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Aputure’s Light Storm 300D is a monster 2K LED Light for $1,100

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Earlier this year, Aputure announced their upcoming monster LED light: the Light Storm 300D. And now, it’s officially launched. With impressive 142,000 lux @0.5m , it’s brighter than any light in the Aputure’s arsenal, and it’s comparable to a 2,000W tungsten.

But it isn’t just the brightness that makes this light so powerful. The 300D is precise, easy to shape, and it guarantees impeccable color quality. And all of its features are fit into a lightweight, portable light weighing less than 5 pounds.

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Photographing Aurora – Reality vs Expectation

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We just had a beautiful Aurora Australis hit New Zealand a couple of days ago. I was fortunate enough to catch a quiet spot to myself where I could take in the atmosphere and shoot a few images.  My favourite from the night was a panorama shot of the Aurora to the south and the galactic core rising to the south east – it was the shot I planned and it seemed to turn out nicely [check out this blogpost if you want to learn how to stitch astro panoramas]. So nicely, it got published in the National newspaper and got me a fair bit of attention on my various social media sites.  The frenzy that started with a few keen astronomers and astrophotographers led to a lot of people rushing to similar spots the night after to see if they can watch the aurora. Unfortunately, there were a few disappointed folk who not only couldn’t find a clear view, but also didn’t realise what you see in photos isn’t what you see with the naked eye.

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

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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.

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Build your own DIY ceiling mounted lighting rail system for under $100

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What started off as a quick lighting test in my garage has turned into a full research and installation of my own DIY photography ceiling rail system! You might now ask why? Whats the point? It’s a garage. It’s tiny. And that’s just it, it is tiny. I mean my shooting space measures 10ft x 7ft! Not a great space for shooting portraits.

Ok, so you might manage it with one light on a stand/boom. But what if, like me, you like using more than one light? I tend to use a 3 light setup when shooting my creative portraits and setting up 3 stands with soft boxes becomes very cramped in such a small space.

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How to photograph LED Christmas lights

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At this time of year, having Christmas lights in the background of your shots is not only common, it’s desired. Especially for those bokeh fanatics. The last few years, though, there’s been a trend away from the more traditional Christmas lights toward low energy LEDs. Being in the room with them, just looking at them, it’s likely that most people will never see the difference. To a camera, however, it’s a different story.

In this video from LensProToGo, Mike shows us the different types of LED Christmas lights available. He goes through the qualities and issues with each of them, and how to overcome those with our photography.

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How to turn a trash can into a DIY firelight simulator

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Shane Hurlbut has worked as DP on some great Hollywood movies and Terminator Salvation. But, despite the huge budgets often afforded him, he doesn’t sniff at the idea of DIY solutions. Some of Shane’s more recent work has been on the AMC show Into the Badlands. During the filming of the show, actors had to be lit by fire, or something that closely resembled it.

Simulating firelight is fun, but often requires a lot of lights and equipment to get a realistic look. Shane loves shooting with firelight, but decided to take a DIY approach to achieving the effect. He converted a big metal trashcan into a firelight simulator. In this video, he’s going to show us how he did it.

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Build a $300 Music Stand Triflector for $29

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I have always wanted to DIY my own triflector, but the problem was I didn’t even know where to start or what material to use.

You’re probably asking why I would want a triflector? Because it produces the most stunningly beautiful glamour light. Now, Lastolite does sell one of those, but they are around $330 with frame panels and all. I wanted it cheaper and I wanted it faster.

Before I started photography around 6 years ago I was studying classical guitar in the top university here in the Philippines so I remembered that I had a music stand lying around from my music days. It was a perfect starting point for my DIY triflector, and they are only about $15. So here is a quick step by step tutorial on how I built a DIY music stand triflector.

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