Apurture Light Kit Advice

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smoke23

Active member
I'm putting together a light kit right now and I was just looking for some advice. This will mainly be used for corporate interviews however I do plan to use it outdoors some. (2) HR672S for hair & fill lights. Aputure Light Storm LS C120d as my key. Thoughts or suggestions?
 
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Depending on what you mean by outdoor use, using the 120 as a key won't cut it. Certainly not in direct sun. If your kit will be getting a lot of use, I'd pass on the 672's. They are not a long term investment, durability wise. The new Tri-8's are a much better call. Of course, your budget is the master, not me. :-)

Fwiw, I have an Ls1s and Ls 1/2 and a couple of the little $60.00 Aputures( model 170?). Incidentally, those little units work pretty well as a hair lights and fill in small quarters.
 
One guy on this forum who could really help with an answer is Eric Naso as he shoots for a TV news channel.

Which means he can't always choose what time to shoot or the background; so he has to deal with wherever the sun is.

Otherwise you could try and schedule outdoor shoots for a time when the light is nicer and perhaps even picking a nicer location.
 
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smoke23 said:
I'm putting together a light kit right now and I was just looking for some advice. This will mainly be used for corporate interviews however I do plan to use it outdoors some. (2) HR672S for hair & fill lights. Aputure Light Storm LS C120d as my key. Thoughts or suggestions?
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I'm in a similar position as you are atm. Trying to put together a basic led light kit, used mostly for documentaries and other projects that need a quick and versatile kit. First I was set to create a kit from aputure lights but then started looking at other brands to. I think Aputure has strong and good PR but don't let that mislead you, that they are the best option for what you need.

In terms of light output, that is actually useful, I would put my vote down for an LS1 and a COB 120d with a fresnel lens on it. But, I personally dislike led panels, so I chose not to buy the LS1. But if I did buy an LED panel I would buy the Lupo Superpanel. It's only app 200€ more, but you get almost 2x the output at a wider beam angle. So this means more light and brighter light. You will probably be using the leds with some sort of a diffusion, so a high output is a must. This are hard lights.

The COB 120 doesn't offer enough output to be 100% effective IMO in all scenarios. For a higher output and same or a bit cheaper fresnel LEDs I would maybe look at the CAME TV Boltzen 100w or 150w lights. They are a lot stronger then the COB 120, cheaper, have the same quality of light, and have a better fresnel lens. The Aputure fresnel lens is really not a good option. Then combine the 100w with the smaller 55w or 60w for fill, hair light or even key for certain situations. I also like their foldable softboxes.

You also got the lovely Rayzr 200 and 300 fresnel leds. Albeit a bit more expensive.

Oh and I tested the Tri8 and it's a nicely build light, but not bright enough for me and to expensive for it's output.
 
Consider that there are light units that lack the needed output but TWO of those units in tandem do provide the needed output. And the two lighting units are cheaper in price than the one unit that does provide the needed output.

For instance, 2 Brightcast LED panels used in tandem provide as much output as some LED units that are more expensive alone. Because the Brightcasts are so inexpensive.

Lux per bucks.

The only LED lighting units that, solo, can compete with direct sun are likely going to be out of your price range and not practical for you as a result of their size & weight.

A daylight balanced LED that is "insufficient" outdoors is better than no daylight balanced LED at all. Often times in a daylight setting I have used a daylight-balanced light that is underpowered for what I actually need. It doesn't get the image to where I want the image to be, but it still gets the image ( the contrast ) to a better place than without that light.
 
JPNola said:
Consider that there are light units that lack the needed output but TWO of those units in tandem do provide the needed output. And the two lighting units are cheaper in price than the one unit that does provide the needed output.
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Having to carry more lights usually defeats the purpose of a small package. It also takes more time to setup and takes more space on the set. An LS1 is 600€ and the much brighter Lupo Superpanel is 780€. It makes little to no sense to buy two LS1's instead of one Superpanel. IMO.
 
KINOKS said:
Having to carry more lights usually defeats the purpose of a small package. It also takes more time to setup and takes more space on the set. An LS1 is 600€ and the much brighter Lupo Superpanel is 780€. It makes little to no sense to buy two LS1's instead of one Superpanel. IMO.
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That's true.... however having two of the less bright units also provides redundancy and gives you one additional unit for other circumstances where additional units are needed.

I'm facing this dilemma myself. There are situations where I need more punch for a key than my Ls1s can provide ( especially when used with a soft box and silk). That extra punch would also allow me to create a bigger source. Wait for a Aputure 300 or add another Ls1s ? If budget was not a concern, I'd get both. It is a concern. Previously I was considering the former, now I'm considering the latter. It would provide redundancy, compatibility with current Ls1 for shoots where two are needed, cheaper $$, and it would still get me the punchier key when used together.

Just thinking out loud.
 
Yeah sure, having two lights is also a plus. But not when you want just one and you're forced to use two.

The problem with the cob300 for me is that is has a rather large power adapter and it uses two v lock batteries that can power the light only for one hour. That's why I would prefer a 100w fresnel that is bright enough to punch through difusion and uses only one vlock. Same goes for the lupo, it uses only one vlock and it's 27000 lux at 1m vs LS1 that is 16000 at 1m.

If using batteries you should consider the cost of extra batteries when using more lights.
 
KINOKS said:
Yeah sure, having two lights is also a plus. But not when you want just one and you're forced to use two.

The problem with the cob300 for me is that is has a rather large power adapter and it uses two v lock batteries that can power the light only for one hour. That's why I would prefer a 100w fresnel that is bright enough to punch through difusion and uses only one vlock. Same goes for the lupo, it uses only one vlock and it's 27000 lux at 1m vs LS1 that is 16000 at 1m.

If using batteries you should consider the cost of extra batteries when using more lights.
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Except... ...the Lupo light you recommend only works at 50% output with the fan off and you really need whopping big batteries, like 260watt, if you are not plugging it into the mains.

My advice to the OP is; go with 2 LS1c's and some reflectors/flags.
 
The superpanel works 1h40m with the lupo battery that is I suppose 180wh or less. The panel has a power draw of 120w which is the same as the LS1. So I presume both lights eat up batteries app the same.

The fan is supposed to be quiet. It's not a loud fan by any means and it wont bother the sound guy.
 
Fan is supposed to be quiet, but ask yourself why there is a fan off setting. And, if it suffers from heat issues, imagine what it's like if you put it in a soft box?

The specs do look good with the Lupo, I agree, but I'd like to hear from people who have actually used it before recommending it above tried and tested kit.
 
KINOKS said:
Yeah sure, having two lights is also a plus. But not when you want just one and you're forced to use two.

The problem with the cob300 for me is that is has a rather large power adapter and it uses two v lock batteries that can power the light only for one hour. That's why I would prefer a 100w fresnel that is bright enough to punch through difusion and uses only one vlock. Same goes for the lupo, it uses only one vlock and it's 27000 lux at 1m vs LS1 that is 16000 at 1m.

If using batteries you should consider the cost of extra batteries when using more lights.
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Agreed. The size of the 300's battery/ power adapter is comically huge. Unless I really, really, needed to power that light by battery- I'd shy away from doing so.
 
Liam Hall said:
Fan is supposed to be quiet, but ask yourself why there is a fan off setting. And, if it suffers from heat issues, imagine what it's like if you put it in a soft box?

The specs do look good with the Lupo, I agree, but I'd like to hear from people who have actually used it before recommending it above tried and tested kit.
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I suppose that the off setting is there if you are really close to the light or something... It might be just for peace of mind...

Not much reviews out there. Scot Leslie did some, Check them out here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsiWUxW4KfE&t=61s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hirJzhoti4M&t=38s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgK2hDuHZps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hirJzhoti4M
 
Thanks for all of the feedback. I went ahead and purchased two Aputure 672s Panels. I got a good deal on Ebay.

So for my key light, still go LS C120d and get the fresnal adapter and the dome? That's about all my budget can go at this time by the time I would get a V-Lock battery. Any other suggestions welcome. THanks!
 
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