Camflasher 160 LED

Sorry, was confusing the 144a with the 160 led ( that orange colored one) on your original post. Looking at the 144a, not bad at all. Like the fact it takes Sony NP-F series batteries and operates at a wide input voltage range from external batts as well and also the CRI of 82 is very believable. If only I see a lux or lumen figure at 3 feet. Anyway looks darn good . Hope it's under $100.
 
Gotcha. Yeah, the 144A is coming from LA and it comes with a battery, charger, bag, and a hotshoe to tripod adapter (like the marshall). But it costs $140 (with shipping / tax). Is it still worth it? How does it compare to the z96? Also, for the price, should I just set up to the 312 LED for $210?

And, what do you recommend for mounting?

Thanks for all of the help. :)
 
Now your budget is really going up. That's OK but do you really need 312 leds?? look at the size of that, it will surely draw more power, just because it has more than double the leds does not mean it will be more than twice as bright. If maximum brightness is what you are looking for, determine first what you will be using it most for and at what maximum distances. If it is to be used on a D-SLR and the camera has a fast lens on it with a high enough ASA, then you may not need a very powerful light if your shooting distances are short. If for example you are doing a wedding and distances vary with the assignment, then it is a good idea to have at hand more light than you think you need. Thing is, today with the large LCD screens with HD resolutions and such, having a weak or not powerful enough light tends you to up the gain or ISO settings with the grain. Underexposure with grain is one thing that will be noticeable on them LCD panels. If your job is important, then so is the lighting. You can always start with the 144 led model, it is a really decent light, and later move on up to the big boys with the power/quality that warrants it, and then you always will have a spare or a second light source. If you can try the units beforehand, all the better. In video capture, the white balance can be adjusted ( to a certain point) in post production, takes up time and such, but if you get it right on shooting then it will make the job a lot easier and more enjoyable on the long run. The 144a would be a good step up from the Z96. Just remember that size of gear is just as important as the performance. My motto is " keep it sweet and simple".
That means really avoid unnecessary extra weight/size/ if possible.
 
I was just looking at the IKAN 312 led specs. Now they have the LUX rating at 50CM (centimeter) mark. Truly there are no standards of lux measurements. Next thing you know is that they will rate them at 25 CM. Give me a break. OK let's do the math for that one, let's see now...6580 lux (wow that's a lot) at 50 CM ( 18 inches away) translates to 6580 divide by 4 ( inverse square law of light propagation) = 1645 luxes at 1 meter distance. Now why can't all be rated as such. At least you now have a yardstick to compare with other units.
 
OK, I really cannot advertise here ( unless moderator allows it) and also the units are not finalized as for production. But I think I can sneak in a little idea on the price. Sshhh...don't tell anyone O.K.
The small model... take my avatar and vertically cut it in half, so you now have 2 leds. That one will be the basic ( neutral 4200K,dimmer, 1400 lux @ 3ft.) only 2"wide , draws 10W or less, 6-18 VDC.
Can be yours if the price is right.......LESS than $299. How much less ? Dunno yet. Depends on production costs/ sourcing materials/quantity parts cost etc.etc.
This unit is made with only 2 leds drawing less than 5W each with 1400 lux out. Smallest, built like a tank.
 
The CRI should be anywhere between 80 to 85 at that neutral color. CRI in general gets higher as the Kelvin temp. decreases. It gets to 90 CRI if one is willing to accept 2700 to 3000K. Cooler tem. in the 5000 to 6000K have CRI in the mid to upper 70's. That usually is the rule of thumb. The trick is to have a high output led, be extremely efficient (highest lumens per watt), lowest thermal conduction, wide beam dispersion, high current capability, and the highest CRI possible. No easy feat also considering that the binning ( output/color range) and led must be available from the supplier. If videographers have accepted them low CRI units that are mass produced overseas as a good and acceptable video light, then they would surely appreciate the difference when the higher cri's are available from diverse mfrs. at an affordable price. Yes, I could have used leds with higher ( in the 90's ) but they are not powerful/efficient enough and would have required much more of them in the unit to be practical.They would have been fine for larger studio tripod mounted units. I too am waiting for a 95 CRI 4500K 10 watt single led that puts out a hefty 200 lumen per watt outputting 2000 lumens with 3 amps going through it at 3.3 Volts. I'll keep dreaming for now.
 
About the VS-1400

About the VS-1400

Norman99 said:
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.
Click to expand...

You raise very good questions about the unit. I didn't know about this light at all unit looking it up, but I may be able to shed some light on certain specs.

I found a listing showing a beamshot on a wall with low setting and high setting. High setting was a joke as it was just pure white. It appears to be very even illumination. This makes sense as the light is no doubt being diffused by some kind of translucent material. The XP-G emitters themselves have a very wide spread of 125*, but they are being directed out the front in a more narrow beam by the (plastic?) housing. My guess is the luminous flux ratings given are at the emitter, as is a common practice with inexpensive LED lights.

The R5 cool white XP-G is cree's most efficient XP-G emitter, producing 139 luminous flux @ 350mA. In order to achieve the claimed numbers, they are likely driving the emitters at 1A each, so 2 A when all 4 are on. Keep in mind that they would be wired in series, so the two together are drawing 1A, and 4 together drawing 2A @ 7.2v. Assuming 1A current, the emitters will produce 250% of their luminous flux @350mA, so you get about 700 lumens on 2, or 1400 lumens with all 4 lit - At the emitter. After bouncing around inside the case/enclosure and traveling through the diffusion and to the subject, measured luminous flux will certainly be lower.

This is actually a lot of light if they are driven this hard, but I have my doubts since as mentioned, this would produce quite a bit of heat. In high quality flashlights aluminum is used throughout to aid in heat transmission and dissipation. In addition you might be surprised at how much heat your hand can draw away from the light when holding it. This unit seems to be made of plastic.

As for the quality of light, the cree R5 cool white XP-G has a CCT range of between 5k-8.3k. This means the very minimum emitter CCT for an R5 would be 5k, and the maximum would be 8.3k. When placing an order cree uses an "order code" that specifies efficacy (efficiency) of the chosen emiiter, in this case R5, but the specific CCT is not guaranteed. Cree does "bin" their LED's into specific color temperature and tint bins, but it is extremely difficult to order a specific bin. More typically a reel (almost exactly like a film reel) is ordered containing 1,000 LED's within the "order code" which in this case would be R5. With those 1,000 LED's would be different CCT and tinted LED's. The bottom line is that it is highly unlikely this light is 5600k. It is much more likely to be 5000-8300k.

Finally as for color rendering, there is no minimum CRI specified for the R5 group emitters. Typical values are expected to be around 70-80. Cree's high CRI LED's are exclusively low CCT units. The 90 minimum CRI LED's for example are between 2,600-3,200K CCT. This is common with all LED manufacturers, and possibly a good reason to skip LED lighting if you need daylight balanced lights. LED's are typically missing a big chunk of the blue/cyan wavelength.

So, my take on this light is that it should be very bright for what it is, it should get very hot, and the runtimes should be accurate. You should not expect accurate color rendering.

Most of the information I provided here can be seen for yourself within cree's published datasheet for the XP-G emitter. Just do a search for cree xp-g datasheet and you will find the .pdf


I'd love to discuss some of the other inexpensive lights I have seen, but rarely is the brand of emitter every mentioned. Datasheets are available from other manufacturers as well but I'd have to say cree's are among the easiest to understand and make sense of.

- Sean
 
Well done. You know your tobacco well. Are you a member of CPF forums by the way. If not, those folks there are the guru's of things flashlight and leds.
Anyway, MY lights will use only CREE leds. The recent newcomer, the XM-L will be used in all our upcoming models. You really gotta check that one out.
All my units will be always conservatively spec'd. Always have, always will. I have a couple of really nice models cookin' up, can't say for now. I can easily incorporate leds as the technology improves, my units were designed that way from the start.
 
I am. Same handle there. Since we're going a little off topic, I'll go ahead and mention I have been experimenting with a pair of solarforce L2 hosts with 18650's and Nailbender P60 drop-ins. They're "linger special" dual XP-G's with 90 CRI Q2 7A3 bin emitters. Host cost me $13, and drop-in was $50. IMO a far better buy than any of the cheapie LED video lights I see recommended here left and right.

(For those scratching their heads) In non flashlight nerd speak this means they have excellent color rendering, moderately good efficiency for an LED but not the best, and 3000K color temperature. The flashlight runs on a cylindrical cell lithium battery slightly fatter and longer than a AA but which holds far more energy. It is not custom, but rather put together via various parts from different sources that are interchangeable and work together like "legos".

Without any diffusion I would consider them borderline useful for photography and film work since they do exhibit a hotspot and a slight distorted donut hole in the center of the beam. When doubling up the lights I can minimize the hotspot and donut hole as well as increase the light available. With even light diffusion this is immediately corrected and they're stunningly beautiful. The quality of the light they emit is without reproach compared to any other led I've seen. Better color rendering than even high quality household incandescents.

I have been pondering a homemade light design for some time utilizing high CRI cree emitters. 1k+ for a decent LED light for photography/film is absolutely ridiculous.
 
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Potato42 said:
I am. Same handle there. Since we're going a little off topic, I'll go ahead and mention I have been experimenting with a pair of solarforce L2 hosts with 18650's and Nailbender P60 drop-ins. They're "linger special" dual XP-G's with 90 CRI Q2 7A3 bin emitters. Host cost me $13, and drop-in was $50. IMO a far better buy than any of the cheapie LED video lights I see recommended here left and right.

(For those scratching their heads) In non flashlight nerd speak this means they have excellent color rendering, moderately good efficiency for an LED but not the best, and 3000K color temperature. The flashlight runs on a cylindrical cell lithium battery slightly fatter and longer than a AA but which holds far more energy. It is not custom, but rather put together via various parts from different sources that are interchangeable and work together like "legos".

Without any diffusion I would consider them borderline useful for photography and film work since they do exhibit a hotspot and a slight distorted donut hole in the center of the beam. When doubling up the lights I can minimize the hotspot and donut hole as well as increase the light available. With even light diffusion this is immediately corrected and they're stunningly beautiful. The quality of the light they emit is without reproach compared to any other led I've seen. Better color rendering than even high quality household incandescents.

I have been pondering a homemade light design for some time utilizing high CRI cree emitters. 1k+ for a decent LED light for photography/film is absolutely ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Do you have any recommendations for someone wanting to build something similar? I have a lot of experience with electrical components, but besides IR and general purpose LEDs know virtually nothing about lighting.
 
Building a flashlight is one thing, building a light for videography is another. On a flashlight, there are millions of available components that are available on the web, millions of DIY parts from a host of suppliers like DX (deal extreme) Digi Key, and countless others. Some have even used a lathe to cut one from titanium, aluminum, stainless steel etc. Flashlight fanatics or flashaholics as they are known as, have many ideas, builds, aspirations, in hoping to make that holy grail of flashlight. It is that quest that ideas, prototypes, trial & error and the fun part of building that keeps the enthusiasm going strong. In flashlights, a spotty narrow angle beam is important and the perfect circle with long throw is what is sought after. Other considerations are thermodynamics along with electronics, optical physics and useability. Modders are pushing the limits of leds and optics/reflectors to the extreme. That is good and everyone benefits from the knowledge. Like I said, there are many enclosures/cases/hosts to build a flashlight from. But in a video light, what is most paramount is usually usually different from a flashlight. Color quality as well as a floody beam without hotspots is desirable as well as a high CRI and a dimmer.You will not see many flashlights with a dimmer, and that is where the electronics similarities end. On a video light, the common PWM circuitry used for dimming is a no-no in today's newer breed of variable shutter HD cameras, unless you like flicker on the video. Flashlights don't need to be designed for flicker removal as the human eye will never notice. Building one (for video) from scratch will cost many hours of frustration, tooling, trial & error, heat calculation, etc.etc. It approaches rocket science status. I'm not saying it can't be done but it is not as easy as it seems. I know.
 
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