Equipment
Using Video LEDs for Photography
I’ve talked a lot on this blog about using constant lights typically aimed for videography, for photography. It’s a typical article I keep bringing up as I upgrade my lights on both the video and photo sides and look for any crossover that can be found. The reason is simple – if you’ve ever been on a commercial set, you’ll likely have at least one creative director ask why there needs to be both a videography setup and a photography setup – and why we can’t share the same space. Now, as much as I love my little corner in a studio where I’m separated from the video side, I know that as budgets get tighter and spaces get smaller, there will be a transition where video and photo will need to share the same equipment.
Brands within the industry are also suggesting such, with Profoto diving into the video production lighting ecosphere and Aputure constantly raising the bar as to how much power an LED can produce with their Storm lineup of lights. There are some big advantages to using video lights as well, from easier focusing for your camera to fewer distractions of strobes firing every second or so.
Comparing the Two
The biggest struggle when it comes to determining whether or not a video light will work for photography is the power readings of both. Traditionally, photography lights are measured by watt-seconds (Ws), whereas video lights are measured by Watts. These measurements come with little accuracy, as they both measure the power draw of the lights, not the output. So, there could be quite a bit of fluctuation from one light to the next with the same power rating. For example, lower quality capacitors could draw greater power and convert the energy less efficiently, meaning the light may be a 500W light but has less output than a 500W light with higher grade components.
However, the tides are starting to turn, and light manufacturers are now releasing their lux output, which is a measurement of light output from the light. But because these numbers are used for marketing, they always come with an asterisk. Some manufacturers measure the output at 1 m, others at 3 m, and others measure theirs using a highly reflective hard modifier, which doesn’t always come with the light. So, in short, there’s no real easy way to determine the output of one video light or strobe to the next. Instead, you have to do some pretty advanced research to determine which light is the most powerful and efficient and which one is not. This problem only becomes more convoluted when you start using lights beyond their intended use – like attempting to use video lights for photography.
Furthermore, comparing these two is never a fair fight. Strobes operate at 1/1000ths of a second and are efficient because you can increase your shutter speed to block out any natural light from hitting your camera sensor. By contrast, video lights are always on, so they are naturally less efficient, as they have to produce a steady output for extended periods of time.
Testing Terms
So, I decided to put these video lights to the test, but from a pragmatic approach. I know that a commercially available LED isn’t going to compete with the sun, so I’m looking at this from a studio approach. I also know that my settings won’t nearly be the same as they would be for studio strobes, so I’ve decided on some reasonable limits when making the comparison. For one, I’ll be shooting up to ISO 800, a minimum of f/5.6 aperture, and using a modifier to soften the light. These are the standards that I consider acceptable in the studio and produce clean results.
To test these, I chose the Molus B500 light, a 500W LED from Zhiyun Tech, a popular company in the gimbal world. This light was chosen because it’s the most affordable 500W LED light I could find from a reputable manufacturer and comes with some pretty detailed specs of light output. For the modifier, I used the Profoto RFi 3ft Octobox, a popular softbox that I use in my day-to-day work.
It’s also important to know that I’m not going into the weeds with this test and won’t be measuring lux output numbers (though let me know if you’d like to see an extensive test on the actual power output of video lights/strobes). This will be a practical test, where I expect the light to light the specific scene with the light at 6ft from the subject.
The Results
When testing the Molus B500, I was really quite impressed with the light output, and I think this light has more than enough power to be used on a studio photoshoot. During my testing, I used the light in three different variants: with the included reflector, completely bare, and with a 3ft RFi Octobox with two diffusion panels. In all three scenarios, with the light measured 6 feet away, the light performed within the minimum thresholds I had in place for it.
So, are we at a point where we can affordably use LED lights for photography studio shoots? Yes, it certainly looks like we are. At 500W, most LEDs will produce high enough output to be easily used in the studio by bumping the ISO up a couple of stops, without any real loss in image quality.
