Before we begin, let’s address some key definitions:
- Watts = Power Consumption not light output
- Luminescence = Brightness of Light
- Lux = Intensity of Light, a light measurement (one meter lit area from a distance of one meter)
Cost. Purchasing LED lighting will obviously be affected by the project’s budget. Is this film a no-budget, micro-budget or a produced ($20k+) indie feature? You should also consider the the scale of production, locations and available lighting/power, crew size, etc. Brand-new equipment purchases aside, I would rather rent than buy used LED lighting as used gear can have dead diodes or its internals could be exposed to moisture/inclement weather.
Light Quality. Regardless of the the light’s brand or age, select one with a Color Temperature Index (CRI) of 90+. You may also come across lights listed with a Television Lighting Color Index (TLCI), which is even more accurate than CRI! Regardless, shoot for a TLCI or CRI of 90+.
Power Consumption. Typically, the higher the Watts, the brighter the light. The downside is you will burn through batteries, so I recommend have at least twice the number of batteries (if not 3:1) to ensure you’ll have enough juice throughout the shoot. It’s also beneficial to select lights that utilize the same battery type. For example, our inventory of GVM and Aputure LEDs use the same Sony NP-Fxx battery-type. In fact, our BMPCC 4K can even be powered by the same battery via Blind Spot’s Power Junkie adapter! During a shoot, we will have charged batteries that can be used with everything, as well as a row of NP-F chargers on a large power-strip; thus, ensuring continuity of power. Lastly, I recommend having one or two portable, on-camera LED lights that run off of AA batteries. It’s a lot easier to find AAs when traveling than a spare Sony NP-F.
Intensity. Manufacturers’ mostly list their output in lumens or lux. This number is usually recorded at a distance of one meter (3 feet), but I’ve seen some manufacturers list their output at one and a half feet to make it look more powerful! Here’s a list of lighting with their respective Lumens or Lux ratings:
- Car Headlight = 1500 Lumens
- Household Light-bulb = 400 Lumens
- Cellphone 20 Lumens
- Moonlight = 1 Lumens
- Full moon on a clear night = 1 Lux
- Home lights = 50 Lux
- Office Lighting = 320-500 Lux
- Sunrise/Sunset = 400 Lux
- Full Daylight = 10k-25 Lux
- Direct Sunlight = 30k-100k Lux
Depending on your shot size, you can also increase intensity by leveraging the Inverse Square Rule. Light intensity changes according to distance from the subject. Doubling the distance from subject to light source quadruples the area lit, but drops brightness by approximately one quarter. So, by moving the light, you can halve or double the perceived output:
- Moving light 40% backwards = Double the area and half the intensity
- Moving light 30% closer = Doubles the intensity
Beam Angle. Lastly, take note of the actual spread of light emitting from the device. The resultant beam angle will tell you if the LED is more of a spotlight or closer to a flood lamp. Here are typical beam angles for a Fresnel light as a comparison:
- 20-degree = Spotlight
- 80-degree = Flood
Recommendations. We are a no- to micro-budget production group and have had good luck with the Aputure Amaran series and GVM LED lights.
Aputure Amaran AL-528S Daylight LED Spot Light
Aputure Amaran AL-528C Bi-Color LED Flood Light
Aputure Amaran AL-H198
GVM LED Video Light 520 CRI97 Plus 3200-5600K
GVM Dimmable Bi-color LED Video Panel Light Variable 2300K~6800K