Affordable LED lights briefly compared.

[heart0less]

Now with a human subject.

Everything done by myself - so those screen grabs may be slightly out of focus.

Alright, here are the results:

No key light, only Neewer CN 176 giving some background. Partially geled with an aqua foil. Power @10%
f/1.4 , 1/60 s, ISO 1000 (can't get any lower when recording HLG video), WB - 3700K

 

Next - adding a key light. Approximately 2.6 m (~8.5 feet) away from me.

Yongnuo YN-300 III 5500K @1% power
f/1.4 , 1/60 s, ISO 1000, WB - 3700K

No light modifiers in front. I didn't point it straight at myself, it was rather feathering me.

 

YN-300 @10% power
f/1.4 , 1/60 s, ISO 1000, WB - 5700K

 

And @100% 
f/1.4 , 1/125 s, ISO 1000, WB - 5700K
I used an external monitor with false colors to match the exposure on my skin.

All walls in my room are white and it's really showing here - the light is bouncing everywhere and the depth is gone.
What's more, I think the colors are more yellow-ish?

 

 

Finally -  two of the four LED bulbs I teased you with earlier.
Each rated @17W, though in reality they aren't as powerful as one would expect.
Key feature: >95 CRI

I put them in a reflective umbrella (95 cm diameter), pointing at the back of it, and then hung one layer of a diffusion cloth in front and a grid to make the light more directional.
Just like this:

Since there is no way to dim them (I can only turn them on or off), they were blasting at their full power.
And once again - not pointed directly at me and around 2.5 m away.

f/1.4 , 1/60 s, ISO 1000, WB - 3700K

 

I like the color rendition and the quality of light here.

I only wish these bulbs were more punchy..
Sure, I realize that the gridded umbrella may cause around 2 stops light loss (I haven't measured it) and that I used 2 bulbs out of 4, but still.

 

Though, if I was a YouTuber, I think a setup like this would be sufficient.
No need to overpower the sun when you record in your own room, right?

 

Total costs of the final setup, if that interest you:

Neewer CN-160 ~15$
An aqua gel ~2$
Light stand ~20$
Four socket bulb holder (~10$) and 2 bulbs (~4$ for each)
95cm umbrella softbox with grid ~35$

All in all: 90$
Not bad, I guess?

 

Also: I need haircut.

[heart0less]

A simple talking head setup - check!

Only 1 bulb (out of 4) used and - okay, I admit it - it was a bit too bright to my liking in this scenario.
Don't ignore inverse square law, lads and guys!

The key light was ~ 50 cm away from me.

f/1.4 , 1/160 s, ISO 1000, WB - 4000K

 

BTS:

 

[leslie]

On 5/10/2020 at 4:18 AM, heart0less said:

A simple talking head setup - check!

Only 1 bulb (out of 4) used and - okay, I admit it - it was a bit too bright to my liking in this scenario.
Don't ignore inverse square law, lads and guys!

The key light was ~ 50 cm away from me.

f/1.4 , 1/160 s, ISO 1000, WB - 4000K

 

BTS:

 

nicer image in this second post, and you don't look like a deer caught in the headlights either, like those first photos

[Mark Romero 2]

Thanks for posting, @heart0less

[heart0less]

2 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Thanks for posting, @heart0less

Anytime! 

I had a great learning experience, so this was of mutual benefit. 

[Thpriest]

Interesting. I've been using the Yonghuo 5500 mk3 (have a bicolour as well) as they seem to offer the best brightness/lightweight/small/price balance. I usually try to stick everything in one backpack (2 cams, lenses, sound, small lighting kit) as there are many thieves about and you can't have kit lying about in event jobs here.

Always looking for smaller and more powerful lights!