L.E.D and Fluorescent Work lights as soft light

[Deji Joseph]

I was wondering if its possible to use L.E.D and Fluorescent Work lights as soft light. Originally i planned to use red-heads with chimeras or even a soft box but my producer says its impossible with the budget. Any suggestions are welcomed, i plan to use scrim to dim the light

[Markus Rave]

I don´t really get your producers point since lighting with LED is far more expensive than lighting with tungsten. Anyway somestimes I use a handheld lantern made for car service. The light is very blue and needs to be gelled with a half CTO to come down to average daylight. Then I use some diffusion. The lamp itself spreads very uneven, so for using it undiffused you will have the appearance of a flashlight more or less. Even then an 800W ARRI with CTB and diffusion frame will be brighter and cover a larger area.

 

You could use fluorecents and gel them to the desired color temperature. But they might flicker depending on the framerate you are shooting when used naked without the help of a flickerfree ballast. Much cheaper than LED though.

 

My 2ct.

Edited December 9, 2010 by Markus Rave

[Deji Joseph]

I don´t really get your producers point since lighting with LED is far more expensive than lighting with tungsten. Anyway somestimes I use a handheld lantern made for car service. The light is very blue and needs to be gelled with a half CTO to come down to average daylight. Then I use some diffusion. The lamp itself spreads very uneven, so for using it undiffused you will have the appearance of a flashlight more or less. Even then an 800W ARRI with CTB and diffusion frame will be brighter and cover a larger area.

 

You could use fluorecents and gel them to the desired color temperature. But they might flicker depending on the framerate you are shooting when used naked without the help of a flickerfree ballast. Much cheaper than LED though.

 

My 2ct.

 

Thanks for the reply, sorry i didnt mean the lite panel, i meant this kind,

 

http://www.northerntooluk.com/lighting/240v-and-110v-worklights/230v-led-worklight_060608E.html?afc=ShoppingSite&des=GoogleShop

 

I will try and to screen tests today and posts the results

[Phil Rhodes]

Well, if you're really strapped for cash, I built one for fun.

 

 

 

 

 

Total cost about US$20 plus a couple of hours. Only about 6W but broadly equivalent to one of the small on-camera litepanels. Better, cheaper, smaller, more efficient and easier to use things based on clusters of the larger ones.

 

I call it the Not-Quite Panel.

 

P