Should I have bought LED Light Panels or the CFL Soft Box Kit?

S

skital

Well-known member
Ok. I'm planning on shooting a movie later this year and decided It's time I need a lighting kit finally. I went ahead and bought this kit:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ZUW7OC/ref=oh_o02_s00_i00_details

Along with the kit I bought some heavier duty 9+ foot light stands.

However, the complexity of setup compared to the 500 & 1000 LED light panels and the lack or barn doors has me a bit concerned if I made the wrong choice. I'm also going to be doing some green screen work, btw. I bought a kit that includes two CFL light with stands and umbrella reflectors. Just FYI. I wish I knew how this CFL kit compared to he LED lights. The LED light panels I was looking at are here:

http://www.amazon.com/FANCIER-LIGHT...?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1326314550&sr=1-35

The price is really what made me go to the other set. Bad choice?
 
Where are you in Arkansas? If you are anywhere near Little Rock I would setup my LED lights to give you an idea on how they are compared to the kit you ordered if it would be a help to you.

All the Best!

Dave
 
David W. Jones said:
Where are you in Arkansas? If you are anywhere near Little Rock I would setup my LED lights to give you an idea on how they are compared to the kit you ordered if it would be a help to you.

All the Best!

Dave
Click to expand...

Hi Dave. Nice to see someone from Arkansas on here! I'm in Hot Springs. Do you have the 500 LEDs, 1000 or both? How do you like them? A few things I really liked about them is that they include the barn doors, how easy they look to setup and how portable they are. One of the main negatives I read about the CFL soft box packages is that they are not that easy to to set up and port around.

BTW, awesome website, Dave. You have some amazing gear! Wow. lol. That AF100 looks pretty sweet in that rig. :D
 
if i were ONLY going to have one OR the other i'd go with the CFLs. way more complex setup, yep! heavier and more bulky, TRUE THAT! but CFLs have WAY more throw and flexibility than any but the most expensive LEDs.

another problem with LEDs is that given that they consist of an array of small bulbs, each of those tiny bulbs casts their own shadow. so if youre shooting an interview and there is something in the near background, you may very well see an array of cast shadows.

some will suggest you can diffuse the LED fixture. yeah, thats an option, but LEDs have less punch than CFLs and lose strength QUICKLY when you try to diffuse them.

i have both CFL softlights as well as LEDs and im glad i do, as both have their uses. but like i say, if i had to choose ONE based strictly on performance and flexibility of use. CFL all the way
 
wgzn said:
if i were ONLY going to have one OR the other i'd go with the CFLs. way more complex setup, yep! heavier and more bulky, TRUE THAT! but CFLs have WAY more throw and flexibility than any but the most expensive LEDs.

another problem with LEDs is that given that they consist of an array of small bulbs, each of those tiny bulbs casts their own shadow. so if youre shooting an interview and there is something in the near background, you may very well see an array of cast shadows.

some will suggest you can diffuse the LED fixture. yeah, thats an option, but LEDs have less punch than CFLs and lose strength QUICKLY when you try to diffuse them.

i have both CFL softlights as well as LEDs and im glad i do, as both have their uses. but like i say, if i had to choose ONE based strictly on performance and flexibility of use. CFL all the way
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Thanks for your input. It's funny that on Amazon their description says the throw is like 30% more than CFL because of some 30-degreen LED angle technical jargon. lol. On one of my lights that came with my new green screen was a 105-watt 5500k CFL and the lamp was HUGE! It's pretty nice, but it's supposed to be the equivalent of about a 400-watt incandescent lamp. However, it still doesn't really seem close to the brightness of a 500-watt work light. I'm going on memory. Am I wrong or is it just because work lights are flood lights and don't go around in 360 degrees of light?

I'm wondering if going with a true high wattage tungsten kit with barn doors and gels would be a good choice? I'd hate to use lamps that hot and high wattage though, but will they by way brighter? How does their throw compare to CFL and LED?
 
Haven't tested any real top of the line LED's but I'm skeptical that they have as high a CRI as the better flos
 
LEDs aren't a mature technology yet but there are many that like them for their strong points just as fluorescents have their strong points. They both have their place and uses.
 
skital said:
. On one of my lights that came with my new green screen was a 105-watt 5500k CFL and the lamp was HUGE! It's pretty nice, but it's supposed to be the equivalent of about a 400-watt incandescent lamp. However, it still doesn't really seem close to the brightness of a 500-watt work light. I'm going on memory. Am I wrong or is it just because work lights are flood lights and don't go around in 360 degrees of light?
Click to expand...

A couple of things come to mind.

1. I use CFL's. I can read as well as anyone on the light output of this light and that light and so forth. And I agree that my little CFL that I have in my closet or in a lamp looks brighter than the Tungsten I would ordinarily have in it's place. But using my eyes ( and camera) in a Shoot, watts seem to be watts. Hence why I loaded my 7 socket CFL's with 85w bulbs. That's right at 600w of light. and to me it looks about the same as a worklight @ 500w. You'd really need a lightmeter to check it...and of course if you have a DSLR, you have one right inside the camera. If I were to take the marketing hyperbole of CFL's and apply that to my 7-socket light and the 85's I'd have appx. 2400w. I can assure you it ain't anywhere near that kind of output, not even half that output. It is closer to 600w...which is exactly what the math says it is.

2. Another notable thing is the Worklight is concentrated as well as has a nice reflector behind it. both adding to the effect. But...it is 500w.

3. I checked the difference between the CFL bulbs I had before and the ones I have now. 45w versus 85w...and with my camera it was exactly twice the light, as expected. what I didn't do was pull out a worklight and check it. I think that'd make for a nice comparison...!

I wouldn't worry too much over the 'high-wattage' of a light...just the heat/safety factor.

Hope that helps~
 
LED technology has been around for a good while now, that technology will dominate almost everthing ligthing. As many are not aware, leds are going into almost every application that was done with CFL's an backlit screens used in computer monitors, large panel displays and automobile headlights to eventually light all homes/office/industy. That is the future of light and is inevitable. Flourescents and the filament will go the way of the dodo, 8 track tape and the glass TV tube.Leds do come in very high brightness as well as high CRI's ( well over 90), they are available now and come in different tint rendering as well as voltages and current ratings/capacities. Many manufacturers of led lighting that use leds for video/studio are still in the frame of thinking that it is essential or mandatory that leds have to be used in multiple of many clustered together to be bright enough for practical studio/video use. It seems that 99% of all led units must have them led clusters in them. Have they not seen LED component producers by Bridgelux, Nichia, Cree, Seoul, Lumileds etc. etc. etc. that make high lumen and may I add high CRI single leds that only one single led with a proper reflector will outshine a cluster of them tiny ones ? A panel fixture that uses 512 leds for example may only require 4 or LESS of the lighting class ones. Enclosure may be designed a lot smaller, the leds will be far more efficient as to lumens per watt and produce less shadows as well as lower manufacturing costs in materials and assembly. With the cluster design it is difficult if not impossible to custom design reflectors for them due to space between leds limitations and therefore must resort to diffusers and light modifiers to vary beam angles. As an example 4 power leds may be spaced apart and designed to allow interchangeable reflectors for spot to wide projection. How about a small form led fixture using INTERCHANGEABLE leds themselves that can be easily swapped for different hues or upgrades as they are made available ? I guess many mfr's haven't seen really nice high CRI leds
that are available for the pickin'. As usual, just my 2 cents worth.
 
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