LED vs FLO kit / Coollights vs FloLight

AB or V mount is going to be about the same price so if you find one "pricey" the other one will seem that way too. These are all basically the same batteries just with a different mounting method on them.

There's strong and weak points for each technology so its hard to get one that works well for everything. Yes the LEDs have longer throw.
 
EDP said:
That's pretty impressive.. thanks! But I'm not looking to build that king of kit.
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I think the point Eileen was trying to make in her post is that there are battery options for Flo lights as well. I have seen “Battverter” rigs as small as 300w that are no bigger than the battery pack shown in this thread.

EDP said:
LED have more throw than Flo's right?
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Wrong! LED lights are still only a special purpose tool and in my opinion not suitable for general production. When they are used in production they are used as Obie lights or to light car interiors at night. Like every other DP & Gaffer, I have put together my favorite lighting package based upon my more than 20 years operating a lighting rental and production service company. For my package, I have picked lights that I feel offer both the highest output (lumens/watt) and the best production capability and have combined them with distribution technology I've developed that enhances the production capability of the new Honda Inverter Generators. As yet, I have not found a LED lighting fixture that warrants inclusion in my package. Trust me, I have looked at all of them and some still to come. Here are a few of my reasons why I prefer fluorescent lights, especially the Kino Flo Parabeam 400 fixtures, over LED Panels for many of the applications that LEDs are being marketed for and it has to do with more than just their poor CRI.

In HD Digital Cinema, the quality of light is more critical than ever. In High Def every detail of “on-camera” talent is rendered clearly on the screen – even the imperfections. Where LED and traditional hard light sources can exaggerate textural details, it is my opinion that fluorescent soft light is better for lighting talent in High Def productions because it can subdue those same textures and render a more cosmetic appearance. Primarily for this reason, I prefer the Kino Flo Parabeam fixtures, over LED Panels and other light sources, to serve as a Key source. Here are a few other reasons as well.

What distinguishes the Parabeam fixtures from LED Panels and other fluorescent lights is their throw, power efficiency, and the innovative accessories Kino Flo makes available for the fixtures. Accessories include barndoors, a gel frame, a diffusion panel, and Honeycomb Louvers. These features enhance the production capabilities of the Parabeam fixtures and make them suitable to serve as a key, or even backlight, source where conventional fluorescent movie lights and LED light panels are not.

Both conventional fluorescent movie lights (Kino Flo’s included) and LED light panels have a very broad light output that is hard to control. These lights also tend to drop off rapidly which means that to serve as a Key source, the units need to be positioned close to the subject they are lighting. These characteristics make them best suited to serve as Key sources in documentary interview set ups where the Keys are typically positioned close to the interview subject. In that capacity conventional fluorescent lights and LED light panels (with heavy diffusion) can generate a wonderful soft light that wraps around the interview subject without wilting them. But, given these characteristics, conventional fluorescent movie lights and LED light panels have only limited applications as fill sources in dramatic set lighting.

The ParaBeam fixtures, on the other hand, have computer aided designed (CAD) parabolic reflectors that focus their light output where it is needed most for lighting dramatic scenes - at a medium distance – making them better suited as a Key source for HD Digital Cinema. If you compare the photometric tables of the Parabeam 400 and the Diva 400 (which uses the same four lamps), you will notice that at 16’ the Parabeam 400 puts out almost three times the light level (28FC) than the Diva 400 (10FC) even though they both use the same tubes. You can always diffuse a Parabeam to create a soft source, but nothing you do will make a Diva 400 or LED light panel punchier.

In fact, a Parabeam 400 generates as much light at 16’ as the 4’ 8-Tube Kino Flathead 80 fixture, yet uses less than a quarter of the power (2 Amps verses 9.2 Amps.) While the seven amp difference is not a major consideration when using house power, it can make a difference when your power is limited (coming from a portable generator) because you can use four Parabeam 400s for the same power as a 4’ – 8 Bank Kino Flathead 80. And unlike the ballasts of Kino Flo’s fixture that use the T12 tubes, the Parabeam ballasts also include filters to reduce the return of harmonic currents into the power stream and improve their power efficiency. This makes them an especially efficient fluorescent light source that is comparable to the power efficiency of LED light panels and suitable for battery operation. For instance a Parabeam 400 puts out more light than even Zylight’s new high output LED light panel yet draws just .2 Amps more power.

While the newest LED light panels (that use the higher output LEDs) approach the Parabeams in output, the Parabeam fixtures are still more powerful and more easily controlled – an essential requirement in a Key source. Parabeam fixtures are controlled by interchanging Kino Flos’ innovative Honeycomb Louvers. Louvers are available in 90, 60 and 45 degrees. Swapping louvers provides beam control similar to that of swapping lenses on an HMI Par. These features enhance the production capabilities of the Parabeam fixtures and make them suitable to serve as a Key or Backlight source where conventional fluorescent movie lights and LED light panels will spill all over the set.

The power that I save by using Parabeam 400s for key sources in my package, enables me to power more lights on the enhanced 7500W output of my modified Honda EU6500is generator. Using a 60A Full Power Transformer/Distro on my modified Honda EU6500is I am able to power a lighting package that consists of a 2.5kw, 1200, & 800 HMI Pars, a couple of Parabeam 400s and Parabeam 200s, and a Flat Head 80. Given the light sensitivity of the Red Camera this is all the light I need to light a large night exterior. (Use this link - http://www.screenlightandgrip.com/html/ema...generators.html - for a detailed description of the benefits to using Kino Parabeam 400s on portable generators (the section on the Parabeams is about three quarters of the way through the article.)

Compared to LED fixtures, Kino Flo Parabeam fixtures are nearly as power efficient but offer greater versatility and output. Able to interchange different color temperature tubes, and vary beam spread with their interchangeable honeycomb louvers, the Parabeam fixture can do what it takes four different LED Litepanel fixtures to accomplish – Spot and Flood in both 5500K and 3200K. Offering better light quality, output, beam control, and versatility, the Kino Flo ParaBeams make for a better key or back light for HD cinema production.

Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip , Boston
 
nejuicer, do you still feel the same about LED fixtures now that a year has passed since your last post in this thread? I wasn't familiar with the Parabeam fixtures. You make a good argument for them and they seem like fantastic lights. If you were using these for a 3 point studio or interview shoot and you had daylight bulbs, would you feel comfortable gelling these since they have the ability to throw so much light compared to Divas, or would you swap all of the bulbs to 3200 if you needed to match other tungsten lighting?
 
do you prefer one over the other?....what would you say is the best all around led or flo?

kinda a stuck on which way to go.......kinda thinkin flo - less green spike?.....better throw?
 
I've got no green spike with my Cool Lights flo's. Not less spike, no spike. I went with a set of both the 3200k and the 5600k from Cool Lights so I'd be covered. So far I've used the 3200K the most, but I'm ready if I need to go daylight.
 
ok im set flo's it is....lol.......thanks kelly!

Have you tried rigging them for battery operation?

oh and which lights did u get?
 
Kelly Olsen said:
I've got no green spike with my Cool Lights flo's. Not less spike, no spike. I went with a set of both the 3200k and the 5600k from Cool Lights so I'd be covered. So far I've used the 3200K the most, but I'm ready if I need to go daylight.
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How are you measuring this???
As green spike, or lack there of, will vary depending on the biax tubes used in a given fixture!
 
blake2404 said:
ok im set flo's it is....lol.......thanks kelly!

Have you tried rigging them for battery operation?

oh and which lights did u get?
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I got two sets of the CL455PMD:

http://www.coollights.biz/cl455pmd-cool-lights-portable-dimming-watt-softlight-p-70.html

I also got the egg crates and the articulated arms (CL-MPSA) but I've found that I can get by most of the time without using the CL-MPSA, but they are good to have as an option.

I have not tried setting them up with batteries. I always have a 120V outlet nearby when I'm shooting so it has never been an issue for me.
 
LED Lights are developing so quickly. Even some big led lights begin to use common batteries. Don't need V-Mount or any other mounts. Not only reduce the cost , but also the weight. I like Led light because of it's portable and low power consumption. There are always some surprice.
 
I just got the FloLight 330w. My initial impression ( compared to my few Kino Flo experiences ), is that it's not as rugged, but hey even Kino's get bent or slaggy barn doors after a while.
Apart from that, it looks professional and light enough to be carried about from shoot to shoot. I can see what people mean in regards to its mounting system. You can't go from horizontal to vertical fast, but the argument in the case of the 330w is that it's almost so square in its shape that it doesn't matter.
What I do like is that it comes with a wireless dimmer as default (Please do something about that antenna wire though... I already anticipate it to snap off :D ), and you get the 6 daylight / tungsten lamps included in the price.
The stand mount apparently is meant for spigots, so it won't fit all stands without being a bit wiggly... like my Bowens stand :)

If you are partial to Kinos, then just buy the Diva-Lite lamps and put them in instead...

In short, so far I have no regrets buying the FloLight instead of the Kino. I might just pick up another one once there's funding for it.
 
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