Over the past couple of years we have been reviewing and testing gear internally for quite a few gear makers. Most of that camera gear made it successfully to market, but a few products didn’t thanks in part to our input as real world gear users.
Vision Wrangler and Cinescopophilia are pleased to announce that we are now selectively reviewing / testing / trying out camera gear publicly, starting with two High CRI LED 1024 lights from Came-TV.
Now we are not just receiving gear and churning out a post within a day of getting it. We prefer to use the gear on the job for a good while so we can push it around.
We will also be including what we call The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in our gear reviews.
So we have tested for four months the Came-TV L1024D 5600K 1024 LED and the L1024S Came-TV Bi-Colour LED 1024 light which is 3200K – 5600K switchable.
Both LED lights are billed as High CRI by Came-TV.
Both the LED lights we tested have travelled over six thousand kilometres since January and have become a regular in our on road and studio kits. The lights have been used on simple one up interviews to a five camera 1 + 2 studio interview mixed in with your standard CN Chinese Knockoff LED lights, as well as Lightpanels and slotted in perfectly.
We have used the 5600K L1024D LED in 120kmh+ winds while covering a natural disaster and were pleasantly surprised.
Put it this way, they are lights that get attention. Attention for all the right reasons. Expect other crews / cameramen to stop and chat to you about them.
The Good:
We have been loving the mix of the two lights; the 5600K L1024D is a strong performer in outdoor uses / mixed lighting. Not quite up there as some would say “Better than daylight” but it does the next best thing. The L1024S Bi-Colour LED is ideal for studio style interviews. The ability to switch the lights from 3200K up 5600K and select anywhere in-between plus dimming the LED’s from 100% to 10% is a bonus setup timesaver.
Other positive features:
High CRI
Both LED lights are the same size and weight
Lightweight
L1024S Bi-Colour LED colour temperature controllable + 100% – 10% dimmable
L1024D 5600K LED 100% – 0% dimmable
LCD touch-screen controller and dimmer knobs a breeze to operate
Built in gel slot
Portability V-Lock battery and 4 Pin XLR Power
Ran for 3 hours on a single 130Wh V-Lock battery
Around a 3 foot throw and 60 degree beam angle casting a nice soft light
The Bad:
In studio settings we got away with having the LED’S on Manfrotto 052 stands, but in the field preferred Manfrotto Avenger C Stands. Once you add a 130Wh V-Lock battery to the V-Mount it can get top heavy on smaller stands. We did have them on 8′ air-cushioned stands in the field but had to keep adding shot bags.
We scratched the light panels and knobs in a few places, making them battle ready almost from day one. Just cosmetic, but still annoying.
Stud fell off the carry bag, which now makes it lopsided on the ground and prone to falling over.
The Ugly:
That crazy upside down power plug that came with the L1024S Bi-Colour LED. It has created a tripping hazard when plugged into mains power.
The plastic protection cover for the touch panel ripped and stayed on the screen. Took a few weeks to get it out. Also the pic shows the scratch that happened first week with the control knob coming into contact with a light stand.
Here is the result of some rough and ready testing of the Came-TV L1024D 5600K 1024 LED and L1024S Came-TV Bi-Colour LED 1024 lights.
The Water Bead timelapsing videos are part of an ongoing project. The two 1024 LED lights will definitely be playing a role in further video for that series.
All the work that we have used the two LED lights with; well unfortunately we have been NDA’ed on.
So we put together some close up work timelapsing water beads to showcase the lights in action.
We used only the 1024 LED lights from Came-TV and set them both to 5600K and dimmed / opened them up according to filming conditions.
We ran the lights solid for five days off mains day and night, and they were only slightly warm to touch.
Conclusion:
We have liked the lights that much that down the track an additional L1024D 5600K 1024 LED will be added to the kit. Making it a travelling 3 light kit, for jobs on the road.
Please see Came-TV for more about their lighting solutions.
Get your own Came-TV High CRI 1024 5600K LED, and Came-TV 1024 Bi-colour LED Light
.