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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Cool Lights LED... AMAZING

I got 4 units from Richard and I am happy with them.
Excellent package for your $$$.
You can also get a battery bracket and run them on any V mount battery.
Did not try it yet, but the Red brick should power it for about 3 hours:)

What Jeff says about the diffusion, applies here as well.
You need it; as much as with any LED lights I know.

All in all great lights to have in your kit.
 
Nope, Jay. . . I didn't go to NAB. But, the thing that is driving LEDs isn't improved image quality. . . it is economics and inherent "newness." Simply stated, LEDs are cheaper and getting cheaper all the time. They are also "new" to the market and there is always the "hot new" factor at work. Tiny little pieces of semiconductor are a lot easier to make than big fluorescent tubes. And they should last longer, too. I see a definite future here. . . just not for me. . . at least not yet. I strongly suspect that others have been and will be disappointed in them, as well.

But, I agree. . . Richard has some amazing products for the money. Like I said, I've got six of his Kino-esques and like them very much.

Stephen
 
Kidding aside, I agree with Stephen on a lot of points. There's a lot to be said for "Kino" type lights. However, I like the LEDs too.

Horses for courses
 
Hi everyone,


Thanks for all your comments and especially Jay for taking a moment to write something. Here's the product in question:

http://www.coollights.biz/clled600-panel-p-114.html


Of course, I'm in China (where I normally hang out to watch over R&D and production) right now working on more stuff along these lines. Think larger and smaller than the current 600 model. Also we're working on a softbox for these using a design that was done by my friend Dan Brockett ("puredrifting" on dvxuser). He beat me to the punch on this and had a great design welded up locally way before I could get to it. You can see what he did here:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=162917&highlight=cool+lights+softbox


1235350231.jpg


1235350294.jpg



His idea was to make a speedring that would fit in our accessory slot and that would fit a normal chimera pro softbox designed for use with a 650w arri fresnel. The thinking was that the 650 softbox size would be just about right. Anyway, I dropped the other idea I had because this one was much better. It blocks just a few LEDs using this design but will work with our type of softbox and rods we use or a chimera pro. This softbox approach is for those that like a big soft source. The other quick and dirty way to get some diffusion with less light loss is just to buy a "cracked ice" type diffusion panel like those used in commercial fluorescent fixtures, cut it down to about 24cm x 24cm (about 9 5/8" x 9 5/8") and fit it behind the barndoors in the little area designed for filter panels. Still another guy just bought a cheap softbox at calumet photo and clamped it to our carry handle on top of the fixture. Lastly, I just had a flozier made up out of 1 stop loss polysilk (with elastic around the edges--looks like an oversized shower cap) and thats another quick way to just stretch something over the barndoors and get fast diffusion.

Stephen talked about it being a very harsh light which is true. If it weren't true then you wouldn't get the fantastic efficiency and throw you get with LEDs. Way more amazing efficiency than you can read about in lumens per watt actually. I talked about that in this article here:

http://www.coollights.biz/wordpress/archives/72


LEDs are pretty much their own category--somewhere between a hard light and a soft light. That means they have more throw than a fluorescent but you can see multiple or vaguely defined and pixelated shadows unlike a single point light source classic "hard" light like a tungsten or hmi fresnel. In a cost per lumen battle, fluorescents or even our economical cdm (para hmi) type fresnels will probably win, but in a portability or "battery use when necessary" category, the LEDs win hands down.

LEDs are also a bit behind the curve on CRI. Think where fluorescent was a few years ago before the manufacturers started getting more concerned about getting the green spike out. They'll advance and get these issues solved eventually. Till then and for this reason its best when mixing LEDs with other full spectrum light to use 1/8 to 1/4 minusgreen gels if you see any issues. Many people using LEDs alone in a controlled setting don't see the issue at all thanks to "white balances" ability not only balance color temperature so its all scaled correctly to show colors as they should but also balance the green/magenta axis as well. To make mixing LEDs with other light a bit more painless though, we're also working on an acrylic filter panel set that are durable and just the right size to slip down behind the barndoors in the accessory slot.


As I said, we have more similar products coming and we'll have some other product intro specials about a month or two before the products are coming and a month or so after they hit like we did with the LED 600. I hesitate to give a date though right now as when I do, it seems life conspires to make things take longer than we expected. But, we never see that happen with any other vendors do we?
 
I have another shoot on Friday, and I intend to work the lights a little hard then.. Stronger diffusion, farther back from talent. Stuff like that.

I'm going to see what the deal is for no filter, and a 5.6.

Wanna see how soft I can get it.

Jay
 
But remember, Jay, the farther back you go, the harder that light will become.

But, honestly, if you like those pups, I'm glad for you. I sort of like Richard's idea of a softbox for them, but then you're losing a lot of your efficiency. I guess I'm just a stick in the mud. It's certainly not the first time that's been said of me, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

Sometimes I wonder why I bought a RED instead of an Arri 35. And then I remember. . . oh, yeah. . . it was THE MONEY!

:-)

Stephen
 
I hear ya Stephen, and the Kinos are still on the cart, but I like new toys. I LOVE accessory Porn, and King Richard makes good stuff!

I'm gonna play with this a bit, but I sure would love to figure out a way to get the softbox on there.
 
I like that, Jay. . . "sort of."

What YOU have and I want. . . and want desperately, is that Birger/Impero combination.

I'm waiting with baited breath for that thing.

Of course, that means I'm going to have to switch lenses (from Nikon to Canon), but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Good luck with the softboxes. . .

Stephen
 
Stephen Pruitt said:
I guess I'm just a stick in the mud.
Click to expand...

Nah. With 90+ CRI 5500k 85watt screw in CFL's out there for $25 (like a 325watt soft box) LED's just don't have the bang for the buck quite YET. But I haven't tested the unit in this thread so I could be wrong. I might love it.

I'm more interested in RGB LED Pars for throwing colors around. Not sure where to find them with RGB controls right on the unit though. I have this fantasy of being able to light background and accent lights from a portable wireless DMX control panel on any location. I've seen some products that are heading that direction.
 
It's not perfect.

It's not perfect.

Here's a pic.. Shoud explain what I am doing.. Blocks lots of bulbs, but like I said it works.

It's a hold over until Richard's is done.

Jay
 
I like my cool lights LEDS as well and I also diffuse them heavily. But one thing
I would like to see is a little better CRI. Mine tend to run a bit green so I need a
bit of minus green to get them right.

My vote is for More power Richard!!
 
Richard, what is the delivery time for the LED600 to Los Angeles?

I've been in need of a portable Vlock powered light for guerilla exterior location shooting but don't want to spend the ridiculous 1k for a 12x litepanel.

Looks like a great little light - the expectedly low CRI ofcourse.
 
Jay A. Kelley said:
Here's a pic.. Shoud explain what I am doing.. Blocks lots of bulbs, but like I said it works.

It's a hold over until Richard's is done.

Jay
Click to expand...

Interesting how that adapts to the stand differently through the speedring then you used our stand adapter to mount the speedring. Another cool idea.
 
Alexander Nikishin said:
Richard, what is the delivery time for the LED600 to Los Angeles?

I've been in need of a portable Vlock powered light for guerilla exterior location shooting but don't want to spend the ridiculous 1k for a 12x litepanel.

Looks like a great little light - the expectedly low CRI ofcourse.
Click to expand...

Delivery time is about 2 days from Reno where we ship most stuff from.

CRI. While I understand that some manufacturers / dealers put specs on their site indicating 90 CRI or higher, I think you'll find that "mono color" daylight LEDs are pretty much for the most part not full spectrum and therefore not capable of higher CRI at this time. Even some tungsten colored LEDs are capable of a higher CRI than the daylight equivalents. Look at the specs of even the most expensive daylight range 5mm or 1W single LEDs and you'll see what I mean. Seems hard for them to get above 80 CRI and below that is common too. Will they be better eventually? Sure, it just takes time.

Regardless of whether a fixture manufacturer tells you its CRI 90 or higher, if you need a minus green gel to mix it with other lighting its not really CRI 90 or higher. The very definition of a higher CRI light is one that's well balanced in its green / magenta axis without any extra outside help. Its pretty amazing how other competitor fixtures advertise such high specs then users across the net will proclaim, "its a bit green, but its CRI 90!" Two things that are in direct opposition.

The more expensive LED fixtures simulate a full spectrum through using RGB LEDs or at the very least two colors of LEDs (tungsten and daylight most commonly). These types mix very well with other lighting without the need for any other filters. Of course, those have their own drawbacks like multiple color shadows if too close to the subject, etc.

The best solution will be to make daylight LED that's as much full spectrum as some fluorescents are today as well as HMI too. How far off that is, I'm not sure.
 
Paul Hazlett said:
I like my cool lights LEDS as well and I also diffuse them heavily. But one thing
I would like to see is a little better CRI. Mine tend to run a bit green so I need a
bit of minus green to get them right.

My vote is for More power Richard!!
Click to expand...

You've got it coming Paul! Look for an LED 1200 and higher in the near future.
 
Hi Miltos.

LED 1200 will be double the specs of the LED 600. In our portable flo package and will be a little larger than our CL-255P but not quite as large as a CL-455P. Less of a square fixture like the 600 and more rectangle. Lollipop mounting on back. More lightweight than our fluorescent portable models. Sometime this summer is all I can say at the moment. Hopefully July or so.
 
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