LED lightbank? at DVinfo.net

Stephen Eastwood · October 5th, 2007, 01:52 PM

http://www.flolight.com/500%20LED.htm

Anyone try these? Looks nice for a small and practical light source and a good price for it. My concern is it may be a bit harsh so anyone ever try it? or use anything similar?

Stephen Eastwood
http://www.StephenEastwood.com

Marcus Marchesseault · October 5th, 2007, 04:03 PM

Those look really nice, at least on paper and in pictures. I think they are a new product so there may not be any users yet. LEDs tend to focus their light in a beam so the only quirk to pay attention to might (might) be that the light doesn't throw a really wide pattern. This may actually be a benefit as a source that large is harder to control. They mention this effect in their literature as the 20 degree beam width of the individual LEDs. I wouldn't worry about it since it is easier to diffuse a hard light than to focus a soft light.

Thanks for pointing this out. It is far cheaper than other LED solutions.

One question to ask the manufacturer is what type of barn doors it uses. The pictures show both flat black and mottled shiny.

Giroud Francois · October 5th, 2007, 04:13 PM

it is hard to understand how they can sell the mic light (48 leds) for half the price of this one (500 leds + case).

seems the barn doors came black and you can add the reflective stuff if needed.

too bad , it work only on main AC, would be nice with a 12V plug for use with a car battery for example.

Marcus Marchesseault · October 5th, 2007, 04:40 PM

It may work with a small power inverter. Since it isn't dimmable, it shouldn't need special power requirements. At only 40Watts, it can likely use a small inverter like those made for laptop computers.

The mic light seems a bit high in price, but $400 for an LED panel with barn doors and 5/8" spud isn't bad. Fluorescent is still cheaper, but this might make a decent backlight or a key in a small interview setup. The focused nature of the LEDs might make something like this a good companion to softer fluorescents.

Mike Teutsch · October 5th, 2007, 05:08 PM

Sorry to break anyone's bubble but the mic lights are a fraud in my opinion. I bought one at NAB. I have since bought two more from an ebay selling company in China. The one from NAB was $149.00. The ones from China were $5.00 and advertised as tent or camping lights. Exactly the same light-----period! We have been ripped off on the mic lights. They were just repackaged tent lights.

Mike

P.S.: With shipping the China lights were just under $12.50!

Martin Catt · October 5th, 2007, 06:29 PM

The question still stands, Mike: do they work worth a darn (the $5 mike lites)?

Martin

Richard Andrewski · October 5th, 2007, 06:38 PM

Of course, I've been looking into LEDs as a product for a while and I've seen all the products flolights is carrying at the sources of where they get them here in China. I never even considered the "uflolight" as I call it as a serious product. If I were going to do a ring light it would fit over the lens with some sort of speedring adapter big enough to fit around all the different kinds of lenses in the world. The idea of putting it on the mic has merit in some ways but there are so many differences in mic's and sizes on different camcorders that its not so practical when you really get down to it.

The other 500 LED panel I rejected because it has no dimmer and no built-in battery capability so I would have to engineer that. Bank select switchable dimming on a LED panel? Silly for that price range and dimming LEDs is not that hard to do.

One other thing that's suspect on this offering: It claims "500w equivalent of light" for drawing 40w. Doubtful. Let's do the math on this. That would mean that all the LEDs together were functioning at 250 lumens per watt (considering 40w draw on this panel and 10,000 lumens normal output for a 500w tungsten bulb at 20lpw). Impossible by today's standards. The best LED in a laboratory is 110 lpw and thats experimental stuff not out on the market yet. A good estimate is that it probably puts out about 2000 lumens.

To compare, a 2 bank 55w flo unit puts out a little over 6000 lumens so you would need 3 of these panels (IMHO) to equal a 2x55 unit. Let's see: Cool Lights 2x55 = $169. 3 Flolights 500w LED panels @ $399 ea = $1200 roughly. Are fluorescent and HMI dead yet? You decide based on your budget.

As Marcus stated before, the LEDs are very directional so you tend to get more of a spot effect out of a panel like this, not so much of a soft scattered light like fluorescent--so it all depends upon what you want.

I am serious about offering something like this by next year and I decided it's better to build a scratch solution from the ground up to keep the costs low. I think a dimmer and battery are mandatory for an LED panel and I really don't understand the use of this 500 LED light for anything other than in a studio or if you're willing to do some adaptation yourself with something like a tekkeon battery. But, let's face it--at $399, then adding a battery, you're really getting up there. I would expect to offer something like this for $399 with a battery and built-in dimmer and perhaps even a bit under that. And $399 is the "intro" price...

I actually have the circuit board prototype with dimmers and all--just waiting for a battery system and a suitable, attractive fixture case and mounting.

Mike Teutsch · October 5th, 2007, 06:39 PM

I think they are pretty cool. A decent amount of light from a small unit, with long battery life. We are filming in a submarine in about February and thought they might be nice to stick in small areas where we can't put other lights. You are not going to light up a stage with these things but in close locals they are neat lights.

Mike

Richard Andrewski · October 5th, 2007, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Catt

The question still stands, Mike: do they work worth a darn (the $5 mike lites)?

Martin

Hi Martin,

Some people think so as long as you gel them because they are a high color temp and a bit blue for sure. Add a bit of CTO to your taste.

Mike Teutsch · October 5th, 2007, 06:53 PM

Yup, they are about 5600K and the mic light was supposed to come with something to reduce them to 3200k, but of course in was not in the box and there was no response to emails to the company. You would have to color correct them. Still pretty cool for the money, even if you just want to light up your tent! :)

Mike

Mike Teutsch · October 5th, 2007, 06:58 PM

For those interested:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=003

Mike

Frank Brodkorb · January 31st, 2008, 01:32 PM

Have a look at those:

http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.ph...750#post817750

October 5th, 2007, 01:52 PM	#1
Stephen Eastwood Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Great Neck, NY Posts: 291	LED lightbank? http://www.flolight.com/500%20LED.htm Anyone try these? Looks nice for a small and practical light source and a good price for it. My concern is it may be a bit harsh so anyone ever try it? or use anything similar? Stephen Eastwood http://www.StephenEastwood.com

October 5th, 2007, 05:08 PM	#5
Mike Teutsch Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida Posts: 2,614	Sorry to break anyone's bubble but the mic lights are a fraud in my opinion. I bought one at NAB. I have since bought two more from an ebay selling company in China. The one from NAB was $149.00. The ones from China were $5.00 and advertised as tent or camping lights. Exactly the same light-----period! We have been ripped off on the mic lights. They were just repackaged tent lights. Mike P.S.: With shipping the China lights were just under $12.50! __________________ Chapter one, line one. The BH. Last edited by Mike Teutsch; October 5th, 2007 at 05:10 PM. Reason: shipping

October 5th, 2007, 06:29 PM	#6
Martin Catt Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: The Colony TX Posts: 327	The question still stands, Mike: do they work worth a darn (the $5 mike lites)? Martin __________________ Canon XF300, Canon 5DMkII, Canon XL2, Rolls MX422 mixer, Zoom H4N, AT899 lavs, AT2020's, Azden SGM 1X shotgun, Manfrotto 501 head on 351 tripod

October 5th, 2007, 06:38 PM	#7
Richard Andrewski Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Shenzhen, China Posts: 781	Of course, I've been looking into LEDs as a product for a while and I've seen all the products flolights is carrying at the sources of where they get them here in China. I never even considered the "uflolight" as I call it as a serious product. If I were going to do a ring light it would fit over the lens with some sort of speedring adapter big enough to fit around all the different kinds of lenses in the world. The idea of putting it on the mic has merit in some ways but there are so many differences in mic's and sizes on different camcorders that its not so practical when you really get down to it. The other 500 LED panel I rejected because it has no dimmer and no built-in battery capability so I would have to engineer that. Bank select switchable dimming on a LED panel? Silly for that price range and dimming LEDs is not that hard to do. One other thing that's suspect on this offering: It claims "500w equivalent of light" for drawing 40w. Doubtful. Let's do the math on this. That would mean that all the LEDs together were functioning at 250 lumens per watt (considering 40w draw on this panel and 10,000 lumens normal output for a 500w tungsten bulb at 20lpw). Impossible by today's standards. The best LED in a laboratory is 110 lpw and thats experimental stuff not out on the market yet. A good estimate is that it probably puts out about 2000 lumens. To compare, a 2 bank 55w flo unit puts out a little over 6000 lumens so you would need 3 of these panels (IMHO) to equal a 2x55 unit. Let's see: Cool Lights 2x55 = $169. 3 Flolights 500w LED panels @ $399 ea = $1200 roughly. Are fluorescent and HMI dead yet? You decide based on your budget. As Marcus stated before, the LEDs are very directional so you tend to get more of a spot effect out of a panel like this, not so much of a soft scattered light like fluorescent--so it all depends upon what you want. I am serious about offering something like this by next year and I decided it's better to build a scratch solution from the ground up to keep the costs low. I think a dimmer and battery are mandatory for an LED panel and I really don't understand the use of this 500 LED light for anything other than in a studio or if you're willing to do some adaptation yourself with something like a tekkeon battery. But, let's face it--at $399, then adding a battery, you're really getting up there. I would expect to offer something like this for $399 with a battery and built-in dimmer and perhaps even a bit under that. And $399 is the "intro" price... I actually have the circuit board prototype with dimmers and all--just waiting for a battery system and a suitable, attractive fixture case and mounting. __________________ Richard Andrewski - Cool Lights USA - RED #114 http://www.coollights.biz

October 5th, 2007, 06:39 PM	#8
Mike Teutsch Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida Posts: 2,614	I think they are pretty cool. A decent amount of light from a small unit, with long battery life. We are filming in a submarine in about February and thought they might be nice to stick in small areas where we can't put other lights. You are not going to light up a stage with these things but in close locals they are neat lights. Mike __________________ Chapter one, line one. The BH.

October 5th, 2007, 04:03 PM	#2
Marcus Marchesseault Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,961	Those look really nice, at least on paper and in pictures. I think they are a new product so there may not be any users yet. LEDs tend to focus their light in a beam so the only quirk to pay attention to might (might) be that the light doesn't throw a really wide pattern. This may actually be a benefit as a source that large is harder to control. They mention this effect in their literature as the 20 degree beam width of the individual LEDs. I wouldn't worry about it since it is easier to diffuse a hard light than to focus a soft light. Thanks for pointing this out. It is far cheaper than other LED solutions. One question to ask the manufacturer is what type of barn doors it uses. The pictures show both flat black and mottled shiny.

October 5th, 2007, 04:13 PM	#3
Giroud Francois Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: switzerland Posts: 2,133	it is hard to understand how they can sell the mic light (48 leds) for half the price of this one (500 leds + case). seems the barn doors came black and you can add the reflective stuff if needed. too bad , it work only on main AC, would be nice with a 12V plug for use with a car battery for example.

October 5th, 2007, 04:40 PM	#4
Marcus Marchesseault Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,961	It may work with a small power inverter. Since it isn't dimmable, it shouldn't need special power requirements. At only 40Watts, it can likely use a small inverter like those made for laptop computers. The mic light seems a bit high in price, but $400 for an LED panel with barn doors and 5/8" spud isn't bad. Fluorescent is still cheaper, but this might make a decent backlight or a key in a small interview setup. The focused nature of the LEDs might make something like this a good companion to softer fluorescents.

October 5th, 2007, 06:53 PM	#10
Mike Teutsch Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida Posts: 2,614	Yup, they are about 5600K and the mic light was supposed to come with something to reduce them to 3200k, but of course in was not in the box and there was no response to emails to the company. You would have to color correct them. Still pretty cool for the money, even if you just want to light up your tent! :) Mike __________________ Chapter one, line one. The BH.

October 5th, 2007, 06:58 PM	#11
Mike Teutsch Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Port St. Lucie, Florida Posts: 2,614	For those interested: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=003 Mike __________________ Chapter one, line one. The BH.

January 31st, 2008, 01:32 PM	#12
Frank Brodkorb Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Stillwater Oklahoma Posts: 39	Have a look at those: http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.ph...750#post817750