DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

The best LED video lighting kit you can get for $500

Feb 22, 2017 by John Aldred 2 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

With as much competition as there is in today’s LED marketplace, it can be tough to know what’s worth buying. There’s so many models out there that look almost identical to each other (or are identical, but with a different brand name). CRIs are all over the place, as is colour balance. As a beginner looking to pick up your first video lighting set, you might not even know where to begin.

Caleb Pike at DSLR Video Shooter has been doing some comparisons recently for lights at different budgets. In his newest video, he puts together a complete beginner LED lighting kit for video. It’s a pretty versatile set of gear, and offers many options to get you up and running without breaking the bank.

The basic kit includes…

  • Aputure Amaran HR672S LED Spot Light : $278
  • 2x Aputure Amaran H198 LED Light : $58 each
  • 2x Battery Kit : $34
  • 3x Light Stand Kit : $38
  • Reflector + Reflector Holder Kit : $36
  • Diffusion : $10

Ok, so that’s a hair over the $500 budget at current prices, coming in at $512. But, you can easily save that much by shopping around and looking for deals. The Aputure Amaran HR672S is over half of that cost and deals do pop on those fairly regularly.

Or utilise gear you may already own. If you already have a reflector, for example, you can shave off $6 by just buying the stand and reflector holder. Maybe you already have a spare light stand laying around, too. In this cae, you can bring the cost down from $36 to $19 by just getting the reflector holder on its own, bringing you under that $500 mark.

The HR672S is generally going to be the key light source as it’s the most powerful of the three. It comes as a kit including a carry case that contains the light, a power supply, remote control, a pair of large batteries, a mount and a tungsten gel filter.

The H198 LEDs are smaller, less expensive, and make great fill, rim, background or accent lights. One thing to note, though. If you want the most power, get the daylight balanced ones, not the variable colour temperature ones. Yes, being able to control the colour temperature via a dial is very hand, but that convenience comes at the cost of power. The daylight one will provide much more power when you need 5600K, and when you need tungsten, you can just use the gel filter.

Cheap light stands like those shown in the video aren’t super heavy duty, but the lights aren’t exactly heavy, either. They’ll easily support the weight of these LED panels. The worst thing that can happen is that they might blow over if you’re filming outdoors, but that’s what sandbags are for.

The setup will also work for photographs, too.

I wouldn’t expect to shoot fast moving subjects with it, though. Where it will excel is with still lifes and product shots. With the camera placed on a tripod and using a remote trigger to prevent knocking the camera during the exposure, you can get great sharp shots.

At times when diffusers and reflectors might be impossible to use, another inexpensive way of diffusing an LED panel is with a softbox. It won’t make it extremely large, but it will help to even out the light. One such option is the Kamerar D-Fuse at around $30, which fits perfectly on the Aputure Amaran HR672S.

What other inexpensive lighting kit do you use?

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

This 2-light LED video lighting kit costs less than $100 The pros and cons of adding LED lighting to your photography kit Variable 3 point LED lighting kit for macro/miniature for $55 The complete LED lighting kit you can get for $150

Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: Aputure, Caleb Pike, DSLR Video Shooter, LED, LED Light, lights, Video

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« 10 beginner tips to up your photo game and improve your work
How to create stunning fake freckles with a toothbrush and no Photoshop »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Learn photography

Recent Posts

  • Sony unveils three wireless microphones for content creators
  • This is why you should stop shooting music videos
  • First look at the Laowa Proteus Flex interchangeable flare optics
  • The Fotodiox RhinoCam Vertex shoots medium format images on L mount cameras
  • San Francisco filmmaker tracks stolen camera gear, police do nothing

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy