Litepanels - MiniPlus, Croma, SolaENG, or other - best camera top light?

M

Marshallarts

Well-known member
I have never liked camera top lights but I have to buy some for a job coming up. I defer to Litepanels but am open to other options. The MiniPlus is tried and true and rock solid. Their Croma I can dial in color temp (I don't trust the photometrics on their site (I see some contradictions) but I assume it has less output than the MiniPlus. The SolaENG looks interesting but I have no experience.

What do others like (preferably those who have tried all). thanks!
 
I have two Sola ENG's for my ENG Cameras(3 if you count my original that went bad) and a three light Sola ENG flight kit. I've used it as the sole light source for network stand-ups at night and they have enough punch to fill outside during the day. Despite some of the drawbacks(see below), I do recommend the Sola ENG because the quality of light is very good and it does have a lot of punch when you need it.

I also recommend mounting it on a medium sized NOGA arm and "under slinging it"(the arm will be coming off of the top handle and the light is mounted upside down to the arm). This allows the light to get right above your VF and allows for a much lower profile. If you mount it with the included hardware, you will look like you're running around with a Bat Light on top of your camera. A few guys have seen how I mount mine and started mounting theirs in a similar fashion. It also allows for lots of adjustment.

Pro's:
Great quality of light
Focusable
Dimmable
Includes hard CTO correction gels and diffusion
Enough punch to fill in shadows during the day outside

Con's:
Expensive
Not very energy efficient for an LED camera light(30+ watts)

Personal gripes:
No separate/dedicated ON/OFF button. Power and dimmer control are the same dial.
Simple(read: non-locking) power cable and power pigtail that stick out of the back of the light instead of a power cable plugging directly into the fixture. I have the pigtail and power tap power cable gaffe taped together so they won't be inadvertently disconnected at an inopportune time. The pigtail is also a point of failure. I have one going bad on one of my lights now.
 
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Also… I never really liked the original style LP mini panels and I have demoed the Croma. The Croma is not a light that I would trust to survive for long out in the field. I would put it in the 'prosumer' world because of it's build "quality". And the color temps are not indexed, so besides "full tungsten" or "full daylight", you're just guessing and eyeballing it at everything else in-between.
 
I believe the Sola ENG has a minimum input voltage like 12 volts DC. Heavy 14.4 V bricks may be needed to power it or a camera that has the D-Tap connector will do. I personally prefer the more lighter Sony L series 7.2 volt batteries to power my leds.
 
Thank you both for replying, I was beginning to think no one would. Norman99, I do plan on using this with my Dionics, my only question is what mount to use for the Dionics if I plan to use this off camera (i.e. where to get the D-tap, I know there must be a cheap solution).

Run&Gun, thank you very much for your thoughts on the light, your reply is exactly what I'm looking for. And also thanks for the additional post comparing it to the Mini style litepanels. We've all used those before and know they are useful, it just "seems" the Sola is even more versatile and I'm surprised I never see them in the field.

Any other thoughts or comparisons are appreciated. thanks
 
You're probably not seeing a lot of them out in the wild, because LP is VERY proud of them(read: they are EXPENSIVE). I believe the first one that I bought was $500 something. The last single unit kit I bought was well over $700! Most people will not spend that kind of money on a toplight, especially with all of the Chinese LED's that are out there for pennies on the dollar of most of the name brands.
 
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