Westcott Ice Light 2

G

ggrantly

Veteran
Hello Listers,

Has anyone used this light? The V2 is advertised as being much brighter than V1. On one hand, I view these as being expensive. On the other hand, I don't know of any other "two light set" that can fit in my traveling camera bag together with my cam and some audio gear in it. I mean this won't be the most creative option for an interview, but daylight at 97CRI, dimable, under 20oz, internal battery, and at 1740 lumens, I think fairling bright.

Your thoughts?


http://www.fjwestcott.com/ice-light-2
 
I have one of the cheap Chinese clones. Not as powerful as the new Westcott v2, but REALLY handy for unusual lighting solutions.

This is really not a light you'd ever use for interviews or as a key light, but as a small fill light that fits in unusual and small spaces it's very fun to have around. It's also very cool as a light that someone can hold and move around during shooting. Animated light can be a really great thing and these wands are a great way to do it. there have been MANY times where I got a great bit of light added in to a scene with an assistant standing and holding it just outside the frame.
People love waving them around too - and that inspires experimentation which leads to lighting elements you may have never considered before.
 
I agree with DPStewart, these seem to be an instrument that people think will break the laws of physics. No matter the advertising hype, the light still emanates from a physically small source, therefore, in relation to an average interview or talking head at average distances, this is still a small, harsh source of relatively hard light. Not to say they are useless, they seem like a really interesting tool to experiment with and I could see possibly how punching one through a scrim or diffusion could yield usable results, if their output is high enough to be effective in that scenario. But if you have to bring a scrim, diffusion and the necessary stands and arms to rig that all up, might as well bring a panel with a softbox. Your net gain is nothing. But for lighting tabletop, objects or for certain high key "ringlight-like" options, these could have some use. Buying a cheap Chinese clone or two is probably a smarter idea. Experiment with the cheap one and see if it does what you want. If it does, then spend the $1,000.00 (gulp) for a pair of the Westcotts V2? I can think of a lot more useful lights for the price but it's your dime.
 
I haven't used them yet, and definitely curious. But I think for me, Literibbons are first on the list.

I see the ice lights, for the most part, doing similar things as light ribbons. Lighting inside cars or hard to reach areas, are easy to hold, and as puredrifting mentioned, will both be relatively hard light (in most cases).

I think the Literibbons just have the facility of rigging where I can gaff tape it to a wall or surface super easily. I'm very impresses with Litegear's products. Bicolor, too? Once they go RGB...
 
I have the V1, it's nice but cost me a fortune and simply not very powerful. I think there are other two light solutions you could get from Aputure or Came TV that will put out more light, be more cost effective and more flexible for shooting interviews.

Some examples, http://aputure.com/Amaran-AL528 and a few popup diffusers. http://cheesycam.com/new-all-white-d-fuse-instant-pop-up-led-light-softboxes-lantern-lighting/

Came has some interesting LED Frenels that could be useful too.

http://www.came-tv.com/2-pcs-cametv...t-p-888.html?zenid=hjnb73ai2odn9pld1hm6hsl9d3

Something like the above with a bowens mount and a few diffusers would be far more flexible I think and also save you few dollars.
 
I own the V2 and use it. I purchased it after I saw Jem Schofield use the V1 on a comedy shoot we were doing in a gym-type space with overhead track lighting. Basically was lightweight, flexible solution that we could quickly move all around the room to provide a little fill. Worked well for that.

From what I understand the V2 is brighter, but I've not tested that personally. For me it's a very useful specialty kind of swiss army light.

I only shoot narrative/art-film stuff for the most part, so I can't speak to its efficacy in an interview setting.

Purchased it for a 100 or so off during one of those B & H one day sale things. Westcott lights appear on there every 4-6 months or so.

Wishing you well with your decision-making process.
 
I have the V2 and while it's nice to have on-hand (literally), you really need to use it close up because it just doesn't kick out a whole lot of light. I recently picked up a Quasar Science Crossfade 50 which has ended up replacing the Ice Light in most situations. It's a 4ft LED tube that has a scrolling WB range from 2k to 6k and is WAY brighter than the Ice Light. It's also about $200 cheaper. Only thing is that it's not battery powered or hand-holdable. Though Quasar does have products that cover both of those bases, for cheaper.
 
For portability I would much rather have one of those 1x1 LEDs that's on fabric so it can be rolled up. Brighter, better physical shape to the unit and the light it spreads, and easier to pack. No internal battery but you can run off dc.
 
I have both the version 1 and 2 ice lights. V2 is brighter, and the removable battery is useful. Yes, they seem over priced, but the light always seems to work really well. Since getting an ice light, it has been the primary single light, or one of the lights, every time I have used continuous light. If I travel, I always bring the v2 ice light as my only light. I consider it one of my best gear choices.
 
Mitch Gross said:
For portability I would much rather have one of those 1x1 LEDs that's on fabric so it can be rolled up. Brighter, better physical shape to the unit and the light it spreads, and easier to pack. No internal battery but you can run off dc.
Click to expand...

You see these yet Mitch? They emailed me a special offer for $249.00 ea. CRI is supposed to be really good, intriguing product. They come rolled up in a small tube case. I like that unlike a lot of the other rollable panels already on the market, they are fully Bi-color but with the surface mount technology, each LED is both colors so the daylight and tungsten are going to both be very high output and I love that they are waterproof, dirt and mud proof. Pretty damned impressive for the money. I am going to order a pair. http://kamerar.com/products/kamerar-brightcast
 
puredrifting said:
You see these yet Mitch? They emailed me a special offer for $249.00 ea. CRI is supposed to be really good, intriguing product. They come rolled up in a small tube case. I like that unlike a lot of the other rollable panels already on the market, they are fully Bi-color but with the surface mount technology, each LED is both colors so the daylight and tungsten are going to both be very high output and I love that they are waterproof, dirt and mud proof. Pretty damned impressive for the money. I am going to order a pair. http://kamerar.com/products/kamerar-brightcast
Click to expand...

Interesting, hadn't seen that one. I like the battery mount design that can be directly mounted or separated. Wish it came with an AC power supply but that's not a deal breaker. This market segment is growing fast.
 
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