Anything new Lighting Wise?
 

Have been booked for a wedding in a candlelit Castle. Currently using a Bescor setup with battery belt.

Looked at the litepanels Micro. Seems VERY expensive for something that just doesn't look expensive.

Anybody know.heard of anything new on the Horizon or know of any alternates?

Check out the Sima 20LX 20 LED light - can get a whole array of them for a fraction of the "fancy" pro stuff. Good bang for the buck, last about 45-50 minutes on a charge, so you need to have a couple of backups, but at the price, you can buy a couple - the sweet spot seems to come with putting a pair of them spread a bit apart on dual brackets, so maybe 4-6 units for plenty of cushion. They can benefit from a bit of diffusion, but I think you can rig something up fairly easily with the hot shoe sockets molded in.

Might be worth a look.

Hi Alastair,

I'd say look into getting the light off the camera entirely. Nothing says 'wedding videographer' more, both from the effect you have on your surroundings and the look of the image, than an on-camera light...

This one looks a bit DIY

VIDEO LED LIGHT 4 Canon VIXIA HF11 HF100 HG20 HG21 HV30 on eBay, also, Lights Light Meters, Camcorder Accessories, Cameras Photo (end time 02-Jan-09 07:45:40 GMT)

Possibly

Amazon.com: Sima SL-20LX Ultra Bright Video Light (Silver): Camera & Photo

Litepanel copy, but not dimmable

LED35 Bescor LED-35 BroadBeam Daylight Balanced On Camera 35 Watt LED Video Light

I'm using the Swit s-2000 light on my EX1, the light requires d-tap so i also got the swit battery for the EX1 as well.
I'm very happy with the light and battery so far.
Tha battery can also be used to power just the light, making it last even longer, while i keep the original sony battery on the camera.

Paul.

Paul
Cab you please let me know what battery model are you using for the Swit s-2000 light. When you say that the light requires a d-tap what do you mean? What is a d-tap?

Stelios

D-Tap---commonly refered to as a Power Tap by Anton Bauer. The power plug both male and female look like a slightly out of shape "D" so there's only 1 way to insert the power plug into the battery or battery plate.
Some cameras (I know for sure the Sony full size DSR line cams) have a D tap built into the camera for a light.
Don

The battery isn't designed specifically for the swit light, the battery is designed for the EX1 camera, it just happens that the battery has a D-tap outlet on it, so that can power the light, or any other light which needs power from a D-tap.

I just killed 2 birds with 1 stone, so to speak, i got a light which i needed, and another battery for my camera, which i needed, luckily i found the battery which powers my camera and/or the light, all for £300.

Light here - Swit S-2000 LED toplight with D-tap connector

Battery here SWIT S-8U62 High Capacity Battery - Pro Active

Paul.

Thanks Don and Paul for your quick response.

Stelios

I got a loan of a litepanel Micro to try yesterday. Initial reaction was the same as most peoples i.e. woah..this costs HOW much and looks like this? REALLY struggling to see where the value is in it.

Anyway...I have to admit that I ended up REALLY liking it. VERY lightweight and it made a world of difference in lowlight situations throughout the day. Was fantastic just being able to reach up and adjust the dimmer to get my exposure right...BLISS!

It is £280 here in the UK and I just cannot get my head around it being anywhere near good value. My day job is in engineering and plastics moulding so I KNOW this isn't expensive to make.

If they dropped the price and went for volume, this would become the light of choice amongst us guys.

Any other budget dimmable solutions around?

Alistair, have you looked at the swit s-2000 ?
I use it mostly for weddings, at the night do etc.
It throws a wide enough light for the EX1 lens, there's no dark spots on the edges, it very light, and bright.
I paid £195 for it.

Paul.

I have been looking at getting this:

Zylight - Intelligent LED Lighting

Who tried LED lights with FX1000/Z5? I wonder if the angle is wide enough to cover the whole frame if fully zoomed out.

What battery solutions are there for using with cameras without D tap connector?

There is a battery that they sell to power it

Zylight - Intelligent LED Lighting