LED Lighting for Video

[nicklmg]

Amazon: http://geni.us/1Unt

NCIX: http://bit.ly/1RxA6uE

 

Learn more about the Westcott Flex: http://bit.ly/1UjSCOm

 

Brandon takes a look at how the lighting of Linus Tech Tips videos has evolved over the years, and gives a brief explanation on why we use our current Westcott Flex setup!

 

 

 

[StevenSensei]

6 minutes ago, nicklmg said:

Amazon: http://geni.us/1Unt

NCIX: http://bit.ly/1RxA6uE

 

Brandon takes a look at how the lighting of Linus Tech Tips videos has evolved over the years, and gives a brief explanation on why we use the Westcott Flex setup today!

 

 

 

Awesome look at the evolution of your lighting. I am curious though, if there was no budget issue (and there always is), is there another product that Brandon would prefer for his lighting? Also, what if any drawback exist to the Westcott Flex lights? I appreciate that they have a lot of advantages but I would also like to know where they fail to stand up as well. Do they work well with a light box or as a key light for photography (I don't see why they wouldn't)?

[Roawoao]

The main reason the Westcott Flex looks nicer is because of the two tone phosphor LEDs being used to generate a full spectrum of light balanced between warm/neutral light tones. You can see this when you look closely at the LEDs themselves as there is a cross hatched pattern of yellow and more orange LEDs. CFLs are just terrible not only that most in my house they would burn out by literally burning up the drive circuit on the bottom. Now it is all just a mix of LEDs and halogens.

 

Also in cold weather the CFLs will take ages to warm up and some may not even start in extremely cold temperatures. CFLs have to convert UV light into full spectrum light while LEDs typically use blue light which is one of the desired bands of light and just convert some into the rest of the spectrum. This makes the demands on the phosphor much easier.

 

To top it off CFLs contain mercury and in some failure modes they will let out said heavy metal vapours if the tube bottom seal fails when say the driver board catches fire inside. In general I hate Florescent light bulbs the only place they are possibly needed is in a UV water cleaner (No phosphor coating just pure UV light).

[iPolymer]

The LED lighting does make the videos seem more darker, but I guess it works better with differnt content.  

[JulesTKirk]

What about the colored lights used in the background? Are you using 3-Color LED projectors for thoses? Or do you just use filters?

[Marvzl1357]

I could've sworn you said you switched to plasma lighting a few videos ago

[EmeraldFlame]

Damn those are expensive as hell. I watched the video and thought 'Hey those would be nice, I do a lot of photography and have been looking at getting some decent lights anyway' then found the price. It's like $600+ for a single 1'x1' light.

Guess I'll be looking for cheaper alternatives. Heck I might try to track down who westcott get's their LEDs from and just make the light myself. If I can find the OEM manufacturer of those LEDs it would be pennies on the dollar to just make it myself.

[Cyong]

1 hour ago, Marvzl1357 said:

I could've sworn you said you switched to plasma lighting a few videos ago

yeah, I can recall them talking about it as well... Was waiting to hear the LED comparison to plasma.... then it never came...

[oosnyt]

3:19 and some other parts i see flickering... Also if i would buy led lights for video id make sure you can control color temp and can be dimmed. For studio setup id check this one https://www.etcconnect.com/Products/Lighting-Fixtures/Source-Four-LED-Series-2/Source-Four-LED-Series-2-Lustr/ yeah it costs 2000-4000$ per unit depending how many lenses you need... And demo your setup's get high fps cameras to see how bad and where the flickering might start...

 

Also for those who think of ordering DIY kits from china it is a big gamble, consistency of led you get from china is bad which can make your setup look very bad. I give you example which i seen to happen soo many times. You build LED setup from china led's it looks and is working like a it should be hurray, now you want to build 2nd or even 3rd light because 1 is never enough well you order again "same" led's from same vendor and led's are from another patch you can see with your eye color difference and with camera you might even get flicker from this unit.

 

posted this on youtube, but forgot there were real forums as well...

[brandishwar]

For those wanting a lesser-expensive DIY option, the DIY Perks channel showcased such a solution:

 

 

 

[yuriinfo]

3 hours ago, brandishwar said:

For those wanting a lesser-expensive DIY option, the DIY Perks channel showcased such a solution:

He also leaves the link for purchasing a color-friendly led strip and talks about the difference it makes.

Really good video by DIY Perks.

[nicklmg]

5 hours ago, brandishwar said:

For those wanting a lesser-expensive DIY option, the DIY Perks channel showcased such a solution:

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, yuriinfo said:

He also leaves the link for purchasing a color-friendly led strip and talks about the difference it makes.

Really good video by DIY Perks.

Legit! DIY perks is the dopeness.

EDIT:
 

Seems like this video is even more applicable
 

 

[Rolfejc]

Well if anything the video was informative lol. 

[Aereldor]

On 3/23/2016 at 10:14 AM, Papakuma said:

Awesome look at the evolution of your lighting. I am curious though, if there was no budget issue (and there always is), is there another product that Brandon would prefer for his lighting? Also, what if any drawback exist to the Westcott Flex lights? I appreciate that they have a lot of advantages but I would also like to know where they fail to stand up as well. Do they work well with a light box or as a key light for photography (I don't see why they wouldn't)?

I believe the Wescott Flex work as they do due two being able to fade between two tones of white light. Guess who else had that bright idea?

In the words of my forefathers- 'Ballin' on a budget'. I thought this might interest you, as they appear to be very similar to the Wescott Flex lights Brandon talks about- flexible, light LED panels with two sets of LEDs that allow you to fate between different tones of white light.

[Tech Deals]

Thank you for posting this video, very interesting seeing how the pros do it.  Can you please do a video like this showing your camera setup for both video and still images?  If you have done one and I missed it, please link it!

 

Side question: I don't have a fancy budget, so I won't be buying LED any time soon, but if I'm using a CFL soft box, are there "better bulbs" you can buy?

 

http://www.amazon.com/StudioPRO-Continuous-Lighting-Portrait-Photography/dp/B00FG5FZ3Q

 

That is what I'm using at the moment, it was cheap, $100 per box, and bright, but of course LED will be better when the price is down.  If there is a better choice of bulbs for those boxes, please let me know.  If not, well, they'll do for now.