Studio Video Lighting - LED vs. Tungsten equivalents?

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Permalink Reply by Tom on March 5, 2012 at 11:17pm

There's a couple variations on LED lighting. There's a concept where you basically multiply 1-watt leds. You'll pay a huge price for these. The problem's I've noticed is 

a. 1 watt Leds have a fairly short range fall-off in intensity. 

b. They tend to have a very narrow range of focus, or diffusion. Unless the designer has angled the LEDs to cover a wider angle, then you get roughly a 70 degree window of opportunity, with 90% of the brightness concentrated within 30 degrees.

c. The diffuse characteristics of the LEDs are not beautiful. 5200k LEDs make harsh reflections on skin, that look unnatural. You can use a warming filter, more for the harsh skin cast as for diffusion. The current offerings aren't powerful enough to carry through a softbox

I recently built a DIY  led light, with a 25w .5x.5" led. It's extraordinarily bright, with a quick fall-off in intensity, and diffuses itself a bit more naturally. The light spreads to 180 degrees. I've never seen these available for sale in stores, anywhere. They are basically ordered directly from China, and you get to rig up your own heatsink, power source, and stand/aiming apparatus, dimming or diffusion. 

For fixed studio and field work, I've never seen anything beat fluorescents. They diffuse beautifully. They are more powerful than all the  LED offerings I've seen. They're cooler. What you gain in all those respects, you lose somewhat in their bulk. However, no softboxes, or reflector screens are required. You can point them directly at the talent, and get them as close as you can without being in the shot. 

Once I have the budget, I'm seriously considering either pursuing the LEDs, or fluorescents. If you're interested, you could PM me for pics of the led, and links for purchase, and assembly etc. 

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