I am looking for a light to go on the hot shoe of the 5DII (never thought I would find myself saying that). I am starting a project where I am going to have to shoot parties in some pretty low light. I know this cam is a champ in low-light, but I am afraid that the light will still be a little too low. The end result doesn't have to be amazing quality, but I would like it to look as good as possible. I will mainly need to get up right in peoples faces for quick testimonials at these parties, as well as capture the essence of the event with some b-roll.

Would something like this: Amazon.com: Canon Video Light for Advanced Accessory Shoe: Camera & Photo (http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Video-Light-Advanced-Accessory/dp/B00005LD4T) work on the 5DII? Like I said, even an inexpensive solution will work for this particular project. I am willing to drop the dough on a really good on cam light as long as it isn't too bright and is still around 32K. 32K color temp is very important because I want it to match the ambient house lights.

Any help and suggestions are much appreciated:)

Ry

I haven't used Litepanels-Micro, but here's a review to consider...

Review - Litepanels-Micro (http://www.lafcpug.org/reviews/review_litepanels.html)

And I totally agree that something like this would be a good idea. Gotta see the faces.

I just tried the Litepanels micro pro and micro yesterday when their guys were n town. I would definitely suggest to go for the micro pro. The spread is further and fully dimmable and lightweight.

Would something like this: Amazon.com: Canon Video Light for Advanced Accessory Shoe: Camera & Photo (http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Video-Light-Advanced-Accessory/dp/B00005LD4T) work on the 5DII?

A while back, I looked into that light as well, but I found it to be insufficient for my use. Instead, I decided to hack (i.e., DIY) my own LED onboard camera light (and battery packs) seen in this silly video: YouTube - My big rig camera... and my scalloped guitar... and my workout routine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bjyiuqKV6Y) (it's shown at 3:18 into the video).

The light is 600 lumens which is a tad too bright for close-up interviews, but works well for everything else, including outdoor fill-light. After this video was shot, I've added a gel-filter to bring the temperature down to Tungsten.

-- peer

Thanks for the suggestions. The micro pro does look like a pretty decent route, but I just don't see what makes these lights so expensive. LED lights can be bought from a distributor for as little as 20 cents a piece. Does the manufacturing process of these lights with a housing and a dimmer really warrant a price tag of nearly $500? I mean, it doesn't even come with the adaptor to ad a camera battery.

You think I'd be used to the heavy price tag involved with video equipment by now, but it still baffles me.

Peer, your light looks pretty solid! Be interested in seeing some test shots with it. I might end up making my own version of the micro-pro. It'd be interesting just to see how much it would cost me to build from scratch.

Peer, your light looks pretty solid! Be interested in seeing some test shots with it.

Not a very good example but the only one I have uploaded so far using this DIY light -- a run & gun interview promotion thingee. And as you can see, I was struggling big time with the barn-doors to avoid getting all its 600 luminance blasted in their face, the outside shots are the worst: YouTube - Audience reactions after "The Enchanted" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I7pF1mjqu0)

-- peer

That's not too bad. Why the sepia? Just out of curiosity. Curious whether it was a stylistic decision or if there were problems with mixture of lighting colors?

Did you actually ask that girl for her number with her man hanging on her arm? That is hilarious! I love it!