Perfect lighting kit in a backpack. Aputure Amaran AL-F7.

[amsh89es335]

I put together a Interview Lighting kit that fits all into a backpack including 3 light stands, batteries, chargers and umbrellas. Got to test it out Saturday night and its perfect for interviews when traveling and I believe everything should be safe to carry on a plane. The new Aputure Amaran AL-F7 on camera LED light' have a very good energy efficiency when set at 55k color temperature and along with the GH5S and A7S Mk ii low light capabilities got me thinking about making a very useful scaled down lighting kit for travel. 

I am using 4x Aputure Amaran AL-F7 LEDs with batteries. Each NP970 battery is getting little over 2.5hrs on a full charge. I have 10 in the kit giving me at least 5hrs of battery life plus 2 extra when running all 4 lights at 100%.

In the images below I have some screen grabs from the interview I did last Saturday. I got with my GH5S with the Metabones Speed Booster F2 at ISO 400 with V-Log. The close up shot was with the A7S MK II at ISO 2000 with F2.8 while being 1 stop over exposed for SLog.

I did a lot of looking around and for diffusing the key and fill and the best thing for being fast and compact enough to fit with in the backpack were Westcott Collapsible umbrella.

So even though I own a lot of lighting and grip gear I can find myself using this very often. Air Travel would be a big one. Cramped spaces like offices or small living rooms for interviews. But also when I do documentaries sometimes the subject being interviewed can be intimated by lots of lighting and grip gear. This would give me the freedom to make the subject feel comfortable. 

The kit with everything in the list below was $1050.

Let me know what you think, if you have any questions or suggestions for improvements. 

Here is the list of everything in the kit:

4X Aputure Amaran AL-F7 On-Camera Variable Color LED Light (3200 to 9500K)

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1400467-REG/aputure_amaran_al_f7_on_camera_led.html?sts=pi

Lowepro S&F Transport Duffle Backpack (only backpack under 100 that fit the length of the light stands.)

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/736044-REG/Lowepro_LP36261_PAM_S_F_Transport_Duffle_Backpack.html

3x Kupo Handy Stand (7.4')

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/840712-REG/Kupo_KS041011_Steel_Baby_Boom.html?sts=pi

2x Westcott Optical White Satin Diffusion Umbrella  collapsible (43")

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/63314-REG/Westcott_2001_Collapsible_Umbrella_Optical.html

Westcott 43" White Umbrella, Collapsible

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/501164-REG/Westcott_2011_43_White_Umbrella_Collapsible.html

BUBM Electronic Organizer Travel Gear Bag(3pcs/Set/L,M,S), Cord Organizer(Black)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075Q58KCT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

5x Wasabi Power Battery (2-Pack) and Charger NP-F970 (10 all together)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FPZY0BK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

3x NP-F970 USB Dual Digital Battery Charger

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GPEREXU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02__o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

ChromLives Dual Flash Bracket Hot Shoe Speedlight Stand Umbrella Holder (Used this to double the LED panels as the key light)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FYF8GXV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

ChromLives Flash Bracket Hot Shoe Speedlight Stand Umbrella Holder 2 Pack

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07317T52Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

3-Pack 3-Outlet Grounded Power Cube Wall Tap

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LY5WZVT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03__o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

AmazonBasics 6-Outlet Surge Protector Power Strip

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TP1C51M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Coiii]

Great kit! I really love portable lights. I have the Aputure LS20 kit (3 little fresnel lights with tripods, batteries, etc) and it's great for a small "set" like an interview with one person talking to camera. It's also great because you can power via the power cable or batteries, and are so small that can fit almost everywhere.

I'll take a look to that lights, maybe they are a good complement to my more directional portable fresnels

[kye]

The end results speak for themselves!  Nice work

[Matt Holder]

looking good - i have been experimenting with the gh5s at high isos (3200 and 6400) and using the lights on dialled down settings - and you get great run time on set.- and as the lights 

run at lower power percentages they look a bit more diffused too. High iso performance changes the game in terms of overall gear footprint and set up times / practicalities. 

It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on high iso shooting and its subsequent  effect on lighting requirements.

[BenEricson]

Looks nice. I love a compact setup.

Do you shoot mostly at night or in low luminance areas? It can be a struggle to compete with natural light in a bright space, having a few 5/1s can a life saver to create a nice look. 

[Kisaha]

I am wondering what would be appropriate to give a couple - or three - of more stops, on a still portable set.

A similar set but for 4-5.6f/400ISO. Obviously a larger light and with, let's say, double-triple the money.

[amsh89es335]

 

30 minutes ago, BenEricson said:

Looks nice. I love a compact setup.

Do you shoot mostly at night or in low luminance areas? It can be a struggle to compete with natural light in a bright space, having a few 5/1s can a life saver to create a nice look. 

The goal of the kit was for indoor use or night time wouldn't be much help with on a sunny day. Maybe one day lights will be the efficient. 

[salim]

I have also traveled with this. It's a great light. In addition I also traveled with the LS -mini. The tight spotting works really well to give you more light for size than anything else. I also take the Luxlis as well. 

[kye]

3 hours ago, BenEricson said:

Looks nice. I love a compact setup.

Do you shoot mostly at night or in low luminance areas? It can be a struggle to compete with natural light in a bright space, having a few 5/1s can a life saver to create a nice look. 

Would it also limit your ability to control practicals too?  Eg, if you wanted to have a practical be a subtle thing in the background, you would only be able to overpower it to a certain degree.  

BUT, if you aren't competing with other lights then it makes sense to me!

[LucidOwl]

This is a super helpful post--thanks for this!

Curious why you went with the F7s over the 672s (or even the 528s)? Supposedly, the 672s produces 6k+ lux vs. 3k for two f7s combined. The 672s also comes with 2 NPF-970 batteries, AC adapter and remote for $278 (versus $200 for a pair of F7s). The footprint is about the same and while the beam angle is tighter (25 degrees vs. 45 for the F7), the umbrella should help spread it out a bit. Only real advantages to the F7 (from what I can tell) is the ability to split them up and battery life (but only 50-60% the output of the 672 and about 75% of the 528). Welcome your thoughts and thanks again!