Camflasher 160 LED

Hmmm... no mention of LUX ( how bright it is ), no mention of wattage power draw. Only one conclusion... estimating 160 tiny leds and 5500K ( bluish ) color tint and a beam angle of 60 degrees ( perhaps with a hotspot, as usual),,,off of 9 VDC (6-AA).. I would say....without exaggerating too much........around 800 bluish luxes... put a yelow CC on that and Voila about a 30Watt halogen equivalent... You pays your money and you gets what you pay for. Not bad for the price. If only they start offering them in fuscia or perhaps teale in color.
 
He just emailed me back and told me that it is 550 lux without any hotspots. I wish I could find a nice led. :/
 
550 lux ( assuming at the 3 ft. distance) is not really bright unless you wish to do close-up interview, table top work. That's the norm with sub $75 led camera top lights and it still amazes me that one purchases a high end camera with high end lenses and doesn't put too much attention to one of the most important part of videography/photography.Light. Now there are some led models that are really rip-offs. I won't mention names, but you can do well with around the $100 dollar mark and get something that has at least 900 lux. Having more light than you need is better than not having enough. Remember there is always that dimmer to cut it down. Also to mention that most of the units that have many little leds are bluish, spotty, and all are of CE (China Export) origin of manufacture. That is not to say that they aren't any good but there are hundreds of them that fall in that category and some are really better than others for the same price or less. Better as far as output, sturdiness and powering options. Check out the Z96 led or equiv. For a bit more dollars you get a lot more light.
d,
 
What's the next step up above the Z96? I was looking at the CN160, because I figured it would put out slightly more light. Thanks for the help.
 
Slightly more light doesn't cut it. The Cn160 is rated at 900 lux @ 1meter ( as opposed to 800 for the Z96) lumenshttp://www.coollcd.com/cn160-led-video-light-for-video-camera-compatible-with-sony-f970_p704.html .The physics of light says that you need 4 times more lux if you double the distance and keeping the same brightness level on the subject (inverse square law). the Z96 is a good light for the money . That slight more light is not noticeable to the eye. Trust me. If it had said 1600 lux at 1 meter, now that would be a huge difference but highly unlikely when a unit runs off AA batteries and consumes less than 10 watts. You're looking always around 800 to 1100 lux at best for within your budget.
 
It's the same song and dance. Adding more teeny weenie leds to brighten up things. Natively them leds are 5600K, again bluish with a low CRI index along with a green spike along with a spotty beam along with a plastic case and the famous CE sticker/label that tells the whole story. Are you planning to put that thing on top of your camera ? Notice again that the Lux specs are nowhere to be found on that page, unless I missed them. Notice also the price of over $200. Someone is makin' serious bucks here. I really believe that all those leds are probably mass produced by the SAME maker and cut up in increments of 2X. 32, 64, 128, 256 etc. Most likely low quality control without tight tolerances on color/output from batch to batch. That's fine as long as you understand what you are paying for. There is definitely a place in the market for affordable led lights for non critical applications for the hobbyist and occasional shooter. I was under the impression that your budget was below or around $100 and that was why I suggested the Z96. If you can tell me what your main shooting and budget limit is, I can narrow the available choices to what I would use myself. Important considerations are:
Average shooting distances, subject matter, on or off camera use or both. Any light can reach great distances as long as you gain up the camera sensitivity enough, but with the gain you increase the grain.
 
1.75 meters, half body shot of individual in front of background (indoors), on camera. Budget is $200.
 
The Z96 will do fine at that distance. If you go for the led312A you would most likely be dimming it down not to blind the subject. ASA 200-400 on a still camera would do it. On a video cam, no need to gain up at 1.75 metres.
 
It doesn't cause any shadows unless you have a super long shotgun or lens hood that may get in the way of the light. The Z96 sits centered on top of the camera just like if it was in the regular shoe mount, just about an inch higher. In my experience it lights everything evenly with no shadows.
 
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Looks cool then, I just wish it cost a bit less.

Also, does anyone know about the "VS-1400" light? It looks like it uses high-quality LEDs, I'm just not sure how it would work out. Is there an alternative to it that I can get in the US? Or is the z96 still the way to go (I wish shipping wasn't going to take a month).
 
The VS-1400 raises 3 questions which are not addressed in the specs.
1- 5600 K color temperature, any cto filters included to reduce the blueness ??
2- Beam angle of 60 degree, is there a center hotspot or even illumination ??(nice to see on wall)
3- 1400 lux rating, at what distance was that measured at ?? 1,2, or 3 ft.??
Also says that uses Cree leds of 92 CRI, the only Cree's I know are 2800K at 90 CRI (the XP-G-s)


Physical size of unit (without active cooling) to output a true 1400 lux at 3 ft (if so) would make the unit extremely hot extremely fast. You're talking 16 watt draw out of which around 12 or so of them are converted to heat.

Add a warming CTO to the light and them luxes will be reduced to around 800.

Even at that, not bad for the price. Wish there was a test review showing beam shots.
 
How is the LED144A vs the Z96? I can get one for $140 and it comes with a battery, charger, and case, which ships locally. Versus a final price of $110 for the Z96 and a month wait period.

They made it confusing to compare the lux for the two, so I'm not sure what's what.
 
That led144a has no provision to power it except from AA's. CE export models like that tend to really over spec them quite a lot. problem is, one can not really try them out before making a decision, especially when they come from halfway around the globe. Between them 2 models, get the Z96. Trust me.
 
The Final. Price including requiste batteries.

The 144A I'm looking at from a seller on ebay can only be powered via the included sony battery.

Finally, does anyone know of any, more affordable, ways to mount a z96 and videomic? How is the adorama bracket? Or should I just get the cool-lux dual? Thanks all.
 
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