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The importance of Video Light
Film and television lamps are a type of lamps used in stage performances and film and television shooting to illuminate and achieve a certain light effect. How to choose a movie light? According to the type, it can be roughly divided into: LED video light, tri-color light, halogen light/quartz light, HMI, HQI and FRENSEL, etc. With the development of LED technology, LED video lights have become the most widely used and the most ideal popular video light source in the future due to their small size, high intensity, and low energy consumption.
In film and television shooting, the video light is often used as the main light, which to a large extent determines the light and shadow effect of the entire shooting scene. Video lights are so important, but in the face of numerous brands and varying quality video lights, how to choose has become a difficult problem for us. Ledsfilm, as a professional film and television lighting R&D and production manufacturer with many years of experience, its Bi-color, Circular, 2-in-1 Continuous video lighting and 360° Photography series of video lights are highly rated in the market. It has successively become the special film and television lights for Hollywood studios in the United States and Bollywood studios in India, and its quality is evident. So we take the Ledsfilm video lamp as an example to analyze the top 10 things you need to pay attention to when buying video lights, and help you save time when buying video lights.
1. What kind of light source is the key
The light source is the most important factor in determining the lighting effect of the film and television, so the most important thing to know when choosing the film and television lamp is what kind of light source it uses. At present, the mainstream film and television lights basically use LEDs as the light source, but the LED lamp beads can be subdivided into many types, including super bright, bright, full-spectrum, and non-full-spectrum, with various styles.
If users do not know how to distinguish between good and bad LED lamp beads, the most worry-free way is to choose a trusted brand manufacturer. For example, the 45˚ super bright Ф5 full-spectrum LED lamp beads commonly used in movie shooting are one of the most excellent light sources at present. The LED lamp beads have the same standards as ARRI in Germany, and have outstanding features such as high brightness, accurate color temperature, high CRI and long life.
2. Number and power of leds
The greater the number of LEDs, the greater the power and the higher the luminous flux. Luminous flux is an accurate standard that determines the brightness of a lamp. The higher the lumen value, the stronger the light! For example, the Ledsfilm Bi-color film and television lamp used by a Hollywood film studio mentioned above in its studio. The number of ultra-bright LED lamp beads used in this lamp reached 1600, the maximum power reached 1500w, and the maximum luminous flux was 225,000LM, which is equivalent to the total luminous flux of 28,000w traditional tungsten filament lamp, is very suitable for live broadcast or stage fill light in such a large scene. Therefore, when choosing a video lamp, the lamp body of the same size should be selected with a large number of LEDs and high power.
3. Color temperature adjustment
Single color temperature or dual color temperature? Can I install color chips? These are all things that you must understand when buying video lights. At present, most video lights have dual color temperature, and the color temperature can be adjusted between 3200k-5600k. But there are also some film and television lights that have only a single standard color temperature, that is, 5600k. For film and television lights with monochromatic temperature, it is best to be equipped with color films. The choice of color temperature depends on the shooting needs of the film. The shooting range of Hollywood is more complicated, so it is more inclined to choose two-color temperature film and television lights. For example, the Ledsfilm LS-BCL1000 video lamp commonly used in Hollywood has dual color temperature. For product image shooting, interview shooting, etc., we can choose a cold color temperature of 5400k for shooting. For films that need to create a warm and romantic atmosphere, such as wedding shooting, you can choose a warm color of 3400k, easily switch, and play with dual color temperatures.
4. Color rendering index
The low color rendering index used to be one of the most criticized shortcomings of LED video lights. However, with the continuous development of LED technology, the current color rendering index of LED lamp beads can generally reach CRI≥80. The video lamp of the brand Ledsfilm uses more advanced full-spectrum LED lamp beads, which not only has high brightness, but also has a higher color rendering index than video lamps of the same level. This is also one of the important reasons why the Ledsfilm Bi-color series of video lights are so popular in Hollywood. The following is a comparison between the high CRI and the low CRI video lights. The effect is clear at a glance.
The high CRI can truly restore the color, which is an important indicator for the purchase of film and television lights.
5. Power supply mode
When choosing a video light, pay attention to what kind of power supply mode it uses. At present, most video lights support both DC power input and external lithium battery power supply. When shooting indoors, AC power is used. When shooting outdoors, you can use an external lithium battery for power supply. There are also some fill lights specifically for indoor shooting. This type of fill light does not support lithium battery power supply and cannot be used for shooting outdoors without direct current, so you must understand clearly when purchasing.
6. Whether to support wireless remote control and DMX512
The support of wireless remote control and DMX512 for video lights is a very practical design, especially in large-scale video shooting, wireless remote control and DMX512 are particularly important. Through the remote control in hand, the brightness and color temperature of the film and television lights of each lamp position can be controlled remotely, which greatly improves the photographer’s light distribution efficiency. Some movie lights do not have wireless remote control or DMX512 function at the same time, which will cause inconvenience in large-scale movie shooting and stage lighting. High-power video lights such as Ledsfilm LS-BCL1500, HCAN-600 and LS-SPL1500 support 2.4G 99-channel wireless remote control and DMX512 dimming with RJ45 interface. It is very practical in actual lighting, especially when lighting is coordinated with multiple lights in large scenes!
7. Thermal performance
LED lights emit a lot of heat when they are working, and if they do not dissipate heat in time, excessively high temperatures will greatly reduce the overall service life of the film and television lights. Each brand of film and television lamps has different heat dissipation methods. Take the Ledsfilm series of video lamps as an example, the heat dissipation performance is very good. Because this lamp is designed with triple heat dissipation methods, one is an aluminum alloy body and multi-faceted heat dissipation holes, the second is to increase the large heat dissipation holes of the lamp holder, and the third is to optimize the circuit design. Multiple heat dissipation ensures the safety of the lamp.
8. Can it be compatible with a variety of accessories
To meet different shooting needs, film and television lights need to rely on different photography accessories, so when buying fill lights, choose fill lights that are compatible with more accessories. Ledsfilm’s 2-in1 Continuous series of video lights can not only be installed with color films, diffusers, but also with detachable accessories such as light barriers, softboxes, and metal honeycombs.
9. Multi-angle lighting
Film and television shooting requires multi-angle lighting, and the video light must meet this condition. The standard metal u-shaped rod bracket of the Ledsfilm series of video lights has a 360-degree light fill angle, which is very flexible, and it can easily fill light even at a tricky angle.
10. Choose a big brand
Although there are many brands of film and television lights, the quality is uneven. Therefore, it is best to choose large-brand manufacturers for the purchase of film and television lights, which not only guarantees the quality of the products, but also has perfect after-sales service. This is also the main reason why Ledsfilm’s video lights are so popular in Hollywood and Bollywood.
Ledsfilm is a manufacturer with many years of professional video light R&D and production. Its video lights are favored and praised by the majority of photography enthusiasts for their excellent quality, high cost performance and considerate after-sales service.