My Cool Lights Experience
 

Hello,

I have written a little writeup about a recent job where I used Richard A's "Cool Lights", LEDs and Flourescent.

I thought it might be of use to the lighting forum to get the opinion of one who has used these lights in a working situation.

The focal point of the article is the use of the new 250w LED lights.

I do not have an affiliation with Cool Lights, but I want to spread the word when someone like Richard makes products that I can budget for and also improve my end product.

Thanks

Tim nice review.
I just received the LED256 and LED600 myself a week ago and really like the results that I am getting. As a matter of fact I just ordered another LED256.

I've also been shooting with Tungsten lights, mainly Lowell Rifa lights, and have been migrating to LED for on camera purposes, and am now swapping out my tungsten lights for cooler LED based lighting. I find the Coolights well built with great output. The LED256 is much stringer than I thought it would be.

Yes, good job Tim! And thanks for your comments Michael.

Quite gratifying especially seeing the new 256 out in the wild and getting great use. And I like the PDF format for a review like this, makes it so much nicer the way you can intersperse text with pictures. If its okay, I'd like to post that on our site. Very professionally done. Thanks for that and for your time in putting it together.

That looks promising. I'm tempted to get the LED 256. How does it mount on light stand? Not sure should I get 3200K or 5600K version. Thanks

Thanks, glad you liked it.

Richard, thanks for making these lights, they are perfect for a lot of work. Feel free to post the review. Just reference me and my company - Metroplex Multimedia - metroplexmultimedia.com

Taky, I am pleased with the 5600k version. I recently shot a job using the full CTO in front of the lights and was very pleased with the amount of output. This would not be the same story with a 3200k light and a CTB gel.

The LED 256 has a 1/4-20 threaded hole in which you can put a light stand directly or thread in the supplied swivel which you can see in the close photo in the review pdf.

Thanks for your comments. As Tim said, it comes with everything you need to mount to a baby (or junior 1 1/8" for that matter) stand. The adapter is a kind of ball joint swivel mount that allows angle adjustment. Barndoors can be left off if you don't need that.

Taky, even though this includes a 1/4-20 mount on the bottom, it should be noted I don't recommend this as an on-camera light nor did I design it as such. I was more going for a smaller version of our 600 for those times that the 600 is way overkill like accent lighting (as Tim showed in the review) or the way Michael is using it to spot people at an event. At a weight of 1lb. 15 ounces its too heavy for hot shoe use. If you have a bigger camera in studio setup on tripod and you needed an "OB" light then mounting this to the rail system using the 1/4-20 mount on bottom of the LED 256 to a 19mm (or 15mm) adapter which has a 1/4-20 mount would be fine.

On the question of what color temperature to choose I think Tim's right. Unless you find yourself overwhelmingly in low color temperature (practical indoor around 2900K to 3200K) settings then I'd always choose the 5600K version since we do have the included full CTO filter panel. Time will tell if people think its too much weaker with that filter or not, of course some light is lost but its a great compromise to get 3200K when you need it but you most often will use the daylight version.

I hope event videographers can start using a smaller light like this, off camera, more often. IMO, it will improve their results if they can make the stretch to either bring someone to hold the light in positions, where they need it/when they need it, or on a stand in a corner of the room as unobtrusively placed as possible.

I think Michael's idea of a remote on/off is a great idea and we will look at doing that for a future version. I can see where that would be a big help for the event guy.

Taky, this is the light that I mentioned in another post that I am looking at using for Receptions as a Reception style light on a light stand by the dance floor.

I would recommend going with the 5600k version, as the output is much stronger than the 3200k version. And what was mentioned the 5600k will hold up better filtered for Tungsten, than the 3200k filtered for daylight. Plus, myself personally, will have more use for daylight balanced lighting than Tungsten. Even though I shoot receptions indoors, I find myself doing a lot of interview work these days, in which I have large windows pouring in light. So by using the LED600 and LED256, I can use that outdoor lighting and run the LED lights with all indoor lighting turned off. And even use the Comer1800's for accent lighting as well. All LED all of the time.

As I mentioned I ordered a second one today and will be replacing my two tungsten camera light, which I used to use on light stands for reception use. The output is stronger than the Comer1800 light, and being able to turn on/off selected backs and being dimmable will make this a nice solution for my reception use.

I can run the lights on Sony NP style batteries, and not use my remote control. Or run my battery belts to the light and use the remotes if needed.

All in all great lights. I'll be ordering another LED600 in the near future as well for studio/green screen work. And the upcoming LED2500 should rock as well for field/studio use.

Richard and Michael, I know this is not meant to be an on-camera light. Comer works well for me for that aspect. I am looking for solution to have off camera light on light stand. So this LED256 seems to be a good solution.

What if I want to mount 2 on a light stand, do I need to get that 59 cross bar from coollight?

Taky

The cross bar would be good for two on one stand. Would be even nicer if we had a shorter version of the cross bar to hold them closer together but I don't have a shorter one. The CL-LEDHBAR will work fine and you can angle the two lights off a bit so they're not pointing in the same direction as well.

I'm still saving up for a lighting kit from CoolLights, I really like the look of these new lights. I also have quite a few Sony long life batteries laying around from my Sony days (Canon now) so that's a great option to have! Richard it would be awesome if you could create a light to compete with the Litepanels MicroPro that uses Sony batteries. The MicroPro is completely overpriced!

Thanks for your comments Nicholas. There are a lot of on camera lights out there, it seems a crowded market to me. That's why I wasn't rushing into it quite yet.

Taky that bar woudl work, but why would you want to use 2 lights on one stand as opposed to using a two lights and two stands?

Wouldn't it be more beneficial to spread the light around the room to create more depth to the image. Like at opposite ends/ corners of the dance floor?

Simply doubling the light output in one location (even positioned differently) still limits your lighting ability. In other words the lighting will only help you while shooting in one certain area.

If you spread the lights around, then you can get a similar image from multiple room perspectives.

I guess it's not a big deal if you shoot on a tripod form the same location most of the night. But for myself, I move around a lot hand held most of the night and thus shoot from all perspectives in the room.

Just wondering is all?
Hey at least your trying to get your main lighting off camera which is the first step.

Michael,

There're pros and cons. For me shooting weddings, I already have many gears to bring. I just don't want to setup another light stand and another sand bag.

Also, having the LED256 as spot has limited throw and coverage. So I will want to have 2 lights to get a wider coverage.

I am still using two Comer 1800 on each of the XH-A1. Then adding a third light source on light stand would be ideal.

Taky,

Just out of curiosity, if you want wider coverage, why wouldn't you go with an LED 600? Its basically a bit more powerful than 2 256s.

that wont work. I'm shooting weddings. There're more than just the reception to do. Carrying that big light + the big battery won't be an option for me. I guess they are good for studio settings. But I do need portability.

Also to have 2 spot lights I can have a wider coverage, or coverage at two directions. More flexibility.

Let me think ...

Tim, I like your setup for the talking head. Could you elaborate on all of the various pieces of equipment and lights you used and what function they served? Thanks!

Hi Tom,

I had a flourescent light as the key, an LED 256 for a hair light, a reflector for opposite side fill and an LED 256 pointed at the wall for a background gradient.

I put an ND filter on in my camera and exposed the background around f2.8 for a shallow DOF then setup the lights while not changing the camera iris. Use the preview monitor as your eyes to move the lights around at that point.

Here is the view from the camera:

Thanks. The close up really shows the details of your lighting.Nice . Which florescent light did you use at what wattage?

I used the Cool Lights 4 bank flo. I can't remember if I had two or four banks on.

Thanks again Tim

Tim I light my interviews similar to you (1 large key, reflector for fill, hair light, background accent light), but I never thought about turning on the camera ND filter for added depth indoors. I'll have to give this a try for my next interview, as I normally don't have enough room to get proper separation and depth of field in the small rooms I shoot in.

Nice review again and thanks for the lighting info.

Tim:

I love when talent shows up in a bleach white shirt, nothing better. You need to flag that guy's shirt off, it is much brighter than his face. Tough to cut with soft light too although it can be done.

For corporate interviews, I always send along a wardrobe guideline sheet (no patterns, no houndstooth, checkered, striped, no white, yellow, cream, light blue shirts, minimal or no jewelery, anti-reflective lens glasses, etc.). Nice lighting overall. I too love my Coollights 600s, they have been all I used for talking heads in 2009. Need to order the 256 too.

Dan

Hey Dan,

I am not bothered by the white shirt. In post, most of the shirt area is still showing detail, so it is white, but not blown out.

I did have the bottom barn door on the flo up a bit, but your right, the light goes everywhere.

The company had two shirts, one denim blue and the white version.

We thought it was important to have a different look on each speaker and the other guy had the demin shirt.

Thanks for your comments.

Lighting is the big area for perpetual growth.

One trick I've seen done before, but requires a fresnel and wouldn't work well with LEDs or flos, is to put a gel on half the light (bottom half) and aim it just so that only the shirt is covered. Use whatever color of gel you like but that should take the brilliant white out of the shirt and transform it to anything from just dimmer (ND) to another subtle color. Also, this should be a good use for a half scrim as well...

The real challenge when using soft light and this situation is getting a good cut that significantly reduces the output, just on the shirt. Tough with softlight because you really need to position a flag or net about 3' in front of the soft source and that means placing the whole light, stands and flag/cutter far enough back to not be in picture. Which makes a a soft light weaker and harder. Which means it is really tough to do. If you cut it right at the light, there is not cut, you are just cutting down on overall output.

Easy with hard lights, not so easy with softlights unless you have a LARGE softbox and a light with enough horsepower to give you the exposure you need from a farther distance back.

White and light colored shirts are the bane of my existence in interviews, I cannot live with the shirt being the brightest thing in frame but if your client digs it, that's all that matters.

Dan

Well, personal tastes are varied.

My client does not dig it, when looking at the frame, I do not see over exposed white. There is a lot of detail in the shirt.

I tell people not to wear white, close stripes etc... as well. I just don't see the issue with this frame. My eyes are still drawn to his face. He just happens to be wearing a white shirt.

It is not like I have casper the friendly ghost here.

Thanks for your comments.

You might want to check your camera about the ND filter.

Before I started using HD cameras, my SD cameras' filter wheel was tied to white balance. So one could never use an ND if in a 3200k environment. Although this shoot was at 5600k.

Many newer cameras have filters independent of white balance which is a great tool.

I thought I would add that I just got my CoolLights LED's in today. And WOW they are nice! And bright! I ordered:

1 - LED 600 spot 5600k
2 - LED 600 flood 5600k
2 - LED 256 spot 5600k
5 - CL-LS2A stands for them all
1 - Softbox for LED 600 spot

I was worried about the "punch" these LEDs would have and I have to say, they are very powerful. Even the LED 256 will blind you even at distance. The only thing I'm worried about is how the LED 256 will work with a cookie on a wall. But, otherwise, I'm thrilled with my decision and cant wait to use them!

"The only thing I'm worried about is how the LED 256 will work with a cookie on a wall."

It won't work that well. A fresnel is still great for some uses. Thats why we still make them.

Good question
 

I was about to buy one of the LED 256 to use with a cookie but I did not think about this.
Anyone has a pic of the LED 256 and a cookie pattern on the wall?

Thanks

I have tried a cookie pattern with the LED 256 and it does not work.

The problem I see is that there are 256 light sources, so what you see on the wall is 256 interpretations of the pattern.

Too bad as the temperature lets you put anything you want in front of the lights.

Is there a way that one could condense the light source to be more concentrated.
Kind of like a filter that would condense down the light to a narrow single beam.

A kind of prism filter?

I would like to get my hands on one of those plastic fresnel lenses like they use on overhead projectors. I have a feeling that those could be interesting for changing the beam somewhat. I'm still not sure though that it would be enough to convert 256 (or 600 for that matter) small sources to something similar to what you'd get with one very good point light source like an HMI or tungsten fresnel. Hard to beat those brilliant little bulbs for that particular kind of use. Otherwise, for the other 90% of what you use a hard light for, LEDs can do most of it. They just don't do "shadow rendering" well.

Richard:

Do you have any of the LED 256 in stock here? I may need one for a shoot in Europe I am doing. Need to speak with the client about if we are going to shoot interviews while there. Let me know.

Thanks,

Dan

Heck, I have an old overhead projector, I wonder if I could lay this 256 inside it firing out the glass top and through the reflector onto the wall. The reflector has that lens you are talking about. I could put the cookie pattern on the overhead glass like it was a transparency; although, it wouldn't look professional. For that matter, I could even try taking the thing apart and putting the lens directly onto the 256. Richard, you should get a few used overheads and experiment with that. That's a good idea. I would imagine that whoever made those lenses for overhead companies could easily make one to fit whatever specs you needed. It's not a precision part like eyeglass lenses so i would guess that it would be inexpensive to make.

Yes sir, plenty of them in stock now. Have fun in Europe!

I don't know if it will be enough, it may require distance between the LEDs and the fresnel lens as well. If they're super close to the lens, it may negate much of the value of the lens. And if that turns out to be true, it means having to build a rig that slides down into the accessory slide but puts the lens out a bit from the light. We just need to experiment with such a lens to see if it even works at all at any distance.

Based on what I've read here and what I've been reading about LEDs in general lately, I just bought two 256's, and might have to add a 600 later this year or early next. I'm not a huge lighting guy myself and just use them primarily for indoor interview lighting but these appear like they'll replace the used Arri kit I acquired recently. I still have a couple of CoolLights Fresnels as backup for cookies or something, but if I could get rid of the Arri "suitcase" I'd be happy, and so would my back. :)

Now I just need a case that will suitably carry my 455PMD and the two 256's... :)

Thanks for making great products, Richard!

Could I run the CL-LED600 600 LED Panel on a Sony EX3 battery?

Francois,

We don't have battery adaptation for that battery to an LED 600. You'd need to DIY something if you could find a battery plate that would take that battery. Not easy probably. We only supply optionally either the V mount or AB mount type plates for the LED 600. Additionally you can input any unregulated or regulated DC source from 10V to 24V into the 4 pin XLR input of the LED 600 and power it that way--so something like a battery belt for example. Hope this helps.

Ryan,

Thanks for your comments! Glad to hear it. For the carrying case, if its for air travel, I would recommend looking at Pelican or Storm cases as a starting point.