Benjamin Hilton Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 Hey all, I DP a lot of shorts and documentary work and mainly use LEDs and old tungsten lights for most of what I do. I own an assortment of LED lights including the Aperture Light Storm and some custom built rigs that I use quite a bit on films. My main problem is the lack of brightness punch that these lights give. I understand they are not really meant to replace HMIs, but my problem is that I work overseas a lot in places that I can't rent HMIs very often. My main question. Are there LEDs on the market that pack enough punch to take the lead role in lighting short films? Something that could replace, (or get close to replacing), a 1200W HMI? Even a 650W? I understand I'm not going to find an LED 18K equivalent yet...maybe one day? Just something bright enough for indoor daylight keys, bounced off of muslin or something. Or, any other ideas as to high-output lighting without HMIs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmmbeats Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 I've not used either, but two fixtures that come up a lot for this sort of thing are the Aputure C300D, and the RAYZR 7. https://www.aputure.com/products/ls-c300d-1 https://www.rayzr7.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexTrinder96 Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 I've used the Aputure 120d and it was great, although I would have loved it to be slightly brighter! I believe they are shipping the mark 2 which should do the trick. For my final FMP piece at uni we also used Hedler lights, they were heavy and noisy but had a lovely output! Not used any cametv stuff but they seem to have decent output for the price... (Boltzen line) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmmbeats Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 Yes, 120d is reportedly 20% brighter. I assume the 300d is brighter still though. I've been disappointed with my Boltzen 30w. Heavy for what it is, and low output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy Jones Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 You didn't mention budget. Apparently you have money to burn. This is good because Cineo lights are expensive but super powerful. Crazy powerful. Probably not HMI level, but stinking bright. The are similar to LED tech but it's called phosphor. I've played with them at NAB and also watched Alex Buono recreate a day scene shooting one of these through a faux window in a dark hotel event room. From the camera's point of view it looked like day. They are small enough to put in a suitcase, but very pricey. On the cheap, you can buy outdoor/exterior parking led lights. These lights get brighter, better quality, and cheaper. Last time I looked they seemed to be very powerful, but low cri. You could diffuse or gel. Or maybe they've gotten better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Hilton Posted September 6, 2018 Author Share Posted September 6, 2018 Great options, I'll check them out. Money to burn is relative to the project you are working on? . Not for hobby work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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