Is Vidled for me?

S

Sirocco

Active member
I'am shooting Yoga demonstration and On Cam commentary for videopodcast.
I am using a consumer camera and I will buy, next month, the new, amazing yet affordable camera Panasonic will announce at Nab to replace the DVX (and if they dont I will get the A!, and sware to never say Pana again).
I will also shoot a serie of interviews for the net and DVD distribution. Since I travel a lot in Europe and India , size is very important and the vidled is certainly small and apparantly resistant.
Is this the tool for me? Wich one should I choose, if so, and what strategy for the battery (built in or not, etc).
I would start with one now and eventual I'd like to upgrade in order to built a 3 point system that can travel and be energy efficient.
Voilà ...thanks for your advices..:dankk2:
 
The DELUXE VIDLED lights include an integrated battery pack (internal). They are super convenient, but alas, the battery "only" lasts 90 minutes (on full power), and needs to be recharged at that time with the included charger.

The warmLED is close to incandescent in its color temperature and finds most use with wedding videographers. The coolLED is the BRIGHTEST light we sell, but will mostly need to be gellled down to a more acceptable color temperature, except when it is the dominant or only light, at which point the cam can be white-balanced to it.

Hope this helps some...
 
Any of them;
it depends entirely what other lighting is around you, and if you plan indoors or outdoors interviews.
A dayLED might work in either situation.
 
What I don't understand is are you wanting to shoot the yoga demonstration with the LED's too? You didn't make clear what all you want to use them for other than for interviews I think. For instance, is this yoga demonstration like the typical yoga video where there's an instructor and a small group of people practicing behind the instructor? Or just an instructor alone? How would you light the instructor's whole body so people can see the poses? And other similar questions come to mind. I don't think we have enough information to say what would work for you other than the interviews you mentioned which on camera lights could work for. Full body yoga pose demos might not work so well with on camera lights.
 
I've got several Vidleds and everybody that sees them is blown away... just realize that one vidled isn't going to do the job of some big 120-240v light.

Used wisely, it's surprising how effective they are... and in numbers they enable you to light something like you would with normal corded lighting tools. (meaning 3 point lighting... key... rim/hair... and BG.

I got the kit where you can bolt 2 of them together... and I have two of the cooleds setup like that... for this combo I have the external battery option so that I can use a DVXuser battery to run it for prolonged periods of time. When you see this brick of light in use you'd swear that it must be plugged in somewhere... unless somebody is from the film industry they are always shocked at the output.

I use a mix of the dayled and cooled... The thing I like about the cooleds is the freaky brightness (both are insanely bright, but the cooleds feel like you're staring into an HMI)... which brings me to another point... You will have to consider your setups and your interview subjects. I think you'll have the best luck with 2 (or even 3) vidleds used like normal lighting tools... instead of just one on camera... at the very least you should consider a bracket or something to have the light coming in slightly at an angle. They are BRIGHT to look at head-on... and unprofessional talent, or anybody who isn't used to cameras and lights... will squint if they don't expect this blast of light. Yes you can dim it (another incredibly cool feature)... but the thing is that leds are point-source lights... so you often don't WANT to dim it (for the camera's sake)... so the solution is to try and get the light off-axis of the subject's eyes. Just like with a camera flash I think this yields the best results anyway.

To decide between the built-in batter or external battery? Again... if you buy more then one then I'd get one of each... if you only buy one to begin with then judge your own situation. Do you think you'll need light for more then 90 minute periods of time w/o stopping to recharge? 90 minutes of night shooting is actually a lot... and I turn my vidled off if the tape isn't running... but there are also times where I may want that light all night long... and then I take the lights that let me swap out a battery... then the other is charging in the car, and you have uninterrupted light for as long as you want it.

The built-in option is great for convenience... the external is great if you need light for super-long periods of time. The trade-off is size and complexity of the unit... if you get the deluxe version (built-in battery) then it's about the size of a candy bar (more or less).
 
LEd or Tungsten for Event Work>

LEd or Tungsten for Event Work>

The only thing that I am unsure about with the VidLed or any LED light, is the throw distance. I am currently using a PAG C6 and or Varalux light system. And while they both give off a great light spread, I have to use either a battery brick or battery belt with them.
I would love a compact LED light, but don't think that it would suit my needs for event video (wedding reception) and such, as I here I might only expect about 6-8 feet of usable throw light. Compared to 10-25 feet for my tungsten lights.

AM I correct on this?
 
Long throw mostly depends upon a hard point light, a great parabolic reflector and a lens so its doubtful that the throw can be that great on anything but a spot, par or fresnel--particularly in that order based on lens/reflector combinations. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but any open LED light (like vidled's for example) is going to be in the category of an open-faced flood or a softlight (surface area of several rows of LED's is rather large). Flood's are not a big throw instrument anyway for any light type--tungsten included. While each LED has its own little lens, there is a collection of them together and no parabolic mirror or common focusing lens to help magnify them.
 
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vidled said:
Any of them;
it depends entirely what other lighting is around you, and if you plan indoors or outdoors interviews.
A dayLED might work in either situation.
Click to expand...

Do you have screws that will attach 2 Cool LEDs AND the Panasonic DVX/HVX battery adapter with threads?
 
Peep the picture on my MYSPACE page, I have a VIDLED light on my camera in that photo. I used it on several one on one interviews I shot for a documentary back in the fall. I shot them in a church with the house lights off and just used my VIDLED light and ambient light coming from the stained glass windows. It looked good! I did use some diffusion on the light though to soften it up just a tad. I have the Superbright light.
 
mcgeedigital said:
Do you have screws that will attach 2 Cool LEDs AND the Panasonic DVX/HVX battery adapter with threads?
Click to expand...

No, not really. The adapter is also meant only to power one LED, not two.
You could, however, run two coolLEDs attached to each other, with a Li-Ion battery pack we sell bolted to the top light; that works just fine.
 
I am close to buying a vidled but haven't actually seen one, but I have used a light panel(which is insanely expensive).

How does brightness of the vidled compare to the light panel? I noticed the light panel has 140 led's and the vidled has 52 leds. Are the leds the same size?

Would the 8000 degree vidled corrected with 1/2 cto still put out more light than the 5500 model?

What is wattage of the Vidleds?

Thanks
 
Bucknfl said:
....has 140 led's and the vidled has 52 leds. Are the leds the same size?
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that our cool LEDs are double chipped, so you are really getting 104 LED dies.

Bucknfl said:
Would the 8000 degree vidled corrected with 1/2 cto still put out more light than the 5500 model?
Click to expand...

Yes, a little more.
 
Cool Lights wrote
"What I don't understand is are you wanting to shoot the yoga demonstration with the LED's too? You didn't make clear what all you want to use them for other than for interviews I think. For instance, is this yoga demonstration like the typical yoga video where there's an instructor and a small group of people practicing behind the instructor? Or just an instructor alone? How would you light the instructor's whole body so people can see the poses?"
My apologies for not being clear.
The video demonstration would have to be shoot with the Vidled, the instructor would be demonstrtating and sometime using a student. Unlike videos you could find in the market, I wont be shooting a full yoga class but the instructor and then detail of the pose. This is done mainly to be distributed as videopodcast.
The reason I need to work with limited light is because I travel and need to be able to carry my whole equipment on board of airplane.
I will also shoot interviews . I've read that some have used the vidled and the lite panels for similar purposed and I understand that there is some compromises there but the size and weignt factor is very important.
So, in this specific context , my problem is :
a)should I go for LED
B) wich one : vidled, lite panels or other (I understand Vidled to be less expansive but less powerful than litepanels)
c) one or two and wich one (cool, daylight or warm)
In any cases, this represent a significant investment for a hobbyist so help and experience is very appreciated.:dankk2:
 
I use litepanels constantly, but also have a friend who has a few vidleds. the vidleds are pretty cool. I wouldnt use them as a key, but they do make for a decent rim or fill light, although I prefer the brighter litepanels.

Now, on camera, the litepanel is huge and makes your rig ridiculously front heavy, but the vidled is much lighter. That being said, with the vidled you need to rig up a gel system, it doesnt have the easy gel inserts like the litepanel.

If you are planning to use either of them as anything besides an on-camera light, you will need more than one. I would suggest one of each, at least.
 
Vidledpetrol.jpg


Here's a couple clips that are fresh... as in last night at 10p.

Indoors, with white walls or some form of reflection... obviously the lights are even more effective... but this should tell you something about them.

http://www.gettreel.com/vidleds1.wmv

http://www.gettreel.com/vidleds2.wmv

Since there's been a lot of talk about throw and effectiveness... I wanted to show what I consider to be a somewhat extreme use of these things. For most of those clips the lights are between 8-10' away from me.

If you want to see a more effective use I can set up a normal interview situation with a reflector and have the cam about 6' away.

The point that I was wanting to make in those clips is that while these portable, battery powered lights are clearly not going to replace 120v lighting... they do give you options in situations that would otherwise be impossible.

I think these things put out something like 4-6w each... so it's amazing what they can do with such low power.

EDIT: These clips are 24pa and 1/24 shutter... no gain... original DVX. You can shoot a 1/60 shutter with a closer subject... I've also shot 30p and 1/30 shutter to good effect.
 
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A "luminous" demonstration. I am getting a vidled Deluxe (dayled) to start with and learn and pratice, but you show clearly that they are the tools for me. I could'nt thank you enough.
And of course if you ever have time to show the interview setting that would be a scholar and stellar contribution to the education of the enthousiast beginner.
Thanks agin Sir.:dankk2:
 
MattinSTL said:
....
Here's a couple clips that are fresh... as in last night at 10p.
Click to expand...

WOW!!!
Way cool; amazing clips, very nicely done & very well explained.

:dankk2: :dankk2: :dankk2:
 
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