Photography Gadgets

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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

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I think the concept is pretty self explanatory. You're looking for a solid Video head with smooth movements for video, but you're also shooting stills and need the Vertical (portrait) position. Hybrid cameras require a Hybrid stabilizer. This new Manfrotto MH055M8-Q5 a.k.a 'Q5' Photo-Movie tripod head gives you the best of both worlds. It's a more professional video head designed to support a bit of weight, so it's not something for the average light weight point and shoot photo/video camera. But if you want to save on the amount of gear you travel with and still have professional results for both Photography and Cinema, it's something to consider (if you can get over the odd look).

Manfrotto Q5 Photo-Movie Head
find-price-button Manfrotto Q5 Hybrid Photo-Movie Head

For you Amazon junkies it will be available via Prime Shipping below

Manfrotto Q5 Photo-Movie Head
find-price-button Manfrotto Q5 Photo-Movie Head

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Just a few months ago, there was a worldwide shortage on these popular LED lights. Now competition must be fierce or the market was all of a sudden super saturated. Recent price drops on both 500 & 1000 LED panels take it down about another $40 bucks. Not a huge or crazy saving, but a discount none-the-less I guess. These are practically the same lights used in this video http://cheesycam.com/cheap-500-led-1000-led-and-z96-lights-in-use/.

These are a small step above the another one you might find, as these are both dimmable through a series of switches, or by a Dimmer Knob. These are also powered with the XLR type connection which means it can be modified to use the V mount batteries for portable use.

500-led-panel
find-price-button 500 LED Video Light Panel

1000-led-panel
find-price-button 1000 Dimmable LED Video Light Panel

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Sanyo Eneloop KitSanyo Eneloop
find-price-button Sanyo Eneloop Battery Kits

I purchased the original set of Eneloops (white) from my local Costco about a year ago, and I have not had to buy AA, AAA, C Batteries, or D Batteries since. The set came with these very cool 'spacer' shells that transform simple AA batteries into C & D size batteries so you could use them on most portable electronics (not to mention all the kids toys and video game remotes).


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Sanyo Eneloop Spacer AA to D size
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Sanyo Eneloop Spacer AA to C Size

Sanyo has also released a higher capacity XX (Black and Grey) Eneloop battery rated at 2500mah, which holds a charge capacity of 75% up to one year in storage. This is not a replacement for the original version. The new XX battery should charge on the original Sanyo Eneloop charger, but if used with the optional 'boost' charger, a single battery can be brought to full charge in about 40 minutes. I honestly don't know anyone using the new XX version, and the (white) original ones I'm using seem to do perfectly fine.

Sanyo Eneloop XX
Sanyo Eneloop XX Batteries

Besides the Eneloops's slow drain abilities during storage, these batteries will power any of your devices up to 5x longer than just standard alkaline. Definitely worth it in the field, and will save you money over time. I've used them with the AA battery adapter on DSLR Battery Grips, LED Video Lights, Portable Audio recorders, Flash Triggers, Canon Speedlights, to Wireless Microphones. It's an investment up front to get started with Eneloops, but i've been rocking all of my batteries for more than a year in constant rotation on the charger, and these have to be the best rechargeable batteries i've ever owned.

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Vimeo member Jesse Blanchard seems to have an obsession with 3D, and is doing a good job capturing it. If you're interested in getting into Stereoscopic imagery, he seems to have a good set of knowledge behind the tech. What i'm more interested in is looking at his 3D beam splitter rig that captures pretty much the same image simultaneously. Very cool stuff indeed. Makes you wonder if that could be a small step to capturing two different video exposures for later converting into some minor HDR (high dynamic range) footage or at least being able to keep the extreme highlights and shadows from clipping. Might be a fun test on two very small point and shoot cameras..

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Just a day ago, I posted about the 800w RedHead kits that were back in stock. The search results also showed a few CFL (Fluorescent) lighting kits too. New questions came about these 5 bulb CFL light heads compared to the 800w halogen RedHeads, but I really couldn't speak on it. I've never had the chance to test these things out ....... - until now.

5 CFL Bulb Lighting Kit

Turns out, these are fairly popular for talking head type interviews for their broad diffusion, low heat, and low power. I was pretty worried that they wouldn't hold up to the same light output, but in comparison, they are fairly close. They specs call for 1000w equivalent, i'm not sure about that, but they do hold up pretty well against the 800w bulb. I have to say, I'm pretty surprised. I was also doing my tests at F/4.5 cutting out a good amount of light. For talking head interviews, you can get your aperture wider.

Keep in mind that CFLs are very very diffused lights, and won't provide the same harsh shadows I sometimes desire on a set like Halogens would. If that's not your style, then these a good choice for basic studio lights. The only Cons you need to be aware of is that they are pretty hard to travel with using 5 large CFL bulbs each, and that they can present flickering if your shutter speed is set at certain speeds. They are dimmable by turning off individual bulbs at a time, so they are also not the most accurate in light control. One thing that is nice, is that they are actually cheaper than both LED lighting and Halogen kits.

5 CFL Bulb Dimmable DImmer Switches

The Heads aren't of the highest build quality, mostly plastic except for the Ceramic area on the bulb mounts. The softbox is a pain in the a## to assemble, so I don't suggest these if you require speed on your shoots. The softboxes don't have a speed ring, they are attached directly to the light heads. You'd have to just travel with the complete head and box. The light stands that come with this kit are of good quality, which I can use on some of my heavier setups. The kit also comes with a travel bag, useful only if you want to break down the softboxes.

5 CFL Bulb Light

I can't speak on the many other CFL heads on the market, but beware of that dreadful flickering. My tests on these particular ones showed you can probably squeeze in about 1/160th shutter which is not great, but more than enough for in studio video. If you're trying to use these for photography, know your limits. In the end, I was surprised, and these are some pretty nice source of lights. Even with the small interior diffuser and external diffuser panel on the softbox, the light output was fairly decent in comparison to the 800w head. I might do a test with a few of these for our next 'Infinite White background' video. These are available in both 2pc and 3pc kits found below.

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find-price-button 2pc. 5 CFL Bulb Lighting Kit Softboxes Lightstands Travel Bag

5 bulb CFL lighting kit boom arm
find-price-button 3 pc. 5 Bulb CFL Lighting Kit with Softboxes Light Stands

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Linda_Le-2
Cheap 3pc Lighting Kit on set with Linda Le

These kits can be found in a bunch of different places, but the ones that come with the soft boxes and carrying case disappeared pretty quickly. They're finally back online and available on both eBay or Amazon. If you're not too familiar with these kits, these are Halogen 800w bulbs each with an inline dimmer to control light output. This 3pc continuous lighting kit comes with three stands, two softboxes, and one set of barndoors and a carrying case. You can catch an old article about these lights and a few samples here: http://cheesycam.com/cheap-3pc-lighting-kit-photography-samples/

red-3-kit
find-price-button 3pc 2400w Dimmable Video Lighting Kit Softboxes

red-head-kits
find-price-button 2400 watt 3 lights Continuous Video Light Kit

Kit + Green Screen
red-3-kit-green-screen
find-price-button 2400w Green Screen 10 x 12 ft Lighting Kit

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Cheesycam GH2GH2 (1 of 2)

Just listed out my Canon 85mm F/1.2L in the classifieds https://bit.ly/e608Tp. There she is seen on the Panasonic GH2 (above). Sad to see her go, I thought of her as a nice collectors piece, but she hasn't seen much use lately. If you're working on MFT (micro four thirds) like Panasonic AF100 or Sony cameras like the new FS100 with a shallow sensor-to-flange ratio you might get the best use out of these old lenses.

Now this FD 85mm F/1.2L is a bit of an oddity and fetches for a higher price, but for other great inexpensive Manual Focus lenses that can be had for less than $30 dollars, check out the link below. Just make sure you get the right adapter for the right type of lens you're looking at. These days you can practically find an adapter to mount just about any brand lens to any type of camera (or course results will vary).

manual-canon-lenses

find-price-button Canon Manual Focus Lenses

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Ring-LED-Light

A new LED Ring light becomes available. This one looks like the same build as the 352 LED Ring light that I've been using, except the count on this comes to 360 LEDs. I've heard rumors about a new improved version that was being developed, but I can't say if this one is it. It sure does look like the same bracket in the additional photos. This one is powered the same via 12V AC adapter or an optional 12V battery similar to the 352. There's a few other listed specs for the 360 that are better than the 352 including dimmable down to 0% and about $70 dollars cheaper. Now time to hunt down a video review..

360-led-ring-light
find-price-button 360 LED DSLR Video Ring Light w/ Battery

Here's the other 352 LED Ring light Version (below).
dimmable-352-ring-light
find-price-button 352 12V Capable Dimmable LED Ring Light