LED vs FLO kit / Coollights vs FloLight

EDP

EDP

Active member
Hi everyone, I'm about to buy a kit that would work either for photography or video and both in studio or "on location" environment.

My kit would look like : 2 "key lights" and one "fill/back/hair".
-In flo's, it could be 2x 4 tubes and 1x2 tubes.
-In LED, it's 2 big ones (LED500 or LED600) and 1 small one (LED350 or whatever they are called)

I'm looking for something power-independent, that's why I'm looking more into the LEDs that can be battery operated (Vmount or XLR with a battery belt).

Flo's need to be AC powered right?

What would be your thoughts on that? I don't care if it's heavy, I just want to operate it outside far from a power source, and I don't want to pay 1000$ for a Anton Baueur battery.

Then.. comes the Coollights vs FloLight question.

Coollights look awesome, Richard has answered many questions and I think he represents well his company.

I don't really know FloLight, but they have a very nice kit : 2 big LEDs, and one small (the on-camera one that I also need)...

Also, I've read a few horror stories about skin tones when using LED fixtures.. and the amount of minusgreen or colour correction that is needed after shooting just scares me.

On the other hand, how could I power Flo's without cording them into AC from an house?

I'm torned! Any hints please? Thanks
 
I'm quite happy with my Coollights, I'm in good company. I don't know anything about the Flolights.

According to your stated needs, the Led's will be the way to go. You can correct the green spike with the included filters. I don't have a LED600, but I have one of the 256's. Being able to power them from a battery is very very cool. I plan on getting a LED500 eventually.

As for batteries, I'd suggest going with a Anton Bauer mount or the V style rather than the XLR route. There is no super cheap solution, that being said I'm a fan of batteries4broadcast.com. They are a great value. I have a charger, and two of the 150wh bricks for my HPX300- one of them can usually get me through a day of shooting.

My two cents: go with the Coolights.
 
Cool Lights said:
Hi Hotchkiss,

Thanks for your kind words. Did you see this?


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart_accessories&A=details&Q=&sku=228191&is=REG


Actually not bad considering price and its capacity. Just have to put up with the heavier form factor. Its always a tradeoff between price and size/weight in the battery world. Lithium vs. Lead Acid basically.
Click to expand...

You're welcome. I haven't seen that particular Bescor, looks like a good deal. I have two of their smaller units, but I prefer the versatility of using an AB mount when I get the LED600, so that I have a battery for the camera and for lighting in one fell swoop. Either way, the expanded functionality of using your LED units with batteries cannot be overstated. ;-)
 
how much would it cost total (per unit) to use AB mounts? It would imply 3x AB batteries plus a charger right? That must top 1 or 1.5k?
 
Coollights is the best.

I have both the LEDs as well as their flos.

Stay away from Prompter People's lights.

Their customer service is one of the worst.
 
dufloorman said:
Hey Richard (Cool Lights),

Where are your lights manufactured?
Click to expand...

I'm not Richard, of course, but I'm pretty certain that he sources his parts in China and oversees the design and manufacturing from there as well and has a distribution center here in the states (like Nevada, I think).
 
Kelly Olsen said:
I'm not Richard, of course, but I'm pretty certain that he sources his parts in China and oversees the design and manufacturing from there as well and has a distribution center here in the states (like Nevada, I think).
Click to expand...

Manufactured at Shenzen, China and managed from USA.
 
EDP said:
how much would it cost total (per unit) to use AB mounts? It would imply 3x AB batteries plus a charger right? That must top 1 or 1.5k?
Click to expand...

If you get the 150wh batteries, then yes 1.5 k or so. I suspect that you may be able to get away with smaller capacity batteries given the efficiency of both the Coolight LED's and the batteries. Maybe someone else whose using the combo of bricks and the LED 600 will chime in.

If you use a camera that uses bricks, then that route is a no brainer IMO- I'm a fan of full compatibility. The XLR solution just seems a bit limited in scope to me.
 
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Anyone from Canada had problem importing these products? Problem would refer as "custom" fees and taxes.
 
EDP said:
I've read a few horror stories about skin tones when using LED fixtures.. and the amount of minusgreen or colour correction that is needed after shooting just scares me.

On the other hand, how could I power Flo's without cording them into AC from an house?

I'm torned! Any hints please? Thanks
Click to expand...

Don’t rule out Fluorescent light sources quite yet because they do offer a number of advantages over LED panels. They offer better CRI, throw, and versatility and can also be operated on batteries. Even though Kino Flo makes DC ballasts for a number of their lights, you would probably be better served by using AC ballasts on a Battery/Inverter set up that is commonly called a "Battverter." A "Battverter" system consists of a deep cycle 12V DC power source (usually Marine Cells), a 12V DC-to– 120V AC True Sine Wave Power Inverter, and a Battery Charger. Wire these components into a Pelican or compact Anvil Road Case and you will be able to run a Kino package for hours.

Here are some production stills that show you two Battverter systems we built to run kinos to light the inside of an airport shuttle bus for the feature "Shuttle." The first is a 750W "Batt-Verter" rig wired into in Calzone case and mounted on a Exo-skeletal pipe rig that also held Kino Flos.

shuttlefilmstrip4lg.jpg

Exo-skeletal pipe rig on shuttle to rig lights and mount 750W batt-verter on front (covered for rain protection)

To maximize the running time on the batteries, I would suggest making up a lightweight "jumper cable" that you can securely attach to the leads of the battery of a car. You can then use the car’s alternator to run the lights during set up and rehearsals. When it comes time to shoot, shut off the engine and continue to run the lights on the silent Battverter alone. Running the vehicle engine between takes charges the batteries so that they will run Kino lights all day or night.

shuttlefilmstrip4.2lg.jpg

750W "Batt-Verter" Rig wired into in Calzone case and tied into the Shuttle’s alternator

The production stills below show you a more elaborate 1800W Battverter system that we built to run 16 - 4’ kinos tubes inside the airport shuttle bus. Use this link - http://www.screenlightandgrip.com/html/shuttlemailintro.html - for details on how we wired it into the shuttle bus.

shuttlefilmstrip3.1lg.jpg

1800W "Batt-Verter" Rig wired into the back of Shuttle

Keep in mind that when voltage goes down, amperage goes up. All wire that carries 12V DC has to be sized accordingly. For instance to supply 12 volts to the 1800W inverter used on the shuttle bus required that we run 2 ought feeder to the buses' alternator. Also be sure that the alternator is large enough to take the load without burning out. On our 1800W rig we were able to run four 4' 4 Bank Kinos.

shuttlefilmstrip3.2lg.jpg


SL&G's custom 1800W BattVerter powers 16 - 4' Kino Flo single tubes rigged <br> in the interior and on the exterior of an Airport Shuttle

It is important to use a true sine wave inverter for the reasons explained in detail in this earlier thread: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=137712. The largest true sine wave inverter I have seen is 1800W. If you need more than 1800Watts you can always use a small portable generator. I would suggest a Honda EU6500is Inverter Generator. There is a company here in Boston by the name of ScreenLight & Grip that builds a step-down transformer for 6500W generators that doubles as a distro box. Their transformer/distro steps down the enhanced 240V output of their modified Honda EU6500is to a single 120V/60Amp (7500 Watt) circuit that is capable of powering larger lights, or more smaller lights, than you can without it (see my post at RedUser.Net for more details.) You might want to look into using their 60A transformer/distro because it will enable you to safely power HMIs and other production equipment as well a Kino Package.

If you don’t want to tie marine cells into a car alternator, I would highly recommend this new Gen-set system. I have used it on several Red shoots. The generator is super quiet. The transformer/distro gives you access to more power (7500 Watts continuous) and greatly simplifies your set electrics. For example, as I mentioned on my Red User post, I used one recently to power a lighting package that consisted of a 2.5kw, 1200, & 800 HMI Pars, a couple of Kino Flo ParaBeam 400s, a couple of ParaBeam 200s, and a Flat Head 80. Given the light sensitivity of the Red Camera, this was all the light we needed to light a large night exterior. Use this link for more information about using transformers on portable gas generators:

- Eileen Ryan, Boston Gaffer
 
That's pretty impressive.. thanks!

But I'm not looking to build that king of kit.

I want something pretty cheap (less than 2k for a 3 fixture kit), that can be pretty portable and that can be runned on batteries.
 
So, I'll try to make a decision soon. I'll go with Cool Lights 100% .

LED or Flo's.

I need something that can be powered on battery. So I think I'll grab the battery pack listed in previous posts, I won't go with AB right now, it's too pricey. What about V-mount?

LED have more throw than Flo's right? So it would be better to grab LED fixtures and just dim them?
 
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