K i t Z o n e
lashguns are great for
adding illumination when
and where you need, while
studio or location flash
kits add greater power
and versatility. However,
it’s often difficult or impossible to judge
how the overall lighting effect will look
until you see the end results – and, by
their very nature, any flash solution is
completely useless for shooting video.
LED light panels can’t compete with
flash for outright power, but these arrays
of bright LEDs can be highly effective for
lighting indoor subjects, and even for fill-in
lighting under bright sunlight. A particular
bonus is the ‘what you see is what you get’
approach to lighting, so you can adjust
the position and power output of the light
panel, balance it with ambient lighting, and
preview the exact effect before shooting.
And naturally, as a ‘constant’ light source,
it’s every bit as useful for shooting video.1 Cool running
The latest high-tech LEDs are extremely
efficient and are capable of high-intensitylight output with negligible heat dissipation,
especially compared with conventional
tungsten or halogen photographic constant
lights. They require much less electrical
power and generally enable silent
operation. You can also use coloured gels
easily, without the risk of melting them.
LEDs typically last much longer than
conventional lamps as well, often with
a lifespan of 50,000 hours or more.2 Power rating
The power rating or maximum intensity
of LED panels is generally quoted in either
Lumens or Lux/Foot candles at a given
distance – for example 4,020 Lux/373 Fc
at one metre. The amount of illumination
works on an inverse square law, so if you
move the lamp twice as far away, you’ll
only get a quarter of the illumination.
You’ll need to shoot at wider apertures
and slower shutter speeds or higher
ISO settings than when using flash.3 Colour options
Some LED light panels have a single fixed
colour temperature, usually of around3,200 or 5,600 Kelvin for matching indoor
tungsten lighting or daylight. However, for
the sake of versatility, many LED panels are
made up from an array that includes both
colours of lamps. By altering the power
balance supplied to each bank of LEDs,
you can match the colour temperature
to pretty much any ambient conditions.
Less maximum intensity will be available
when using solely one colour of LEDs.4 The light stuff
Not all LEDs are created equal. Inferior
examples can lack the ability of a natural
light source to give a wide spectrum of
illumination. This can result in certain
colours being accentuated or subdued, and
can make for poor skin tones. The colour-
rendering quality of LED panels is typically
quoted as its CRI (Colour Rendering Index),
where a score of 100 represents perfection.
Standard LEDs often have a poor CRI of
about 80, whereas most that are used for
photographic lamps are rated at around 95.5 That’s dim
To tailor the overall lighting effect, it’s
useful to be able to control the brightness
of an LED panel. You could move the panel
further away from the subject to reduce the
effective brightness, but this would also
create a harder lighting effect, as the size of
the light source becomes relatively smaller.
The output of most LED panels can
be adjusted continuously or in very
small steps, from almost off to full
power, complete with flicker-free
illumination at all settings.6 Mains or battery?
Most LED panels are mains-powered, but
enable you to use rechargeable lithium-ion
battery packs as optional extras. A battery
pack certainly makes an LED panel more
versatile for shooting outdoors, but they
can be pricey to buy.F
Help me buy an...
LED panel
A smart option for stills and a no-brainer for video capture
Rotolight AEOS
£899/$999
This top-quality panel has
a CRI of 96+, delivers power
output of 5,750 Lux at 3ft
and weighs in at
about 1,500g.
Particularly
useful for
video, it
includes
special
effects.Manfrotto Lykos Bi-Color
£330/$370
Relatively compact at 260 x
152 x 40mm and weighing
470g, the Manfrotto is
based on 48 ultra-bright
LEDs, enabling a maximum
output of 1,500 Lux at one
metre. It has
a CRI of
93+ and
stepless
controls.Good, better, best
Three LED light panels to suit every budgetNanGuang Luxpad 43H
£149/$143
This 256-LED array
measures 350 x 240 x
32mm, weighs 910g and has
a CRI of 96+. Output is
quoted as 1,412 Lumens,
and there are
stepless
controls for
dimming
and colour
temperature.132 DIGITAL CAMERA^ DECEMBER 2019 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com