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Author Topic: LED lights Versus Strobe  (Read 5334 times)

maxs

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LED lights Versus Strobe
« on: September 29, 2016, 01:58:01 pm »

I am thinking about upgrading my good old AcuteB 600 for a while and keep going back and forth between Profoto B1 and Broncolor (Siros L).

However whilst surfing the web I came across the LED light sticks (e.g., Ice Light 2).

Am I talking 2 different worlds here or can the LED light (obviously continuous light) replace the strobes?

I am primarily looking at Fashion type applications outdoor and indoor.

Any opinions appreciated.
« Last Edit: September 29, 2016, 03:44:16 pm by maxshafiq »
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TonyVentourisPhotography

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Re: LED lights Versus Strobe
« Reply #1 on: September 29, 2016, 07:47:47 pm »

Depends on what you are actually trying to do with the light.  I have a Polaroid knock off of the ice lights, but it's quite bright.  I love them, but I use them as accents, quick portrait lights,  and for specialized fill in my architectural work.  Honestly, I much prefer a strobe.  The  flexibility to use grids, bare bulb, parabolic, and other modifiers is nice.  Then again, I do commercial and every client wants something different. 

The ice light is similar to other leds though, you won't be doing an outdoor or indoor portrait at f/11 iso100 with a medium to fast shutter.  If you shoot wide open portraits and need and. Are capable of getting closer with the light and can manage moderate shutter speeds they work great.  I also seem to pull the the light a lot for product accents.
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JoeKitchen

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Re: LED lights Versus Strobe
« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2016, 12:56:17 pm »

Comparing continous lighting to strobes is rather difficult.  Strobes release all of their light in an instant, and getting the same effect with continuous lighting will either require lots of power, high ISO and/or a longer exposure. 

LEDs can provide a very bright light source, for continuous lighting, but when compared to strobes, strobes still rein king.  I just did a quick search on the Ice Light and I can not find how many lumens it releases at full power, so an accurate comparison to a 600 W/S flash is not possible.  However, I have to assume there would need to be a large compromise with exposure and ISO. 

Additionally, you have to ask yourself, how are you going to use this?  Strobes are very versatile and can accept many different light modifiers, producing many looks.  This light appears to only be able to be used in one way, giving you only one look to work with.  Being such, I would not invest in this for a main light. 

Last, personally I hate LED lights.  They have a discontinuous spectrum and are missing more then 50% of the colors.  This makes working with LEDs difficult in regards to color and tones.  I know photo LEDs are made better then standard use LEDs, but as an architectural photography, dealing with LEDs used in projects in post is very annoying.   
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UlfKrentz

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Re: LED lights Versus Strobe
« Reply #3 on: October 01, 2016, 05:45:33 am »

I am thinking about upgrading my good old AcuteB 600 for a while and keep going back and forth between Profoto B1 and Broncolor (Siros L).

However whilst surfing the web I came across the LED light sticks (e.g., Ice Light 2).

Am I talking 2 different worlds here or can the LED light (obviously continuous light) replace the strobes?

I am primarily looking at Fashion type applications outdoor and indoor.

Any opinions appreciated.

I´m using continuous lights (HMI) and strobes, love both ways of lighting. But for outdoor use and specially fashion like work strobe is much more versatile hands down. To give you more food of thought I´ll add the broncolor move to the mix, they just added a high speed sync function which seems to make this unit the sweet spot for now.

brianrybolt

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Re: LED lights Versus Strobe (Power Rating)
« Reply #4 on: October 29, 2016, 12:47:33 pm »

Comparing continous lighting to strobes is rather difficult.  Strobes release all of their light in an instant, and getting the same effect with continuous lighting will either require lots of power, high ISO and/or a longer exposure. 

LEDs can provide a very bright light source, for continuous lighting, but when compared to strobes, strobes still rein king.  I just did a quick search on the Ice Light and I can not find how many lumens it releases at full power, so an accurate comparison to a 600 W/S flash is not possible.  However, I have to assume there would need to be a large compromise with exposure and ISO. 

Additionally, you have to ask yourself, how are you going to use this?  Strobes are very versatile and can accept many different light modifiers, producing many looks.  This light appears to only be able to be used in one way, giving you only one look to work with.  Being such, I would not invest in this for a main light. 

Last, personally I hate LED lights.  They have a discontinuous spectrum and are missing more then 50% of the colors.  This makes working with LEDs difficult in regards to color and tones.  I know photo LEDs are made better then standard use LEDs, but as an architectural photography, dealing with LEDs used in projects in post is very annoying.   


Product description found on the Amazon site:   After partnering with internationally recognised wedding photographer Jerry Ghionis in 2012, Westcott introduced the Ice Light to the photography and filmmaking community. The Ice Light was the first ever portable LED light source developed for handheld use on-set, on-location, and in-studio. The Ice light quickly became one of the most sought after light sources within the industry. Ice Light 2 is engineered with patented new LED technology offering 50% brighter output than the original Ice Light and 1,740 lumens of beautiful daylight-balanced light while maintaining a compact housing. Weighing a mere 567 grams, the Ice Light 2 can be easily operated with one hand, giving photographers and filmmakers the ability to simultaneously shoot and light their subjects.

Unlike traditional LED panels, the Ice Light has a built-in diffuser that is custom-designed to protect the LEDs and provide a vast 72.6 beam angle. This casts a large spread of incredibly soft quality light.

The Ice Light 2s LEDs feature the advantages of high efficiency and colour purity with low energy consumption and long lifetime. Daylight-balanced at 5500K and rated for 50,000 hours with a stunning Colour Rendering Index (CRI) of 96 meaning the subject will be presented in near perfect light also the Ice Light 2 provides flicker-free output and stable light consistency perfect for photographers and videographers alike.

JoeKitchen

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Re: LED lights Versus Strobe (Power Rating)
« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2016, 01:50:19 pm »


Product description found on the Amazon site:   After partnering with internationally recognised wedding photographer Jerry Ghionis in 2012, Westcott introduced the Ice Light to the photography and filmmaking community. The Ice Light was the first ever portable LED light source developed for handheld use on-set, on-location, and in-studio. The Ice light quickly became one of the most sought after light sources within the industry. Ice Light 2 is engineered with patented new LED technology offering 50% brighter output than the original Ice Light and 1,740 lumens of beautiful daylight-balanced light while maintaining a compact housing. Weighing a mere 567 grams, the Ice Light 2 can be easily operated with one hand, giving photographers and filmmakers the ability to simultaneously shoot and light their subjects.

Unlike traditional LED panels, the Ice Light has a built-in diffuser that is custom-designed to protect the LEDs and provide a vast 72.6 beam angle. This casts a large spread of incredibly soft quality light.

The Ice Light 2s LEDs feature the advantages of high efficiency and colour purity with low energy consumption and long lifetime. Daylight-balanced at 5500K and rated for 50,000 hours with a stunning Colour Rendering Index (CRI) of 96 meaning the subject will be presented in near perfect light also the Ice Light 2 provides flicker-free output and stable light consistency perfect for photographers and videographers alike.

Thanks, but I still highly prefer not to use LED lights. 

I reviewed spectral data on a few and I am always surprised by how few colors they emit.  For some types of work, it may not matter, for me, it is unacceptable. 
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StoryinPictures

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Re: LED lights Versus Strobe
« Reply #6 on: December 05, 2016, 08:13:51 pm »

Photographing people, there are some significant limitations and a few significant advantages.

I got these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0119EO0MY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I found this comparison between the Ice Light and the one I bought useful. You will see comparisons using a mannequin head later in the video which give you an idea of how powerful they are compared to each other and also the quality of light. The exposure data gives you an idea how much output you can expect.

Another comparison between the Ice Light and another, similar knock-off:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ayDovpnDtmc

This video gives some insight into how one photographer uses these lights.

The good: you can see what you are getting, it is much quicker to use, even an untrained assistant can usually hold it correctly with little instruction and if they get it wrong, you will see from the light on the model (where your attention is) instead of when you look at the shot after.  The quality of the light is good. Very easy to get the "high window" effect. Also easy to conceal in small places. It can actually be used for a little extra light outdoors in the shade, but it is subtle--improves the quality but it is not going to become the key light by any stretch :). The one I got runs off of standard, inexpensive Sony camcorder batteries and came with a tungsten adapter (plastic tube) and detachable barn doors.

Not so good: can be bright in the models eyes (there are ways to manage this--turn it on at lower power facing away, warn them its bright and then introduce it), does not provide much power compared to a flash.

The disadvantage list is short but should be carefully considered. Lower shutter speeds, larger apertures and higher ISO levels you wouldn't need with a strobe.

I find it useful but it isn't replacing a strobe :).

There are some interesting LED units which aim to serve as monolights, some including Bowens mounts.  These seem promising, some claiming to have power at the level if 1K tungsten lights and CRI numbers as high as 95 (good color).  This is significant. It's still not at the level of strobes, but it's pretty usable and we don't always want or need the power of strobes.

Strobes give motion stopping and the ability to vary against ambient by shifting shutter speed and aperture separately.

LED and other continuous sources show you what you are going to get. This is especially helpful with carefully placed hard sources. Think of Hurrell's Hollywood portraits.



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TonyVentourisPhotography

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Re: LED lights Versus Strobe
« Reply #7 on: December 07, 2016, 08:04:48 am »

Paul buff just recently released the new digi bees.  320 w/s strobe with a 400watt equivalent led modeling light. 

Digibee 800

They look very interesting and could serve dual purpose.  I use the Einstein lights and love them.  these could make excellent additions.  I might seriously take a look in the coming year.
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