Ikan 400 good as keylight????

The benefit to the 400 is primarily being able to use spot bulb in it if you're needing to throw light a distance - There are no barn doors, attaching diffusion or color is not easy either. If I had my druthers, I'd look at a 500 watt equivalent LED light (similar to theirs or one of the less expensive versions online) -

pm me if you have any other questions (we actually did the light promo for ikan)
 
The ID400 was created as an event/ENG style lighting unit, to provide coverage and punch in an otherwise dark environment. It's also a good idea to consider the ID-500 from ikan, which has the barn doors and is THE most popular light in the line.
 
i have in the past and currently own a mix of ikan gear. its generally great value for dollar stuff.
not the best. yet very far from the worst!

i was in their office a couple months ago checking stuff out. they showed me their variable-color 1k which was really fun! while i was there i picked up a couple of their variable temp, on camera iLED 144s. both of which are surprisingly powerful and have already paid for themselves at least twice over in handiness! they are one of those things you dont think about until you need them. but at those times you do. you thank the maker you have them! and at $350, EVERYONE should have at least ONE!

with that said, about 4 months ago. i went in needing some ultra portable lights for a last minute stand-up i had to shoot the next day. i walked out with 2 of their ID500s and one ID400. the naming system is kind of misleading, as the 500 and 400 are completely different products. the 500 is a standard platoon of 500 small led bulbs. dimable with barndoors. the 400 however is a small box with four, what appear to me to be higher-end "lowes-depot" LED track bulbs (sorry if im wrong on that, ikan guys). its not really "dimable". no diffusion. no barn doors. no gel frame. it was pretty clear to me that it was designed as an attempt to capitalize on the "vibe" of the LEDZ style lights.

can you use one as a keylight? you betcha! but the problem i had with it is, if you really want to control it, in addition to a mix of spot/flood bulbs. youd also need the same scrims, flags, gels and diffusers youd use with traditional hotlights. but being an led, its power falls off pretty quickly when you put stuff in front of it. so you lose its value pretty quickly.

if asked, id answer as carlos did. i can see the 400 being best used as a great "punchy-fill" in an otherwise dark room (wedding shooters should REALLY enjoy it!)

ikan has a number of similarly priced units that would probably work better as a keylight
 
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Great recap, wgzn... just want to make sure and insert that the ID-400 uses exactly that! The bulbs CAN be purchased through most home improvement type stores (the light was actually designed with that more cost efficient solution in mind), but the ikan bulbs are actually a different color temp than you'll find in the stores. They're more accurate and they hit both the 3200 and 5600 marks, as they should.

Just wanted to clarify for anyone who might go out and purchase the bulbs from a store and wonder about the color temp!
 
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