At 3:55, you mention that mixing yellow and blue produces green. This would be correct if we were dealing with subtractive primaries as is the case with paint (red, yellow and blue) but lighting is additive. Mixing yellow and blue *light* actually produces white! The fact that some emitters exhibit either a green or magenta shift is due to binning. An emitter can exhibit R9 values above 95 and still fail to accurately track the planckian locus for its white point, resulting in either a green or magenta shift.
The information today reminded me of a producer whose crew I assigned to shoot video in an elementary school classroom years ago. They set a Lowell light too close to the little American flag that was attached to the wall and hanging down next to the whiteboard. Needless to say, the flag caught fire. The producer grabbed the burning flag and proceeded to stomp on it. I can imagine how that looked from the school hallway.
This stuck me so hard that I really can't resist NOT to comment on this topic. Although not quite about photo or video shooting, but you'll get the idea... I've been doing DIY Super8 film scanner setup for ages since the 3CCD miniDV camcorder era (ah, what a good old days...) to the mirrorless camera age, Panny GH5 as of now. Although everything else is perfect, but the resultant scan from negative film stock would always look a bit "off" - the color never seems quite right no matter what. Extensive color grading would only make it look passable, but not great. Only early this year that I had a second though and replaced the original cheap LED panel with the most primitive light source ever - a typical 12v 50w halogen lamp found in any hardware store. Just for the heck of it - so what I initially thought. The result is, to my shock, just WOW. It literally brought the overall color balance almost right to the target. Then I can nail the color grading with only just 3-4 nodes instead of 10-15 as it once was. Then hit the export, and be done with the job in minutes rather than hours. Literally a vast improvement in the workflow! The fun part is when I shared my finding to a Facebook group dedicated to this topic, I was greeted with TONS of negative / insult comments. 9 out of 10 insist on $300 high CRI LED light source otherwise the result would be crap. The remaining one would think that's questionable - to say at least. In the end I just heck with that and stick with my $3 solution, and let them keep fumbling around with color grading up until today...
I keep coming back to this video (at least 5 times now) and I learn something new every time. Markus I hope you know how much we appreciate your sharing your knowledge with us.
I appreciate that you also have a more quantitative explanation on why the CRI labels are still bull despite having those high numbers instead of dismissing the measurement entirely. I find it surprising that many manufacturers can actually cook the numbers on them when I thought it was just a simple and straightforward measurement.
Great video. Markus knows his subject and presents it well. He is an amazing combination, he is truly an artist at heart but knows and understands his tools and the technology.
Great info Markus (as usual). I keep an old Osram 500 watt 2 pin halogen bulb in my desk drawer as a reminder of how much I despise those old hot lights. It takes like a nano second to fry you if you brush up against one. Love your quick lessons on adjusting the white balance and fine tuning. Great advice. THANK YOU!
I so appreciate that you act like a goof so much of the time but really understand the science and engineering (well the photonics anyway) behind it all. It really makes me respect you. I'm glad you read my comment from a while back and pulled out the Sekonic (what no credit line) and yes, I'm a Nerd and a former Steadicam Operator so whadda you expect? I love hot lights but it's a matter of power and portability. I remember pissing off clients as I demanded time for my lights to cool off before striking and moving not to mention having to carry tons of cabling since we'd have to make runs to adjoining rooms to hit different breakers. And you can't use a Variac below about 70% or the color temperature changes no matter how heavy those big coils are. Oh, and C-47s burn too but they have that wonderful fireplace smell, ha, ha, ha. When I started in the seventies we'd light with a meter since you need a gazillion FC to make pictures with video cameras. Guys hated me when I'd want to take my HL-77 or TK-76 into dark nightclubs to shoot bands, comedians, etc let alone shooting drama and commercials on location and on video instead of Super 16. It was so freeing in the 80s to start to light while looking at a monitor instead of a light meter. Lighter quicker cheaper will always win the day since chip ISO and particularly dynamic range have improved. Then again there is something to be said about an analog image and lighting for the picture instead of the technical spec. Perhaps explaining black and white (Ansel 10 chip or 8 chip) and dynamic range should be a topic for another (nerdy) video?
Great video, as usual! Soft boxes can be used with tungsten and HMI lights. They just have to be rated for such use. I have several tungsten Rifa-light soft boxes. They are very quick and efficient.
Seeing all those tungsten lights is bringing me back to when I took my first video class at the local career center when I was in middle school. The lighting kits the center had were really good but they always had to be checked out with tons of extension cords because having more than one of these lights plugged into the same circuit would blow it (Obviously). Now that's almost never a problem. This was around the time miniDV was king, flash storage was out there but not many people had access to it.
Love this video! Great explanation! I've been trying to tell people for a long time hot lights were better than LEDs but didn't have this information to prove it. And it makes sense why a lot of production people use LEDs as they don't typically have the budget (time or funds) to rig fresnel and hmi lights. So it's good to know they're are some good LED lights out there or that they can be corrected. Also just subed
Thank Markus for this EXCELLENT video. It's excellent because of the following reasons. First, it contains all the necessary charts & video footages to BACK UP your explanation. For example, when you say the blue color peak merges with the yellow peak, the LED light will give a green cast. Then you show the footage of your face turning green. It's hilarious and effective. Second, you share your UNIQUE solution of white balance adjustment using a piece of crumbled white paper. I've have never seen it before. Third, your good SENSE of HUMOR make a dry subject FUN. Thanks again.
I so appreciate this video - I always enjoy your content but this one was a big learning experience that explains a lot of the real world issues with LED lights as a photographer - unrelated to my silly yt channel - Always appreciate you! That light meter is a beast.
in r/flashlight community, we talked a lot about this topic. And we really love high CRI LEDs. But one thing is, even with us who read emitter datasheet every morning. It just come down to emitter binning. High CRI = lower brightness = lower efficiency. Usually all the store stock only brightest bin, neutral DUV one is hard to come by. Green-ish bin can be found anywhere.
Thanks for this Markus! I have the C-800, and I agree, it is highly addictive. Lol.. Thank you so much for testing all of these lights and pointing out the good ones!!
You hit on the exact ride I've taken with lighting all these years. It's been fun, a learning experience (in terms of limitations), and making things work with less than ideal equipment. And you presented it without a lot of unnecessary detail!
For LED purposes an SSI over 80, TLCI & CRI over 97 are good indicators of a well balanced LED light. No not 100% Tungsten or Daylight equivalent, but for the purposes of shooting something that should look good without any need for gelling or potential post color correction. The biggest issue with LED lights is they tend to change color over time, and some more than others. This is why having a spectrometer is such a useful tool.
Hi Markus, video request here as a proper colour meter is out of budget currently. Would you be able to do a test on what the spectrum graph on the Godox flashes are like at various power settings? And also what shifts do the modifiers cause? Know you think to prefer smaller, lighter equipment so tests on umbrellas and hard reflectors would be ok. Personally interested too about softboxes. The info isn’t usually available and most reviews don’t test or cover these. And certainly it’s hard to find long term tests as the modifier material/equipment ages. In recent memory only a channel “Wes Perry” has pointed out this discrepancy. But it was just specific to two Westcott modifiers and not a broad survey measurement. “Fstoppers” has a new video covering colour temp shifts on speed lights through their power range but not their spectrum. Hope you can help fill in the info gap! Thank you!
The strobes roll to blue... you can rent the Sekonic but it's one of the best tools I ever bought but like most things, you become known as a nerd and a wise ass since you don't have to think... you know.
Thank you for teaching us. Your passion and dedication about video and film are out of this world. We are amazed by your expertise and knowledge. Thank you again.
Great Content as always! Video suggestion: How to direct a model. I've seen one with tips from Cara, but not yet one from your perspective. Would love to hear your ideas!
Great video. I've always gelled LEDs because the color "felt" better somehow. People dont stop to learn how things actually work anymore and instead just drone out technical sounding marketing terms with little regard or understanding. This is refreshing. Especially love that you show and compare the "historical" stuff. Old style lighting was and is still magical. Im hoping some day that guy Scott Zimmerman and his NIRA lighting technology get into the film lighting business. Maybe his science will bring back some of the magic in today's lighting. And yeah, I hear color meters beat out meth as far as addictiveness and are way better on the teeth. 😁
It sounds like there's a noticeable amount of self-noise coming through in your audio when you speak- if you like to work with boomed shotgun mics, I'd recommend the Rode NTG5, which has a low (for a shotgun mic) self-noise of 10dB, paired with a Zoom F3, which has an EIN of -127dBu. Or, if you want to get super quiet, you can pair the F3 with a Rode NT1, which has a self-noise of 4dB. Just my two cents, in case it's helpful. (Also, small side note- at 3:55... when you mix yellow light (green light+red light) and blue light, you don't get green light, you get white light... Right? Though I still agree with the conclusion, that those LEDs definitely have a tinted look)
I'd love to see detailed usage of the C 800 if you have the energy and it would be fun to do for you. I think I could be better at using it. Thanks again for uploading another awesome video.
Interesting note Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota Florida only uses tungsten lighting to photograph their biological research of flowering plants due to color accuracy concerns.
Hi Markus, I have been using a 140 watt LED grow light for my UA-cam channel for 2 years. I have no idea what the CRI is, but I really like the quality of light, and it was super cheap compared to video lights. It has a few red LEDs added to the array, which is supposed to make plants happy, but it probably helps when rendering oranges and reds.
@@MarkusPix I checked the spectral output from their product page and it it’s pretty similar to the other LEDs you showed. So maybe I’m smoking something. My cheap 60w video light casts very blue by comparison, and my office lights are orange, so it seemed good by comparison
Cool video!!! I design building lighting on occasion and have found the same thing. No, I did not use a meter just my eyes. Lighting for building owners is an afterthought at best. The old fluorescent fixtures were really the pits!!!
I'd be interested to learn more about the lighting techniques you employed during your work with miniatures. The dramatic lighting in your city flybys, how you match miniature set lighting to its cooresponding "scale" people set. selfishly absorbing your knowledge and hoping for more, thank you for sharing your experiences with us! u good ppl🖖
i do mostly theatre-work, and i prefer tungsten for frontlight. it really helps to make a good skin-tone. I do use led's for colors, but blue is almost always a problem (blue-burn) thank you for sharing your insights.
@@kropjesla01 Ha, ha, ha, yes, I stopped going to theaters many years ago when the quantity of advertising reached an exasperating level. Also, the quality of the prints was just so poor that I couldn't see through what has become a cliche for film projection with more crap in the gate than a sewing machine.
Here in Bangladesh we mix tungsten light with flash for photography. What do you think about that? If there's any scope can you please make some video related to the usages of tungsten light? Thank you Mark!
In the "good enough" for UA-cam, I shoot standard H.264 and use a color checker. One-click in video editor and white balance / skin tones are "good enough". Shooting raw but staying with LED lighting seems like marginal benefit for a lot more work and still just UA-cam quality anyway?
you explained it well! I still love my Dedolight tungsten light, my Arri 300/650w and my HMI spotlights etc. But now I only work with battery power and LED lights - so much faster, simpler and easier.
I am interested in one of these meters. Mainly to set proper in camera white balance. How complex is it to just take a light reading and have it show you what adjustments to make in camera to your WB. A short video would be great. Thanks!
Would love to see you rate Smallrig 350 and 450 bicolors. Good mid-range constant light, much less than Aputure (got at 450d + the controller for half price ~$650) but, after this, I wonder what the R9 really is.
Wow. Reminded me of the old days, 40 years ago. Doing portraits in the garage. Using 300 w incandescent bulbs and melting electrical outlets out of the wall and blowing circuit breakers.
FWIW if anyone is thinking on picking up some tungsten lights here are some safety tips (which are applicable to handling high power LED lights too!): Wear clothes made only with natural fibers! heat from hot lights can actually can melt the artificial fibers of clothing items into your skin. And use proper insulated leather gloves to handle them in a pinch you can use thick gardening leather gloves too! Be safe everyone!
I hate that LED household bulbs are replacing Tungsten Incandescent light precisely because the color of the LEDs sucks. Especially the ones that try to be warm incandescent. Thanks for the video Markus. Very enLIGHTening. oh ho ho, see what I did. haha, i'll see myself out.
Hi Markus Thank you for the breakdown and info, very interesting. I don't suppose you have tested the Godox SL200 II LED heads at all? Or anyone in the community tested them? Contemplating adding a few to my studio for UA-cam content. Rick
The manufacturers know about magenta / green shift so they built in a feature to control that on the LED lights. Why magenta / green shift is not adjusted at the best value in the factory?
Did you learn all of this from your time in cinema, or did you also go to film school? Always amazed at what you know--especially since most UA-camrs don't
Lol I taught myself ever since I got hold of my dad's Super8 camera in the 70s. But everyone learns all kinds of tricks when working in Hollywood. I never went to film school, in fact, I taught film school for a bit. ua-cam.com/video/AE_5QyBykgg/v-deo.html
You be surprised how much red you get from a standard light bulb! 500 watt shop light work well too. I lower them to 300 watt bulbs to help prevent fires. Any more I just run Cree spotlight bulbs in a quad socket into a soft box or umbrella.
It’s old tech now, but have you ever used the old BB&S remote phosphor LED lights? Area48, etc? Especially for the early 2010s the color seems pretty good, since the remote phosphor is what actually determines the color and emits the light. Curious how it would compare in terms of lighting spectrum.
The Zhiyun lights are great lights, very bright, portable and good color. I just hate how they need a separate power source with either a dangly stupid USB cord or an expensive undependable proprietary battery that only lasts for 30 minutes and stops working after 3 uses. So I never end up taking them with me on trips because they are not fun to use. They are sooo close but didn't cross the finish line for me. (cue pirate aargh)
@MarkusPix that's honestly fair! I really appreciate that you try to go through all the comments! I think I'm gonna do a 60X for multi-use studio/small interview projects 😄
Do you really want an answer to your question? It's because that's not what CRI means. CRI is about how the light is perceived by the human eye. A sensor doesn't work the same as a human eye. Low pressure sodium lights put out a lot of lumens, but the human eye can't make good use of that light. So LPS is very efficient, but not very usable. (Try threading a needle under LPS light.) It's also worth noting that CRI is just a number printed on a package. A lot of manufacturers claim high CRI, but their products are anything but.
Not laughing at all. I grew up using those lights and I am all to familiar with them. We didn’t have all the fancy LED lights back then. I love all lights. I think light is fun no matter what, but each type of light has its place and use, and I could not agree more with your assessment about them here. And, I love you are calling out the “high CRI” bullcorn with modern LED lights 😂. Still, you can get some pretty good results with them. They have become fairly common place now with tv. Studio, reality, news etc. and….for lighting up my house 😂. The Sekonic Spectromaster C800 is an awesome tool. I remember shooting in winter back in the day, and the talent going out for their smoke breaks and coming back in under the lights and they would steam!
Amazing info. I love LEDs but I'm often frustrated with the skin tones and now I know why. I was wondering about the Ulanzi VL-120C RGB Light, if someone gets to test that one with a fancy color meter, let me know please!
ua-cam.com/video/_ZhVypkW7bs/v-deo.html Its quite good! CCT 5798k, CRI /Ra 97.9 R9 92.1 Big blue spike like all LEDs, but green yellow orange red even all across
Always fun trying to replace the lamp in a Tota light, while holding it with paper to keep your skin oils off it, then...OOPS! You slip, and have to clean it off with alcohol. Good times. Thanks for the great video!
At 3:55, you mention that mixing yellow and blue produces green. This would be correct if we were dealing with subtractive primaries as is the case with paint (red, yellow and blue) but lighting is additive. Mixing yellow and blue *light* actually produces white! The fact that some emitters exhibit either a green or magenta shift is due to binning. An emitter can exhibit R9 values above 95 and still fail to accurately track the planckian locus for its white point, resulting in either a green or magenta shift.
The information today reminded me of a producer whose crew I assigned to shoot video in an elementary school classroom years ago. They set a Lowell light too close to the little American flag that was attached to the wall and hanging down next to the whiteboard. Needless to say, the flag caught fire. The producer grabbed the burning flag and proceeded to stomp on it. I can imagine how that looked from the school hallway.
😂😅 Sounds like a scene from an Adam Sandler Mark Wahlberg movie
@@MarkusPix LMAO!
YA DANG HIPPIES!!!
I think you described Puerto-Rican day in Seinfeld.
When Markus says, I'm gonna blow your mind,
He always does.
Best Greetings from a true amateur in Sweden.
This stuck me so hard that I really can't resist NOT to comment on this topic. Although not quite about photo or video shooting, but you'll get the idea...
I've been doing DIY Super8 film scanner setup for ages since the 3CCD miniDV camcorder era (ah, what a good old days...) to the mirrorless camera age, Panny GH5 as of now. Although everything else is perfect, but the resultant scan from negative film stock would always look a bit "off" - the color never seems quite right no matter what. Extensive color grading would only make it look passable, but not great.
Only early this year that I had a second though and replaced the original cheap LED panel with the most primitive light source ever - a typical 12v 50w halogen lamp found in any hardware store. Just for the heck of it - so what I initially thought.
The result is, to my shock, just WOW. It literally brought the overall color balance almost right to the target. Then I can nail the color grading with only just 3-4 nodes instead of 10-15 as it once was. Then hit the export, and be done with the job in minutes rather than hours. Literally a vast improvement in the workflow!
The fun part is when I shared my finding to a Facebook group dedicated to this topic, I was greeted with TONS of negative / insult comments. 9 out of 10 insist on $300 high CRI LED light source otherwise the result would be crap. The remaining one would think that's questionable - to say at least. In the end I just heck with that and stick with my $3 solution, and let them keep fumbling around with color grading up until today...
I keep coming back to this video (at least 5 times now) and I learn something new every time. Markus I hope you know how much we appreciate your sharing your knowledge with us.
Took the Panasonic 981 after your video, i love it! Keep those video coming 💪
Just when I was thinking CRI must be BS, you come out with this video! Brilliant!
I appreciate that you also have a more quantitative explanation on why the CRI labels are still bull despite having those high numbers instead of dismissing the measurement entirely. I find it surprising that many manufacturers can actually cook the numbers on them when I thought it was just a simple and straightforward measurement.
Great video. Markus knows his subject and presents it well. He is an amazing combination, he is truly an artist at heart but knows and understands his tools and the technology.
need a month per video to even start grasping all the knowledge in it. TT ur a blessing
Great info Markus (as usual). I keep an old Osram 500 watt 2 pin halogen bulb in my desk drawer as a reminder of how much I despise those old hot lights. It takes like a nano second to fry you if you brush up against one. Love your quick lessons on adjusting the white balance and fine tuning. Great advice. THANK YOU!
I so appreciate that you act like a goof so much of the time but really understand the science and engineering (well the photonics anyway) behind it all. It really makes me respect you.
I'm glad you read my comment from a while back and pulled out the Sekonic (what no credit line) and yes, I'm a Nerd and a former Steadicam Operator so whadda you expect? I love hot lights but it's a matter of power and portability. I remember pissing off clients as I demanded time for my lights to cool off before striking and moving not to mention having to carry tons of cabling since we'd have to make runs to adjoining rooms to hit different breakers. And you can't use a Variac below about 70% or the color temperature changes no matter how heavy those big coils are. Oh, and C-47s burn too but they have that wonderful fireplace smell, ha, ha, ha.
When I started in the seventies we'd light with a meter since you need a gazillion FC to make pictures with video cameras. Guys hated me when I'd want to take my HL-77 or TK-76 into dark nightclubs to shoot bands, comedians, etc let alone shooting drama and commercials on location and on video instead of Super 16.
It was so freeing in the 80s to start to light while looking at a monitor instead of a light meter. Lighter quicker cheaper will always win the day since chip ISO and particularly dynamic range have improved. Then again there is something to be said about an analog image and lighting for the picture instead of the technical spec. Perhaps explaining black and white (Ansel 10 chip or 8 chip) and dynamic range should be a topic for another (nerdy) video?
So much info in this video. I'll definitely be watching this one again. Thanks.
The best video you put out this year! 👍
Wow, thanks!
Great video, as usual!
Soft boxes can be used with tungsten and HMI lights. They just have to be rated for such use.
I have several tungsten Rifa-light soft boxes. They are very quick and efficient.
Seeing all those tungsten lights is bringing me back to when I took my first video class at the local career center when I was in middle school. The lighting kits the center had were really good but they always had to be checked out with tons of extension cords because having more than one of these lights plugged into the same circuit would blow it (Obviously). Now that's almost never a problem.
This was around the time miniDV was king, flash storage was out there but not many people had access to it.
Oh yeah, all those memories!
Every upload a blessing. Thanks for sharing these videos.
Love this video! Great explanation! I've been trying to tell people for a long time hot lights were better than LEDs but didn't have this information to prove it. And it makes sense why a lot of production people use LEDs as they don't typically have the budget (time or funds) to rig fresnel and hmi lights. So it's good to know they're are some good LED lights out there or that they can be corrected.
Also just subed
Thank Markus for this EXCELLENT video. It's excellent because of the following reasons. First, it contains all the necessary charts & video footages to BACK UP your explanation. For example, when you say the blue color peak merges with the yellow peak, the LED light will give a green cast. Then you show the footage of your face turning green. It's hilarious and effective. Second, you share your UNIQUE solution of white balance adjustment using a piece of crumbled white paper. I've have never seen it before. Third, your good SENSE of HUMOR make a dry subject FUN. Thanks again.
I have a dedolight dlh4 lying in the cabinet, maybe it’s time to take it out and play with it. Thanks Markus for sharing. Generous of you 🙏
I so appreciate this video - I always enjoy your content but this one was a big learning experience that explains a lot of the real world issues with LED lights as a photographer - unrelated to my silly yt channel - Always appreciate you! That light meter is a beast.
in r/flashlight community, we talked a lot about this topic. And we really love high CRI LEDs. But one thing is, even with us who read emitter datasheet every morning. It just come down to emitter binning. High CRI = lower brightness = lower efficiency. Usually all the store stock only brightest bin, neutral DUV one is hard to come by. Green-ish bin can be found anywhere.
Thanks for this Markus! I have the C-800, and I agree, it is highly addictive. Lol.. Thank you so much for testing all of these lights and pointing out the good ones!!
You hit on the exact ride I've taken with lighting all these years. It's been fun, a learning experience (in terms of limitations), and making things work with less than ideal equipment. And you presented it without a lot of unnecessary detail!
I remember 3 or 4 tungsten bulb light bars for home movie cameras. They would give a hand 3rd degree burns instantly on contact.
Yup, the good ol days 😄
Been in the industry 45 years and nothing beats Tungsten.
For LED purposes an SSI over 80, TLCI & CRI over 97 are good indicators of a well balanced LED light. No not 100% Tungsten or Daylight equivalent, but for the purposes of shooting something that should look good without any need for gelling or potential post color correction. The biggest issue with LED lights is they tend to change color over time, and some more than others. This is why having a spectrometer is such a useful tool.
Love this video Markus, really enjoy the humour.
Dangit Markus... you got my hopes up with that book!!! PLEASE CONSIDER WRITING ONE!!!
Hi Markus, video request here as a proper colour meter is out of budget currently. Would you be able to do a test on what the spectrum graph on the Godox flashes are like at various power settings?
And also what shifts do the modifiers cause? Know you think to prefer smaller, lighter equipment so tests on umbrellas and hard reflectors would be ok. Personally interested too about softboxes.
The info isn’t usually available and most reviews don’t test or cover these. And certainly it’s hard to find long term tests as the modifier material/equipment ages.
In recent memory only a channel “Wes Perry” has pointed out this discrepancy. But it was just specific to two Westcott modifiers and not a broad survey measurement. “Fstoppers” has a new video covering colour temp shifts on speed lights through their power range but not their spectrum.
Hope you can help fill in the info gap! Thank you!
The strobes roll to blue... you can rent the Sekonic but it's one of the best tools I ever bought but like most things, you become known as a nerd and a wise ass since you don't have to think... you know.
forgot how much I love your content
Thank you for teaching us. Your passion and dedication about video and film are out of this world. We are amazed by your expertise and knowledge. Thank you again.
Love this content! I think you are overstating the danger of tungsten lights, they are the best for skin tone and they are safe if used properly.
Great Content as always! Video suggestion: How to direct a model.
I've seen one with tips from Cara, but not yet one from your perspective. Would love to hear your ideas!
You're a legend for this one Mark!
Markus + the Whole new world song!
Loved the video
Great video. I've always gelled LEDs because the color "felt" better somehow. People dont stop to learn how things actually work anymore and instead just drone out technical sounding marketing terms with little regard or understanding. This is refreshing. Especially love that you show and compare the "historical" stuff. Old style lighting was and is still magical. Im hoping some day that guy Scott Zimmerman and his NIRA lighting technology get into the film lighting business. Maybe his science will bring back some of the magic in today's lighting. And yeah, I hear color meters beat out meth as far as addictiveness and are way better on the teeth. 😁
Dimming tungsten reduces the color temperature. Thanks for a great video.
It sounds like there's a noticeable amount of self-noise coming through in your audio when you speak- if you like to work with boomed shotgun mics, I'd recommend the Rode NTG5, which has a low (for a shotgun mic) self-noise of 10dB, paired with a Zoom F3, which has an EIN of -127dBu. Or, if you want to get super quiet, you can pair the F3 with a Rode NT1, which has a self-noise of 4dB. Just my two cents, in case it's helpful.
(Also, small side note- at 3:55... when you mix yellow light (green light+red light) and blue light, you don't get green light, you get white light... Right? Though I still agree with the conclusion, that those LEDs definitely have a tinted look)
I'd love to see detailed usage of the C 800 if you have the energy and it would be fun to do for you. I think I could be better at using it. Thanks again for uploading another awesome video.
Always so insightful - thanks brother !
Super informative - as usual
Thank you again
you are insane. and so am I. I'm getting that meter, god i didn't even know i needed one so badly.
Interesting note Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota Florida only uses tungsten lighting to photograph their biological research of flowering plants due to color accuracy concerns.
Thank you for this. Ive been using desk lamp and was doing research i am glad i was able to come across this info
Thank you Marcus. Need to watch this video several times to distille the knowledge. 🥇
Hi Markus,
I have been using a 140 watt LED grow light for my UA-cam channel for 2 years.
I have no idea what the CRI is, but I really like the quality of light, and it was super cheap compared to video lights.
It has a few red LEDs added to the array, which is supposed to make plants happy, but it probably helps when rendering oranges and reds.
Whatcha growin? 😅😂😉😜😂
@@MarkusPix
I checked the spectral output from their product page and it it’s pretty similar to the other LEDs you showed. So maybe I’m smoking something.
My cheap 60w video light casts very blue by comparison, and my office lights are orange, so it seemed good by comparison
Cool video!!! I design building lighting on occasion and have found the same thing. No, I did not use a meter just my eyes. Lighting for building owners is an afterthought at best. The old fluorescent fixtures were really the pits!!!
Sever of the Gel companies have tubes to correct fluorescents properly. They do bleach out over time though.
4:21 LMAO, I'm just dying of laughter in this whole video
i was exited for that book announcement :)
I'd be interested to learn more about the lighting techniques you employed during your work with miniatures. The dramatic lighting in your city flybys, how you match miniature set lighting to its cooresponding "scale" people set. selfishly absorbing your knowledge and hoping for more, thank you for sharing your experiences with us! u good ppl🖖
i do mostly theatre-work, and i prefer tungsten for frontlight. it really helps to make a good skin-tone. I do use led's for colors, but blue is almost always a problem (blue-burn) thank you for sharing your insights.
I hate guys who mix color temperatures except for candles and practicals.
@@superbmediacontentcreator never ever go into a theater then, you will be shocked..
@@kropjesla01 Ha, ha, ha, yes, I stopped going to theaters many years ago when the quantity of advertising reached an exasperating level. Also, the quality of the prints was just so poor that I couldn't see through what has become a cliche for film projection with more crap in the gate than a sewing machine.
Here in Bangladesh we mix tungsten light with flash for photography. What do you think about that? If there's any scope can you please make some video related to the usages of tungsten light? Thank you Mark!
In the "good enough" for UA-cam, I shoot standard H.264 and use a color checker. One-click in video editor and white balance / skin tones are "good enough". Shooting raw but staying with LED lighting seems like marginal benefit for a lot more work and still just UA-cam quality anyway?
Thank you, Marcus. Thank you for being genuine.
you explained it well! I still love my Dedolight tungsten light, my Arri 300/650w and my HMI spotlights etc. But now I only work with battery power and LED lights - so much faster, simpler and easier.
Yes it is
I am interested in one of these meters. Mainly to set proper in camera white balance. How complex is it to just take a light reading and have it show you what adjustments to make in camera to your WB. A short video would be great. Thanks!
Its real easy, just push the button to take a reading, press the color correction button and it shows you everything
Would love to see you rate Smallrig 350 and 450 bicolors. Good mid-range constant light, much less than Aputure (got at 450d + the controller for half price ~$650) but, after this, I wonder what the R9 really is.
Wow. Reminded me of the old days, 40 years ago. Doing portraits in the garage. Using 300 w incandescent bulbs and melting electrical outlets out of the wall and blowing circuit breakers.
Markus, you should film a new movie.
and turn the whole process of making the movie into a youtube show.
I would watch.
I have both arris and lowels in tungsten. Nothing beat em. Leds do have a place but nothing beats old school
One of my happiest days was the day I sold my blimped generator trailer!
I'd like a tutorial on the spikes and fixing them in premiere. Would be handy.
FWIW if anyone is thinking on picking up some tungsten lights here are some safety tips (which are applicable to handling high power LED lights too!):
Wear clothes made only with natural fibers! heat from hot lights can actually can melt the artificial fibers of clothing items into your skin. And use proper insulated leather gloves to handle them in a pinch you can use thick gardening leather gloves too! Be safe everyone!
06:25 🤣🤣🤣🤣that's funny but so true those lights can dry a puddle pretty quickly
This was extremely informative, thank you for the vid!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I used HDI lights and after couple of hours there was some glass melting visible. Anyway, we used an HDV camera...
I hate that LED household bulbs are replacing Tungsten Incandescent light precisely because the color of the LEDs sucks. Especially the ones that try to be warm incandescent. Thanks for the video Markus. Very enLIGHTening. oh ho ho, see what I did. haha, i'll see myself out.
I have a small 150w tungsten fresnel. Sometimes you just can't beat incandescent. 👍
Hi Markus
Thank you for the breakdown and info, very interesting.
I don't suppose you have tested the Godox SL200 II LED heads at all? Or anyone in the community tested them?
Contemplating adding a few to my studio for UA-cam content.
Rick
So what is it called when you have a LED strip light in a room and depending on the colour of light you have on the objects in the room change colour
This guy is something else. 🤯🤯
Roger Deakins prefers incandescent bulbs - really great video! you could also use poor video lights intentionally for a horror film for example.
Good old tungsten- always bring your gloves! Used to have in back pocket on set. Plus learned to gel
You would buy the book :) I get such a huge value from your videos. thanks
Another good one!
No body in whole youtube explain this please do more about those stuff❤❤❤
The manufacturers know about magenta / green shift so they built in a feature to control that on the LED lights. Why magenta / green shift is not adjusted at the best value in the factory?
Did you learn all of this from your time in cinema, or did you also go to film school? Always amazed at what you know--especially since most UA-camrs don't
Lol I taught myself ever since I got hold of my dad's Super8 camera in the 70s. But everyone learns all kinds of tricks when working in Hollywood. I never went to film school, in fact, I taught film school for a bit. ua-cam.com/video/AE_5QyBykgg/v-deo.html
You be surprised how much red you get from a standard light bulb! 500 watt shop light work well too. I lower them to 300 watt bulbs to help prevent fires. Any more I just run Cree spotlight bulbs in a quad socket into a soft box or umbrella.
this is why film school taught by industry professionals is still relevant.
Nah, we're just old and irrelevant!
It’s old tech now, but have you ever used the old BB&S remote phosphor LED lights? Area48, etc?
Especially for the early 2010s the color seems pretty good, since the remote phosphor is what actually determines the color and emits the light.
Curious how it would compare in terms of lighting spectrum.
So do you still recommend the amaran 60d over the zhiyun x100 after seeing these results? You kinda trashed the zhiyun a year ago so I'm curious
Maybe trashed is a bit harsh
The Zhiyun lights are great lights, very bright, portable and good color. I just hate how they need a separate power source with either a dangly stupid USB cord or an expensive undependable proprietary battery that only lasts for 30 minutes and stops working after 3 uses. So I never end up taking them with me on trips because they are not fun to use. They are sooo close but didn't cross the finish line for me. (cue pirate aargh)
@MarkusPix that's honestly fair! I really appreciate that you try to go through all the comments!
I think I'm gonna do a 60X for multi-use studio/small interview projects 😄
Do you really want an answer to your question? It's because that's not what CRI means. CRI is about how the light is perceived by the human eye. A sensor doesn't work the same as a human eye. Low pressure sodium lights put out a lot of lumens, but the human eye can't make good use of that light. So LPS is very efficient, but not very usable. (Try threading a needle under LPS light.)
It's also worth noting that CRI is just a number printed on a package. A lot of manufacturers claim high CRI, but their products are anything but.
There was no question and yes I know.
You left out to check the fusebox when using the tungsten lights and to split the power between different outlets, etc.
"fuse box" also shows one's age 😄
Yo I got an optical spectrometer (cheap one), any good formula to translate the curve into actual CRI except the common sense?
LMAO this intro made me almost fall out my chair by laugh , and yes is a gaming chair btw ahahahah thanks Markus
and what about Zhiyun M40 Fiveray?
Its in the list below
Absolutely a great post. Tell it like it is!
ok 😅
Not laughing at all. I grew up using those lights and I am all to familiar with them. We didn’t have all the fancy LED lights back then.
I love all lights. I think light is fun no matter what, but each type of light has its place and use, and I could not agree more with your assessment about them here. And, I love you are calling out the “high CRI” bullcorn with modern LED lights 😂. Still, you can get some pretty good results with them. They have become fairly common place now with tv. Studio, reality, news etc. and….for lighting up my house 😂. The Sekonic Spectromaster C800 is an awesome tool.
I remember shooting in winter back in the day, and the talent going out for their smoke breaks and coming back in under the lights and they would steam!
Excellent topic 👏
I joined today to Professor Markus Lighting 101 college course!!!
what about the other options beside LED and Tungsten? Where do halogen lights sit?
Halogen is tungsten. Also quartz and pretty any light bulb with a filament made in the twentieth century that screws into a socket.
Amazing info. I love LEDs but I'm often frustrated with the skin tones and now I know why. I was wondering about the Ulanzi VL-120C RGB Light, if someone gets to test that one with a fancy color meter, let me know please!
ua-cam.com/video/_ZhVypkW7bs/v-deo.html
Its quite good! CCT 5798k, CRI /Ra 97.9 R9 92.1
Big blue spike like all LEDs, but green yellow orange red even all across
@@MarkusPix thank you!
Now i want this lightmeter :D
What do you think of the Ifootage led lights
They looks like the are the best in color accuracy of all
Anglerfish by Ifootage
There’s such a wealth of info here… 😳
WOW! Valuable information.
Always fun trying to replace the lamp in a Tota light, while holding it with paper to keep your skin oils off it, then...OOPS! You slip, and have to clean it off with alcohol. Good times.
Thanks for the great video!
Yep that paranoia carried over into everything I touched for decades 😅
Have you tried the iFootage led lights? They don’t have that big blue spike.
I don't have one but I'm curious what the actual pattern is vs what they claim. Even Arri has a huge blue spike
@@MarkusPixif you get the chance, let us know. You have the best color meter.
Are flash lamps like the Godox AD200 at the correct color and temperature?
Yes