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On Camera Lights

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Hey, guys!

I don't remember if I asked about this or not, so please forgive me if I am asking a question you have already answered for me before :blush:

Can anyone recommend an on camera light for a DVX 100a?

I will be using it just as filler light, to assist ambient light. As some of you know, in October when I was on my shoot, my camera light failed after 5 minutes of usage and never worked again. :grumpy:

Can I get one that will run off the battery of the camera or will I have to have one of those big heavy 'throw your back out batteries' instead?

I don't have alot of money, what indie does, but I would like one that will ma, butke a good workhorse lamp until I become rich and famous :D I am no longer sure how much they would cost I spent about $150 on the Bescor lamp that quit working

....thanks in advance....

-- spinner :cool:
 
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...wow, I am kind of surprised that no one has any suggestions....

When shooting in a club venue like I expect to be again, it is hard to set up lighting because you don't, at least I don't, want to interfere with the performance. And the crowd and band will not want those lights up. Plus, since I want to use mostly ambient light, a big lighting set up I think will take away from what I am trying to make this look like. I will be shooting at night as well. That is why I ask....

-- spinner :cool:
 
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I use the Lowel iLight alternating between a 55W and 100W bulb. I couldn't get the model with a 12V cig-lighter plug so I bought it with the 4 pin XLR plug and rewired it with a 12 V plug, added an inexpensive 12V gel-cell lead acid battery (sold for uninterruptable power supplies). I've even used it as a fill light while doing green-screen work with 2000 Watts of other lights. It works Ok as a standalone light, but only as a last resort. I'd say it looks like you're shooting with a large flashlight, if you shoot in a dark room with just the on-camera light.

It's a relatively inexpensive light, the bulbs are reasonably priced, and 12V power isn't hard to find.
 
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oakstreetphotovideo said:
I use the Lowel iLight alternating between a 55W and 100W bulb. I couldn't get the model with a 12V cig-lighter plug so I bought it with the 4 pin XLR plug and rewired it with a 12 V plug, added an inexpensive 12V gel-cell lead acid battery (sold for uninterruptable power supplies). I've even used it as a fill light while doing green-screen work with 2000 Watts of other lights. It works Ok as a standalone light, but only as a last resort. I'd say it looks like you're shooting with a large flashlight, if you shoot in a dark room with just the on-camera light.

It's a relatively inexpensive light, the bulbs are reasonably priced, and 12V power isn't hard to find.
Click to expand...

...where did you find this camera and how much did it run you? How long do your batteries for the light run?
I understand if I just hook it up to my camera it will drain the camera battery. I figured as much, but I didn't know how much it would drain it.

And how much are the batteries for the light? Are they rechargeable batteries for the light itself or can I just use energizers?

Lots of questions :)

-- spinner :cool:
 
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I bought the Lowel iLight at B&H Photo (that's where I buy pretty much everything)

I use a rechargeable, Lead-Acid Gell-cell. You can get them in all shapes and sizes from a battery supplier. You then have to make your own connections. For $20, you can get a battery that will run the light for about 40 minutes, using the 100W bulb. I've never run my battery down, so I don't know exactly how long I can operate my light, but you just have to select a battery with the amount of power you need, or buy multiple batteries and keep one charging while you're using the other. If you were so inclined, you could use a car battery!

The way the math works is like this ...

A 100W light pulls about 9 Amps from a 12 V battery. Batteries are rated in Amp-hours. A 9 Amp-hour (Ah) could put out 9 Amps for 1 hour; in theory. Never assume you can 100% discharge a battery; it's hard on the battery, and you don't want your light to be dim, so you'll probably get 50 to 70% of the rated capacity from your battery.

The 55W bulb pulls around 5 amps, so you could run it almost twice as long as the 100W bulb. You can easily find a 12Ah battery (I think that is what I am using) for under $30. That should give you close to an hour with the 100W bulb.

If you need a long lasting power supply, and you don't want to carry a heavy battery, you'll have to go with multiple batteries, or spend a lot of money on a Lithium Ion battery, or some other expensive battery. Lead Acids are heavy (i.e. LEAD), but they are easy to recharge, reliable, and work at low temperatures.

I like my setup, but I don't use it often, and when I do, I'm not moving around that much.
 
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...thanks for the suggestions.

Most likely I will go for a couple of the smaller batteries. I find that I need to move around alot and I really don't want to carry around those big heavy ones. I figure, its an investment and I have to say that I am happy that I went ahead and bought the rechargable ones. I have 3 batteries that run about 8 hours (mAh) and two smaller ones. If I am careful I can go all day without being low on battery power.

Also, about the charger for your car.... I have one for my camera batteries. Best money I ever spent. I would suggest a cigarette lighter charger for anyone who has to charge batteries on the fly. And it wasn't very expensive, about $35 from B&H, which is where I usually get my stuff as well...

I guess I have to go back there and look around and find that camera light :yes:

-- spinner :cool:
 
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...oakstreet;

this is the light that comes up under accessories when you go to B&H for the DVX:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...=accessory_detail&addedTroughValue=406855_REG

I am looking at everything. This does not come with a battery, I was wondering if I could get something lighter than what I have been seeing.

...also, has anyone ever seen this camera light?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...999&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

...there isn't any information on it at B&H, so I am going to google it, but I wondered if anyone had any experience with it....

-- spinner :cool:

btw, the Lowel iLight looks okay, but I can't afford that $950 battery belt!
 
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The first link is something similar to the Lowel iLight, but with lower wattage on the 12V side.

Forget the 10W light. I had one like that way back when, and it was useless at more than 3 feet. Even up to 3 feet, it has poor coverage. I think I still have it, if you want it!

Here is a quick snap shot of my light.

cam_with_light_sm.jpg


If you want to use this light at any distance (8 ft or better), you're going to need some wattage, or a very expensive LED light (around $400 ?). The LED light will give you a bright, white light without nearly as much power consumption, and that is the way to go, if you really need to run a long time off of a small battery. Otherwise, in the conventional world, a powerful light with long running time is going to mean heavy batteries.

Sorry, buddy, it's physics. I didn't make the rules. Make sure you can return the light, if you're going to experiment. I've seen a lot of bad lights in my day. I decided on the Lowel iLight because it got rave reviews from people doing similar things to what I was doing at the time. I'm happy with it, but it's usefulness is limited.
 
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Just checked in at B&H to see what kind of lights they still had.
Under Professional Video -> On Camera Lighting -> On Camera Lights, you'll find lots of lights. If you select Lowel (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...ci=2026&ac=&Submit.x=15&Submit.y=12&Submit=Go)
the top light in the list should be the i-Light, and there are several variations on the same theme.

I believe the following link is my light;
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...673&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

... not that you should get the same light I have. Get what works for you. The 100W lights, have enough power to light a dancing couple from 15 feet away; as an example.
 
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...thanks for the advice...

I don't think that I will need very powerful light for what I am attempting to do because part of what I want is very ambient light. My intention is to give the feel and as much of the look of the area that I am shooting in. So, if the room is relatively dark, what I want is for it to look relatively dark, but with good focus, so that you get the feel of the room you are in.

And so to that effect, I am trying to not use alot of artificial light. The problem I had was NO LIGHT. Live and learn, you can't do this with no light. I knew this, the problem was my light, which B&H is selling, stopped working during an important shoot.

What I am going for is not really powerful, just that if one of the people I am shooting has to be shot on a black background, and they have black hair and dark african american skin, I need SOME kind of light.

I will keep looking and let you know what I decide...

In the meantime, if anyone else has some suggestions as well, I am all ears.... :)

-- spinner :cool:
 
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oakstreetphotovideo said:
The first link is something similar to the Lowel iLight, but with lower wattage on the 12V side.

Forget the 10W light. I had one like that way back when, and it was useless at more than 3 feet. Even up to 3 feet, it has poor coverage. I think I still have it, if you want it!

Here is a quick snap shot of my light.

cam_with_light_sm.jpg


If you want to use this light at any distance (8 ft or better), you're going to need some wattage, or a very expensive LED light (around $400 ?). The LED light will give you a bright, white light without nearly as much power consumption, and that is the way to go, if you really need to run a long time off of a small battery. Otherwise, in the conventional world, a powerful light with long running time is going to mean heavy batteries.

Sorry, buddy, it's physics. I didn't make the rules. Make sure you can return the light, if you're going to experiment. I've seen a lot of bad lights in my day. I decided on the Lowel iLight because it got rave reviews from people doing similar things to what I was doing at the time. I'm happy with it, but it's usefulness is limited.
Click to expand...

...how heavy is that thing? :huh:

-- spinner :cool:
 
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The light is not heavy. I think the light weighs less than the anamorphic adaptor on the lens.

Regarding your description of your requirements, spinner, I'm concerned for your video quality. The rule I always use when shooting video is to light well and darken in post, if I'm going for a dark look. Shooting in the dark is going to yield some really low quality, noisy video. You may want to shoot some test footage to be sure the result is going to meet your expectation.
 
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