w tungsten bulb in a medium (24x36") softbox is only around f4, or 42 footcandles @ 1 meter, 800 ISO, 1/48th shutter.

I'd still be keen on rehousing this, or maybe leaving as is. Either way, from these photometrics its pretty good for the price... how much is a 200w HMI again? :D
 
Remembering of course that a fresnel is nice hard light and this Alzo300 is more of a soft source

That's exactly what I asked Dusty about, and he claims the Alzo is pretty much a hard light with an eggcrate and the like. This is an important consideration for me, so it's not a trivial point.
 
starcentral said:
Yes somewhere around there, and an ARRI 650W fresnel in medium spot (30 degree) gives you around 220 fc. Remembering of course that a fresnel is nice hard light and this Alzo300 is more of a soft source... plus its daylight color balance.

For further comparison a 500w tungsten bulb in a medium (24x36") softbox is only around f4, or 42 footcandles @ 1 meter, 800 ISO, 1/48th shutter.

I'd still be keen on rehousing this, or maybe leaving as is. Either way, from these photometrics its pretty good for the price... how much is a 200w HMI again? :D
Click to expand...

Yeah, those numbers are what I have from the photometric testing of my 750 watt Fresnels. Fixture design is as important as wattage output for sure. I mean these lights are nowhere near the output of a 1K PAR with VNS bulb... but then again, what is? I have 1K PARS with VNS bulbs, but I can't plug 3 of them into a 15 amp household circuit off of a 50 foot stinger to light a low budget night exterior like I believe that I could with these LED lights. I am into DIY, to a degree, but I would be hesitant to bust open these inexpensive lights and try to rehouse them. If anyone is into that please let us know how the experience is.
 
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