Litepanels has introduced the MicroPro on-camera light fixture, a new lamp that doubles the light output of the company’s previous Litepanels Micro. The MicroPro offers luminous, soft, directional lighting and is ideally suited for mounting on an ENG camera.

The MicroPro produces 1.5 hours of continuous output from six standard or rechargeable AA batteries (depending on make) or more than five hours using Li-Ion AA cells. Power can be supplied optionally through a convenient 5-12V input jack located on the back of the unit.

The compact new head measures 5.5in x 3.75in x 1.5in and weighs 10.5oz.

A daylight (5600 degree Kelvin) source, the MicroPro features an integrated filter holder to provide the ability to attach diffusers and color modifiers. Filters not being used at the time can be stored on the back of the fixture. The unit comes with three filters including daylight to tungsten conversion, CT0 warm and white diffusion.

The MicroPro includes a ball-head camera adapter and also has a threaded receiver that enables the fixture to be mounted on a light stand or camera arm.

I am big on Health and Safety, you become this way when you film H&S induction DVDs and film in hospitals as I do. The eye is a very sensitive organ and looking direct into LED lights is as bad as looking direct into the sun.

High intensity LED lights are in my opinion dangerous to use direct into a persons face, if nothing else they leave a terrible after image at the back of the retina which takes ages to go away. (Talking from first hand experience). 

I use LED lighting all the time but if you follow my advice you will not cause problems…

1. As they are heat free you can use stick on velcro at the back of the barn doors, then it’s a matter of applying spots of velcro onto sheets of diffuser and diffusing the light.

2. 1000W LED lights are great for bouncing light or you could attach a white foam board using simple clips and bounce the light if the roof is not white.

I can’t stress enough how bad LED video lighting is when directed into a persons face without diffusion, manufacturers should be aware of this and supply their lights with diffusion. If you have ever bought a hi intensity LED torch you will notice it comes with a warning not to shine direct into a persons eyes and that’s a warning for ONE LED not ONE THOUSAND LED’s !

“The Gekko design team is very proud to have been recognized again as we continue to innovate products for the film and television industry,” comments Managing Director David Amphlett. “Our new kedo luminaire gives lighting directors and camera crews the freedom to obtain focusable high-strength light in millions of colors from a single source. It eliminates the need for inefficient color filters. kedo uses our new kleer-color light engine, a single array high-power LED which can be tuned under software control to a wide range of different color temperatures.”

A focusable spotlight equivalent in output to a 1 kW Fresnel, Gekko’s kedo delivers precise color rendering across a wide range of operating temperatures and illumination levels. As well as primary and intermediate colors, kedo can accurately emulate a high-quality tungsten reference source. It can be switched quickly and easily to produce 2,900K, 3,200K, 4,300K, 5,600K and 6,500K, as well as a wide range of color gels.

Gekko Technology designs and manufactures LED lighting products for the global film, television and photographic industry. Gekko is committed to supporting users with innovative products, including unique functionality and the advantages of minimal weight, low power consumption and long life. High component quality and build quality are key drivers.

Gekko Technology products include kisslite, lenslite, kicklite and george.

Credits include Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Death Defying Acts, Mama Mia, Golden Compass and television dramas including Waking the Dead, New Tricks and The Commander.

http://www.gekkotechnology.com/

The LED 1000 from PrompterPeople uses 1000 ultra bright, 5600K LED’s and has an equivalent output of 1000 watts of incandescent light yet draws just 100 watts. The 5600K daylight balanced LEDs offer full spectrum, beautifully soft light.

LED lights offer significantly further “throw” than a comparable fluorescent light. This is because each of the 1000 LED lights has a 30 degree beam angle lens that directs light forward. This beam angle creates a beam pattern that is useful from 1 – 15 feet.

LED lights are ideal for location work because they are virtually shockproof and offer the brightest light in the smallest form factor. In addition, this new version operates on 12v DC or with the included AC adapter. This allows the LED 1000 to run for hours on inexpensive battery belts, Anton Bauer brick batteries or even from a cigarette lighter output. Their power efficient design draws just 100 watts so there is never a concern with blowing a circuit breaker. LEDs give off virtually no heat so they are ideal for use in small confined areas where hot lights would quickly heat up the room. Price £699 plus vat.

I have 2 of these cracking lights they are produced in the USA by FloLight and are 5600K daylight balanced. I have seen them advertised by Prompterpeople.co.uk  in the UK and now come in 500W (£399) and 1000W (£699) flavors.

These lights are well built, sturdy and heat free. Remember the burnt fingers using the old Red Heads, a thing of the past and the best news is the ability to add velcro to the back of the barn doors and velcro your scrim or colour filters…NO HEAT.

Another nice feature is the ability to dim the lighting from 100% to 25%. I tend to bounce the lights if I have a white ceiling giving a smashing 5600K diffusion with no shadows. One further feature is the 4 pin 12v XLR allowing you to run these lights on 12v batteries, great for outdoor work. A word of caution I find these lights very harsh if used direct with no scrim if filming an interviewee, in fact I will go as far as to warn you not to use these lights direct into someone’s face without diffusion.