My Cool Lights Experience

[Taky Cheung]

I think the both LED256 and LED600 cannot be mounted on camera..

I have T2i (550D), for video in dark, anything over ISO 1600 is not usable. It looks good on the 3" LCD screen but when viewing on big screen, all grainy.

[Harry Simpson]

no i wasn't talking about on camera - i'd use light stands which i have plenty of

[Richard Andrewski]

I think either the 256 or the 600 works well as fill. You may want the extra power sometimes in a room with an uncontrolled window so the 600 may be more welcome sometimes.

[Marcus Marchesseault]

Harry, I have both and they are equally nice for different purposes. You probably want the 600 first as you really do need lots of light with the 5D2 to get the iris into a decent range. Shooting a live event where little light is possible necessitates f1.4 and a small light, but that narrow focal range is not acceptable in a fictional narrative. You will need 8x the light to go from f1.4 to f4 so the 5D really does need just as much light as other cameras. The 256 is a really nice small light, but it won't do anything to work against a room with a sunlit window. Outdoors, the 600 just barely takes the ugly out of the shadows on a single person. The sun is just amazingly hard to work against. Reflectors are the best bet outdoors, but they don't have the control of artificial light so a combination is nice.

[Harry Simpson]

Thanks Richard and Marcus,

Yes reflectors are often too much on a sunny day - I try to get talent under shade and then add light that can be controllable so the 600 sounds like the way to go. Turning off banks is alway an option too.

For indoor interviews say two people I reckon I need two 600s and a couple of 256s for hair light. Hey Richard - ever consider "bundle" deals? ;-)

Thanks
Harry

[Michael Liebergot]

Just a note on the LED600's and indoor use.
We use 2 LED600's and an LED256 as hair light. We tend to use the LED600 with the softbox (which BTW is a brilliant fast design). If you want to diffuse the light by usage of softbox of diffusion paper, get the spot configured version of the LED600. As the flood version of the light isn't quite strong enough for softbox use.

[Harry Simpson]

<<If you want to diffuse the light by usage of softbox of diffusion paper, get the spot configured version of the LED600. As the flood version of the light isn't quite strong enough for softbox use. >>

hmm - seems like if you are gonna diffuse a Spot version - you'd just buy the flood version....guess i'm not too clear on the difference between the two types in the light design itself.

are the LEDs closer together or something on the spot version?

[Michael Liebergot]

hmm - seems like if you are gonna diffuse a Spot version - you'd just buy the flood version....guess I'm not too clear on the difference between the two types in the light design itself.

Harry, The light output from the LED flood version, wasn't soft enough for my taste. I preferred a slightly more diffused light source. LED lighting is soft but it's not as soft as fluorescent lighting is, which I like. However I prefer the portability and versatility of LED lighting over florescent.

When I attached the Coolight softbox to the flood version, the light output was cut too much for my taste. However, the spot version is a stronger light source, since it tighter in pattern and more directional.
The softbox worked well in this setup, giving me soft light output, without losing as much intensity.

[Richard Andrewski]

The difference between flood and spot is the beam angle of the LEDs used, that's all. 60 degrees for flood and 40 degrees for spot. They each have their own uses but the flood alone is not like a fluorescent or other kind of soft light. Spot is definitely better for use with the softbox. Flood is a good daylight fill for example.

[Bill Pryor]

How does that 600 LED compare to the CDM 150, in terms of throw, beam spread, etc.?

[Harry Simpson]

So i'm on the Cool Lights site trying to order the 600 spot and softbox with the battery powered capability being the main draw and i get to the battery adapter part and i realize i don't have any idea which battery to use. I've read lead acid but yikes the batteries are more than the light. Any suggestions on a low cost battery to go with the 600 spot?
Looks like a regular Sony cam battery for the 256 but what are some recommendations for the 600

[Richard Andrewski]

The LED 600 and CDM 150 compare pretty much in overall output but of course the beam is variable with the CDM 150 so you have that on your side. You also have the single source within the CDM 150 which allows you to do things with it which require good shadow rendering. LEDs don't do that well at this time but they work for about 90% of the other uses you would use something like the CDM 150 for.

On batteries, this is one I recommend often to customers. I think Dan Brockett found it originally:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/228193-REG/Bescor_BES018XLRATM_BES_018XLRA_Shoulder_Pack_Lead_Acid.html

Hooks into the LED 600 through the 4 pin standard XLR power input we have.

[Harry Simpson]

Thanks Richard,

took time this am to order a 600 spot 5600 and the softbox. I'll order the battery belt this aft. Looks like it will suffice as a sandbg weight for the lightstand too.

Thanks for the tip.

[Richard Andrewski]

And thank you too!

[Sean Seah]

Hi Richard,
Is the best setup for 3 point interview
1. 600 Flood
2. 600 spot + diffusion
3. 256 hair light