Hey, John. Great video. I think on the 500 the ballast attaches to the stand clamp on the back not with the strap. I own the 300 and the back of the ballast has an area designated with the same graphic that is on the clamp and it can slot right into that bracket. Also, my original silver clamp broke when an assistant incorrectly broke down the light and I bought their super clamp version of the mounting clamp - it’s a much better design in my opinion, the original was too easy to break.
Thanks for the test. It was very helpful. After seeing the difference between the lights, there is no way I would pay twice as much for the 720 over the 500. The weight and cost difference are not worth it for less than a stop gain in power. The 500 is producing enough power for all of my uses and I would rather have two of them for the price. If you have a special use like shooting outside in the daylight and trying to overpower the sun, or shooting athletes in motion I guess every bit counts, but in that case I would bust out my strobes. The newer cameras are producing amazing results even at 800 iso and I don't hesitate to push mine to 1600 if I need to. and that's for print in major publications. better to keep the kit lean and get the shot than worry about a bit of noise.
@@JohnGress certainly. I remember I saw a review of the aputure 1200d a while ago where they metered it at 1m. In that instance, the spot reflector gave less output than the medium reflector, and the reviewer, for lack of a better term, scratched his head and moved on haha
I’ve got 2 x 500’s in my kit and they are a great light. Build quality is fine after almost 2 years of use, but yeah the build quality could of been better. When I was building my kit I wanted as much power as I could get at the time. So I’ve ended up with a 1200, 650c and the 500’s, but in real use my Forza 300’s, 150’s, 60’s and tube lights get the majority of use when doing film work. And when I do break out the big lights they are very rarely used at max power. Big lights also = heavy duty stands. If I was just starting to build my kit today would the 720 fit in? Probably not! The 720b would be a better choice, but honestly give me a couple of the cheaper FS-300b’s and I’d be happy. And for photography, I’m still old school and prefer the size and power of strobes.
thanks for the photographic comparison, as most of them are cine related, but this system does look like a constant light contender for a profoto or broncolor flash replacement, at least for studio, still life, etc. esp. at that price point. one question if you are doing a photo comparison, would you have an idea of what formats it could cope with, aka power settings for mf and LF film formats (6x4.5 to 6x9 as well as 4x5" sheet film), as not much is said to this subject.
Thanks for this John! I have a FS 300B, so watching this, my next powerful upgrade is definitely gonna be the Forza 720B! Even if the Forza 500B II exists now, the 720B is the way to go to have a good soft and powerful light.
Hi John--I'm considering switching to constant light for dog photography. I'd need a shutter speed of 1/500th and an aperture of 5.6 or ideally 8. Do you think I could do that with either of these lights? I'd be willing to do an ISO of maybe 1250 but I'd like to stick to 800 or less.
If you had the lights in close with smaller modifiers you might be able to get that exposure, but if there is any kind of movement you're going to get motion blur. So I would stick with flash, unless thats causing the dogs to freak out too.
The 720 they upped tiny shortcomings from the 500 it seems. Better lever mechanism for locking the light on the yolk. Much quicker, that's a good thing. Better plugs with a locking mechanism for extra security. THIS is extremely welcome. I think the same as you, thinking it isn't connected well enough and using extra (unnecessary) force to ensure good contact. Doing something like that, one unknowingly can damage the contacts by accident 😶. The ballast grip is considerably better compared to just hanging. However, I hope user error won't be a thing given the weight distribution. This is definitely a sturdy c-stand dependent system. The COB is larger I agree in comparison and it would affect the output in the end. The cough audio edits were funny in the end 😄, but necessary. The 720 for me is the better choice. If they had not made those "updates" to the 500's build, I probably would stick with the 500 and modifiers the best I could to compensate. Great video.
Thank you so much! I had so many second second thought about the feathering on thei first tests so I ran them again two days later after I shot and edited the rest of the video. So I had to correct my mistakes, even though it was only a 1/10 or 2/10 of a stop difference. Yeah I was always worried that I was inserting the 500 cable wrongly, and sometimes I wouldn't even get it plugged in all the way thanks to my fear.
I just reviewed the manual to see if it says to do anything differently or specific for that matter, and it doesn't. So please lmk what you are referring to. manuals.plus/nanlite/ngu-na122026-forza-500-led-spotlight-manual?expand_article=1#operating_instructions
Hey, John. Great video. I think on the 500 the ballast attaches to the stand clamp on the back not with the strap. I own the 300 and the back of the ballast has an area designated with the same graphic that is on the clamp and it can slot right into that bracket.
Also, my original silver clamp broke when an assistant incorrectly broke down the light and I bought their super clamp version of the mounting clamp - it’s a much better design in my opinion, the original was too easy to break.
That's good to know. I will check it out when I get to the studio. Thanks!
Thanks for the test. It was very helpful. After seeing the difference between the lights, there is no way I would pay twice as much for the 720 over the 500. The weight and cost difference are not worth it for less than a stop gain in power. The 500 is producing enough power for all of my uses and I would rather have two of them for the price. If you have a special use like shooting outside in the daylight and trying to overpower the sun, or shooting athletes in motion I guess every bit counts, but in that case I would bust out my strobes. The newer cameras are producing amazing results even at 800 iso and I don't hesitate to push mine to 1600 if I need to. and that's for print in major publications. better to keep the kit lean and get the shot than worry about a bit of noise.
Tks for sharing this comparison.☕
Sure thing. Thank you. 🙏🏼
Thank you for not metering at 1 meter like most other reviewers do haha. Great vid!
That's pretty useless! I can only bear the 500 at 1m if its in a softbox and im in a sunny room!
@@JohnGress certainly. I remember I saw a review of the aputure 1200d a while ago where they metered it at 1m. In that instance, the spot reflector gave less output than the medium reflector, and the reviewer, for lack of a better term, scratched his head and moved on haha
Ha!
I’ve got 2 x 500’s in my kit and they are a great light. Build quality is fine after almost 2 years of use, but yeah the build quality could of been better. When I was building my kit I wanted as much power as I could get at the time. So I’ve ended up with a 1200, 650c and the 500’s, but in real use my Forza 300’s, 150’s, 60’s and tube lights get the majority of use when doing film work. And when I do break out the big lights they are very rarely used at max power. Big lights also = heavy duty stands. If I was just starting to build my kit today would the 720 fit in? Probably not! The 720b would be a better choice, but honestly give me a couple of the cheaper FS-300b’s and I’d be happy.
And for photography, I’m still old school and prefer the size and power of strobes.
I hear ya, I am not usually cranking it to 100% but it sure is nice to have the option.
thanks for the photographic comparison, as most of them are cine related, but this system does look like a constant light contender for a profoto or broncolor flash replacement, at least for studio, still life, etc. esp. at that price point.
one question if you are doing a photo comparison, would you have an idea of what formats it could cope with, aka power settings for mf and LF film formats (6x4.5 to 6x9 as well as 4x5" sheet film), as not much is said to this subject.
Thanks for this John! I have a FS 300B, so watching this, my next powerful upgrade is definitely gonna be the Forza 720B! Even if the Forza 500B II exists now, the 720B is the way to go to have a good soft and powerful light.
Thank you. You might want to check out this video to which compares an FS-300 to the Forza 500. ua-cam.com/video/O9g0ocVCTPk/v-deo.html
@@JohnGress yes! Also saw it! That’s why I prefer to upgrade and go big with the 720B
Ok cool. Enjoy!
Hi John--I'm considering switching to constant light for dog photography. I'd need a shutter speed of 1/500th and an aperture of 5.6 or ideally 8. Do you think I could do that with either of these lights? I'd be willing to do an ISO of maybe 1250 but I'd like to stick to 800 or less.
If you had the lights in close with smaller modifiers you might be able to get that exposure, but if there is any kind of movement you're going to get motion blur. So I would stick with flash, unless thats causing the dogs to freak out too.
Hard to listen to the rest of the review after the strap on hanger part ;)
The 720 they upped tiny shortcomings from the 500 it seems.
Better lever mechanism for locking the light on the yolk. Much quicker, that's a good thing.
Better plugs with a locking mechanism for extra security. THIS is extremely welcome. I think the same as you, thinking it isn't connected well enough and using extra (unnecessary) force to ensure good contact. Doing something like that, one unknowingly can damage the contacts by accident 😶.
The ballast grip is considerably better compared to just hanging. However, I hope user error won't be a thing given the weight distribution. This is definitely a sturdy c-stand dependent system.
The COB is larger I agree in comparison and it would affect the output in the end.
The cough audio edits were funny in the end 😄, but necessary.
The 720 for me is the better choice. If they had not made those "updates" to the 500's build, I probably would stick with the 500 and modifiers the best I could to compensate. Great video.
Thank you so much! I had so many second second thought about the feathering on thei first tests so I ran them again two days later after I shot and edited the rest of the video. So I had to correct my mistakes, even though it was only a 1/10 or 2/10 of a stop difference.
Yeah I was always worried that I was inserting the 500 cable wrongly, and sometimes I wouldn't even get it plugged in all the way thanks to my fear.
how to place a lee filters gels 3200k on led cob ? thank's
You would probably need to gel the front of the modifier because they tend to melt gels when you place them over the COB
You use the clamp wrong on forza 500
I just reviewed the manual to see if it says to do anything differently or specific for that matter, and it doesn't. So please lmk what you are referring to. manuals.plus/nanlite/ngu-na122026-forza-500-led-spotlight-manual?expand_article=1#operating_instructions
Sia…oh man I got a chuckle out of that. Just kind of snuck that in there😂😂🫡
Ha! She usually wears her wig lower!