Bescor LED Lights - too good to be true?

[AgonCreativeLLC]

Found these on B & H. But really cheap.

Bescor Portable LED Video 2-Light Kit

I have a Litepanel camera light and wondering why I paid so much for something so tiny.

What's the difference between cheap LEDs and expensive ones?

Seems like it could be the same as the difference between wasting money on Monster cables or just using a coat hanger. Relevant

 

[Jarrett P. Morgan]

They are really underpowered (IMO). 77LEDS that make for the equivalent of 90W of tungsten light. That isn't alot at all...

 

[slondon]

They are really underpowered (IMO). 77LEDS that make for the equivalent of 90W of tungsten light. That isn't alot at all...

Isn't it closer to the equivalent of a 35 Watt incandescent? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb

 

[AgonCreativeLLC]

True ... that seems really really low though. Maybe it's a typo?? (I'm apparently an optimist).
The LEDs do seem spread very far apart compared to a LitePanel brand and that low amount of LEDs is probably why it's only putting out 90w. -- Litepanels 1x1 claims 300W. It's also 10 times the price.

I'm honestly considering building my own. I'll keep everyone posted of my progress (if any)

 

[Norman99]

Also consider that they are over 6000K color temp. Leds are always rated in their luminosity (lumens) specs WITHOUT any correcting filters/gells on them and also the fact that those tiny leds clustered together have a narrow beam spread which will require a diffuser to widen up the beam.Put a color correcting gell on that to warm things up a bit to like 4000K ish along with a diffuser if you use lens on wide mode and you may end up with half or less than the rated specs. Also at what distance are the specs rated at ? usually the standard is 3 feet or roughly 1 meter from a white surface. Wonder why they don't specify the spread angle and measured distance.
Also from my experience with leds is that they are really around 6 times more efficient than bulbs, at the very best. When someone puts out a rating of a 40 watt power draw on their led unit and is equivalent to a 400 watt bulb, I say the ONLY way that will happen is if they narrow the beam angle to around 30 degrees (quite useless except for a long tele lens ) . For most video applications, a minimum of 1200 lumens rated without gells or diffusers would be a good starting point. Also a dimmer is a must for powerful units.Sure, for the price they can't be beat, but you really have to see for yourself what they can dish out. There are led units out there that are natively neutral in color temperature and put out a beam at well over 60 degrees along with a bulb equivalent of a true 60 watt or 1200 lumens. See what your range of shooting distances and other setup requirements you may encounter before you decide on a light.