Buying LEDs - $500 Budget, making sure I'm not making a mistake

S

SDub

Well-known member
I'm about to go for the kit suggested by Caleb Pike in his "Best $500 Video Lighting Kit and What You Can Do With It" article: http://dslrvideoshooter.com/best-500-video-lighting-kit-can/

I just want to make sure that I'm not making a gross mistakes by going for these few lights. My current light set up is a 160watt CFL 36" china ball, + a 40watt can light kicker + a reflector for fill. The kind of results I get with that set up (and I'm sure I could do better) can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRt83yZTuNI&t=26s

Given the nature of my videos (not exactly pro stuff), and a $500 budget. Would you say I'm doing the right or wrong thing?

Thanks!
 
I'd check the latest prices too because the LED panels just keep on tumbling down.

Plus, there are promotions, etc.
 
I can't argue with your kit, but here is an different option for a Dracast 3 panel kit. If you look around, BH has greatly varying deals on Dracast so check often. This deal with a case and stands is one of the better that I've seen. If I were interested in this kit, I'd see if they could ship with Sony battery plates unless you already have V-Mount. I have several of these lights with Sony plates and they are very decent for this price range. The adjustable light temp is an excellent feature. Note that if you do intend to battery power this kit, it will cost some significant $$. But being able to do so, is pretty handy for quick setup run&gun.

Regards
Grant


https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._3x500_b_s_silver_series_led500_bi_color.html
 
ggrantly said:
I can't argue with your kit, but here is an different option for a Dracast 3 panel kit. If you look around, BH has greatly varying deals on Dracast so check often. This deal with a case and stands is one of the better that I've seen. If I were interested in this kit, I'd see if they could ship with Sony battery plates unless you already have V-Mount. I have several of these lights with Sony plates and they are very decent for this price range. The adjustable light temp is an excellent feature. Note that if you do intend to battery power this kit, it will cost some significant $$. But being able to do so, is pretty handy for quick setup run&gun.

Regards
Grant


https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod..._3x500_b_s_silver_series_led500_bi_color.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for your suggestion!

I can't find any comparisons between the amaran and the dracast readily but one obvious trade is the remote control v.s. the bicolor capabilities. Would you buy LED panels used? I tend to like to buy prosumer gear used because its often a pretty high quality but I'm not sure if LEDs diminish in quality over time.

Also for converting vmount to sony, would you just use something like this? https://www.amazon.com/ILED-Battery-V-Mount-Converter-Adapter/dp/B00E0CEDIE

Thanks for the replies everyone.
 
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It's difficult to buy used in a tumbling market because one will often find new for the better price than used.

These days, cheaper 500-600 beads panels can be had for around $80 each. Neewer has a 900 bead panel for under $150, Pergear has 1440 bead panels for $330. You might want one larger and a few smaller panels but that can be a matter of taste too.

PS. Those are eBay prices but the brands themselves, much like Aputure, have been around a while.
 
Dracast makes both battery options or you can readily swap out the plates afterward for a few bucks. Personally, I would rather have the adjustable color, but that is a personal preference. I find when using a panel to fill natural light, it is really nice to be able to fine tune the color temperature to existing conditions since daylight spectrum varies quite a bit depending on the time of day. Most often, I fill a little warmer to improve skin tones. Having the portability, low power draw, and all the other advantages of LEDs is great, but I still find the overall light quality a bit cold.

Something you need to consider within your budget range is how much light you can buy on a limited budget. Buying this 3 panel kit is enough to light an interview with two people and certainly not enough to light a larger scene. For larger work, LEDs become really expensive really quickly. In my case, I shopped some bargains on these 500 silver series and found a bargain on a smaller fresnel but have looked hard for some larger fixtures without much luck. It seems like the opening price on fixtures in the 1000w tungsten equivalent is $1000 and up. Mostly up. Hopefully the prices will fall with time. Also, be really careful since many led manufacturers fudge their output ratings....a lot.

Grant

Edit: Another advantage of the Bi-color is you can mix them in with tungsten.


SDub said:
Thanks for your suggestion!

I can't find any comparisons between the amaran and the dracast readily but one obvious trade is the remote control v.s. the bicolor capabilities. Would you buy LED panels used? I tend to like to buy prosumer gear used because its often a pretty high quality but I'm not sure if LEDs diminish in quality over time.

Also for converting vmount to sony, would you just use something like this? https://www.amazon.com/ILED-Battery-V-Mount-Converter-Adapter/dp/B00E0CEDIE

Thanks for the replies everyone.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks guys. After seeing some reviews on the dracast and considering the overall output of the light kit, I went with the Dracast lights. I'm really excited to have some actual lights with stands. Seeing the price of vmount batteries nearly made me die, so I'll probably try to use them with Sony batteries or just run a few cables out to them off AC power. These lights will probably never leave my basement, so that makes the most sense to me, but having the option of portability is always nice.

Any gel kits you guys recommend with these? Probably a set of minus green/minus magenta and maybe some of those fun skin tone improvement filters from lee? Is the zircon worth it?
 
I'd wait on the gels till you use them. Look for some diffusion with the least light loss possible. I find them pretty harsh when used up close.

Grant
 
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