Camera lights

[Barry J. Weckesser]

Originally Posted by Brian Wells

Speaking of Litepanels...

DV Magazine (which arrived in the mail today) has an advertisement for a "new" Litepanels MiniPlus. Basically, it will be 30% brighter, with an optional remote dimmer available. There is a $200 rebate on the MiniPlus DV Kit, until 4/15/07 or while supplies last. Just thought I'd share.

Thanks Brian - was in the market for a second litepanels mini for my new Sony V1U camera and almost bought one of the "old" lights - now it sounds like it is worth waiting for and also save some money to boot. They don't even have the new light on their website yet.

[Matt Jeppsen]

Originally Posted by Michael Liebergot

Also Varizzom has just released a new LED light (S-2010) that looks promissing, but I haven't heard any feedback on it yet. It runs on whatever battery connection you need for your camera (different battery connection for different cameras).

I've been using this new S-2000 series LED on-cam light from Varizoom for several months now, and have grown to greatly appreciate and depend on it. You can read my review of the kit in this month's issue of DV Magazine.

B&H has them priced under $370.

[Michael Liebergot]

Originally Posted by Matt Jeppsen

I've been using this new S-2000 series LED on-cam light from Varizoom for several months now, and have grown to greatly appreciate and depend on it. You can read my review of the kit in this month's issue of DV Magazine.

B&H has them priced under $370.

Hi Matt, nice article, as I read it last week.
I have a question about the light distribution.

How would you rate this light for light output (throw light distance wise)?

I have heard reports, that the LED lights have much less throw ability compared to their tungsten counterparts.

[Matt Jeppsen]

Originally Posted by Michael Liebergot

How would you rate this light for light output (throw light distance wise)?
I have heard reports, that the LED lights have much less throw ability compared to their tungsten counterparts.

That's a good question. I've not seen any head-to-head comparisons made, and don't really have a good comparitive light to do one myself. If you look at specs quoted by each mfr, maybe that will shed some light on the subject (har har har)...

Varizoom claims output is 550 lux at 1m.
Frezzi 35watt Micro-Fill specs claim 103 fc at 5ft.
Obviously these two companies speak very different languages. :-)

Fortunately for us, Google can translate lux to footcandles, and returns 550 lux as 51 fc. So there is definitately a disparity, and perhaps those numbers support the argument that LED lights throw shorter than tungsten? As a comparison (and to further confuse), I've read that Litepanels put out 60 fc at 2ft and 18 fc at 8ft.

In practice, the Varizoom LED at full output can light a subject at 10' in a dimly lit setting well enough to get a nice clean image using a Sony FX1 or Z1U with little or no gain. That is with the light's 3200k filter and diffuser engaged. If you back off to 15', I would say that it's time to remove the diffuser. This focuses the beam quite a bit, and would bring the subject up to the level of light at 10' diffused. For me, that capability is more than enough. More often than not, I'm dimming the light down. Thankfully the light dims down to a level that is comfortable to look into, so it works well when used as a close-in fill or catch light.

That output capability coupled with the battery life, simple onboard filters, and general ease of use make the Varizoom LED my on-cam light system of choice.

[Michael Liebergot]

Thanks Matt. I currently use a PAG C6 light system (with 35w bulbs). And ahve been very happy with it. but I am looking for a more powerful and maybe compact light, which is why I was interested in the Varizoom or the new Sony light.

My next light will be either one of those or a NRG Varalux Pro light and battery belt. This light is dimmable with built in dispersion grid and it's 100w so I could bounce the light off of the ceiling if needed, or shoot across the room with it. although it's on the larger side.

BTW how big is the Varizoom light? This and the Sony look pretty honking in size.

The real small lights like the Mite-Lite and the Mini-Fill, are just too narrow a beam for me.

Man I hate making decisions like this.

[Matt Jeppsen]

Originally Posted by Michael Liebergot

BTW how big is the Varizoom light? This and the Sony look pretty honking in size.

The dimensions listed in official specs are pretty close...3.9" x 2.9" x 2.4"
Though I personally would have measured it at 4" (tall) x 3.25" (deep) x 2.4" (wide). Bear in mind those are for the light itself. The battery mount clamp (sans battery) is 2.5" x 4" x 1.75"

There's a hi-res shot of it mounted on a Sony FX1 in the review. It's hi-res online anyway, I haven't seen my print copy of DV yet... :-(

Hope that helps.

[Marshall Levy]

I own the Varizoom LED light - it's very good for a fill, but, as with my other posts throughout, I partially demoed this light for "x company" and while it's great in terms of the parallels of the DV article, the throw distance is not anything great - particularly when compared to the other LED-based lights....about 6 or so feet at full brightness is about the max....the spread isn't too bad for HD or SD (16:9) but as with any LED, the throw is NOT going to be as powerful as a halogen or similar.

Mike - if you want, give me a call and I'll bring it to our next meeting.

[Floris van Eck]

I am also looking for a good camera light for my Canon XL-H1 but I am not sure what to buy. So many choices and it is hard to find reviews.

These are some models I have been looking at:

IDX X3KIT
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...On_Camera.html

PAG 1001 C6 camera top lighting kit
http://www.creativevideo.co.uk/publi..._number=pag_c6

Sony HVL-LBP led on-camea light (would mean I have to buy Sony batteries)
http://www.creativevideo.co.uk/publi...r=sony_hvl-lbp

Litepanel Canon kit:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...amera_Kit.html (not sure wether to go for Spot or Flood)

I might invest in an Anton Bauer or IDX system as otherwise I will have so many different batteries.

[David Morgan]

look at the Varizoom S-2000 series.
they are led (so they don't change color when dimmed + low power usage), dimmable, comes with barn doors and indoor filter. Uses same battery as the camera (not at the same time but u can use your spare). It fits in the hotshoe. Only thing is where to mount the battery holder. Check it out. Mine works well if u only need about 10 watts

[Tom Roper]

The Varizoom is not even shown on the website. Has it been discontinued?

[David Morgan]

I don't think so. Mine is only 2 months old. Try going to B & H photo.

[Floris van Eck]

Yes, not listed on the Varizoom website but listed on BH Photo Video.

[Matt Jeppsen]

Originally Posted by Tom Roper

The Varizoom is not even shown on the website. Has it been discontinued?

Here they are at B&H
I love these lights.

[Tom Roper]

Yes, I know they show them on B&H but they are out of stock for my Canon mount. I went looking for other retailers from the Varizoom website. Can't find Varizoom lights anywhere on their own site.

[Marshall Levy]

From those that you mentioned, here's what I have to state...

The top three recommendations, in listed order of most favorable to least are:

1> Sony LBP
2> LitePanel (Tungsten)
3> Varizoom

The varizoom light is nice...see my other posts. The LitePanel has very nice widescreen-type distribution and the overall throw and color representation is fantastic. The only thing I don't like is having more cords go between the camera and my belt, and also the fact that it must use two of the same batteries which adds some weight. The tungsten adds a nice warm color and can be day-light balanced but if you buy the day-light and use a cto, you'll lose about a stop. I use the Mini Plus series (the newest ones).

The Sony LBP light is wonderful as well. It has some weight to it and makes the camera very front heavy, and you need to use a large Sony battery (3rd-party batteries won't work). It has a battery tester and indicator, with barn doors, a diffuser, and a magnifier which throws some really great yet blinding light. My complaint about this light is that it takes about 1-1/2 seconds to turn on and about eight seconds for checking battery status. It's a very long time when in run-and-gun situations. It's day-light balanced and a 1/4 cto does just fine for the warmer look.