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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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The Aputure MX is the brightest mini on camera light in the market

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A new light is coming from Aputure soon, and it contains a whole lot of brightness in the size of a credit card. Although it’s not officially announced yet, they showed off the prototype on Cinema 5D.

The light is named Amaran MX, and despite the size, it seems really powerful. It’s five times brighter than its predecessor Aputure M9, and it comes along with some other improved features.

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Spekular LEDs are like a Swiss army knife for lighting

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Just when you think you’ve seen all LED lighting panels that the world can have, here comes a new LED light that makes you open your wallet again. Spekular is an all-in-one lighting panel that in addition to being a “panel” can also be a ring, a strip, an octa and even a star (how do you like them catch-lights?).

The idea is quite simple and will probably be familiar to anyone that likes playing with LEDs. Each kit holds four super-bright sections that can be connected and manipulated into various shapes.

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How you can use a tiny $7 LED light for photography and filmmaking

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A tiny LED light that fits into your palm doesn’t really sound helpful for photography and filmmaking. But is it really useless? Caleb Pike from DSLR Video Shooter tested one of these tiny lights to see for himself. In this video, he shares some advantages and disadvantages of this light and the ideas for using it. And it turns out that cheap little LED panel is more useful than you’d think.

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How to quickly upgrade your 160 LED panel softbox for less than $3

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Cheap light panels and cheap softboxes to go along are a lifesaver when you’re on a tight budget. But softbox with a spongy strap can’t be attached quickly (especially if you’re clumsy). Also, it won’t stay in place when you attach it to the LED panel. This video by Macroscope Pictures will show you how to solve this problem in less than $3 and upgrade your softbox for any of your “run and gun” projects.

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How to make the world’s largest DIY LED panel

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Have you ever wondered how big and bright an LED panel can get? Matt from DIY Perks has, and he decided to do something more than just imagine it. He created something that can easily be the world’s largest DIY LED panel. In this video, he shows us the process of making. And when he does it, it seems quite easy.

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This diffusion panel provides different levels of diffusion with a turn of a knob

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At 2010 NAB show in Las Vegas, Zylight presented Active Diffusion – a flexible and lightweight panel which allows you to control the amount of diffusion on demand. It was a long time ago, but it seems that it was worth the wait – in 2017 they are finally launching it for sale.

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How To Build Huge Dual Color DIY Flex Lights for $60

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Here is one of the cooler projects for LED panels that I’ve seen. Unlike the ‘usual’ LED panels, those panels are mounted on flexible material so they can be folded and mounted pretty much anywhere.

DIYPerks is using MARSWELL LEDs for good color rendition. if you look at the photo below you can see how 80+ CRI has a huge impact on image quality.

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Not All LED Panels Are Made Equal. Here’s How To Tell The Difference

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Today I want to talk about LEDs and CRI. You see not all LEDs were created equal. Most of the time when we talk about LEDs we talk brightness and color temperature, and that makes sense as those are easily measured and have great impact on our photos.

One thing that we often overlook is CRI. And what is CRI you ask? Well CRI stands for Color rendering index and it the number that has the bigger impact on the quality of light.

Let me explain.

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