LitePanels LP-Micro at DVinfo.net

Steve Sobodos · February 7th, 2008, 09:12 PM

I received my LP-Micro today and I am disappointed in the quality. The battery contacts were not aligned when I opened the compartment and when I tried to load the batteries, the contacts slid down even more. The result is the batteries try to pop out or don't make contact. (see photos)

I would align and glue the contacts to solve the problem but I am afraid it will void the warranty.

Also, another post on this list said that rechargeable batteries won't work in the unit but the instruction sheet included in the package says "Rechargeable AA and Lithium Ion batteries can be used as well."

Steve

Steve Sobodos · February 7th, 2008, 09:52 PM

More notes: the light pattern is circular! You would think that a rectangular array would result in a rectangular patern. My Canon XH A1 has siginificant light dropoff on the right and left sides at 6 feet unless I zoom to Z31 (Z0-99).

Don Bloom · February 7th, 2008, 10:41 PM

Interesting observations.

First I too had 1 battery clip slightly out of alignment but luckily doesn't affect the battery staying in place.

Second, I ran a teat with the rechargables and it seems to work just fine. At least 4 hours if my clock was right.

Thirdly, I have no noticable circular pattern but a fairly well defined rectangular pattern, with and without the supplied diffusion filter, at 10 feet. Past that frankly I don't care.

Strange that we would have 2 of the same pieces and 2 very different results.

Don

Gints Klimanis · February 8th, 2008, 02:41 AM

I'd really like to see such a light integrated with the Record function, as in, it's on only during record. Likewise, I see the manufacturer touting this device on DSLRs. I'd like to see this light bank activated when the shutter button is pressed halfway.

Deniz Ahmet · February 8th, 2008, 10:53 AM

I got mine too here in UK.

My LPM also gives off a circular light pattern which confused me too. Must be the alignment of the LEDs, and yes a rectangle pattern would be more useful for widescreen filming.

Anyway, I also find the battery compartment poorly made, 2 of my batteries want to spring out, but the lid keeps them in place - still for such an expensive device, you would expect better construction.

However, the unit is amazingly lightweight and I couldn't find a better alternative on cost, weight, power consumption and light output. So it does the job.

Ideal if you use a Merlin steadicam as I do.

Don Bloom · February 8th, 2008, 01:30 PM

I checked the battery clips today and found that if you take a neddle nose pliers and carefully pull the contacts all the way back the batteries clip in the way they are supposed to. The contacts simply slip into place over an edge of the battery compartment.
While I am a bit disappointed with the overall construction, for the money and weight savings, it is an excellent light.
As for setting it up to work off the record button, you could do that. There is a power cord for an Anton Bauer power tap and I know that with my full size Sonys I could in fact run off the built in power tap. Plug in flip the switch and hit record, light on, hit it again light off. HOWEVER the power tap on the camera was tagged as not to use anything over a 25W bulb at least on the DSR250, I can't remember what it was for the others but I think it was rated for a higher wattage.
It reallt isn't a problem to turn the light on/off by turning the knob on the top of the light, just gotta remember to do it. ;-)
Again I checked mine and found it throws a nice rectangular pattern. I don't understand the circular pattern. Doesn't make sense.
Don

Guy Cochran · February 8th, 2008, 03:34 PM

Being one of the early beta testers of the Litepanels Micro, I was not able to find this fault of the unit. Even with repeated loading and unloading of the batteries. However, like quite a few people, I usually place batteries in at an angle then slide them in. For those that just plop batteries in straight down it will eventually push the clips out of position (not good). I wish we would have caught this earlier, however this is the first production run and all future models leaving the factory are being corrected.

From Litepanels:

"We have had several complaints in regard to the Micro battery terminals moving out of position when the 4AA cells are inserted. You may experience this problem if your shipment was included in the first production run of Micros numbered 00210 – 00799.

We have addressed this issue as follows:

1. Remove Micro back panel
2. Push back the right side of each dual battery terminal as shown in the attached images 016 – 017
3. Apply a very small drop of “Super Glue” to each of these battery terminals

Do not allow glue to “run” down onto PCB or the outside of the Micro housing.

4. Reposition the battery terminals immediately and allow glue to set in dry along the front of terminal
5. It takes about a minute for the glue to set up and it is fully cured in 30 minutes.

Litepanels will perform this task for all outgoing shipments and we are in the process of upgrading this part of the housing to better accommodate the battery terminals."

Hope this helps,

Taky Cheung · February 8th, 2008, 04:17 PM

I received mine and it has the same issue. It pushes out the battery. For the price we paid for, they should have design something better than this.

Otherwise, the item is bright, the dimmer is very useful and the whole thing looks cool on top of a camcorder.

Peter Wiley · February 8th, 2008, 04:28 PM

Got mine today.. Looks like a spot to me.

This was taken with my iphone about a meter away from the wall.

Ali Husain · February 8th, 2008, 11:18 PM

anyone know how this compares: http://www.prompterpeople.com/miclight.htm
?

Deniz Ahmet · February 9th, 2008, 04:24 AM

On the LP Micro I found the the effective working distance to be around 5ft max. I found that indoors with only poor window daylight my Sony V1 would drop to 0 gain about 3.5/4ft away from the target (no filters), where it would normally want to be 9/12gain.

So overall, great for interviews (lifting shadows), and close-up work.

Shame us early adopters get stuffed with the poor battery compartment - never nice when buying public are used as beta testers that way :(

Would love to know what kind of LEDs these things use btw.....

Deniz Ahmet · February 9th, 2008, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ali Husain

anyone know how this compares: http://www.prompterpeople.com/miclight.htm
?

The ring light is comparable in light to the MICRO, and gives a better spread of light for half the price. Uses less power too. However it is not dimmable and has no option for filters, and you can't position it, so the axis of light is not level with the lens.

You can find these on ebay for under £10, but those ones use cheap LED that are blueish. I imagine these guys just replaced them with better LEDS, and charged the premium. High quality daylight LEDs cost around £1 each. As a DIY project your could make the same thing for half the price again.

Steve Sobodos · February 9th, 2008, 09:18 PM

Ali, the mic light appears to suffer from being outdoor color balanced (too blue) with no easy way to add a CTO filter. If it is used outdoor or indoor next to a window for fill it might be fine. Look closely at the demo videos - the colors are not natural when using the light.

The LP-Micro has a filter holder and comes with the filters you need. For close-up shots the LP-Micro might be fine.

Taky Cheung · February 10th, 2008, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Wiley

Got mine today.. Looks like a spot to me.

This was taken with my iphone about a meter away from the wall.

It helps a bit if you slide in the difussion filter in front.

Dave Eaton · February 10th, 2008, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ali Husain

anyone know how this compares: http://www.prompterpeople.com/miclight.htm?

Whoa. That was interesting. Was just talking about these with a friend. We're wondering about moving the insides around so we and widen the opening to put one on a lens.

Surf ebay for "UFO LED", they come in 24, 36, 48 and 60 LED units for $10 or so delivered. Buy a sheet of color correction gel, if needed, and make a donut shaped filter for it. The ones in the video don't seemed to be color corrected at all.

Also:
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=415

February 7th, 2008, 09:12 PM	#1
Steve Sobodos Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Lake Forest, CA Posts: 106	LitePanels LP-Micro I received my LP-Micro today and I am disappointed in the quality. The battery contacts were not aligned when I opened the compartment and when I tried to load the batteries, the contacts slid down even more. The result is the batteries try to pop out or don't make contact. (see photos) I would align and glue the contacts to solve the problem but I am afraid it will void the warranty. Also, another post on this list said that rechargeable batteries won't work in the unit but the instruction sheet included in the package says "Rechargeable AA and Lithium Ion batteries can be used as well." Steve Attached Thumbnails

February 8th, 2008, 03:34 PM	#7
Guy Cochran DVCreators.Net Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 892	Being one of the early beta testers of the Litepanels Micro, I was not able to find this fault of the unit. Even with repeated loading and unloading of the batteries. However, like quite a few people, I usually place batteries in at an angle then slide them in. For those that just plop batteries in straight down it will eventually push the clips out of position (not good). I wish we would have caught this earlier, however this is the first production run and all future models leaving the factory are being corrected. From Litepanels: "We have had several complaints in regard to the Micro battery terminals moving out of position when the 4AA cells are inserted. You may experience this problem if your shipment was included in the first production run of Micros numbered 00210 – 00799. We have addressed this issue as follows: 1. Remove Micro back panel 2. Push back the right side of each dual battery terminal as shown in the attached images 016 – 017 3. Apply a very small drop of “Super Glue” to each of these battery terminals Do not allow glue to “run” down onto PCB or the outside of the Micro housing. 4. Reposition the battery terminals immediately and allow glue to set in dry along the front of terminal 5. It takes about a minute for the glue to set up and it is fully cured in 30 minutes. Litepanels will perform this task for all outgoing shipments and we are in the process of upgrading this part of the housing to better accommodate the battery terminals." Hope this helps, Attached Thumbnails __________________ Guy Cochran DVinfo Sponsor, Cool Gear - DVeStore!

February 8th, 2008, 04:28 PM	#9
Peter Wiley Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lewisburg PA Posts: 752	It's a spot Got mine today.. Looks like a spot to me. This was taken with my iphone about a meter away from the wall. Attached Thumbnails

February 9th, 2008, 04:24 AM	#11
Deniz Ahmet Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: LONDON Posts: 178	On the LP Micro I found the the effective working distance to be around 5ft max. I found that indoors with only poor window daylight my Sony V1 would drop to 0 gain about 3.5/4ft away from the target (no filters), where it would normally want to be 9/12gain. So overall, great for interviews (lifting shadows), and close-up work. Shame us early adopters get stuffed with the poor battery compartment - never nice when buying public are used as beta testers that way :( Would love to know what kind of LEDs these things use btw..... Last edited by Deniz Ahmet; February 9th, 2008 at 06:12 AM.

February 7th, 2008, 09:52 PM	#2
Steve Sobodos Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Lake Forest, CA Posts: 106	More notes: the light pattern is circular! You would think that a rectangular array would result in a rectangular patern. My Canon XH A1 has siginificant light dropoff on the right and left sides at 6 feet unless I zoom to Z31 (Z0-99).

February 7th, 2008, 10:41 PM	#3
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	Interesting observations. First I too had 1 battery clip slightly out of alignment but luckily doesn't affect the battery staying in place. Second, I ran a teat with the rechargables and it seems to work just fine. At least 4 hours if my clock was right. Thirdly, I have no noticable circular pattern but a fairly well defined rectangular pattern, with and without the supplied diffusion filter, at 10 feet. Past that frankly I don't care. Strange that we would have 2 of the same pieces and 2 very different results. Don

February 8th, 2008, 02:41 AM	#4
Gints Klimanis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,222	I'd really like to see such a light integrated with the Record function, as in, it's on only during record. Likewise, I see the manufacturer touting this device on DSLRs. I'd like to see this light bank activated when the shutter button is pressed halfway.

February 8th, 2008, 10:53 AM	#5
Deniz Ahmet Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: LONDON Posts: 178	I got mine too here in UK. My LPM also gives off a circular light pattern which confused me too. Must be the alignment of the LEDs, and yes a rectangle pattern would be more useful for widescreen filming. Anyway, I also find the battery compartment poorly made, 2 of my batteries want to spring out, but the lid keeps them in place - still for such an expensive device, you would expect better construction. However, the unit is amazingly lightweight and I couldn't find a better alternative on cost, weight, power consumption and light output. So it does the job. Ideal if you use a Merlin steadicam as I do.

February 8th, 2008, 01:30 PM	#6
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	I checked the battery clips today and found that if you take a neddle nose pliers and carefully pull the contacts all the way back the batteries clip in the way they are supposed to. The contacts simply slip into place over an edge of the battery compartment. While I am a bit disappointed with the overall construction, for the money and weight savings, it is an excellent light. As for setting it up to work off the record button, you could do that. There is a power cord for an Anton Bauer power tap and I know that with my full size Sonys I could in fact run off the built in power tap. Plug in flip the switch and hit record, light on, hit it again light off. HOWEVER the power tap on the camera was tagged as not to use anything over a 25W bulb at least on the DSR250, I can't remember what it was for the others but I think it was rated for a higher wattage. It reallt isn't a problem to turn the light on/off by turning the knob on the top of the light, just gotta remember to do it. ;-) Again I checked mine and found it throws a nice rectangular pattern. I don't understand the circular pattern. Doesn't make sense. Don

February 8th, 2008, 04:17 PM	#8
Taky Cheung Inner Circle Join Date: May 2007 Location: Los Angeles, USA Posts: 2,114	I received mine and it has the same issue. It pushes out the battery. For the price we paid for, they should have design something better than this. Otherwise, the item is bright, the dimmer is very useful and the whole thing looks cool on top of a camcorder.

February 8th, 2008, 11:18 PM	#10
Ali Husain Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 141	anyone know how this compares: http://www.prompterpeople.com/miclight.htm ?

February 9th, 2008, 09:18 PM	#13
Steve Sobodos Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Lake Forest, CA Posts: 106	Ali, the mic light appears to suffer from being outdoor color balanced (too blue) with no easy way to add a CTO filter. If it is used outdoor or indoor next to a window for fill it might be fine. Look closely at the demo videos - the colors are not natural when using the light. The LP-Micro has a filter holder and comes with the filters you need. For close-up shots the LP-Micro might be fine.