LED video lights

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Z96 ZFlash LED

Well, it appears that the 'Z96 Upgrade' LED video light might not be an actual upgrade. It's just another variation of the product. It also seems that the Z96 form factor is such a popular light, there's even another version that doubles as an external flash called Z-Flash. The flash feature is something Litepanels tried with their MicroPro Hybrid. You can also see Canon implementing continuous LED lighting in the new Canon Speedlite 320EX Flash.

Z96 Zflash

This new variation of the Z96 looks almost the same, functions the same, but has a new sync port that connects to the PC terminal on your camera to fire as an external flash. Who knows how much actual light output it can throw during flash mode, but for a higher price you can find more details following the link (click here).

Z96 Flash ZFlash LED video Light
find-price-button Z96 Like LED Video Light with Flash Feature

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Standing Monopod

Here's a clever free standing Monopod that might be useful for more than just camera support. In the image they show a free standing DSLR with a long telephoto lens which is quite a bit of weight. Packs down to about 20 inches, much smaller and lighter than your basic light stand and with a mini ball head attached, it could also serve to hold a microphone, a portable audio recorder, or LED video light in place. Maximum height is approximately 4' 6".

Monopod light StandMonopod Tripod Standing

Should be able to hold a portable Photo Flash when working on portraits or Macro photography, or maybe just throw a small camera off to the side for Time Lapsing an event while you run around shooting. I guess something like this would also work as an extra stabilizer towards the end of your Camera Slider. The Monopod works as a usual monopod, but if you need it in free standing mode, it has three legs that extend to a fairly stable tripod stand (unlike the small feet on the Manfrotto's). If you're in the market for a Monopod, this might be pretty a cool dual, triple, or quadruple purpose stand.

Monopod Stand
find-price-button Free Standing Monopod With Tripod Feet

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With a new seller online, there's a huge price drop on the 312 Bi-Color LED video lights. Falling approx. $80 dollars off from the normal pricing, this is an awesome light to use both on and off camera. Come to think about it, this is probably the largest 'on camera' LED Video light - and it's color adjustable. To get the most flexibility on this large light, don't forget about the Variable Friction arms.

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find-price-button Variable Power Friction Arm

Unlike the Socanland 277 LED, this one can adjust and mix between 3200K-5600K, and comes with two Sony compatible NPF550 batteries + charger + Carrying Case + Metal Ball Hot Shoe mount + Diffuser Panel. The lowest price i've ever seen it in the world, no excuses, says a few available. Take a look at the video review above, and find it below.

Screen shot 2011-06-03 at 12.49.56 PM
find-price-button 312 Bi-Color Changing Dimmable LED Video Light

Not quite ready for the big 312? The smaller 144 Bi-Color LED Video light from the same manufacturer uses only one Sony style battery (below).

144 LED Color Changing
find-price-button 144 Bi-Color Changing Dimmable LED Video Lights

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1200-led-light1200-led-bi-color
find-price-button 1200 LED Color Changing Light 3200K-5400K

The latest 1200 LED light panel is now being offered in a Color changing model. An added dimmer knob allows the LED panel to switch and mix between two different sets of LED colored bulbs giving you a range between 3200K-5600K. Unfortunately like the other 1200 LED panel, it still does not have the V-Mount adapter to use this off the grid like the smaller 600 or 900. Something to keep in mind - since the 1200 panel uses two different rows of LED lights, when switching from one color over to the other, you'll be cutting the LED count down to half (600 tungsten LEDs and 600 Daylight LEDs). The question you're all thinking about - why not just use Gels? First, Gels cut down light quite a bit, and it's also one more thing to carry. Using a Bi-Color LED light like this 1200 can also mix in between temperatures. If color changing on the fly is an important part of your work flow, you might want to look into these below.

yellowhite
find-price-button 1200 LED Color Changing Light 3200K-5400K

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The 160 LED Video Lights (larger brother of the popular 126) is now old news. You'll find many of the pricing on the 160's coming down fairly cheap, but that could be due to a slightly better version that is now out with 170 LEDs.


170-LED-Video-Light
find-price-button Latest version - 170 Dimmable LED Video Light

I'm not sure if the overall unit has a better build, but it appears to be from the same manufacturer, and the new 170 LED video light will also come with the much better adjustable metal ball mount (not the plastic crappy version). Many shooters picked up a minus green filter to further correct a slightly green cast on these CN lights, and it appears the new 170 version also comes standard with a pink (minus green) filter now.

The older 160 LED Video lights
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find-price-button 160 LED Video Lights

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Screen shot 2011-05-27 at 8.46.18 AM
find-price-button LED Video Light Panel Carry Case

Chris writes in and shares this find. Apparently there's travel bags available for the 1200 LED video lights. It definitely makes it easier to get a handle on and keeps the barndoors and switches from snagging, but doesn't look super duper padded. The size of the bag is 19"L x 16"H x 3"W, so if you've got other LED panels in that range, it would be a good fit. Chris also mentions there's a price drop on the 1200 LED video lights. I like either the 600 or 900 only because it can be optionally powered via Battery. But if you want something larger like the 1200, those can be found below. [Thanks Chris]

1200-LED-Video-Panel
find-price-button 1200 LED Video Light Panel

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Not sure how many people remember the 240 Bi-Color Dimmable LED Video light I posted about a short while back. It was a mysterious 240 LED light that showed up on eBay, and the moment I posted about it, it disappeared. Never to be heard from again. Well these 240 LED lights are back online, and now with some new options. My original 240 LED light from eBay did not come with a way to power it up. Luckily I had the correct Sony battery and charger from another set of lights. This was a huge deal breaker for some that didn't use Sony batteries in their work flow.

OTCM (5 of 5)

This time the 240 LED light comes with or or without barndoors ($6 dollars cheaper without). They come standard with a Magenta (minus green) filter and a metal hotshoe ball mount. You can power the 240 LED light with a single Sony NPF style battery, or a Panasonic with an included adapter. One thing that grabbed my attention was a very very cool AA battery adapter case that turns 6 AA batteries into a Sony NPF style battery. Deal breaker no more!

OTCM (1 of 5)OTCM (2 of 5)

I've never posted such an adapter thing on this blog, but damn I sure did need something like this! A battery case like this can be used to power any other NPF accessory like some external monitors, the 277, the 312 LED, and more. To my knowledge (and i've seen quite a bit), these are the cheapest color changing LED video lights today. As usual, it's on the blog today, we'll see how long they last..

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find-price-button 240 Dimmable Color Changing LED Video Light with Barndoors

barndoor-240
find-price-button 240 Dimmable Color Changing LED Video Light without Barndoors

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I think i've received at least 2 questions/day since this new 'Flycam Nano DSLR' had been advertised online. It's quite confusing since there already is a Flycam Nano that supports DSLRs. This one claims to be better and can handle more weight. Of course it does! It's bigger and looks almost exactly like the Flycam 3000 (far right). Did they just swap the handle and slap on the Nano name because the hottest search term is 'Flycam Nano'? The Flycam DSLR is just about the same price as the Flycam 3000 too. To me it just doesn't make sense.. what do you make of it all?

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Flycam Nano

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Flycam Nano DSLR

flycam-3000
Flycam 3000

My personal opinion is that you should use the max capacity for any stabilizer. If you get something bigger than the original Nano, then you may have to end up adding more weights to the top of the camera in order to make it fly better. So do you need a larger one? Unless you're pushing more weight that the common 7D + Tokina 11-16mm (BTW you can balance a bit more than that), then you don't need to go to the next level. I have several stabilizers and the one I take with me the most is the smallest one I can pack to do the job. The Glidecam HD4000 and Steadicam vest are only called upon when I really need to carry some weight...

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What can I say, it's a kick ass light that's not too big, and not too small. It's color changing to make blending in with other lighting an easier task. It's dimmable down to 0%. Even with the Sony batteries on low, we didn't notice any flickering. The double Sony battery tray keeps it portable, but could be powered through it's built in AC input. When mixing it in with daylight colored lights, this one is our Hair Light on a long boom stand turned to tungsten to add a bit of warmth. These are one of Olivia's favorite lights so far, so we thought we'd give it a proper introduction on build and features. I'll be doing a side by side test against some other common lights soon too.

dimmable-312-LED
Uni Color 312 LED with only Dimmer

There's actually two versions of this light if you don't care for the Color Changing option. Not many people actually carry the second type. The other 312 uses ONLY Daylight colored LED bulbs, and 'Yes' it's actually much brighter than the color changing version which has to cut the LED count down to half in order to be at one color. You can see in the video that in order to change colors, the Bi-Color version has one set of Daylight and one set of Tungsten colored LEDs. Outside of that, the Bi-Color and Uni Color lights are exactly the same. You can find both versions through the link below.

312 LED Video Light
find-price-button 312 Bi-Color Changing Dimmable LED Video Light