LED Light
 

Looking for recomendations for a suitable LED light for weddings and receptions. I recently got a LightPanel Micro LED but it doesn't have enough punch for dark reception halls. I still use my i-light 50 watt with an NRG belt but would like to lighten up. I am shooting with a pair of Panny 150's. The Micro is fine for close up shots but the i-light is great for an all around light. Would love some suggestions to get rid of the battery belt and have enough light to do the job.

Re: LED Light
 

Lightpanels SOLA ENG

Re: LED Light
 

Hi Ray

I'm using Yongnuo YN 160 lights...they have barndoors and awesome punch and last all night on a 2600mah camcorder battery!!

If you want to be "posh" then buy a Comer 1800 but it will cost you a whole lot more

Chris

Re: LED Light
 

I love this light, there's no name on it and I bought it from ebay and it shipped from Japan. It's $40 and packs a great punch. I used the Litepanels lights for years and they don't hold a candle to this light. I love that you can connect multiple lights together as well. Check it out:

4 Way Hotshoe 126 Led Video Light for DV Camcorder E2L | eBay

Re: LED Light
 

Some that I'm eying:
FloLight - Fluorescent & LED Video Lighting

Re: LED Light
 

we also use the 126 LED light from ebay. we use two of them on flash stands. they are very portable, light weight, and very easy to setup. one time we had a photographer ask to use it since he needed some special lighting condition he couldn't get with his flash. it's great all around and having two is even more of a convenience.

Re: LED Light
 

What do people like better, on camera light or light on stands? Pro's vs con's?

Re: LED Light
 

I had two Lowell ID lights year ago, same as the i light, I believe, but with a dimmer. Get rid of your battery pack, Ray, completely unnecessary.

The Comer 1800 by far is the best light available for the money, and quality of light. It is better than lights that cost twice it's price ($350), has a perfect filter for indoor, and a spotlight feature that is hard to beat. It comes with barndoors, but I removed them to lighten it up. If you're coming from a i light, you'd like the Comer.

I have three of the 160 type lights made by various manufacturers, and the filters that come with mine were awful. The lights are not even close to daylight balanced, and are SO bluish, I hate using them anymore. I'm getting rid of all of my lights except the Comer 1800, and buying another. The 160s are very wide, and do not fit so well next to a shotgun on my light bracket.

The 160s have served me well for a few years, but they really are cheap, and I'm ready to move on.

I have had the Comer 1800 for while and I love it, best light ever, and very powerful. I decided after past weekend to go with two of them, as I cannnot stand the cheap ones any longer.

I also have a dimmable fotodiox light that is extremely powerful and small, and I may keep it, and find a gel for it. I just bought it but already wished I had just bought another Comer 1800.

Re: LED Light
 

We have a light similar to that Ebay light as well. I was just wondering about lights this weekend, as we were in a very dark reception venue, and the DJ didn't have much for lights set up. We used this light on a stationary camera for the main dances, but it seemed SO bright to us. We also have one very small cheapo light from best buy that we put a small soft box on...not as bright, and really ONLY useful for closer up shots...

I struggle using lights because we sell our unobtrusive style, and most people ask directly if we'll be walking around with a camera pointing lights in their face and what not.

not to hijack the thread here, but does anyone else struggle with remaining unobtrusive versus getting a much better shot??

Re: LED Light
 

Katie, it's not so much the light is bright, it's harsh. I put the 160s on a light stand up about 9-10 feet up then angle it downward it's fine for dancing footage. The cheap leds such as these are not good for walking around, they work if you are careful and keep them dim but it's better to have a good quality unit with more options.

I have been running the 160s alongside the Comer for a long time, and the differences really show up in the footage from my new cameras, which is why I only recently decided to get rid of the cheap large leds.

In conventional video cameras such as the FX1000, FX1, HMC150, etc, the differences are less noticeable, but with DSLR type cameras it seems more critical to have good quality light than ever.

Re: LED Light
 

I have two Comer 1800's and must say I love them! They punch out a ton of light, the spot, daylight, and diffusion filters are all great. I would recommend buying the clear diffusion with them and swapping out the filters. Also, they have a brightness control and can quickly add a ton of aesthetic value to your production.

My only wish is that I had a way to power them on and off from a remote or from the bottom of the stand. Currently I throw them up on 13 foot stands and the only way to switch them on and off is to drop the stand all the way down. Not a huge deal, but somewhat of an inconvenience. I'm sure there is a way to rig it up, but haven't looked into it yet.

With the lights being on 13 foot stands I find it to be completely unobtrusive. I will reduce the brightness on the lights about an hour into dancing to allow them a chance to enjoy to mood and give myself a break from filming the repetitiveness. After all, filming more than an hour of dancing means you will be banging your head against a wall when you start logging similar footage over and over.

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Jeff, my stands only go to 10', but same idea, 13' would be even better!

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Katie, I'll not discuss the merits of one light over another but you posed a question in your earlier post about being unobtrusive VS. using a light.
OK think about it this way. Video, no matter what the format, DV tape, S-VHS, Beta, or the new solid state including the much heralded DSLRs have one thing in common and that is they require light to accquire a usable image. How much light depends on many different factors but the fact is ALL cameras and media require light. Period. I used to shoot catalogue stuff with an 8X10 Deardorff view camera. Need light? You bet, lots of it. Film ASA was anywhere from 25 to 100 depending on the need. When I was stringing for newspapers, night time shots were a problem. Some had good ambient lighting (street lights/ lights on fire engines and cop cars) others didn't. Run the strobe up to 100w or higher if you had the power, push the film (Kodak TriX) to 800, 1200 or even 1600 and fire away!
The point I'm getting at is that the camera needs light to gather the image. Now I don't know about your area but around here it's not unusual for the lights to get turned down so low they might as well be off and the only lighting you have is the DJs if they have them and if they are using them so you may not have a choice but to use something on camera. Dance floors around here aren't always square. Some are rectangular and big, I mean BIG! so a couple of off camera lights aren't going to cover the floor anyway.
I always tell my brides and grooms during the first meeting that I will be using a small on camera light since my camera doesn't see in the dark and since most of my work is referral or they've been to a wedding I did and saw me, they know and understand.
My take is this, while many hate oncamera lighting sometimes there is no other way and if you control the light with proper filtration and dimming no one will say anything.
Just my way of doing it YMMV

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Comer 1800 for me as well.

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Hi Jeff,

The Comer 1800 is great.

Contact Darrell at this site.
The Wireless Wedding Reception Light - PRICING INFORMATION

I use Darrell's Reception Lights with traditonal fixtures, but Darrell made a custom cable for me to power the Comer 1800 with the remote and battery system. It works great.

Re: LED Light
 

We are Comer LED light authorized dealer in the US. I'm also a wedding videographer. I use Comer 1800 at weddings and I love it. Coming from LP Micro and SWIT LED, the Comer 1800 is just very powerful yet flexible. I love using the Condenser lens for the spot light and the Condenser lens trick for high narrow beam for zooming.

This clip shows how power the Comer light is at a dark reception

This clip shows the Comer spot light mode

Check this out for the Condenser Lens trick
Comer Lights Condenser Trick | L.A. Color Blog

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Yes, it's great light Taky.

Mark, thanks much for the valuable tip. Are you saying the Comer 1800 can be operated remotely while using the Sony battery? Does he use an adapter where the battery goes on the light, I'm guessing?

At any rate, I have contacted him, and am excited about this idea!

Re: LED Light
 

Comer 1800 doesn't come with any remote control. When I mount the light on light stand, I don't use Sony battery. I use this battery that has a D-tap jack.

http://lacoloronline.com/product/?U6...r-Sony-EX1-EX3
http://lacoloronline.com/product/?U9...r-Sony-EX1-EX3

Then I connect the Comer light with the included D-tap cable. Then put the battery in a pouch and hang at the leg of the light stand. It also helps by adding a little weight to stabilize the light stand (really, it's just a little bit). If I need to turn the light on and off, I just need to unplug the D-tap cable with the battery. No need to lower the light to turn it on and off.

The BP-U95 batteries can power a Comer light 7 hours.

Re: LED Light
 

Sounds nice Taky. Since I have a few Sony batteries already, and I don't use them for cameras anymore, hopefully I can rig something up like Mark was talking about, unless he's using the ex3 batteries you're using.

Re: LED Light
 

I've been looking into switching over to a LED setup that would give me a cold look on the dance floor.
Right now I use 2 50W lights on light stands. They work off of a remote and are very similar to the wireless wedding light setup mentioned above.
IMO, a light that has a cooler temperature opposed to one with a warmer one is a lot less noticeable (or more acceptable), at least for dancing....

Steve

Re: LED Light
 

Hi Jeff,

You are welcome, and no, I'm not using the Sony battery with the remote system. If you are handy you may be able to wire one up yourself. Since I am not handy like that, I rely on others.

Re: LED Light
 

I'm actually doing an about face on the LED. I found a perfect gel to indoor light-balance my Fotodiox model LED120 light and I'm pretty tickled with it. The little light throws out SO much light for it's size, has a remarkable spread, and yet is so tiny, it fits perfectly on my GH2 next to the shotgun. With the gel, it's pretty sweet. I'm going to get a fixture to give it tilt and rotation and use it this weekend, and see what happens. At least with the gel it matches the Comer absolutely perfectly. I love my Comer, but for run and gun during the reception it is too large on my tiny camera, so I'll keep the Comer on a stand full time, which is ideal anyway.

Re: LED Light
 

Hi Jeff

I too found the LED lights (the cheaper ones) had a major weak point on the mounting...it's way to flimsy for theweight of the light and also has just height adjustment. What I bought was a mini ball-head that had a cold show fitting at the bottom and bolted that into the body of the light. It's now really sturdy and adjustable and rotatable too!!! At least now it doesn't wobble and quiver on the camera!!!

Nice cheap fix too!!!

Chris