Aputure COB300d First Look at NAB 2017

Aputure keeps cranking out high quality, reasonably priced lighting gear and their latest announcement is for the impressive COB300d - an LED light that is roughly equivalent to a 2k tungsten. That’s a lot of light output. This one is daylight balanced (6000K) and a tungsten version will follow. All the same accessories that fit their smaller COB120 lights also fit this including the soft box, fresnel lens and other bowens mount accessories available on the market like barn doors and beauty dishes. The color quality is rated at a TLCI of 98 which is very high.

Can’t wait to get our hands on one of these for review!

When might you use a light this powerful? The first two scenarios that come to mind are though a window to simulate daylight (so you can shoot a daytime scene at night or just when you want to make it look like a different time of day) or when you want to bring the ambient light levels up in a larger space. Aiming this as the ceiling could do an impressive job lifting that ambience.

Apologies for the wild camera work. I had the clever idea to go super light without a tripod at NAB this year. Lesson learned. My brother Cary Judd was kind enough to suffer through shooting. Thanks bro!

Our Vlogging setup:
Panasonic Lumix GH5 Camera - the in-body stabilization saved us because I had the "clever" idea to travel light and not bring a tripod this year. That was a mistake but the IBIS in the GH5 did a pretty nice job!

RODE Reporter Microphone - great at managing handling noise. I didn't hear any in this recording.

RODE iXLR Audio Adapter for iPhone - Yes, recorded this audio to my iPhone. Pretty good for a phone recording on a noisy show floor.

Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm f/2.8 Lens - This is the original version of this lens. The new version is a bit pricier but evidently works even better with the GH5 to smooth out camera motion.

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Can You Mix Lights with Different Color Temperatures?

A few weeks ago we reviewed the Aputure Light Storm COB120d, an incredibly versatile LED light for video and photography. One specification of the COB that is a little unique is that its color temperature is cooler than others at 6000K. Many people have asked whether it is possible to mix this light with other daylight balanced lights which are rated with a color temperature of 5500 or 5600K.

In this episode, we look at cases where it is probably ok to mix them and other cases where you may not want to mix them.

In short, if you use each light to illuminate a different thing or different sides of a thing, you're probably ok to mix them. If you use two lights with different temperatures to light the same thing (e.g., one as a key light, the other as a fill), things can start to look at little strange unless you use the cooler light as the fill.

Gear used or mentioned in this episode:

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Aputure Light Storm COB120d LED Light (6000K color temp)

Aputure Light Storm LS1s LED Panel Light (5500K color temp)

Photo Basics Barn Doors confirmed to fit the Aputure COB Lights

Panasonic GH4 m4/3 Camera - Still my main video camera

Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm f/2.8 Lens

Olympus 45mm f/1.8 Lens

Dracast LED500 Light Special Pricing

If you're in the market for an LED panel light which can be powered via Sony NP-F style batteries, B&H has special pricing on the Dracast LED500 for the next few hours. $200 for a color-tunable LED panel with barn doors, good build quality, and a CRI of 95. Looks like a good, affordable, flexible lighting instrument.

Lighting for Video: Hard and Soft Light

When lighting your video, understanding the difference between hard and soft light can help improve the look of your video dramatically. It is also important to understand how to make light hard vs. soft, and know when to use which. We cover the basics here.

In this episode, we used the Aputure COB120 lights which are nice because with the add-on accessories, you can use this as a soft or hard light source. Here we used the Light Dome, the new fresnel lens, and some barn doors on the front of the lens.

Kamerar BrightCast LED Light Panel Review

LED lights have finally improved in quality and come down in price to make them more accessible to enthusiast filmmakers. This new light from Kamerar called the BrightCast V15 is a flexible LED panel with 256 color tunable LED chips and can be powered via battery (Sony v-mount style batteries) or via AC. Color quality was a big problem on sub-$1000 LED lighting instruments in the past, but the BrightCast has a CRI of 97 and our tests confirm that the color quality is very good. This means you won’t end up with video footage which looks all funky in terms of color. Overall, the BrightCast is a great, compact, light-weight option for location work or shooting in very small spaces like many of us do. I give this one two thumbs up!

Like most LED panels, in some cases you can run into an issue where there are multiple shadows because the panel has 256 light sources. You can easily fix this by diffusing the light coming out of the panel. One way that works great is to use Kamerar's D-Fuse softbox which works nicely with the BrightCast.

Versatile Video Light: Aputure Light Storm COB 120d Daylight LED Light

In this episode, we take a look at the Aputure Light Storm COB 120d, an incredibly versatile daylight balanced LED light for video and film. Aputure has a history of finding a very nice balance between affordable pricing and quality products. The COB 120d is a perfect example of that. This is a single LED light with a Bowens S mount. This means that with some additional accessories attached to the mount, the light can be a soft light (with a softbox, scrim, or bounce board), a hard light (with a fresnel and/or barn doors attachment), or a flood light with the included reflector. Color quality is a high priority for me because I don’t have time to invest in a lot of post color correction. Fortunately, the COB 120d delivers on that front as well in our color chart tests compared to tungsten lighting (the best color rendering light source second only to the sun).

Aputure plans to begin shipping the Light Storm COB 120d in the first part of 2017

Aputure Light Dome Soft Box for COB 120 LED Light

For video talking head or interview shots, my go-to choice for my main light is a softbox. Ever since I got the Aputure Light Storm COB 120t LED light a few months back, I’ve been waiting for their Light Dome softbox to start shipping. And I am not disappointed. This softbox produces beautiful soft light for interview shots, feels like a quality product, and is reasonably priced.

As a bonus, because the COB 120 has a bowens mount, you can use the light dome on any other LED lights with a bowens mount.

The light dome will start shipping soon. Check back for updates.

Softbox for LED Panel Lights: Kamerar D-Fuse

For interview or talking head video shots, I like to soften my Aputure Light Storm LED Panels (LS1s) to ensure that the light looks as flattering as possible. But one of the problems is that to do that, I’ve been setting up an additional light stand in front of the light and mounting a shoot-through scrim. This works beautifully in terms of softening the light but it is a bulky setup.

Kamerar just released a new series of softboxes made specifically for LED panel lights called their D-Fuse line. In this episode we take a quick look at the D-Fuse and compare its results with a shoot-through umbrella and plain old diffusion paper.

They have a version with an opening for 12"x12" panels and another with a 9.25"x9.25" opening for smaller panels (those with 500-ish LEDs). The opening can be a little larger than your LED panel and still work well. They'll also be releasing a grid attachment for the softbox that will help to control where the light spills making a soft, but contrasty look which is often used in photography. Looking forward to trying that out in the next few weeks.

Full disclosure: Kamerar gave me this softbox free of charge. They did not pay me further to do this review and did not specify what I was able to say or not say.

How to Light for Close-Up Product Shots & Reviews

How do I shoot a close-up product video with a white background? Here are the basics on how I do it. The biggest secret is to soften the light by shooting it through an umbrella or similar scrim (such as the type included in a 5-in-1 reflector.)

I use a foam core poster board for the background, mounted to a table with spring clamps. My favorite light for this task is the Aputure Light Storm COB 120t which we reviewed a few weeks ago. I boom the Light Storm above the poster board with a C-stand and shoot the light through a white umbrella. This makes the light incredibly soft and prevents those distracting shadows.

Aputure Light Storm COB 120t LED Light Review

Aputure just started shipping a new LED light for filmmakers called the Light Storm COB 120t. This is a tungsten color balanced single LED flood light which has a Bowens S mount so it can accept all sorts of light shaping tools like a soft box, barn doors, beauty dish, snoot and even a fresnel lens. This makes the 120t an incredibly flexible light. It also has great color rendering with a CRI of 97 and puts out plenty of light to use as a key light for interviews or talking head video or still photos. Here we review the 120t in detail.