Feature Article

"New LED Light Products Announcement"

New products introduced by L.A. Color Shop

Posted on 2/28/2010Read More

Blog Archive
2010
Mar 9    Pro 160-LED Light Review 
Mar 9    Comment from Garrett Low of GLow Media Productions 
Mar 7    Can You Find the Photographers?!?! 
Feb 28    New LED Light Products Announcement Feature Article
Feb 22    Central Florida Live 
Feb 13    Backup Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 Presets & Settings 
Feb 7    Comer Site Visit 
Jan 26    Honeymoon Slideshow with Closed Captioning  
Jan 25    Comer 1800 vs NRG Varalux 
Jan 24    Bitter Brother Translating Speech In Reception  
Jan 24    Lav Mic Failed in Action 
Jan 23    On-Camera Shotgun Mic Audio vs Digital Voice Recorder 
Jan 22    Off Camera Lighting with the Comer 1800 on Light Stand Feature Article
Jan 21    DSLR User Comments on Comer 1800 
Jan 19    L.A. Color was Named Top 5 Percent Bride's Choice Award 2010 
Jan 18    BluRay Case Insert Template for Download Feature Article
Jan 17    Commercial Photography Using Comer Light 
Jan 12    Interviewed a videographer using Comer CM-LBPS1800 at CES 
Jan 11    Photos from CES 2010 
Jan 9    'Don't Stop Me Now' Video 
Jan 7    Using Video Light in Still Photography 
Jan 5    Letters from our customers 
Jan 4    Concern of Using Video Light at Event  Feature Article
Jan 1    New Comer Full Product Line Product Literature 
 
2009
2008
2007
 

Blog Home    Join Mailing List

Pro 160-LED Light Review

Posted on 3/9/2010 1:18:00 PM

A Review of the Pro 160-LED light from Michael Liebergot at LV Productions (http://www.lvproductions.net)



Well, just got the Pro 160-LED Light yesterday and did some testing with it. Here are some of my impressions. (Keep in mind I also own the Comer 1800 LED ligiht).

The main purpose of trying out this light was for DSLR use, if needed. While I love my Comer 1800 LED light, it's just too large and heavy to be used on a DSLR.

I tested this on my Canon 550D DSLR, as this is what I was looking to get a lighter weight light than my Comer 1800, which I generally use for off camera and on (video) camera lighting.



Build quality

Ok, nothing to write home about. The body is completely plastic and the mount is sturdy, but would prefer metal. I might try to modify it to a stronger base. Filters are easy to apply and nice and robust. More on then later.

It's much bigger than I expected, but it's nice and lightweight, and thinner in dimension to the Comer 1800. Even with the largest Sony LP battery it' s still much lighter and better balanced than my Comer 1800 is.

Light output

Wow I was surprised! It's bright, and the dimmer works clean and nice.

For good spread you definitely need the diffuser filter on. Without it the light is too spotty. With the diffuser applied I was happy.

I am not a fan of the 3200k filter, it's not balanced well for the LED color temperature, and the light source turns greenish in tint. I would love to be able to get an extra diffusion filter that I could apply my own CTO gel to.

In a completely dark kitchen, throw from about 10 feet away was actually very good.

The light spread isn't as even as the Comer 1800, it's a little hot in the middle and light falloff at the edges are more so than the Comer1800. But more than acceptable.

The dimmer works smooth and accurate.

There are no barn doors to control your light source, so light will spill everywhere. Not a huge deal breaker as I want a wide light spread for wide screen shooting anyway.

Power

This a major strong point of the unit. Using a universal battery compartment, it takes AA batteries (6) and virtually any camcorder battery source. Not a fan of having to remove the battery door cover each time for battery replacement, but I understand why it's there.

I had to fiddle a little with getting my Sony batteries in there, but once I found the best angle to insert them it was a non-issue.

BTW, speaking of Sony batteries, the best overall size of Sony battery to use would be the NP770, as it doesn't add much weight and is easy to swap out batteries.

While the smallest NP550 battery is lightweight, due to it's thin form factor, it is annoyingly difficult to insert it quickly into the battery compartment.
The largest NP970 battery will run for a long time and is easy to get in an out. But you are adding extra weight to the light, as the NP970 battery is very hefty.

So the best Sony battery for this light, as well as the Comer 1800 BTW is the NP770.

Conclusion

Overall while not the best light out there, for the price the Pro 160-LED Light is a good low cost, lightweight solution for DSLR shooting.

For the small lightweight form factor, it has a strong light output, is dimmable, comes with filters, is self powered (no cables), and can run for prolonged periods of time.

While I prefer my Comer 1800 as a more professional light, that can be taken off camera (on light stand) and also on camera (still my light of choice for video camera), the Pro160 is a nice low cost option that I can use as a hair light or for my DSLR purposes.

And for the money I can say that the Pro160 is a steal.
__________________

Michael Liebergot
LV Productions


Comments

 

Comment from Garrett Low of GLow Media Productions

Posted on 3/9/2010 1:18:00 AM

Garrett Low's first experience with the Comer 1800 light.

I really can't say enough on the versatility of the Comer 1800 light. It gave me enough punch but still looked natural to do an outdoor night scene on a rooftop deck in San Francisco. the lighting looked pretty natural for only having one light. It was really windy and really cold up there so we didn't want to pull power and set up a bunch of HMI's.

We also did a scene where the talent was walking down a dark street and had a PA hand holding the light up high walking backwards with them. I was able to dim it enough to get the scene to look believable.

The light worked out great.

Garrett Low
GLow Media Productions
Garrett@GLowMediaProductions.com

Comments

 

Can You Find the Photographers?!?!

Posted on 3/7/2010 5:07:00 PM

It's a challenging game to see if you can spot where the photographers are in the video.

All kidding aside, make sure you pick the photographers for your wedding that aren't "all over the place", or at least know how to use a zoom lens.


Comments

 

New LED Light Products Announcement

Posted on 2/28/2010 3:07:00 AM

New products introduced by L.A. Color Shop

Pro 126-LED and Pro 160-LED Video Camera Light

These affordable on-camera LED lights provides high power output at a fraction of professional camera lighting cost.



For more product information, please visit

Accessory Bar with 2-shoe and 4-shoe

Directly imported from Hong Kong, these accessory bar makes your camera rig flexible in mounting all kinds of accessories.



For more product information, please visit

Comments

 

Central Florida Live

Posted on 2/22/2010 9:42:00 PM

Alex Tabaj from Central Florida Live produces shows using the Comer lights. You can see how the Comer light in action!

"We love the light by the way and if I get a second camera I'll order another one. My Litepanel Micro stays in the box, this puppy is a workhorse.

If anyone would like to see it in action I do a show called Central Florida Live at CFLlive.tv and all the interviews we're done with the Comer lights. We usually shooting in dark nightclubs and bars. "


Comments

 

Backup Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 Presets & Settings

Posted on 2/13/2010 8:10:00 PM

Files and path to backup so that you will always have Premiere Pro works the way you want for a new installation or re-installation.

Custom Presets

Right click on the folder to select Export. After reinstall premiere, select import.

Keyboard Customization

Save your settings in Premiere edit menu, then backup the xxxx.kys file in this location
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Premiere Pro\4.0

Workspace

It's the folder "Adobe" under My Document

Timeline Custom Presets

C:\Users\Takyc\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Premiere Pro\4.0\settings

Adobe Media Encoder Presets (within Premiere Pro)

C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Premiere Pro\4.0\presets>

Adobe Media Encoder Presets (Standlone)

c:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Media Encoder\4.0\Presets

If you are reinstalling your copy of Premiere, make sure you deactivate your copy before uninstalling through the Help menu. Adobe allows two installs per license.

Comments

 

 

Grand World Travel