Any opinions on these ebay lights?

CRI is a highly overrated and constantly abused specification. "Can the light be reasonably gelled to look good" (or look good with no gels at all) is all that matters.

By "reasonably" I mean can you gel it and only lose 1/2 stop or less (1/2 CTO and 1/8 magenta being the combo I find on most cheaper daylight stuff)?

So for a lot of items like this, that seem like good deals, it really comes down to return policy and shipping costs for returns (so usually good deals from China are only good deals if you're sure you'll keep 'em).

You're only likely to get a valid answer from someone who's owned the lights. Might get lucky here, or google for reviews of anything that carries a brand name and model number. And ignore any posters who say "I would NEVER buy an 85 CRI light!!!" Especially when they use caps. (I have an 85 CRI daylight fresnel that looks great, even without a gel).
 
Michael Carter said:
CRI is a highly overrated and constantly abused specification. "Can the light be reasonably gelled to look good" (or look good with no gels at all) is all that matters.

By "reasonably" I mean can you gel it and only lose 1/2 stop or less (1/2 CTO and 1/8 magenta being the combo I find on most cheaper daylight stuff)?

So for a lot of items like this, that seem like good deals, it really comes down to return policy and shipping costs for returns (so usually good deals from China are only good deals if you're sure you'll keep 'em).

You're only likely to get a valid answer from someone who's owned the lights. Might get lucky here, or google for reviews of anything that carries a brand name and model number. And ignore any posters who say "I would NEVER buy an 85 CRI light!!!" Especially when they use caps. (I have an 85 CRI daylight fresnel that looks great, even without a gel).
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Thanks, Michael. Can any of these lights be fixed in CC -- or is that going down a rabbit hole? I am hesitant to gel LEDs because of their low output/throw. Also, just bought a pair of Chinese batteries from Ebay and they were not working on arrival, so a bit weary...
 
Most problems are just the exact colour - depends on the batch. The first one and last one look more like the kind of thing I'd buy. LEDs are now pretty bright, but CRI just doesn't seem to mean the same as it does with other sources. If you have other kit that you need them to blend with then I'd be concerned about the matching - but if these are going to be the mainstay of your lighting, you'll probably be very happy.
 
paulears said:
Most problems are just the exact colour - depends on the batch. The first one and last one look more like the kind of thing I'd buy. LEDs are now pretty bright, but CRI just doesn't seem to mean the same as it does with other sources. If you have other kit that you need them to blend with then I'd be concerned about the matching - but if these are going to be the mainstay of your lighting, you'll probably be very happy.
Click to expand...
Good point, Paul. I shot a few days ago with my tungsten kit (CTB gelled), a fluorescent light and an led light and I felt I was kind of pushing it with the mix. Maybe I'll think about going all LED...
 
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