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We saw quite a few lights at IBC 2022 with several brands launching bigger, better, brighter LED lights. Godox wasn’t to be outdone, however, and had their latest piping hot offering, the 1200watt MG1200 on display. Ramon Uitervijkwinkel from Godox’s European distributor showed DIYP the new light.
It’s a 1200-watt bi-colour LED light, that goes from 2800K to 6500K. Throughout the different colour temperatures, the light maintains an even 1200 watts.
The world of LED lights has certainly heated up over the last few years with lots of releases from companies like Godox, Aputure and Nanlite. It’s also seen a few newcomers, too, like Colbor. After announcing their first LED light last year, the Colbor CL100, now it looks like they’re back with a more compact and modular version, the Colbor CL60, available in both bi-colour and CL60M daylight-only varieties.
It’s a small portable LED mount that offers a bunch of different power options including the usual NP-F style batteries or V-Mount as well as USB Power Delivery. It’s pretty tiny, coming in at only 80 x 90 x 140mm in size (similar to your average 24-70mm f/2.8 lens), but as you can see from the image above, they’re stackable to create huge light banks when you need more power.
Litepanels has today announced their new Lykos+ Mini LED panel. They describe it as a broadcast-quality bicolour light with 40% more light output than the previous generation, claiming over 2,000 lux (@3ft) of accurate white light at any colour temp from 3200K up to 5600K. It incorporates the lensing tech from its larger 1×1 Astra siblings, with a CRI of 96, but weighing a mere 1lb.
If the weight and the “Mini LED” descriptor hadn’t given it away, it’s a small and compact light, designed for use in remote locations or in tight spaces. They say it offers up to two hours of operation off a Sony NP-F style battery (presumably an NP-F970), and comes either on its own or in a kit including three lights, stands, filters, softboxes and Pelican case.
Only last month, Godox launched the first in their range of “SZ” zoomable LED lights, the SZ150R. This was also Godox’s first RGB Bowens mount LED. Now, they’ve followed it up, expanding the SZ range with a new SZ200Bi. As the name suggests, it’s a 200W bi-colour LED, offering a colour temperature range of 2800K-6500K with a 97+ CRI and 96+ TLCI.
As with the SZ150R, the SZ200Bi runs on 100-240v AC power, so this isn’t a portable light, and offers multiple control methods including the onboard UI on the back of the light, DMX, the RC-A6 remote or the Godox Light smartphone app.
It’s felt like a long wait since it was first shown off at IBC last year, but now it’s finally here. Aputure has now taken its flagship Light Storm 300 series COB LED lights bicolour, with the new Light Storm LS 300X. Aputure says it that it goes beyond the standard bicolour systems, though, which utilise multiple side-by-side LEDs of different Kelvin values, by incorporating a custom colour-blending element in front of the LED to turn it into a single colour-changing light source.
I guess it’s a sign of the times, but I get sent far more LED lights to test than any other light…. even though I never personally use LEDs.
When I say I don’t use LED lights, it’s not because I have a dislike for them, but for me, they have limitations that I struggle to deal with when I shoot what I shoot. If you’re after some affordable continuous light for video work that looks natural and emulates everyday lighting, then LEDs are your first and smartest choice. But for what I do, which is often very controlled and saturated colour work that is anything but natural, I’m going to stick to the control and power of flash for now.
Udi 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 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
Dave 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 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 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.
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