I Guess Lighting Companies Do Have a Sense of Humor

I've never used a Lupo but I feel like they're a marketing gimmick based pretending they're super bright when really they just have tighter beam angles.

This is a 20w light. The Luxli Viola 5" is 15w and the Luxli Cello 10" is 32w. I have both of the Luxli's and have been happy with them. With this light falling between those two in wattage I imagine this light is similar in terms of output but nothing to write home about.
 
Eric Coughlin said:
I've never used a Lupo but I feel like they're a marketing gimmick based pretending they're super bright when really they just have tighter beam angles.

This is a 20w light. The Luxli Viola 5" is 15w and the Luxli Cello 10" is 32w. I have both of the Luxli's and have been happy with them. With this light falling between those two in wattage I imagine this light is similar in terms of output but nothing to write home about.
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That pretty much mirrors a comment on the NS review. Also saw a review on the new Aputure Amaran lights and that's how they're getting such "impressive" numbers. They showed pictures of the light beam on a wall with the new included reflector and the old reflector from the original Light Storm fixtures. The old reflector was pretty even, but the new reflector was pushing out a narrow, harsh beam with a bad hotspot. The 600d that I have, while pretty powerful anyway you slice it, exhibits the same center hotspot phenomenon with it's "Hyper Reflector", although not as bad.
 
Run&Gun said:
That pretty much mirrors a comment on the NS review.
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Since I had read that comment rather than mirroring it could just be straight up plagiarism. Don't tell that commenter because I don't want to get sued.



I'm seriously considering cancelling my two 600D pre-orders, my two CLAR 500 pre-orders, my one CLAR 350 pre-order, and with that $6k of lights coming out to 2790 watts of LED lighting, replacing it with a single $6400 Hive 575. You think the Hive 575 would work as a good replacement for the Litepanels Gemini 2 x 1? I'm getting tired of lugging the 2 x 1 around along with it's mini Combo stand and like the idea of a Hive 575 which has twice the wattage of the Gemini, but weighs half as much, is an awful lot smaller, and can fit on a regular light stand. The 600D could maybe replace it too, but I feel like I'll hate the daylight only because perhaps 20% of the time I use the Gemini I'm not using daylight, and 20% is enough to matter. Is it easy enough to gel the 600D? Will that not make the colors wonky to gel an LED light?

There's also that new PROLYCHT which is 300w, so similar wattage to a Gemini but with the smaller and lighter COB form factor. Still, it's larger and heavier than the Hive 575 and almost half the wattage. I often feel the Gemini isn't bright enough. Maybe a single 600D and a Hive 575 is the way to go. Kind of pricey but that could be manageable. Or a Hive 575 and a single CLAR 500. I guess I like to drool over that Hive.

I guess the way I see it, RGB COB is going to be available at cheaper prices before too long, and at that point I can either regret spending money on a daylight only light, or regret spending too much money on a light I still like and use. Not that I'd actually regret it because hopefully I'd have used the lights enough to have justified them in the time it takes for new competing lights to come to market.
 
Run&Gun said:
That pretty much mirrors a comment on the NS review. Also saw a review on the new Aputure Amaran lights and that's how they're getting such "impressive" numbers. They showed pictures of the light beam on a wall with the new included reflector and the old reflector from the original Light Storm fixtures. The old reflector was pretty even, but the new reflector was pushing out a narrow, harsh beam with a bad hotspot. The 600d that I have, while pretty powerful anyway you slice it, exhibits the same center hotspot phenomenon with it's "Hyper Reflector", although not as bad.
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Do we think the COB monolight LEDs with photo reflectors are the current ugliest quality of light out there? Can the 600d work with barn doors as the only attachment?
 
rob norton said:
Do we think the COB monolight LEDs with photo reflectors are the current ugliest quality of light out there? Can the 600d work with barn doors as the only attachment?
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Soft light is soft light. Once you go through diffusion I don't really see the difference in different "qualities" of lights. For key lights for interviews, I'm just about always shooting through diffusion. Obviously hard lights have their place, but I'm okay buying lights that only work well when diffused.

Of course if a beam angle is too tight or the spread too spotty it can be difficult to get an even spread on the diffusion.
 
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Doesn't it make sense to have differentiated units to exploit their various strengths? You might need a buttload of light sometimes (when high wattage and multiple units come into play) but sometimes you may only have time to set one unit (when you want your best, strongest and most versatile source - the hive?) So I suppose I agree with the hive/CLAR set-up. The hive is your A unit and the CLAR (or multiple CLARs) come into play when you need a more powerful key or a brighter level all around.

Plus, I'm of the opinion that brute force is most useful for situations where you're competing with daylight but that tungsten-balanced or colored lights can often afford to be weaker.

I think it makes sense to splash out on one expensive light (the hive) and get cheap other ones (the CLARs and weaker COBs than that). Then when RGBs get cheaper, you get additional RGB units. Godox has some inexpensive RGB units coming to market now. But I still think that since you're always going to use at least one light, it makes sense to have one light you really like
 
Owning two of the original Superpanels and having tested them against Lite panels of the same watts I think I can confirm the spottyness leading to higher numbers.

Once bouncing and or diffusing the units all had the same power.

Of course for cooking a face in a sunny interview the spotty panel is acutally more useful.

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Ive been banging on for years that professional tests of lighting fixtures should use two lightmeters maybe placed 2m apart (or of course two tests with one meter) - even mailed Luke Seerveld about it many times.

This methodology would cut past the makers of lights who hit high numbers by having hotspots. In fact it would place them at disadvantage.

The aussie guy has that video where he suggests the Forza500 is brighter than his 1.2 hmi. In the video the last test he bashes the light off the ceiling.. revealing the 1.2 light to actually be brighter when space filling. (of course!)

He is not even capable of interpreting his own data!

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ON the lupo vs litepanel - lupo still win as the lite panels are growing way beyond 1.1 in size, One the cob lights.. I also thenk them to be excellent. But Im aware that (for instance Celeb Pike) that the new amaran200 is most unlikely to be brighter than the older apture300
 
Eric Coughlin said:
Soft light is soft light. Once you go through diffusion I don't really see the difference in different "qualities" of lights. For key lights for interviews, I'm just about always shooting through diffusion. Obviously hard lights have their place, but I'm okay buying lights that only work well when diffused.

Of course if a beam angle is too tight or the spread too spotty it can be difficult to get an even spread on the diffusion.
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I'm talking about hard lighting. Maybe they could make a reflector with barn doors..
 
rob norton said:
I'm talking about hard lighting. Maybe they could make a reflector with barn doors..
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they do - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...4abTPAmRw7s78Bl9cvg0iKSr8-RCfZsRoCXy4QAvD_BwE

1535627721_IMG_1056827.jpg

also from godox - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...zyvVGvBjMWqReF9zKM1dGZdCOJxTghUxoCLKQQAvD_BwE

I sort of feel like COB and barn doors are a bit of a miss, though. I haven't worked with any high-end COBs, but in my experience COBs are too soft to begin with to be effectively cut by barn doors, although they do make an impact but not a complete cut and with a softer edge to the cut
 
I’ve been doing lighting for over forty years and although most was theatre rather than video, some things don’t change. There have always been premium products in every type and power, and for me, working with tighter budgets but owner operation, which is always gentler and kinder to kit, I have a rule. Lower spec, is always cheaper and buying quantities of cheaper products is always better. Renting in the expensive kit when really needed is best. My stock of Fresnels for example. I still have in use six 2K large ones from 1981. I have 4 1Ks from the same era. Side by side with my 4 arri 1Ks, the Arris are harder and less easy to blend but brighter. The 750w Source 4s with their narrow angles cut through the wash from the bigger Wattage Fresnels. My tubular TV reflector soft lights have gone now and cheap LED panels -6 of them, do a better job, without heat or weight, but each one is dimmer. For me, 6 are better than one expensive one. Moving head lights I think I’ve got 16 RGBW wash lights. I could have 4 Robe units that are similar but a bit brighter for the same money. 16 can throw a hell of a lot more light and 16 let’s me do thing 4 could never do.

People told me that cheap movers were crap, and would be unreliable. Out of the 16, one has no red, and one is a little slower. I hire in once a year some clever top of the range six grand a piece heads for ten weeks. The hire company supply spares, because my crew have to swap one out of the ten or so every few days. If you bought a cheap stereo from Walmart this reliable for $100, you’d be back banging on the counter. We accept expensive technology is unreliable.

Although lots of people disagree with my system, I shall continue to buy more cheaper gear, and never less number of expensive ones when it’s my money. I’m happy spending other people’s money on them, of course. Cheap lighting is rarely unreliable. It’s just dimmer, perhaps a little random in beam quality, and more fragile. That’s it. Oh, and totally lacking kudos, style and generating laughter, snide comments and derision from some in the industry. I’ve never let this bother me.

More kit of lower spec is my preference. Others do it differently. That’s fine.
 
ahalpert said:
I sort of feel like COB and barn doors are a bit of a miss, though. I haven't worked with any high-end COBs, but in my experience COBs are too soft to begin with to be effectively cut by barn doors, although they do make an impact but not a complete cut and with a softer edge to the cut
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Agree. My godox cob is basically a blob of light.

My lupo fresnels are much more cuttable.

Barn doors are imo often too small though, you cant beat a 4.4 black board on a seperate stand!
 
ahalpert said:
they do - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...4abTPAmRw7s78Bl9cvg0iKSr8-RCfZsRoCXy4QAvD_BwE

also from godox - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...zyvVGvBjMWqReF9zKM1dGZdCOJxTghUxoCLKQQAvD_BwE

I sort of feel like COB and barn doors are a bit of a miss, though. I haven't worked with any high-end COBs, but in my experience COBs are too soft to begin with to be effectively cut by barn doors, although they do make an impact but not a complete cut and with a softer edge to the cut
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Oh yeah, but I guess in this case it's like an anti-reflector!

Most LED barn doors were nearly entirely for show in the early days but some are pretty effective:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBFMZb56td8&t=1m55s

Also Abe check this 2017 thread out - http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?355318-LED-Fresnels-that-cast-sharp-shadows

Looks like the anti reflector is doing huge amounts of work to make the aputure light closer to a "true point source".

Does anyone else get déjà vu when posting and are paranoid they've already said the same thing many times over!?
 
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Ah that's a very relevant thread to this conversation. The circle goes round and round.

That Godox I linked - that's actually an attachment for a standard 7" reflector so maybe it's like what you're talking about?
 
On the Lupo panel line... it's pretty dang easy to slap a sheet of diffusion on them if more spread is necessary. I got a pair of the Smartpanels this year and they're marvelous little travel lights just for the punch. The Superpanel 60 rivals many far more expensive 2x1, but is light enough to rig on a simple sturdy light or c-stand. I've really enjoyed them.
 
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