LED panels vs LED monolights

K

kymira

Member
Hey guys, Looking to get my first key light. Its gonna mostly be used for interviews and such. Ive shot stills in a studio environment for a handful of years now so Ive got plenty of stands, grips and modifiers. But these new LED panels all seem so foreign to me.

Besides weight and portability, What are the major difference between these LED panel types (square/rectangular and flat) vs the LED monolight types (like an Alzo 3000). Im kind of tempted at the monolight types so I can make use of all my softboxes & stripboxes with the many adapters out there.
 
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My take on it.... Many of the lower cost LED lights have issues with color. This has gotten better with the newly released LED lights, but you really need to research before you purchase. LED panel lights with multiple emitters cast multiple shadows, so they need to be diffused for use in interview situations. Many of the monolight LEDs have internal fans to keep them cool which can become annoying during interview situations.

All the best!

Dave
 
The biggest advantage of the monolights to me is the bowens mount and all of the great light modifiers. I have the Alzo3200 and its colour isn't great and the fans are loud. Of the mono lights I've seen not many are at the same colour quality as the good LED panels. Maybe that has changed. I had my eye on the new Alzo3200 low noise but haven't pulled the trigger with the current exchange rate with US$ and the fact that I can't find a single user review of it to see if they have improved colour. It lists that its a higher CRI than the old 3200 but haven't seen any examples.

All I want is an affordable (Sub $1K) daylight balance light with 1K plus equivelent output and a bowens moutn to work with great modifiers that I haven't been able to replicate in a 1x1 panel. I have yet to find my unicorn.
 
FrameFarmMedia said:
All I want is an affordable (Sub $1K) daylight balance light with 1K plus equivelent output and a bowens mount
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Amen to that. You'd think someone would have figured it out by now. I hate having two completely different kits of modifiers for video and stills.
 
Thanks Guys

David W. Jones said:
My take on it.... Many of the lower cost LED lights have issues with color. This has gotten better with the newly released LED lights, but you really need to research before you purchase. LED panel lights with multiple emitters cast multiple shadows, so they need to be diffused for use in interview situations. Many of the monolight LEDs have internal fans to keep them cool which can become annoying during interview situations.

All the best!

Dave
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I know they are on the low end side, but do have any thoughts on the Yongnuo light panels as far as color & accuracy ? I have a few of their knockoff speedlites, had em and abused them for years and they are still ticking.


FrameFarmMedia said:
The biggest advantage of the monolights to me is the bowens mount and all of the great light modifiers. I have the Alzo3200 and its colour isn't great and the fans are loud. Of the mono lights I've seen not many are at the same colour quality as the good LED panels. Maybe that has changed. I had my eye on the new Alzo3200 low noise but haven't pulled the trigger with the current exchange rate with US$ and the fact that I can't find a single user review of it to see if they have improved colour. It lists that its a higher CRI than the old 3200 but haven't seen any examples.

All I want is an affordable (Sub $1K) daylight balance light with 1K plus equivelent output and a bowens moutn to work with great modifiers that I haven't been able to replicate in a 1x1 panel. I have yet to find my unicorn.
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I feel your pain, fellow canucker here (AB). Yea one of the reasons Ive been mulling over w/ the Alzo's are the said noise. Id be using it 80% of the time for candid interviews and I've got a pretty small working area. If only I was able to find a used one and get an electrician buddy mod with alternative fan/bearings but I doubt Id find one in Cad.

evilken said:
Amen to that. You'd think someone would have figured it out by now. I hate having two completely different kits of modifiers for video and stills.
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No kidding you'd think they'd see a market for it already. Id love to see an affordable PCB/Alienbees unit, but thats just me dreaming.
 
kymira said:
Hey guys, Looking to get my first key light. Its gonna mostly be used for interviews and such. Ive shot stills in a studio environment for a handful of years now so Ive got plenty of stands, grips and modifiers. But these new LED panels all seem so foreign to me.

Besides weight and portability, What are the major difference between these LED panel types (square/rectangular and flat) vs the LED monolight types (like an Alzo 3000). Im kind of tempted at the monolight types so I can make use of all my softboxes & stripboxes with the many adapters out there.
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Here is my generalized answer to your question based on my personal experience with using/owning these lights:

Firstly by "monolight" in terms of LED technology, I am assuming you are talking about a super dense LED array that appears as a single source. Because of my assumption of what a "monolight" is, then these would include Open Faced Floods (above 45 degrees), Open Faced Spots (below 45 degrees) and Fresnel fixtures. Note that I would group "Remote Phosphor" as an LED technology since it is essentially an LED with the phosphor element outside the array.

I would also extend my definition to include plasma technology as well (since they offer similar brightness and coolness of an LED).

//===================
MONOLIGHTS Pros:
- Single shadow.
- Some use standard speed rings (open face floods/spots).
- Concentrated light (less spill).
- Out of the box they give a harsher light (because it is a single, concentrated source).
- More punchier (again due to the fact that they are made from a super dense source of light and can be thrown much farther with the proper optics).
- The brightest monolight LED/Plasma fixture is a 1200W HMI equivalent (5K Tungsten equivalent).


MONOLIGHT Cons:
- Fan noise. Because of the super dense LED array, it produces more densely packed heat (allows for less heatsink area contact). And therefore require fan(s) to cool. When choosing a monolight, you should investigate the noise level of the fan and the consistency of the noise. Some fans ramp up and down and would make it impossible for you to correct in post.
The only monolight fixture I know of that has no fan is the Hive Plasma Bee and Wasp fixtures (and possibly the Wardbright fixtures although I've never tested them).
- Heavier, on a per watt basis, the fixture is much heavier than an LED array.
- Ballast / Power Supply. Some have a separate (sometimes bulky and heavy) external ballast (some are built into the fixture). So this makes monolights (in general) more cumbersome.
- Light does not fill up a room well without needing to bounce the light or add diffusion.



ARRAY Cons:
- Creates multiple shadows in the open face configuration (can't really use it as a harsh source).
- Not punchy. You won't get much reach from an LED Array.


ARRAY Pros:
- Fanless (in general this is true but some like the Litepanels Astra have a fan). In general, the LED Array, because of the spread of the diodes allows for more area to heatsink. The diodes are farther apart so it doesn't concentrate heat as much.
- Larger source (bigger area), so with diffusion (in the same given space) can appear softer (more light wrap).
- Lighter (because it runs cooler, it requires less cooling). The lightest LED array is the Westcott Flex.
- Floods well (fills up the adjacent space very well) without needing diffusion or bounce.
- More compact (think Westcott Flex, paper thin and paper light).
- More versatile.
- Can produce a brighter soft source (think remote phosphor soft lites).
//===================


There are exception to the rules above. For example NILA lights are LED Arrays but are constructed to have the punch and brightness of an LED Fresnel. Their NILA Arina is "said" to be equivalent to a 2.5K HMI equivalent. But I find NILA lights unusable because they do create multiple shadows due to the array nature. Another exception to the rule is the Kino Flo Celeb as it is an array of densely backed LEDs so it starts to approximate a "monolight" but in a flat faced fixture.

My recommendation for interview key lights is to go with an LED Array + Diffusion. It is a lot quicker to setup and the light can go softer if you need it to (because the array inherently appears bigger without having to bring it too close to the subject). I'd recommend the Westcott Flex as you can mount it anywhere and have different angles of light for different situations. The color accuracy is also out of this world accurate!

A note about speed ring modifiers. With the exception of beauty dishes, you could literally take a Westcott Flex and stick it inside a soft box. Depending on the size of the soft box you could stick more than one Flex light into it as well. The light output in this configuration would be equivalent or more than using a monolight + soft box believe it or not!
 
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What moonlights that approach equivalency to a 1.2k hmi are you talking about? I haven't seen any that even compete with a 575w hmi...
 
ectobuilder, a nice summary and pretty much tallies with what I saw when I walked around the BSC expo last week looking at all the current LED options.

The upcoming Dedo DLED7 and Photon Beard 80W LED Redhead seemed the nicest options out there but no Bowens mount as they have their own proprietary (though at least fairly common) mounts. On a positive note, I don't think either of these had fans, but power output at around 400w Tungsten equivalent suggests you'd need to get them in pretty close once you'd added a soft box. Both were beautifully constructed, but had relatively high prices to match.
 
nyvz said:
What moonlights that approach equivalency to a 1.2k hmi are you talking about? I haven't seen any that even compete with a 575w hmi...
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I finally broke down and got a panel, the popular Aputure. Doing a bunch of "following medical foundation suits around the community" as they check up on low-income healthcare bla bla bla etc etc...

First outing is monday; we'll be shooting in settings from buses and small run-down shops to big glassy rec centers. I like the panel since it can be handheld; I think I'll just stick a small white umbrella in the umbrella mount, fast and simple and easy to pack.

The output though… maybe a half stop more than a dual biax per my light meter. That ain't much light, but for $260 or so including dual batteries (and it's very small), I'll get some use from it.

There's a newer fixture out that's more like $1k and seems like twice the output (can't recall the make) but it hurts to spend that much cash when a quad biax can be had for $250 or so (and I'll be taking the quad, I have a roller case that holds a nice portable kit, biax, a small fresnel, stingers and reflectors, and now the LED). And I'll have 200, 400 and 575 HID/HMIs in the truck if needed.

Unimpressed with LEDs for output so far, but there are times they're useful. If this is your first interview kit, get something that puts out some freakin' lumens - LEDs are really for situations where there's no power, no setup time, or you have to move with the talent.
 
nyvz said:
What moonlights that approach equivalency to a 1.2k hmi are you talking about? I haven't seen any that even compete with a 575w hmi...
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Because I've defined "monolights" to encompass fresnel fixtures as well, the Mole Richardson SeniorLED would be the fixture that approximates the output of a 1.2K HMI.
 
FrameFarmMedia said:
The biggest advantage of the monolights to me is the bowens mount and all of the great light modifiers. I have the Alzo3200 and its colour isn't great and the fans are loud. Of the mono lights I've seen not many are at the same colour quality as the good LED panels. Maybe that has changed. I had my eye on the new Alzo3200 low noise but haven't pulled the trigger with the current exchange rate with US$ and the fact that I can't find a single user review of it to see if they have improved colour. It lists that its a higher CRI than the old 3200 but haven't seen any examples.

All I want is an affordable (Sub $1K) daylight balance light with 1K plus equivelent output and a bowens moutn to work with great modifiers that I haven't been able to replicate in a 1x1 panel. I have yet to find my unicorn.
Click to expand...

Im sure you have run across these on the forum. I bought three of the Araman lights and really love the color from these. The light storm seems to fit your needs well.

http://www.aputure.com/LED-videolighting/Light-Storm-LS-1
 
I have an LS1 and love it but miss the great modifier options a bowend mount mono has. I've yet to see a good large softbox option with grid and spill control for LED panels. All the softboxes do is the same as adding diffusion to the barn doors which does little for spill. I've thought about getting some plastic ceiling grid and making a grid to Velcro into the barn doors.
 
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