Hello - I'm buying a portable light set-up for our organization. They will be used for both stills and video. Our videographer has a larger set up, but these would be used - and be more handy for - on location shoots. The stills people (including me) need something to throw on some light in large conference rooms, or to add fill in other shoots that are reasonably well-lit. I did some searching and found these, but if there are other, simple, battery powered kits like this that you'd recommend, I'd love to hear about them.
Lume Cube Studio Panel Lighting Kit Two Edge-Lit LED Panel Lights with Stands
Thank you for your wisdom; I'm clueless when it comes to lighting.
I’d recommend just getting a speed lite aka on camera flash and bouncing the light against the ceiling, depending on how high they are. Godox V1 Pro is a reasonably priced solution, though their TTL (through the lens metering) can be a little less reliable than flashes native to your camera system. Profoto makes the A series lights but those are overpriced for what they are, though I prefer them for color consistency and interoperability with all their other strobes.
If you need a little additional light focused on a particular area or person, the Angler fastboxes work with the Godox V1 (and Profoto A series) and are also quite affordable.
Continuous lights are nice but they typically need to be plugged into the wall (though there are options with some lights to power with V mount or other batteries).
You’ll also want to think about either adding a color correction gel to match the ambient light from overhead lights or adjusting your camera settings to eliminate the ambient.
You need to find out several things -
- How many lights are you going to need? How much light does each one actually provide?
- A fully charged battery only provides 80-minutes. Is the battery built in or can it be quickly changed out for a fresh battery to provide more shooting time?
- If the battery is fixed, can you charge the battery via commercial power while you’re shooting? Otherwise you’ll have to stop and wait while the battery charges.
You’ll find they are limited for use outdoors during the day.
I’ve used the Arri flat panel LEDs, but those are very expensive.
story_teller wrote:
You need to find out several things -
- How many lights are you going to need? How much light does each one actually provide?
- A fully charged battery only provides 80-minutes. Is the battery built in or can it be quickly changed out for a fresh battery to provide more shooting time?
- If the battery is fixed, can you charge the battery via commercial power while you’re shooting? Otherwise you’ll have to stop and wait while the battery charges.
You’ll find they are limited for use outdoors during the day.
I’ve used the Arri flat panel LEDs, but those are very expensive. ...Show more →
Thank you. Excellent questions and thoughts. We will have to ponder this some more. Although 80 minutes is probably quite sufficient for what we do.
Those are rather tiny (4.8 x 2.6 x 0.3") and not very bright (270 Lux), so mainly for close subjects.
Check your EV calculations to see if they are bright enough.
EB-1 wrote:
Those are rather tiny (4.8 x 2.6 x 0.3") and not very bright (270 Lux), so mainly for close subjects.
Check your EV calculations to see if they are bright enough.
EBH
EB - I think you were looking at the wrong setup. Here is the one I'm considering:
Edge Lit Technology - 200 inward-facing LEDs with built-in diffusion delivers powerful but soft light with even coverage
2700K - 7500K Color Temperature - Set the mood or maintain true-to-life skin tones in any environment
2100 lux at .5 meters - Ensures well-lit, detailed shots with enhanced clarity and definition
1800 Lumens - Provides the optimal level of brightness to illuminate you or your subject in unpredictable lighting conditions
96+ CRI Rating - Impeccable color accuracy ensures that you or your subject appear natural and vibrant
Dimensions - 10.5" (width) x 7.4” (height) x 1.0" (depth)
Weight - 1.54 lbs (700g)
Rechargeable Lithium Battery - 80 minutes of light at max brightness
Remote Control - Full control of your light from a distance, including convenient shortcut buttons
Barndoors - Custom-engineered barndoors allow you to focus and shape your light
Battery Life Indicator - LCD screen displays to-the-minute battery life that automatically updates as settings change
70” Stand - Easy to use lightweight aluminum stand adjusts from 18'' to 70''
You haven't yet said what you plan to shoot? A single person, group (how large), product, or still life (on table top or other)? Without knowing this, any light suggested will likely be wrong.
CharleyL wrote:
You haven't yet said what you plan to shoot? A single person, group (how large), product, or still life (on table top or other)? Without knowing this, any light suggested will likely be wrong.
Charley
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Thanks - Group shots or single outdoor portraits, indoors in a medical center environment. I think we like this set up; I mostly wondered about the brand, is it reliable, is there something similar out there to consider, etc. Thanks again..
These lights won’t be powerful enough for the conditions and types of shots you want to accomplish, and the small size of the lights without diffusion will be harsh on skin.
Sharona wrote:
]
Thanks - Group shots or single outdoor portraits, indoors in a medical center environment. I think we like this set up; I mostly wondered about the brand, is it reliable, is there something similar out there to consider, etc. Thanks again..
sungphoto wrote:
These lights won’t be powerful enough for the conditions and types of shots you want to accomplish, and the small size of the lights without diffusion will be harsh on skin.
These are my thoughts exactly. The panels that you're thinking about are good equipment, on paper. I'm concerned that they won't match with the way you're going to use them.
Are the Lumecube XL COB lights an option? You can get Bowens adapters for them, which means you can mount all kinds of diffusers and modifiers on the lights. Your video person can use them too (for now, I'm ignoring the reduced light output effect).
There may be something here that I don't know. I'd highly recommend you borrow or rent a set of light panels and do several test shoots before you buy them. Or, prepare a plan to sell them if you buy and they don't work out. Based on what I know from this thread, it's more likely than not that these panels won't do what you need them to do.
Oscarsmadness wrote:
These are my thoughts exactly. The panels that you're thinking about are good equipment, on paper. I'm concerned that they won't match with the way you're going to use them.
Are the Lumecube XL COB lights an option? You can get Bowens adapters for them, which means you can mount all kinds of diffusers and modifiers on the lights. Your video person can use them too (for now, I'm ignoring the reduced light output effect).
There may be something here that I don't know. I'd highly recommend you borrow or rent a set of light panels and do several test shoots before you buy them. Or, prepare a plan to sell them if you buy and they don't work out. Based on what I know from this thread, it's more likely than not that these panels won't do what you need them to do....Show more →
Yeah some version of a COB LED light with a bowens mount would for sure be my recommendation too, somewhere in the 300-500 watt range. RGB would be nice but there would be some sacrifice in max power output, so daylight balanced would be best if they are being used outside. Some LED lights take V mount batteries so won’t need to be run with wall power.
If the video team mentioned in the thread has their own lights, they probably have some of these lights on hand. All that said, I would still opt for strobes as it would be cheaper and more portable.
