Indie film lighting kit on a tight budget - Are LED sources appropriate?

[Felek Werpachowski]

I'm looking to spend around £1K GBP on a lighting kit for our small indie film production company. I know its an extremely small budget, but compared to what's being used right now it should make a big difference.

I mostly use a couple of tungsten sources (redhead & fresnel) and a flolight dual tube light to cover most things. I already have c-stands. We occasionally rent HMIs if absolutely necessary - generally I have to use the bare minimum.

I'm considering the set of three F&V LED bi-colour panels as I need both tungsten and daylight sources. Generally I don't need hard sources and end up gelling/diffusing the tungsten lights, making their output quite inefficient. We also work in quite small spaces so the heat output can be quite unpleasant.

As we're beginning to shoot more regularly and for longer periods - long days for weeks at a time with quick setups - I'm starting to put 'ease of use' higher up my priority list, hence my curiosity regarding LED lights. I've previously steered well clear due to the various quality/colour issues, but their benefits are starting to look more attractive.

I guess I'm looking for any suggestions or pointers as to what LED lights could work in a 3 part set - or if & why LED might not be appropriate for this budget.

I'm shooting on an MX.

Thanks.

 

[Ben Scott]

My go-to LEDs are now 2x F&V RV300 ringlights, either AS ringlights or more often on stands as regular LED panels. Tiny, light and portable but put out a load of light and the magnetic diffusion filters are ace.

I then have 2 x Arri 800s and a 650w tungsten redhead. Chinese versions are super cheap. If I was buying new I'd swap out one of the 800s for a 2k tungsten.

That, plus some gels, kinda covers every scenario short of renting HMIs. The only thing I'd like to add is perhaps one of these cheapo LED fesnels for spot effects and/or for gobos/cookies. Or possibly a dedolight with gobo adapter.