Unlike traditional production lighting, LEDs run cool to the touch and use little electrical power. Though pricey, their benefits have made them increasingly popular for location production.
One pioneer in LED lighting for video and film production is Litepanels, a Los Angeles company that introduced its production lights at NAB in 2004. Designed for location HD production, the Litepanels Ringlite-Mini is a 10.5-inch-diameter, two-inch-thick circular light that weighs only 3.5 pounds.
The Ringlite-Mini—which employs rows of powerful LEDs laid out in a tightly plotted grid—provides a luminous, soft directional output in very compact package. It works equally well on or off camera, mounted on a stand, the wall, or elsewhere.
On the back of the unit, four toggle switches regulate power and circuit control. Circuits are divided into three selectable segments for the bottom, middle, and top. An integrated control knob allows for instant dimming from 100 percent to zero with minimal shift in color.
Ringlite-Mini also offers options on remote dimming and DMX control capability. Completely flicker and heat-free, the LEDs can be moved in comfortably close to a subject, for soft, wrap-around light. A set of six interchangeable correction/diffusion filters is available.
The light can be mounted to most video and film cameras. An adjustable baseplate mounting bracket attaches the Ringlite-Mini to the bottom of the camera. This bracket works best and is most commonly utilized for compact video camcorders.
The Ringlite-Mini ships in the standard 5600°K/spot version; flood versions in 5600°K and 3200°K are available on special order. The light draws 40 watts/3.5 amps @ 12VDC. Power is provided by an external 100-240 VAC international AC adapter and includes a 10 foot DC input extension cable. Equipped with an XLR power connector cable, the unit can be run from alternate 10-30 VDC battery sources.
The Ringlite-Mini fixture is priced at $2,497.50, while a Mini Kit is priced at $2,995.00.
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