Your Favourite Lighting Gear

[BenEricson]

The 300d is nice, but there is a bit of a magenta tint from my experience. The Lite Panel Astras are really nice / industry standard if you can afford them. The color quality of the light is very excellent. Very quick and easy to setup.

[User]

Great thread everyone, thanks.

I've been doing things on the down low on this doc I'm on. It's meant keeping things simple, cheap and abandoning them at the end. Simple tungsten heads with a non transparent food plastic bag for difusion during interviews. The sun for everything in the streets.

I'll be looking for that Falcon on the next leg out. The trick will be to get my assistant to use it as natural bounced fill in the streets if/ when required. Let's see.

[Matt Kieley]

After dipping into LED lights with my Godox SL60W a couple years ago, last year I decided to go all LED. I have 2 more SL60W lights, a Falcon Eyes F7, an Aputure MC (my first Aputure light and basically a mini Falcon Eyes F7) and  Lume Cube 2.0 (a decent little kicker light). I might also get the Godox S30 and LC500R.

[Oliver Daniel]

6 hours ago, Vintage Jimothy said:

I had no idea until I saw this thread that Falcon Eyes had released an updated model on their RX-24TDX and RX-18TD flex lights. Have you ever been able to compare your Mark II model to the older original variants? I've been eyeing one of them for awhile now, so I'm curious if it'd be in my best interest to save up a bit more to get the new models. 

Also could you provide any more feedback on the Luxli Taiko? There's only a handful of videos on that light compared to the new Aputure P300c, and while it'll be quite awhile before I could afford buying either one, I'd love to hear input on which light would be the better option to invest in first.

 

I've not used the older Falcon Eyes, all I know are the new versions are waterproof, have built-in effects (which are pretty good!), have a new better ballast which can mount to a light stand, better colors and build quality.  I love it, it's an essential part of my kit now. 

The Taiko is probably the best light I have ever used. I've never used the Aputure Nova, and I was honestly put off by the weight with the hard case.  It's like 50+ pounds, whereas the Taiko is around 20 pounds with the case.

I can compare to the Arri Skypanel which is more similar to the Nova, and the Arri is an absolute chore to transport.  Overall I think the Taiko is better than the Skypanel for 1/3rd price.  The Taiko is just about lightweight enough, very good for a 2:1 light. The Taiko has better colour accuracy and has better punch. The RGB brightness is hugely impressive!! The app is also absolutely fantastic. It comes with different diffuser strengths or you can make the light hard with no diffuser. 

[Oliver Daniel]

2 hours ago, Matt Kieley said:

After dipping into LED lights with my Godox SL60W a couple years ago, last year I decided to go all LED. I have 2 more SL60W lights, a Falcon Eyes F7, an Aputure MC (my first Aputure light and basically a mini Falcon Eyes F7) and  Lume Cube 2.0 (a decent little kicker light). I might also get the Godox S30 and LC500R.

Love the Godox S30, it's an absolute steal. Makes the Dedolight alternative look like a rip-off. Get the projection attachment. Use it all the time! 

[bjohn]

I'll mainly use lights for documentary interviews and small (i.e. duo or trio) music videos. I decided to go with a reflector system; I debated between the three leading systems (CRLS, Dedo Lightstream, and K-flect, and went with Dedo since there's a distributor in my country. I got a small kit of reflectors in different diffusion levels and one small dedolight with the parallel beam attachment (which increases its output by about 8 times). It's pretty amazing. Only one light to plug in but I can get three- or four-point lighting by bouncing the beam around with the reflectors, no need for diffusion (the different reflectors have different reflectance angles ranging from mirror-like to very diffuse), and the reflectors effectively increase the distance from the light source so you get more natural falloff and take advantage of the inverse square law.

My entire interview lighting kit, minus the C stands of course, can fit in one carry-on Pelican case. It's a great system. I could have/should have saved money by getting a cheaper light; that and the parallel beam reflector were by far the most expensive items. The reflectors themselves aren't very expensive.

[Oliver Daniel]

On 8/19/2020 at 5:45 PM, bjohn said:

I'll mainly use lights for documentary interviews and small (i.e. duo or trio) music videos. I decided to go with a reflector system; I debated between the three leading systems (CRLS, Dedo Lightstream, and K-flect, and went with Dedo since there's a distributor in my country. I got a small kit of reflectors in different diffusion levels and one small dedolight with the parallel beam attachment (which increases its output by about 8 times). It's pretty amazing. Only one light to plug in but I can get three- or four-point lighting by bouncing the beam around with the reflectors, no need for diffusion (the different reflectors have different reflectance angles ranging from mirror-like to very diffuse), and the reflectors effectively increase the distance from the light source so you get more natural falloff and take advantage of the inverse square law.

My entire interview lighting kit, minus the C stands of course, can fit in one carry-on Pelican case. It's a great system. I could have/should have saved money by getting a cheaper light; that and the parallel beam reflector were by far the most expensive items. The reflectors themselves aren't very expensive.

Never used that type of kit but it sounds interesting for low key subjects.

On the broader topic, it can be a shame to see so many creators neglecting lighting in favour of constant camera body upgrades. Or using the ISO as a light source 😂. Then complaining the image isn’t good enough. Laziness?

Just off a tangent a little, my daughter was watching Detective Pikachu - the lighting in that film is incredible! Great use of contrast and colour. 

 

[bjohn]

On 8/20/2020 at 6:19 PM, Oliver Daniel said:

On the broader topic, it can be a shame to see so many creators neglecting lighting in favour of constant camera body upgrades

Agreed 1,000 percent. The so-called cinematic look is 99% about lighting; the camera and lenses make a difference but it's minor in comparison. This video in particular drives the point home:

 

[ntblowz]

On 8/21/2020 at 10:19 AM, Oliver Daniel said:

 

On the broader topic, it can be a shame to see so many creators neglecting lighting in favour of constant camera body upgrades. Or using the ISO as a light source 😂. Then complaining the image isn’t good enough. Laziness?

 

 

Probably because no body brags about what light they have vs camera.. 😂

 I am definitely guilty as charged 😅, as I only step up my lighting department last year vs many camera bodies I bought through out the year.

My other friend just got Godox VL200 recently after I tempted him with the result I got from my Aperture lol, and he been doing video for nearly a decade! That was his first big light purchase beside the normal $100 LED panel that a lot videographer buy when they started.

[Matt Kieley]

On 8/20/2020 at 3:19 PM, Oliver Daniel said:

On the broader topic, it can be a shame to see so many creators neglecting lighting in favour of constant camera body upgrades.

I know a couple of guys who bought brand new Red cameras, cine lenses, and gimbals but didn't own lights, or had one or two of those $50 Neewer LED panels you can buy in pairs on Amazon.

[noone]

On 8/21/2020 at 8:19 AM, Oliver Daniel said:

Never used that type of kit but it sounds interesting for low key subjects.

On the broader topic, it can be a shame to see so many creators neglecting lighting in favour of constant camera body upgrades. Or using the ISO as a light source 😂. Then complaining the image isn’t good enough. Laziness?

Just off a tangent a little, my daughter was watching Detective Pikachu - the lighting in that film is incredible! Great use of contrast and colour. 

 

If you can, of course you should always have the best light available or that YOU want same as you should use the lowest ISO you can get away with.

Most of my shooting (both video and photo) is available light though (EG bands on stage) and for that I would get shot if I tried lighting though I have seen the odd video shooter try using small camera light at gigs when their cameras were not great in lowish light and it gets VERY annoying (even more than those that use flash on bands).

 

While I do want a proper light, I have found this to be useful for my needs.    I think it cost me $1  from memory from a charity shop.

 

[Oliver Daniel]

On 8/22/2020 at 1:53 AM, bjohn said:

Agreed 1,000 percent. The so-called cinematic look is 99% about lighting; the camera and lenses make a difference but it's minor in comparison. This video in particular drives the point home:

 

It really is. Doesn’t matter what you shoot on, it’s lighting that will dramatically change a shot, but a lot of the internet think it’s cameras. This seems so obvious but we have to talk about it still. 

[Oliver Daniel]

On 8/22/2020 at 2:02 AM, ntblowz said:

 

Probably because no body brags about what light they have vs camera.. 😂

 I am definitely guilty as charged 😅, as I only step up my lighting department last year vs many camera bodies I bought through out the year.

My other friend just got Godox VL200 recently after I tempted him with the result I got from my Aperture lol, and he been doing video for nearly a decade! That was his first big light purchase beside the normal $100 LED panel that a lot videographer buy when they started.

I do a heavy investment every 5 years, but rotate camera bodies around every 3 years (unless I’m unhappy with the camera). 

I always put lighting is the priority, followed by lenses. 

You can always rent your lighting but you really get to improve your craft by owning them and having a play regularly. I rent Titan Tubes and they are INSANE but you’d really get the most out of them by owning, as the app and customisations are deep. 

[IronFilm]

On 8/22/2020 at 1:02 PM, ntblowz said:

Probably because no body brags about what light they have vs camera.. 😂

If I owned an ARRI M18 I'd be bragging about using it in every IG post I make!
 

[Oliver Daniel]

On 8/22/2020 at 4:33 AM, Matt Kieley said:

I know a couple of guys who bought brand new Red cameras, cine lenses, and gimbals but didn't own lights, or had one or two of those $50 Neewer LED panels you can buy in pairs on Amazon.

There’s a lot of people like that. But to be fair, some people get a lot of freelance work being the RED guy or the C500 II guy. Depends what you do. 

Like with the Titan Tubes, they are £6k for the kit and the customisation is deep. So if you own them, you’d master them and be the Titan Tube guy. Depends on how you want to earn and the problem you solve for others. 

[Emanuel]