Recommend an on-camera light

A

andrew00

Well-known member
Hey,

I've a music video shoot coming up with some night scenes. I want to be mobile and quick and so am happy with an on camera light to give a somewhat ghetto look (vs a major light setup).

Also the budget is small on this one so I don't fancy spending much money!

Can anyone recommend a decent but cheap on camera light I could buy (for 5d)? I could rent but I could do with having it in case I need it again.

I see you can get the Canon VL-10 for £85 which seems ok-ish, I'm not really wanting to spend more than £100 max, ebay is lacking in the UK at the mo.
 
A friend of mine got one that takes dvx/hvx batteries and has a dimmer and flip up interchangeable diffusion for $80 on ebay.
 
I've been checking out the ebay and so forth lights and the problem with most of them is they are low wattage (less than 10w) or don't come with batteries, which means they seem cheap but then you add the batteries and can almost double your price.

An example is the Canon vl-10 li light, which I thought would be a nice simple torch light, could be good etc.

The problem is it doesn't come with batteries, so even if you pick up two generic ones and a charger, you're looking at an extra £40 for generics.

I'm tempted by the Pag c6 or equivalent just as they're a bit more reliable, but I'm somewhat lost tbh.

I need a light that can illuminate my guy in the dark and is gonna last a few hours, so either rechargable multiples or long life, and isn't gonna suck basically.

Although it's expensive, I am still tempted by the Canon vl-10 li simply because it's small and compact and I could prob throw it in my bag for future usage vs something like the pag which I couldn't really unless I took stuff out - the Canon is about the size of a flash gun so would work.
 
if you're using the 5d, which has great low light, check out the lite panels. that canon vl10 light is going to have a horrible hot spot, where as the lite panels will have a soft even illumination. if you can't afford to buy it, rent it.

they have 3 models
micro, $300
pro micro, $400
and the OG litepanel, the mini plus, $700-$1k or rent for around $75/day
 
Aye, I'm looking at the Liteplan Micro Pro, previously I'd dismissed it b/c it was so expensive, but the more I'm reading about the more I read that a) the regular Micro is too dim for my uses, where I want a light that can adequately light the talent from a reasonble distance away and b) the micro pro is therefore my choice here.

In the UK it's £335 cheapest, which is a lot of cash. I've found some Chinese knock offs and was wondering what people think about them in comparison to the Micro Pro. I'll go with the LP MP if need be, I don't WANT to spend the money but I will it's for the results and certainly I can see it being useful in the future in many ways.

But I'm wondering if it's a sense of paying for the brand vs paying for the usage. Here's a knock off example - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/7-6-Watt-126-...graphy_StudioEquipment_RL?hash=item27ad2caaca

I do like the idea that the light can be used in many situations, I recently got a Gorillapod SLR Zoom as I like to keep a v. small kit bag, so I can take that for some stable shots. If the Micro Pro fits in my Domke F-3X side pocket, which I'm going to measure and find out, it'd be useful as I can put it on camera, on the Gorilla pod, I can put the camera on the Gorilla pod and use the light just out of shot on the floor etc etc.

Of course, you can do this on the knock off, IF it's worth it. Whatcha think?
 
Thanks for the comparison, it's interesting to see and I think the important info to gather is that the Chinese knock offs, whilst they certainly 'do a job', aren't the best for mission critical work. For example, from your comparison, I can see myself using one as a throw away light, but due to the colour not being accurate, it won't play too well with other lights.

Of course, you might say that slight colour changes won't really be noticed but you never know.

The output also wasn't as good although I wonder if that's just because the Comer is made to be brighter. Have you ever had a chance to play with the Litepanels Micro Pro and have any thoughts on that vs the Comer?

The Comer it seems you can't get in the UK easily, only by important, which won't be cheap alas w/delivery and import duties, putting it perhaps a little cheaper then the Litepanels micro pro, but probably not much.

I've checked the measurements of the Litepanels micro pro and it fits in my Domke bag which is great, I'm begun to imagine many interesting combos with it and the gorillapod. I've have to see if the Comer could fit as a viable option, I've only got my side pouch free space wise heh.
 
 
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andrew00 said:
Thanks for the comparison... Have you ever had a chance to play with the Litepanels Micro Pro and have any thoughts on that vs the Comer?
Click to expand...

I have used the micro quite a bit... When it came down to purchasing a light for myself, I took a chance with the comer 900 and was very happy with it.

Its best advantage is not needing any filters for the most part. They have a even warm led flood - which most lights require a filter or 2 to achive which looses a lot of its brightness.

We have an ongoing conversation about these here if you want to read more: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=175125
 
You can read my mini review of the Pro 160 LED over at the HV20 forum. It cost about $85 and is small, portable, bright and inexpensive. Color can be tuned with readily available CTO gels or the included diffusers.
 
Thanks for the review, it looks like the knock off does a pretty decent job, not exceptional, but decent.

I'm a little concerned that you said the colour doesn't really match up. On this job I need to use the light outside at night so I can handle it not being quite right this once. But the appeal is that one can use it in future jobs, as a fill/hairlight or even an indoors location without controlled lighting. Perhaps also just as a random light here and there when needed. If the colour doesn't compare equally then you're risking affecting the video.

I've also measured for the Comer 180 and it looks like it's too big for the pocket in my Domke F-3X, height and width are just about fine but it's too deep, much too deep alas. The Comer 90 is also too deep, I can maybe go 60-70mm max until the pocket gets full.

The litepanels micropro is about 40mm so will fit, as well as the other dimensions which I've measured. The LCD 160 might fit, though it'll be close as it is about 140mm tall. On it's side my pocket can get to about 140 at a push if I stuff it in.
 
I've been doing more measuring and decided to go with the litepanels. For me, it's size, colour consistency and flexibility was the decision maker. The Comer seemed awesome but was simply too big and the Chinese knocks too inconsistent for a professional job, esp when I will want to use the light in conjunction with other lights.

Cheers for the advice in here, I ended up spending more than I wanted on the litepanels, but fingers crossed it's an investment! I'll post updates on how I get along with it.
 
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