What does your reception light kit look like?
 

Need some help selecting a light for wedding receptions for the first dance, speeches. Would like more of a spot light than a complete flood light type light. I currently have a paul c buff light for a flash system (below). Will this work with something like a Lowel Pro-Light? Would I need to order a different bulb? Any suggestions on what I should purchase that is affordable. I'm assuming that a led setup could not match the intensity, or not be a viable option. Anyone have recommendations on what is working for them?


http://www.paulcbuff.com/manuals/vagabondii.pdf

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

I just bought a pair of Comer 1800's, and even though I haven't used them on a shoot yet, I've been testing them out and am very impressed. They are very powerful LED's, capable of either flood or spotlight, 32 or 56k. I am going to use them on stands, but they are camera-mountable as well.

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

I have two Comer 1800s on 13ft stands. Wanting to add a 3rd to my collection in the near future. Love the lights and build quality. LEDs in general don't throw light as far as traditional Tungsten Fresnels, but it hasn't presented too much of an issue just yet.

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

Comer 1800 is LED, has a spot feature, but if you need more powerful the Lowell ID light has a dimmer which you need for sure.

Do a search in this forum for lighting, there are probably hundreds of posts about this subject, some very recent. There are receptions light kits you can buy, and they are mentioned in those other threads.

Personally I would never go back to carrying around bulky batteries, but that's just me. I sold my Lowell ID light years ago and you couldn't pay me to take it back, at least for wedding work.

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

Just a pair F&V small camera mountable LED dimmable lights. We've actually never used any lights (and still fared fine) until this last wedding, and these small lights turned out perfectly. Super dim reception too outdoors in a garden late at night lighted only by string mood lighting that were more used for decoration.

To compensate, we use large sensor DSLRs (Canon 7D and 60D - yea, I know 5Dii would be even better) and fast prime lenses (50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, or worst case our zoom 24-70 L f/2.8 and 70-700 L f/2.8 lenses). We also up to the ISO up to 1600 when necessary and de-noise using Magic Bullets Denoiser software.

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

For receptions I use two Arri 750 Plus tungsten lights and one battery powered 600 LED. I also don't use any DSLR's during the reception anymore I get better images out of my EX1 than I do with DSLR's under the same lighting conditions. When you have lots of light DSLR's can't be beat but in low light the grain & general image quality is some of the worst images I've seen. I deliver Blu-ray at Full HD you can really tell the low quality that DSLR's produce during reception. When filming receptions I'm filming guests and don't want shallow DOF, looks horrible IMO when I try to film a table of guests only to have the first guy in focus and grandma just behind him kinda in focus. We tell brides in advance of our lighting setup, unless they have a professional lighting setup I turn on the Arri's during speeches and the resulting quality is worth it, no grain, beautiful colours - mind you our guests in South Africa are mostly very polite.

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

LED litepanels miniplus on the camera(s) or on a stand depending on the circumstances. I have a set at 3200K and one at 5600K depending on conditions with filters to meet partway for mixed temperatures. Pretty happy with them. I try to keep the camera somewhat above the action (nice arm work-out) to avoid deer-in-headlights. They're great for off camera detail lighting, too, such as rings-shot when you can set up with a tripod (dslr or video camera).

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

Nick, you mention DSLR but you don't mention which lenses you used with them. The lens is what makes a world of difference under low light..not the camera body.

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

Michael I'm using F2.8 L lenses I couldn't imagine shooting at F1.4 though the DOF would be too much in an environment that requires deep DOF. I film most of the wedding with DSLR's but the reception I bring out the trusty EX1's. The 70-200 2.8 works well on the speaker but for crowds I don't like DOF. EX1 is pretty amazing in low light really surprises me all the time. I know DeNoiser works great but I don't have enough time to process my footage ISO 1600 is not pretty on DSLRs I try to keep ISO as low as possible.

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

F/2.8 is slow for most receptions for sure. Fast lenses can be stopped down, it is a hassle. My go to lens is a f/2.0, it's perfect for so many things.

EX1 is much easier to use for everything, but a DSLR with a fast lens can destroy an EX1 in low light, but is it worth the added effort? That's what it comes down to, IMO.

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

Pass: dance

Here is some footage I shot with EX1 mostly lighting with a single Z96 LED for fill and in a few shots having my assistant light with the ePhoto 600 LED from behind and moving with me. Jeff like you say how much hassle are you willing to go through?

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

Hi Guys

I gave up on tungsten and halogen lights a long time ago...for the speeches where the speakers here mainly stand at a lectern, I use a 70 x50cm softbox with 4 x 50W CFL's inside (they are 5500K)

Otherwise it just an on-cam LED light which usually is more than enough for the other events without sacrificing shutter speed and the end results are pretty much noise free. My Panasonics only have 1/4" chips compared to the EX series 1/2" so I usually need a little more light to get a decent image. Some guests do make comments about the LED light but none ever make a fuss about it. What I have found is that if you ask the venue staff to turn up the house lights just a little during events it helps a lot!!!

In a venue that's as black as midnight any lighting will appear to guests as "blinding" as their eyes go from total darkness to bright light...with the venue lights lifted just a bit, an LED light doesn't appear to the guests as over-bright!

Nice video too Nick!!! Where are you based??? I used to be in Durban!

Chris

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

Looks great Nicholas.

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

I use 2x650 arri fresnel tungsteens, and if it's really large and really dark hall I also bounce from the ceiling narrow opened 700 lowell flood, I think I will add another arri, but I want to replace barn doors with the snoots

Re: What does your reception light kit look like?
 

The Comer 1800's were worth their weight in gold at the reception I was at this past weekend! It's the first time I used them on a shoot, and they were a godsend. If I wouldn't have had these, I would have been out of luck. I posted a couple quick examples for illustration (they're straight out of the camera, no correction at all). The lighting that you see on the dance floor is provided by my 2 Comer's -- otherwise, it's pitch dark!

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