tiny light

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morgan_moore

Major Contributor
Im sure you all missed me. I am alive.

So I was just prepping for a BTS job - maybe hotelling and moving by pub lic transport or jumping in a shared vehicle with other crew.


I had go to lens bag, camera bag, sticks/boom/lightstand (for boom) bag. Thats enough to schlep.

But my micro solo film making setup has no lighting department.

To be able to do a 5min interview in a broom cupboard!

I guess the format should be battery on board, usb charged, and 3by4 inches, 1/4 thread, kind of solid. 3200-5600kelvin,

I guess the aperture MC (pro) coud actually be handy on bigger shoots, or something cheaper from amazon.

I dont want to spend.

Any thoughts.??
 
So - amaran ace is the my current leader.

Its USB c charge or seems to run all day from usb c.

the aperture MC case of four seems good, but usbC seems like it will be better and more versatile, also the MCpro now getting costy

I think the ameran has a loss of CRMX.. ?

Amaran with sidus seems a cood compromise between costy and not costy.

S
 
Quasar tubes are also quite useful. Some are AC-only and some are rechargeable, but a tube with a set of barn doors and grid (or additional diffusion) can make for a good and compact solution.
 
I picked up a pair of these for such shoots. No on-board battery but apparently you can run them off of v-mounts (or maybe a chunky NP-F?) clipped to your light stand. It's amazing that you can get a dimmable, bicolor, spot/flood light with an aspheric element for this price. The beam is remarkably even. The only thing I don't like is that there's a little fringing at the edges. But for the price, I can live with it.

These look promising too, with a lot more power and the ability to slap a v-mount directly on the back. But the reflector takes up some space.
 
Either is fine. In my experience with the MC its difficult to access and change settings. With a tiny jog dial/button and mode button. You have to set the camera on the ground to free up your hands and be able to see the settings screen on the top side... Their apps access settings easier but you still have to put the camera down to free up your hands to pull out the phone... I'd rather have a light with separate physical dial for brightness and another for temperature. Not sure if such a camera light exists. If you use these lights on a regular basis you can memorize their interface. I usually leave it at 3200 because these type of lights are only useful indoors.

It also useful to have a pair you can swap when battery runs low. That's the tradeoff with internal battery. But if you're only using the light for 5 min interviews that's not an issue.
 
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Peter C. said:
It also useful to have a pair (OF MCs) you can swap when battery runs low. That's the tradeoff with internal battery. But if you're only using the light for 5 min interviews that's not an issue.
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So the cheaper newer Amaran Ace has an hour onboard.. or will run from a usbC PD cable.. I now see this as a significant step from the MC lights .. I used to think the charging case was the nuts.. but now it feels dated.

Incedentally they seem to have a bigger control wheel!

 
QuickHitRecord said:
I picked up a pair of these for such shoots. No on-board battery but apparently you can run them off of v-mounts (or maybe a chunky NP-F?) clipped to your light stand. It's amazing that you can get a dimmable, bicolor, spot/flood light with an aspheric element for this price. The beam is remarkably even. The only thing I don't like is that there's a little fringing at the edges. But for the price, I can live with it.

These look promising too, with a lot more power and the ability to slap a v-mount directly on the back. But the reflector takes up some space.
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these look like lights that present very very good lumens/$$$ .. but in this scenario they are too big.


I want to jam the light(s) in a ocket so 3X4X1 is the perfect form.

I would not have vlock on a shoot this size. (cycling/public transport)
 
I have a couple Aputure MC Pros, and an older MC?, that I use a lot. Handy lights, though I don't use them as keys. Maybe if you had an easy way to rig two or four and drop a bit of diffusion in front?

Anyway you haven't seen it, Mark Arnett's video comparing the Aputure MC Pro and AMaran ACE 25c is probably helpful. I haven't watched this video, but those I have watched seemed evenhanded and helpful:

[My earlier link to this video didn't work. So here it is for continuity. Same as what Morgan posts below]
 
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in summary.. the MC have crmx but lose every other race!
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I wouldn't say that It's about 3x the weight of an MC, the weight is off center (you'll notice that if it's mounted out front on a hot shoe trying to hand hold the camera steady for 5 minute interview) , bigger, fan noise... It might be the better value and choice for your situation.

Like Jim was saying a common use for these type of lights is using multiple for interviews where you might use one for a hair light, background light, or put one inside lamp and the use the app to control brightness and color remotely.

LED lights are evolving very quick.
 
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The Zhiyun X100 is an interesting light because of the output to size ratio. Not the cheapest, but also not crazy expensive. https://amzn.to/4cY7tK7

Nearly the size you specified, but way more output than some of the other options. And can be run and charged via USB-C
 
DustinSchmidt said:
The Zhiyun X100 is an interesting light because of the output to size ratio. Not the cheapest, but also not crazy expensive. https://amzn.to/4cY7tK7

Nearly the size you specified, but way more output than some of the other options. And can be run and charged via USB-C
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Thanks for the input.

Yes that is kind of interesting. I think/feel the 'package size' makes it actually much bigger (package being light + clip on battery, + mains 24v brick)
but it opens some questions..

1) If we are making a small setup for subway/cycling/hotels how many chargers and guf will end up making this package bigger in reality than planned.. I think I probably posted about some buying usbC batteries for my canon r6 to 'lose' the canon lp E6 charger on another thread

2) should part of my vlock free kit involve 'investing' in a really good usbC power block

3) if that 'proper power brick' was part of the kit.. woud this light then fit on the map better.

4) the amaran light.. one is 'schlepping' a power brick that is heavy and not being used generally (until the light is used)..
4)a If I bought the amaran could I top up my usb lpE6 or phone!

5) with the other lights I see diffusion being from a 18in lasto disc or amazon umbrella.. Have I properly considered rigging this and would the zingbong light with a a mice little dome/softbox end up being a smaller package!

6) if we ever have to do daylight fill.. the smaller lights might be useless.

==

Its really hard to 'see' in these changing times!
 
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Sam - glad you are alive. :)
I know this is not "tunable" between 32k - 54k (it's either or), but I always have this is my camera bag for r&g style shoots for the past 10+years and I'm not sure it's size /weight run time with an NPF style batt can be beat. Cut a small 1/4 or 1/2 CTO to keep with it, if you want a broader range of kelvin... and buy a stand adapter to be able to mount off-camera.
 
+1 for that Dedolight, had one for about 5 years. It’s small, powerful and does everything I need. You can even remove the entire front lens assembly so it’s unfocused. Yes it’s expensive but worth it I reckon.
 
I've got the Amaran Ace 25c. It's excellent. I've been using Aputure F7s and an old MCPro (I think) for 7+ years and it seems that all the generations of iteration since they were made have really added up.

The light quality is fantastic and it's surprisingly bright. My battery tests:

50% brightness: 2 hours 34
25% brightness: 5 hours 30

The controls are accessible (you don't need the app, though of course the app is nice).

Best of all though is USB-C power and fast charging. I don't want any small light in future that doesn't have these.

- If the input power is high enough relative to the brightness setting it will charge the internal battery while you're using it.
- The light will run off a power bank until this runs out and then switch to internal battery.
- You can use the light as a power bank - to charge phones etc. though I've never done this.
- It will fast charge - haven't timed it but online says 40 minutes to charge to 90% with (45W USB-C PD) which sounds about right.

For super-lightweight run-and-gun location lighting I can imagine trying to get away with two of these, one umbrella and a power bank like this: https://charger.nitecore.com/product/nb20000
 
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