Led on camera light question.

Cool Lights said:
I agree with your choice.
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Keep in mind that his lighting decision was for off camera approach, which is what I keep recommend as well when possible.

But Norman is looking for an on camera solution, which, unfortunately, there isn't really an option for what he is looking for.
 
In my past setups, supplemental off camera lighting did consist of 2 tripod mounted battery powered units, however a few close calls of them toppling over and consequences if any did, are not worth the risk. I have witnessed one such incident that a 10ft pole was accidentally tripped on by a dancer, even though it was firmly taped to the carpet, fell directly onto an unoccupied table breaking several glasses and toppling the hugh water filled vase of flowers. Even though the videographer had liability insurance, imagine if someone got seriously hurt ? I was a guest of that wedding and that was what made me rethink using lights at the dancefloor perimeter.I have just yesterday discussed a possible solution to having more light in the background and gradually decreasing as the distance got nearer to the camera. Most of the wedding reception capturing are dances on a crowded floor and I have a small stepladder that I use at several perimeter locations during the evening. The camera is tilted slightly towards the bottom in order to capture the scene, and by doing so renders the foreground people with too much light and the background too dark due to the distance ( about 30 ft). Because the foreground people are too bright, I manually stop down for proper exposure thereby rendering the background even more dark. The videographer I talked to yesterday is using a very powerful led on camera led light. He also has a small stepladder that elevates him 3 steps above. He uses what he calls a rectangular gradual neutral density filter to gradually decrease the light intensity from the bottom to the top, thereby having the light gradually increase with the distance. This way he can stay with a fixed F stop for the properly exposed foreground and at that F stop would be also properly exposing the background that has almost the same perceived brightness. This only works if the on camera light is powerful enough to reach those background distances. The filter is just a small pocketable acrylic that just fits over the front of the led. I am eager to try his light on an actual wedding and will post videos or photos if anyone is interested.
 
Powerful on-camera led lights are a reality, thanks to the recent advances of led technology. Just last week the company that has a 135 lumen per watt efficacy just claimed a newer 209 lumen per watt led that is in the works. The led light manufacturers out there cannot afford to change or retrofit the existing leds in their model lineup fast enough to include the latest (and brighter) leds. They come up with a newer improved version as the technology and the time become available. That might take months or years before a real major breakthrough in lighting becomes available. The only way, in my opinion to take advantage of this fast paced led improvement as it progresses, is to have a custom designed unit that utilizes the latest available leds. My colleague, a machinist with extensive CNC experience and myself as an electronics graduate, have prototyped a few models for evaluation purposes to eventually be on the market hopefully this year. These models range from 1200 lumens up to 5000 lumens with neutral white 4500K leds. These are not the common small leds that have narrow beam angle but lighting class 90+ degree horiz. coverage. I cannot disclose the component make, model or specs. at this moment but I can say that the units are all made from extruded aluminum frame acting as a massive heat sink. The units over 2400 lumens will have a copper grid internal heat sink with a temperature controlled 20mm ultra silent fan. Models less than 2400 lumens can be powered from 7.2 to 18V DC whereas the more powerful units are 12 to 18v DC with P-Tap. All will have dimming capabilities with machined metal foot and quality industrial grade components and connectors.
I cannot sell these at the moment as they are being improved upon and awaiting evaluation, approval, patent rights etc. I am just pointing out what leds in the future has in store, and it is a bright one.
 
Yup, that's me. Unfortunately I was told several times not to promote or sell my designs here. I understand that, and have not sold any here or elsewhere for that matter. I am simply trying to let videographers out there know what can be available in the future. Interesting times indeed.
 
Pat, I just noticed that Canon will put out a T2i model of a still camera with HD 1080P 30fps video capability soon. I really need to change my video camera for one of those if it fills the bill. A super compact, high lumen video LED light with a Zacuto bracket is what I'm aiming for.Can you please give some actual dimensions of your 7.2V 2400 lumen unit , and when can it become available ?
 
Norman, the 7.2 V unit measures 3" wide 3" high and 2.75" deep, also the 7.2 V unit is only for units that are 2000 lumens or less. The more powerful units (over 2400 lm) will need 12 V to 18V DC , usually supplied from a P-tap or equiv. source. If you are contemplating on the purchase of the Canon t2i, I suggest you check out that clip limit size, as it won't allow you to do a continuous long recording. I believe they will have a fix or solution for that. Read the posts related to that model here. These lights are not for sale at this moment, a few have been given out to NJ and NY videographers for evaluation purposes and field testing, changes and improvements are due soon as a direct result of testing. Production models will benefit from the newer high efficacy leds that will be available later this year.
 
Not to rob a thread, but Pat, why not 5600-6000 kelvin leds, rather than the warmer 4500 ?
Just curious.
 
6000k range is too blue, After having the comer 4500k seems like a great temp. You can use it for daylight, or flip down the gel for 3200k.

But most of the time you don't need a gel at all, which doesn't cut down on the intensity at all - a big plus.
 
MadHMC150 said:
6000k range is too blue, After having the comer 4500k seems like a great temp. You can use it for daylight, or flip down the gel for 3200k.

But most of the time you don't need a gel at all, which doesn't cut down on the intensity at all - a big plus.
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I see where your head is at on this one. But I would rather just use cto to knock down a little blue than need several gels to either bring it up to daylight, or down to 3200.
Jus sayin..
 
MadHMC is absolutely correct. Also by having it between 3200K and 6500K, the auto, or manual white on the camera doesn't have to "swing " a lot to get it right anywhere on the full range (3200k to 6500K), especially on them large ENG type cameras that have a filter wheel thart robs available light. I can't say too much at the moment, but there is a plan to include as an option, a drop-in square filter holder that fits over the unit somewhat like the Cokin series . This way there is a huge variety of filtration options available for this light. Beside the usual color CC, how about colors, gradients, etc. Possibilities are endless. Units will also become available in a choice of colors, blue, red , teal and of course black. Indie film makers would benefit from the flexibility and extremely small footprint, not to mention the extreme ruggedness and affordability. I think I said too much !
 
Led manufacturers at this point are going through a lot of design, testing, development, improvement.High output leds don't interest me if they are not efficient and reliable. Led standard for efficiency is rated at lumens per watt at 350 ma (milliamps). Leds are placed in categories as bins, which denote color, lumens,and other info. Some brands just don't make them in exact or close to a certain K value, at least not for now.We already have leds that are well above 130L/W but at what maximum current can they sustain that efficacy and for how long? The candle that shines the most lasts the least. There is a sweet spot in every led that attains a fine balance as to luminosity, power draw and heat. Leds are said to run cool, at a certain point. When you have power lighting class leds that are anywhere from 5W and over, they really get hot and a cooling solution, wether active or passive is needed. Otherwise they won't last very long.Just recently a figure of 209 lumen per watt was attained but before the final production is commercially available, we must settle for what we have. I choose my leds wisely.
 
I also like ther 4500K color temperature. I can use it indoor already without using any CTO. I can use it outdoor too without any CTB. However, I don't recall much situation I need to use camera light when shooting in outdoor during the day.

My photographer did use the light outdoor at 4500K color temp. This is the shots. It was in a cloudy day.

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Taky: Is the Comer available for rent in LA?

Vegas: You mentioned shutter speed and iris adjustments when shooting with gain. Can you elaborate a bit? I'm not a pro wedding videographer and will be shooting one for a friend of a friend on my DVX-100A (SD). I will only utilize an on-camera light and shoot with gain if needed.

Thanks. This has been a great thread.....
 
Macphilia, it is not available for rent. But if you are in LA, you are definition welcome to visit my wedding studio to check out the light. It is definitely a worthy investment. =)
 
Thanks, Taky. I'm not in the business, so I can't invest at this time. However, a couple friends are, so I'll let them know....
 
LED Lighting

LED Lighting

Just wanted to share with you that we at EVS have found the Flolight to be a very nice LED lighting source. Flolight is made by the folks at Prompter People. We have had quite a success with these lights. The on camera versions comes with a battery back for either Canon, Sony, Panasonic etc. They are a metal construction witch makes them very durable but still lightweight. The on camera versions come in a 128 LED and a 256 LED but they also have stand versions that are 1000 LED's and a 500 LED. Here is a link to the products so take a look..

http://www.evsonline.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=flolight&x=0&y=0

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