I currently have the Bescor LED-60K, which is a piece of junk. Not so much the light itself, but the battery comes in a compartment that is useless and deattaches from your belt shortly after you start walking, and also I had to buy an extension cord for it, because even though it comes with a battery case with a belt clip, the cord is too short to reach down to your belt. So after seeing such a poor design I'd rather stay away from Bescor.

What other lights can someone recommend me around $100? I don't need anything fancy, but it needs to come with a battery that will last for several hours and a cable long enough to reach the belt comfortably.

Thanks,

Sebastian

I'm going to be trying this one:
Amazon.com: Fancierstudio 160 Dimmable LED Camera Light Led Camcorder Light Led Light Panel By Fancier FN160: Electronics

If you mean an on camera light I use and like the Z96 LED light you can get on a famous auction site for around $70 including shipping. It has 96 daylight LED's and magnetic filters for diffusion and indoor light temp.

I had the $$$$ Litepanels Micro but it was stolen or lost and replaced with the Z96 which I actually like better.

I'll second the plaudit for the Z96 LED light. It's a great little light for the money and is good on or off the camera in a push.

Hi Sebastian

I have a 120 LED light and also a 160 LED light which worked pretty well but I found a newer one on eBay that's more compact and uses just 6 power LED's with around the same output as a 160 LED light and a LOT more compact too!!! It uses a Sony NP 570 battery which, last Sunday, lasted an enire wedding reception so I was quite impressed!! Also has barn doors and filters and the cam auto white balances the light very easily!!! Cost me $80.00 from HongKong so for you the price would be much the same!!

Pic of my one is attached!!

Chris

Hey Chris, Can you post a link? I'm actually kind of curious about these.

Hi David

Here is one directly off eBay.com on your side of the pond.

6 LED LED-5010 Video Light for DV Camcorder + Hand Grip | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-LED-LED-5010-Video-Light-DV-Camcorder-Hand-Grip-/270804569395?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0d35cd33)

Chris

Chris, what is the coverage area of these lamps? Why I like the Z96 is that it gives a good uniform spread from edge to edge over a wide area. It looks as is this lamp however might be a bit "spotty"...

Hi Robin

I was shooting full wide on the dance floor at Sunday's wedding and the light looks pretty even ..even thru the evf there is no sign the light is acting as a spotlight mainly because each of the power LED's have a wide angle (I think around 60 degrees) of light dispertion!!

I though the coverage would be more "spotlight" that "floodlight" but the beam is pretty wide... pretty much the same as my 160 LED light

Chris

Thanks for that Chris- I'll certainly consider this lamp for the kit!

For the z96, can I buy a Canon adapter to use my Canon BP batteries from my xf 100?

Thanks!

I ended up buying one of those 160 LED lights that are solf under different brands and prices but it's the same product. It's great for what it does but it makes the camera more shaky because it ads a lot of weight to the top, and it makes it harder to hold still. So I might return it and get another Bescor like the one I haver, as much as I hate it because Bescor sucks, but at least it's smaller and lighter.

wow for the money I would think that may even give the comer 1800 a run for its money. Id like to try one and compare them.

Picked this up for Adorama camera for $79 and found it quite good for the price.

LED160 Flashpoint 160 LED Light - Dimmable- Mounts on camera shoe (http://www.adorama.com/FPVL160.html?utm_source=ET&utm_medium=TransactionalEmail&utm_campaign=2point0Product1)

Hi Robin

Just an update!! I'm busy editing last weeks reception and I used only the 6 x power LED light and NOT the 160 one!! Light coverage is really even and covers my cam at full wide with no issues at all!!! The power LEDS have a very wide beam obviously!! I would say that the footage is better lit too than if I had used the 160LED light which is a LOT clumsier!!!

I'll stick with these compact unit and power LED's from now on and keep the 160 unit as a backup.

I shot all night in just one Sony NP 750 battery without any problems too!!!

Chris

Picked this up for Adorama camera for $79 and found it quite good for the price.

LED160 Flashpoint 160 LED Light - Dimmable- Mounts on camera shoe (http://www.adorama.com/FPVL160.html?utm_source=ET&utm_medium=TransactionalEmail&utm_campaign=2point0Product1)

It's the same exact light I bought for $29 less:

Amazon.com: 160 LED CN-160 Dimmable Ultra High Power Panel Digital Camera / Camcorder Video Light, LED Light for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Panasonic,SONY, Samsung and Olympus Digital SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

It's a good light, lots of power and good battery life, but it's too heavy and it makes it hard to keep the camera still.

I've bought a few of the different lights - the 160 is big and clunky, but plenty of light so you use the dimmer. The CN126 version is a bit smaller, somewhat lighter, still uses various Sony and I think one Panasonic batteries, quite good for the price, and again is dimmable.

it's not much lighter, but a bit smaller (you're stuck with either AA batteries or a "rechageable" type I've not seen), the SYD 1509 has a bit more stable mount, doesn't try to get fancy with tilting or anything, so less wobble. Has a dimmer, so you have some control. No "gels" (slide in plastic filters to alter the output temp a bit) like the others I've mentioned have, but seems to have decent diffusion from the built in front panel. Around $45, 135 small LEDS. Not a "perfect" light, but seems to be a better build quality.

FWIW, my "ideal" light would be smaller, for the most part you don't need the 100+ LED arrays on full power, seems like maybe half that would be sufficient (or a small array of the larger more powerful LEDs?), run on AA, or have adapters for any of the small camera batteries (already got plenty in the bag, of say NP-FV), filters/gels would be nice, and a DIMMER is mandatory - that's the thing that seems to get left off all the "small" lights!

Hi Dave

Agreed!! That's why I have gravitated to the light with the 6 power leds rather than my 120 or 160 LED units! It IS a lot more compact but only can use Sony batteries!! On both the 120 and 160 lights I found that the mounting shoe was worse than useless and wobbled badly!! On both of the multi-led lights I cut off the silly plastic shoe and stem and drilled a hole in the body of the light and added a mini-ball head that has a cold shoe connector on it's base. These make the lights pretty sturdy!!!

The power LED light however does have a substantial base and doesn't need any modification!!

Chris