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Aputure kicks off its new Pro LED Panel range with the Nova P300c RGBWW Softlight

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Taking a little break from the Bowens mount LED lights that Aputure’s become famous for, the start of their new professional line of LED panels is finally available. They’ve kicked the line off with the Aputure Nova P300c, a 300W RGBWW LED panel designed to produce a softer light without modifiers (although, there is a softbox available, too).

The P300c was actually first debuted at NAB 2018, and it’s taken the last two years to take the feedback on board and implement the necessary changes to bring it to release. Compared with the original design, it has a higher range of white balance from 2,000K up to 10,000K with CRI and TLCI of 95+, an internal ballast and a stronger mount.

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The Vortex8 is a $5,000 650W cinema LED panel with an IP65 waterproof rating

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Well, this is an interesting looking light, if not cheap, by any stretch of the imagination. Coming in at $4,999, the Vortex8 is the new flagship LED panel from Australian lighting manufacturer Creamsource. It’s a high powered 650W LED panel with a 60 x 30cm front face and it’s IP65 rated for use in even the wettest of weather.

If you haven’t heard of Creamsource before, that’s perhaps not too surprising. They’re not a common name amongst most photographers and filmmakers. But their kit has been used to light the likes of The Mandalorian, Captain Marvel, Black Panther and more.

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Manfrotto announces the water-resistant Lykos 2.0 bicolour on-camera LED light

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While billed as an on-camera LED light for video, the new Manfrotto Lykos 2.0 is a pretty powerful 2-in-1 LED light panel that can also be quite handy for photography, too. And, of course, you can take it off your camera if you wish.

It’s a bicolour LED ranging from tungsten to daylight and it’s water-resistant, but not waterproof, meaning you can use it outdoors even in not-so-great weather. Its array of LEDs feature built-in lenses, to optimise efficiency, and it can be controlled from your Android or iOS smartphone, too.

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Lume Cube just launched a $150 LED panel that looks suspiciously like these $70 LED panels

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I’ve become a big fan of small LEDs over the last few years. I was originally quite skeptical of them and their power output, but after picking up a few from different brands like Litra, Moin and digitalfoto, they’ve really started to grow on me and turned out to be far more useful than I expected.

One of the big names in small lights is Lume Cube, and they’ve just released a new Lume Cube Panel LED for $149.95 but it looks an awful lot like a bunch of other similar LED Panels found on eBay and Amazon for only around $70.

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How to turn a broken LCD TV into a DIY LED light panel

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One of the things I love the most about DIY projects is that they can give a new life to the items that are destroyed beyond salvation. In this video, Matthew Perks of DIY Perks will show you how to repurpose a broken LCD TV or monitor and turn it into an amazing LED light panel. It almost perfectly simulates daylight, and it’s useful for photographers as well as filmmakers.

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Soonwell FB-21 – An affordable option for a flex-type led light

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The LED panel and LED Bowens mount are both familiar form factors of LED lights. In the last two years, we are seeing a third type of LEDs enter the market – the Mat LED, A.K.A Flex-LED. Essentially it is very similar to an LED panel, only instead of the LEDs being mounted to a rigid surface, they are placed on a flexible mat, hence the name – Flex light.

The Soonwell FB21 is the last member to enter this family. It is conveniently priced at $428.00, which is by far on the low end of flex LEDs. Well, at least compared to the similarly sized $1,199.90 Westcott Flex. Here are our thoughts:

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How to to make your own DIY LED panel for only $13

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You know what it’s like, you’re walking through the local dollar store (or pound shop, for those in the UK) and you see some interesting looking cheap LED lights. So, you buy a bunch of them and turn them into a DIY LED panel. At least, what’s what Dave Knop (AKA, Knoptop) did, and it only cost him $13.

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Westcott’s new Flex Cine lights add full RGB colour to their flexible LED lighting range

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Westcott has today announced a new Flex Cine lighting system. Carrying on from the popular Flex system launched in 2014, the new Flex Cine line gets full RGBW capability. Westcott says they haven’t just added RGB LEDs to their old lights, though. They’ve redesigned them from the ground up. There’s also a wireless DMX Dimmer.

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Hardware Store LED Strip Lights for Photography and Video

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I have been using hardware store LED bulbs for both photography and video in the studio for a while (click here for a DIY three light studio setup) – but every time I pass the lighting aisle in my local big box hardware store I always take a look to see what’s new and improved.

Well on a recent trip to Lowes I found some really cool LED strip lights that work quite well for both photography and video – continue reading for details…

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Spekular is the light that does it all for photographers

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Spekular is spectacular! Hmmm – a little over the top? Not really. I recently had the opportunity to put this new LED lighting system from Spiffy Gear to the test. Spiffy Gear are the folks that brought us the Light Blaster (buy link).

Spekular is a modular lighting system that can take on all kinds of shapes depending on your needs and this can save you money and the time needed to pack and set-up light modifiers especially when you are working on location. Spekular comes as a kit of 4 LED sections. Each section is built with aluminum and ABS plastic. The sections can be configured using the included hinged connectors or with the accessory extension kit.

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