HMC150 on camera light / battery options

A

Andy Turner

Active member
Does anyone know of a light/battery combo that works well with this camera? I have an Anton Bauer Elight Z and ElipZ for my Canon A1 and I am pretty happy with that but it does get a bit heavy. For when I need two cameras with lights I am looking another option. I really would like to get a dimmable led light that could plug into an on camera battery similar to the SWIT battery/light combos or the SWIT battery with a Zylight like you can do with the EX1. I have been looking for a bit but cant really find a combo that I like...any suggestions?

Thanks

Andy
 
Hello Andy,

I personally own the Swit/Varizoom S2010 (with a sony battery plate) and think is great to fill in, I've been using it for a few years now... Now that being said, I just purchased 2 LED COMER Lights
They're awesome! bright, dimmable, with a 3200K gel barndoor/filter and also a Spot-barndoor lens
If you want to see them a little more in back to back, there's another thread that shows them
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=173216

The guy thats currently selling them has great costumer service, His name is Taky
here's his website link http://www.lacolorshop.com/products/item.asp?id=CM1800

Another great thing about those lights is that they produce as much light as an 80W light, yet they only waist about 18-20 watts of power... witch means they'll run like 2 1/2 hours on a high capacity battery... He also sells a smaller version of this light http://www.lacolorshop.com/products/item.asp?id=CM900
the only bad thing about the smaller version is that is not dimmable. But as a reference it's still brighter than the swit/varizoom model

The way i use them is by putting them on light stands and bouncing them, or also using them as spot light... and they work great together with the swit. and ALL use the same sony batteries (witch you can get the cheapest most generic battery from e-bay and it'll work for sure)

The bottom line is that this lights are great as on camera light or using them full blast as spot or fill. Your choice

Hope that helps... this light eats lightpanels for breakfast =)
 
I'm using TorchLED.. aluminum construction. Kills the litepanel Micro for light output, and has a built-in Li-on Battery so no extra battery to worry about. $300
 
Superfresa66 said:
Hello Andy,

I just purchased 2 LED COMER Lights
They're awesome! bright, dimmable, with a 3200K gel barndoor/filter and also a Spot-barndoor lens
If you want to see them a little more in back to back, there's another thread that shows them
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=173216

The guy thats currently selling them has great costumer service, His name is Taky
here's his website link http://www.lacolorshop.com/products/item.asp?id=CM1800

=)
Click to expand...

Looks like his website is down. These Comer lights look like a possible option for me. Do you have any footage with it? I cant find anything from an actual wedding with it

Andy
 
The complaint that some seemed to be making about the light was that it was almost too bright :) But the light is dimmable so I don't understand this comment? Is the color temperature changing that much on the lower end of the dim? Also how heavy is it? (Without a battery)

Thanks,
Andy
 
exactly, I would never complain a on-camera being too bright especially it has a dimmer switch.

The cool thing about LED light is the color temperature virtually won't change at all when using in different brightness settings.
 
I made the brightness complaint (mostly a joke =) The color doesn't change at all. The Weight is 420g

Just as a reference, it's the same size as the Sony LED (witch i think they discontinued) but the COMER is brighter!
 
Thanks for the comments guys, this looks like exactly what I am looking for in a light. Now I just have to run it past the bookeeper...I mean my wife. She is my accountability partner to make sure I dont buy too many toys :)
 
Averan, I did a test clip showing how the CM1800 backlight works. It's indoor with bright outdoor by the window. Take a look at this .. the second video

http://lacolorshop.com/blog/view.asp?id=31

There is also a trick I learned from the Comer. When flipping the condenser lens, leave it open just a little bit. It will cast a very strong narrow beam out. It works very well especially when you need to zoom in.

Oh I have to agree with you about LP Micro. I still have that piece of overprice light sitting here. It's flimsy and weak.
 
Taky said:
Averan, I did a test clip showing how the CM1800 backlight works. It's indoor with bright outdoor by the window. Take a look at this .. the second video

http://lacolorshop.com/blog/view.asp?id=31

There is also a trick I learned from the Comer. When flipping the condenser lens, leave it open just a little bit. It will cast a very strong narrow beam out. It works very well especially when you need to zoom in.

Oh I have to agree with you about LP Micro. I still have that piece of overprice light sitting here. It's flimsy and weak.
Click to expand...

yes, all LP products seem very overpriced and underpowered.

as for your backlight test...that's not what i meant. your backlighting is drastically toned down and diffused by those shades drawn over the windows. i've shot interior shots with those same shades in place with no problem. what i want to see is how this light measures up to the sun! ie, i want to see the limit of its abilities, the situation where i expect it to fall short when compared to a halogen/tungsten on-camera light. put that girl outside on a sunny day, with the sun at her back, then turn the light on and let's see if it does anything to brighten the shadow on her face.

even my LP micro can make a great shot when using it inside in a dark room....so for me, all those test shots you did are not very useful.

what i do love about the LP Micro is that it uses AA batteries that i can buy anywhere or use rechargeable batteries. too bad your Comer doesn't allow for different camera batteries like the Microbeam 128....i really wouldn't want to buy yet another whole set of different type of batteries and charger to carry around.
 
Strong backlight is always tricky to work with. I plan to have another test shooting to demo a better backlight scene.

I have another clip that shows backlight fill-in but using my cat. hehe

http://lacolorshop.com/blog/view.asp?id=12

I thought of the convenience of using AA batteries. Then I found out, even I use high rating AA rechargable batteries on LP Micro, it last about 45 minutes ONLY. It gets worst when the battery is getting weak, LP micro light will start flickering. The flickering also be recorded to the video too! I got tricked before shooting bad wedding footage because of that. Then I have to charge 3 to 4 sets of 4xAA batteries so that I can make it through the a 4-hour wedding reception.

Trust me, I would love to use the same brand model and brand batteries so I don't have to carry and charge a different set. I am all Canon gear. That's why I bough the SWIT/Varizoom before so I can use the same Canon BP-970G batteries that my XH-A1 uses. But I'm glad I jumped into the Comer lights. Even it is using Sony compartible batteries, the third party batteries and chargers are relatively cheap.

Each charged NP-F970 battery last 2.5 to 3 hours. I just need to get 2 batteries and 1 charger and I can use the light all day too (using it on and off during the day. and full usage at reception). I am selling these batteries and chargers. I'm not only selling them, I'm an actual user. If they aren't perform up to my standard, I won't be selling them. =)
 
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