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Thoughts on this fluorescent + LED Light setup for mostly Interviews
Hi Guys,
I have done a lot of reading on here with people talking about using some of the Cool lights from “coollights.biz” for their setups.
I need to invest in a small 3 light kit that I can use for interviews, occasional run and gun stuff, and even the occasional documentary situation where a little battery powered light may help.
My favorite light is the Kino Flo Diva 400. I have used this many times (with a company that owned one) and it is a beautiful soft light for interviews & the like. Alas, it is expensive, which is what led me eventually to Cool Lights. I would love to hear more general opinions on Cool Lights, but seeing that I was able to read through a number of threads on this forum about people using them (with no real bad reviews) I figure they are safe (I hope!).
I am thinking of these three lights and would love to have you guys weigh in:
https://www.coollights.biz/cl455p-cool-lights-portable-watt-softlight-p-67.html?osCsid=512ec1a4f6cc218e2465ebc5a5100138
—- This is an imitation Diva lite that goes for almost $500 less than the Diva does at B&H. I was thinking this for my Key.https://www.coollights.biz/clled600-panel-dimmable-p-114.html
—- This is a dimmable LED light that I was thinking of using for a Background light or Fill light (if I needed it). I was thinking of getting the Spot version in Daylight balanced and with the Battery Pack option so I can use it really on the fly. I was thinking Daylight because maybe I would use it more with natural light from windows or even outdoors at times.
—- Does anyone have an opinion on getting this in the softer option instead of Spot? How about 3200 instead of 5600?https://www.coollights.biz/clled256-spot-p-126.html
—– This is another LED smaller light. I was thinking of using this for an edge/hair light and if I ever needed to really run around with just a tiny extra light. I was also thinking of getting this in 3200K. I wish this was dimmable, so anyone who knows of something similarly priced that is dimmable, I’d love to hear it! (especially because this is currently out of stock).Any comments on the following would greatly help”
— Integrity of Cool Lights as a company.
— Opinions on these three lights.
— Opinions on the options: specifically using all 3200L lights/getting some 5600k, Spot v. Flood for the one light, etc.
— Opinions on my ideas of this three light setup in general.
— Brilliant ideas that I am too dim to come up with and will blow my mind. -
22 Replies
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Cool lights is a great company and they stand behind what they sell. Their stuff represents a good value for a very fair price.
That said, what you’re considering for a “starter: light kit is actually pretty limited.
It’s pretty much a “single person interview” kit.
There’s nothing with punch for large areas. Nothing with an defined edge that you can cut and shape. And nothing that you can control beyond dimming.
Essentially, you’re assembling a light kit that does one thing pretty well. Wash relatively soft light over a limited distance from three directions..
So, the kit you’re talking about will be pretty decent for hotel room or office interviews, (presuming you add some kind of bounce fill and use the 600 for a background light) – but not very flexible for much else.
My 2 cents, anyway.
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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This points to a an issue I still see with Fluorescent and LED lighting. It seems harder to control.
I see some hope with Litpanels Sola series but one has to measure the cost/benefit.
https://www.litepanels.com/language/pages/sola_eng.phpThat said, I’m looking at Flolight Fluorescent lights
https://www.flolight.com/Again the issue is control. Cool Lights seem to have 2 way barn doors with an egg crate option. Flolights seem to have 4 way barn doors with a defuser option.
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Hey Bill,
Thanks for your feedback. You still think the LED lights I listed have very soft output even in the “Spot” models? I thought the “spot” model was supposed to imitate more directional lights. I definitely am wary of this setup if it doesn’t give me any flexibility.
If you do still think these spot LEDs are way too soft and limited in distance, what would you recommend?
I am pretty keen on the Cool Lights version of the Kino Diva Lite as a great key that will serve me well for interviews & possibly some other stuff.
The reason I chose the other two was to complete the kit and add some more flexibility in the option of being battery powered. And not cooking the room of course. But I am open to going with something like an Arri 150 and 650 if those really made more sense.
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Hey Craig,
That Sola light looks great, but I read a few reviews and it seems like there are some fan issues. Namely, the fan is too loud and is not constant, but changing speeds often. I am hoping to find an LED setup that can be pretty directional.
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I can not recommend the ARRI Locaster LED light more highly.
At first glance they may seam too small in shape, but I find them very useful for interviews and other reality shooting when pressed to use a small box of lights. They are adjustable from 2900-7000K and +1/-1 Green and are fully dimmable, and can be powered by the mains or on-board batteries.
The thing that makes them most unique is the cover glass etched with millions (?) of micro-lenses which both aim and soften the many LED’s behind them into a single source.
Like all ARRI products, you’ll pay for the privilege!
JS
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I’ve heard mixed things about the fans. I’ve only looked at them in person a few times and didn’t hear anything that would impact audio on a shoot but obviously that doesn’t match day to day use. Alas as things are today, every solution has a drawback but then that’s why a diverse light kit is important. They’re different tools. There’s no “one lighting type fits all” as of yet.
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[Craig Seeman] “Again the issue is control. Cool Lights seem to have 2 way barn doors with an egg crate option. Flolights seem to have 4 way barn doors with a defuser option.
“Craig,
Yes, the barn doors for the Cool Lights are 2-way – but I’d caution you not to think of cutting any LED fixture via barn doors as similar to cutting either an open face or fresnel instrument.
Same with egg crates.
These wonderful tools were designed for the way light was generated in the tungsten era. And while they do have some effect with LED units, they definitely DO NOT work the same.
Each LED lamp is essentially a tiny spotlight. So “cutting” the beam with a solid surface such as a barn door doesn’t actually cause the edge of the light beam to be cut off. All you’re doing is masking rows of LEDs. The row next to the one you’ve blocked still emits light across the line of the door.
In practice, barn doors on an LED only function to the extent they block the entire array of LEDs. So setting up a “box” around the light will keep spill somewhat contained, but it’s largely an “all or nothing” deal. The moment you allow the light from even one row to be unblocked, you’ll see the output of that row of light emitters across your entire scene and the spread of them will be unrestrained.
That’s fundamentally different from how lights have traditionally worked.
No “flat panel” LED should be thought of as in any way similar to a single source light. So traditional approaches to light control just don’t apply.
We’e starting to see more “pro” LED units coming from companies like Arri, but they use LED arrays to generate light inside a housing that focuses that light through a lens to make them more controllable.
But right now, that much more sophisticated technology is expensive.
So if you want the cost, weight and energy benefits of LED – you have to accept that you’ll have to learn to use them properly.
And that means not thinking of them as “the same” as other types of light sources.
FWIW.
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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[Bill Davis] “Yes, the barn doors for the Cool Lights are 2-way – but I’d caution you not to think of cutting any LED fixture via barn doors as similar to cutting either an open face or fresnel instrument.”
I meant their florescent lights, not LEDs. Barn doors don’t do much with multipoint sources such as LEDs as per your comments. That’s why the Sola series interests me. It’s an attempt to make LED as single point light source so apparently barn doors have hard edge cut. It’s at least an attempt at Fresnel like control.
Your explanation of LEDs are exactly why I have some reluctance to use them in my shooting situations. LEDs have very little control (of the kind I’d want).
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Hey Bill,
Thanks so much for your 2nd response!
Your comments on the barn doors and LED lights is exactly the info I was looking for. The units I posted from Cool Lights have regular 4 way barn-doors, but as you mentioned, the flat panel units are not easily cut or shaped by barn doors or the like. That’s good to know and definitely factors in my decision.
I am set on using the Cool Lights fluorescent as a soft key that I will get a lot of use out of. Your response that they are a legitimate company was good enough for me to save $500 by getting this instead of the Kino Diva.
As for my other two lights, I could use some advice. I am a little bummed about not being able to have any battery powered lights for ultra-portability and super run and gun situations. What two other lights would you suggest to complete my small kit?
They purpose of them would have to be 1 to complete an interview lighting kit and 2 to have some flexibility for other applications. Is an Arri 650 & 150 a good choice (or a cheaper but equivalent lights to these?)
So I was thinking Flo light, 2 others I could use an opinion on, and this https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/358636-REG/Impact_R1642_Collapsible_Circular_Reflector_Disc.html for fill if I need it.
Craig was talking about the fluorescent units, but as a comment to Craig, these are best used for a very soft light with very little control. The Kino Flo Diva has only 2 “barn doors” (if you can call them that on these models) too.
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[David Turner] “Craig was talking about the fluorescent units, but as a comment to Craig, these are best used for a very soft light with very little control.”
Which is why I brought up the Litepanels Sola. LED that acts as a single point source. Their Sola ENG looks much like a Lowel ProLight if you’re looking for small run and gun portability.
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