Minimalist LED Kit

holymexicobatman

holymexicobatman

Well-known member
Ok,
So I've recently pick up two separate jobs shooting talking head interviews. In the past I've only shot with available light and I shoot DSLR's only because I'm in love with mobility & minimalism. But this will be my first client who insists on artificial light, indoors. It'll be in inside an office with only fluorescent overheads and incandescent desk lamps available.

That being said, I'm convinced that LED is the way to go for portability, durability, size, blah, blah. My budget is $600 with very little wiggle room. I plan on keeping all this equipment as an investment for future use, so I want to avoid any of it wasted 'for this job only'. Plus, I understand that what I've chosen is quite lacking and I won't have many options, but I plan on adding to it very soon. This will just be my base kit. Make sense? So let me know what you guys think!

1x 500 LED Panel (Key)
1x Round 380 LED (Back/Hair Light)
1x Reflector + Stand/Bracket (Fill)
1x Diffuser/Reflector
2x 6' Light Stands
2x Sheet of minus 1/8 green


The very next to step to get it more up-to-par with versatile demands:
- additional gels for mixed lighting
- another led 500
- another led 360
- small led 160 for accents/gobo/etc
- boom extension
- barndoors for hairlight

Thanks!
 
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"That being said, I don't want to buy anything that I'll later just have to replace. Instead I want only to add to what is lacking. Make sense? So let me know what you guys think!"

Have you got any good reviews on the lights you are buying. The stuff you have listed is probably pretty bottom rung, so you will be taking some chances. This is pretty contrary to your statement above.

You also might consider a couple of Cool Lights Flos. 4x55 + 2x55 would do nicely and be fairly close to you budget.

Grant
 
ggrantly said:
Have you got any good reviews on the lights you are buying. The stuff you have listed is probably pretty bottom rung, so you will be taking some chances. This is pretty contrary to your statement above.

You also might consider a couple of Cool Lights Flos. 4x55 + 2x55 would do nicely and be fairly close to you budget.

Grant
Click to expand...

To answer you're question--yes, I have read good reviews. Cheesycam.com recommends the ephoto LED 500's and I've heard alot about the 380. The Light stands and diffuser, etc. are less important since they cost very little and are expected to have a finite usability. I certainly don't want to go with flo's since my whole point is using LED's only(halogen/fluorescent bulbs are fragile!). And I understand what you're saying about getting the cheap ephoto LED's versus something more robust.

In my opinion, I can't really justify spending twice as much for only slightly better quality from the Cool Lights LED's. If the ephoto 500's last me 5 years, I'll be content. If they last 7, I'll be happy. If they last 10 years, I'll be thrilled.

BTW, here's the review I mentioned: http://cheesycam.com/bts-sample-with-cheap-500-led-video-light-panels/
 
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I'm in agreement with Grant. I haven't been impressed with the inexpensive LED panels on the market. They make a number of significant sacrifices to achieve their output at low cost. These sacrifices include inferior color rendering and an inability to properly control the emitted light. For less than you might spend on these LED units, you could buy time tested, tried and true quality lighting. Yes bulbs can be fragile, but not so much that it presents a significant issue most of the time. I'm not sure I've ever actually seen a kino flo tube break, but I have seen the lights abused thoroughly. If one did break, They're $25 to replace. It's a similar situation with tungsten quartz lighting. I have a couple of quartz lights that are probably nearing 40 years old. They have had some bulbs replaced, but there is no doubt they have delivered their moneys worth.

You seem rather set in your decision to buy LED lights. The features you mention being important in the decision "portability, durability, size, blah, blah." are not exclusive to LED lighting. Why are you so set on getting LED's? There are a number of excellent alternatives in your budget if you're open minded.
 
Flouro bulbs aren't fragile. In 2.5 years I've broken....none and I've probably moved around thousands of bulbs in that time.

LED is really an emerging technology...why buy into this technology if you're not going to get the good stuff?
 
Adding to this:

Flos by nature are soft, can be had in both 3200k and 5200k, which makes them versatile, and can be used for basic interviews with no modification whatsoever with flattering results. I think LEDs are the future, and have started to invest in them, slowly. I bought a Cool Lights LED600 which is pretty nice for the price, has a surprising amount of punch, though it needs correction to get to daylight. Cheapos are really bad for color. I bought a cheapo on cam LED from a well known manufacturer, and it is junk, I got what I paid for, it is bright for the price and easy to power. Mind you I'm not complaining, but it would be a fools errand to start a professional kit around bad quality lights. You will always be able to use a nice set of flos, that is a permanent investment you can afford. LEDs will mature over the next few years and the quality will improve and come down in price. In a few years, we will see fresnel LEDs, and if they can make the color work, will change everything. Like Ryan said, it is still emerging technology.

Buyer beware.

Grant
 
To the OP, I would add a couple sheets of 1/4 CTO, a couple of sheets of diffusion, and a handful of C47's.

Have fun shooting!

Dave
 
Ok, ok, ok guys...sheesh! So you guy's don't like cheap LED's I got it! =)

Mainly I just loved the idea that I could take a kit out away from a power source and light a single subject from a portable car jump battery. Also that they produced virtually 0 heat for the long hours and tight spaces. Plus they're freaking tiny and assembly is about half the time/effort than cheap flo's. I often shoot in places gurrilla style and on the fly(about 90% of the time), so being able to stick one or two lights in a single backpack and light a scene in the middle of nowhere in record time just seemed to perfect for me.

After everything mentioned, I might just go with a go with a cheap flo kit and wait on the led's...But that would likely mean I would use the flo's once or twice a year and the rest of the time they would collect dust in a closet while I did other shoots on the go and still need LED's. I guess the real situation is that these upcoming interview's are just an excuse to go ahead and grab something I've been needing for a while--LEDs. I'm even willing to sacrifice some control and color temp issues just so that I can have something to carry with me on the fly and that I can immediately afford.

I'll go ahead and recant the statement about not wanting to replace them later. I'll accept that they the investment is likely premature, just so long as it suits my immediate need.
 
HolyMex

All the reasons you want the LEDs are spot on. It's just that cheap LEDs, or any cheap lights are just usually not very good and probably won't deliver what you want. Of course there will always be exceptions, and everyone has a different idea about quality. For me, the minimum quality light I will buy is from Cool Lights. For me, they deliver on all fronts; decent quality, good function, responsive service (the owner Richard answers your questions personally from China) and fair pricing. That is a winning combination for the level I am at. I own more expensive lights also and I appreciate the better quality, but they came at a much higher relative cost. The important thing is to find your own minimum level of quality, but I hadn't considered taking too much advice from "Cheasycam" before.

Grant
 
I'm with you all the way HolyMexico, the debate that rages on over Kino and LED (even the knockoff Chinese versions) is ridiculous. Just invested in exactly what you wrote up. Clearly they win out for your style ( and mine ) of shooting. I worked with Kino's and an LED last week for an int. fashion/beauty shoot were color and light was critical and the veteran photographer was blown away by the LED's.
Dimmable, very portable, Sony v mount batteries for some models, new bi-color models are awesome. Will rent Kino's now only in must have scenario.

Dave's suggestion of a couple sheets of 1/4 CTO, a couple of sheets of diffusion, and a handful of C47's is all you need.
 
Don't get me wrong I think LED technology is great, but the lighting equipment we're seeing commercially available utilizing the technology is not. There have been significant advances in LED's recently, specifically in regards to high CRI (color rendering index). If you have ever seen a truly high CRI LED in action, then you know they look like traditional lighting sources. When the lighting products incorporate the high quality LED's into the design, then we will finally have highly efficient lighting that is small, lightweight, easily portable, battery operated, and especially, COLOR ACCURATE without a mountain of color corrective gels. I'm excited to see what's coming, but I don't think they are there yet.
 
i agree with all above LED slammers. the stuff simply isn't there yet. Truth is most LEDS out there (including Cool Lights) are not that fantastic - yes, you can gel that stuff but in reality it's yet another extra step to take that kills time, so your argument that they are faster to work with is simply not true.

Also they are NOT more portable than thungsten lights or flos because they all have tiny wires and knobs so all things concidered there is so much more stuff that can gro wrong with them...

I don't know your shooting style but even on far away events i pack most of my gear on a small cart so unless you are shooting in middle of nowhere... Which i have too but then the lights we used (yes, LEDs) were considered more specialty-lights rather than daily-use units.

If you are on limited budget start building up your tungsten kit and only when you have your full tungsten set start moving on to LEDs.
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
i agree with all above LED slammers. the stuff simply isn't there yet. Truth is most LEDS out there (including Cool Lights) are not that fantastic - yes, you can gel that stuff but in reality it's yet another extra step to take that kills time, so your argument that they are faster to work with is simply not true.

Also they are NOT more portable than thungsten lights or flos because they all have tiny wires and knobs so all things concidered there is so much more stuff that can gro wrong with them...

I don't know your shooting style but even on far away events i pack most of my gear on a small cart so unless you are shooting in middle of nowhere... Which i have too but then the lights we used (yes, LEDs) were considered more specialty-lights rather than daily-use units.

If you are on limited budget start building up your tungsten kit and only when you have your full tungsten set start moving on to LEDs.
Click to expand...


Patryk, I looked at LED lights when they first appeared on the scene and had similar thoughts. While they were certainly cool, they were also expensive & not quite there yet.
Well as time progressed with higher quality name brand units appearing on the market, and the release of low cost Chinese made LEDs, I figured I would investigate the situation once more. My findings.... Well they still have improvements to make, but they can be useful lighting instruments in the right hands.

Your comments about LEDs not being faster to work with because adding a gel is a time killer is a little far fetched.
Check the LED light before use and select the proper gel or gels needed to bring the light into spec. Then keep those gels in the case with the LED. It should then only take about 10sec to attach the gels for each use.

You say they are not more portable than Tungsten or Fluorescent lights because they have tiny wires and knobs?
Almost every lighting instrument I know of has some sort of knob or switch, wire inside the units, a fragile lamp or globe.
The thing that makes LED lights quicker at times... their super fast takedown & ability instantly re-strike without waiting.

LEDs also have the added benefit of a very low power draw, which makes them ideal candidates for battery powering in location shoots rather than a generator.
We have used a portable battery setup to power a number of LED lights for a substantial amount of time, as well as using smaller LED lights for shooting auto interiors.

It took me a little playing at first to figure out how to effectively use LED lights, what worked and what didn't. But once you do that, I feel they are a great addition to any light kit. You are right though, having Tungsten and Fluorescent will help fill out a great lighting kit. As far as versatility my favorite light is a 575w HMI fresnel, but you know there are some places you just cant park a junior stand.

All the Best!

Dave
 
I say the key point in your post is: "I feel they are a great addition to any light kit." As any other lighting instrument you need to know benefits and drawbacks. And as i mentioned before there were time where the LEDs were our main lights because of special circumstances but those times are way too far in between. And even though I do, too, feel that LEDs are great "addition" to my (or any) lighting kit but I would never recommend starting your lighting kit with LEDs as your main source of light as there are better options out there.
 
I agree with the above posts; an LED is a great complement to a tungsten or hmi kit. But, the OP claims he is a naturalist and prefers using available light. So, in his case I think LEDs would be a good choice because you can put them anywhere, and dim them to suit the existing light. And running off of battery power can get him shooting in places a standard light kit couldn't. But, I would urge him to save up and spend the money on a quality LED. It's better to cry once.
 
I shoot lots of interviews and find thread this interesting as I will be back on the road soon and was browsing for enlightenment. For years I did the "Walter Graff" thing and then broke down and went kino. I love my Kinos, I bought a couple used Cool-Lights as well as Chinese made instruments. My favourite light however is a Kino Kamio and it just makes subjects sparkle like nothing else, in or out of doors. With the sensitivity level of todays cameras including your DSLR the need for big light is gone and if you want portability maybe a couple of small Tungsten lights would work for you. You can lamp Lowel Pros with a 250 and 125 a Lowel Rifa is an awesome and very portable instrument and LED or whatever you are going to need stands. Sure the "Look" is not as cool and high tech on set, but the look on camera will probably be better. I have two LED lights by Zylight Z90's and they are great but expensive and I would like more but I am with the others here, wait a bit.
Best of luck!
Brian
 
Like many others, I have avoided LEDs until recently. At this point, I wouldn't use them for primary lighting. Having said that, my LED600 is light weight, low power, battery capable from a little Bescor brick(!) and has a reasonable throw for portable outdoor fill. No it isn't perfect, but it does serve a roll that no other light can fill.....no pun intended.

Grant
 
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