Any word on these cheap LEDs yet?

That's an insanely low price for an LED!

Maybe too low. Gotta make you wonder about the quality.

Poor LitePanel. They barely stand a chance anymore what with the flood of lower cost LED soft panels. Good thing for them that they won that lawsuit which at least gives them a small cut of the invasion. And then there is Kino Flo Lighting Systems now stuck with a name that failed to anticipate future technology. I'm surprised they haven't officially changed their name to "Kino Lighting Systems" or simply "Kino Lights". Nobody wants flo's any more. The used ones have fallen dramatically in price on eBay. People are unloading them in preference for color-temp adjustable LED lights. LED is everything now. Even HMI's days are numbered.
 
Why do all of these overseas manufacturers insist on making their barn doors reflective? That's literally the opposite of what they're designed for!
 
edinc90 said:
Why do all of these overseas manufacturers insist on making their barn doors reflective? That's literally the opposite of what they're designed for!
Click to expand...


I think the rationale is that the reflective barn doors increase the size of the light. And they do. Although I might prefer it were the doors white on the insides and not silver.

Like you, it was counter-intuitive for me when I first saw the reflective interior barn doors. And I am not a fan of them. But that said, I am also aware that the matte black doors of a kino are still pretty reflective.
 
JPNola said:
That's an insanely low price for an LED!...
Click to expand...
Three years ago, they'd have been $600 or so.

In any case, YouTube has a lot of Yongnuo reviews. Most are positive but, given how fast the technology changes, I'd wait for more reviews of this particular model and then compare it with the comments from the people who did end up buying the reviewed product.

And I wouldn't trust the specs either.

That said, it looks like quite a bargain. And slight dimming could make the fans superfluous.
 
puredrifting said:
Nice specs for the money. Bet it has the same noisy fan it's little brother does though, which makes it useless to most of us. Here is a review of it's little bro that DOES have a noisy fan. http://www.davidpartington.com/m43/2014/11/15/yongnuo-yn600-pro-led-video-light-5500k-review/
Click to expand...
Hmm, I don't get why they manufacture these with noisy fans. I would imagine that most of their customers would be video people as opposed to still photographers, but, hey maybe I'm wrong?
 
scorsesefan said:
Hmm, I don't get why they manufacture these with noisy fans. I would imagine that most of their customers would be video people as opposed to still photographers, but, hey maybe I'm wrong?
Click to expand...


As cheap as these are you could take part of the savings and tip your Sound OP $50 to get over the fan noise!
 
I think those Yongnuo's have a pretty decent price performance ratio but they cannot be adjusted vertically.

Can anyone advice on a simple but solid adapter to enable vertical adjustments as most of those small screw on adapters are too flimsy to work with.
 
edinc90 said:
Why do all of these overseas manufacturers insist on making their barn doors reflective? That's literally the opposite of what they're designed for!
Click to expand...

I blackwrap mine though it's a bit annoying. I just ordered another 300 daylight yesterday. Those don't have the fans and are pretty handy. The only thing I wish they had was a DC jack.
 
scorsesefan said:
Hmm, I don't get why they manufacture these with noisy fans...
Click to expand...
As they say, what's noisy for some ain't noisy for others. The rest depends on how you mic the scene and where you place the lights in relation to the (audible) talent. These may be - the emphasis on "maybe" - quiet enough for a directional lav or a boom in a darker surrounding. You'll never know until you test them.
 
DLD said:
Three years ago, they'd have been $600 or so.

In any case, YouTube has a lot of Yongnuo reviews. Most are positive but, given how fast the technology changes, I'd wait for more reviews of this particular model and then compare it with the comments from the people who did end up buying the reviewed product.

And I wouldn't trust the specs either.

That said, it looks like quite a bargain. And slight dimming could make the fans superfluous.
Click to expand...

Not really, I got my YN600s for ~$125 3 years ago :P

They have been great and I bought 5 of them, and have always taped the fan to prevent it from ever turning on. I've once or twice had them spotaneously dim due to overheating since I stopped the fan. They have been my portable lighting workhorses. Ones that are twice as bright seem pretty interesting though I'm not sure I'd trust NP-F batteries to handle that power draw...

Add and AC adapter, a stand mount and an umbrella softbox to put it inside for like $50 total and you have a nice portable bicolor remote control softbox for <$250. That said I'm working on retiring my Y600s in favor of some other new lights. Is it possible they doubled the power and improved the CRI and remote controller without increasing the price much? Might be worth another look...

btw to put these on a stand and add tilt and umbrella mount I use this kind of adapter for my YN600s: www.ebay.com/itm/142218520759 (ugh how do I prevent dvxuser from destroying my links with broken ads?, plz copy and paste)
 
Last edited:
OSCURO said:
You're better off with this one: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/556204-REG/Photoflex_AC_BALGS_Heavy_Duty_Grip_Swivel.html

I have the Manfrotto and it takes way too much torque to lock it down securely, and even more to release it. Even when it's locked down, it doesn't inspire confidence. Perfectly fine for photo lights, but not ~5lb video lights. The Photoflex's locking mechanism is much stronger. Also, 5/8" studs fit snug in the receiver, unlike the Manfrotto which has a lot of play.

Kupo and Westcott make similarly designed umbrella adapters with a metal gripping plate. Their construction is identical in every aspect (also own both). The handles are cheap plastic that are bound to break with normal use. Looks like they're just re-branded models produced in the same factory. So after trying a few designs and models, Photoflex came out on top.

Disclaimer: No association with Photoflex.
Click to expand...
What you say about the Manfrotto is true. I use it with Astra lights with an umbrella and sometimes and AB battery, a good 10 lb setup. I typically feel it's up to the task of holding the weight, but it requires a whole lot of torque to lock and unlock it securely for that weight load which can be quite a pain.

Good to know about the Photoflex's being better. I see on B&H one review still prefers the Manfrotto and another review prefers the Photoflex. I'll have to pick one up and if I like it then I may get a couple more.
 
nyvz said:
Not really, I got my YN600s for ~$125 3 years ago :P ...
Click to expand...

So, I was scouring eBay last night out of curiosity and found the 500 bead panels for as little as $77 (I believe, there were some going for $74) and a 900 bead (2x1?) for $149. Came TV has a three panel 900 bead (2x1?) kit for just under a grand and a three panel (2x1?) for around $1,300. Tom Antos was "reviewing" one without the meter and thought they were quite nice for the money.

The question is whether one can get by with a 900 as key and the rest as kickers, etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top