Content area
Full text
the latest LED lights are taking the video world by storm, and promises of bright lights with very low battery drain have many of us excited. I've spent some time on recent shoots with two of the most popular choices, the Sony HVL-LBP and the Zylight Z90.
The Sony light retails for around $500 at most popular professional video retailers, and the Zylight costs $875 directly from the manufacturer. This is a big difference, with almost $400 separating the two lights. There are some truly innovative features in the Zylight, and whether those features interest you or not will go a long way toward determining if this light is worth the extra cost.
IN THIS CORNER: THESONYHVL-LBP
The main advantage of the Sony HVL-LBP, from my perspective, is the fact that it uses Sony's L series Infolithium batteries. If you are using a Sony camera such as the FXl or ZlU, you already have batteries that will work with this unit, as well as the charger required. The lithium batteries used by this unit are lightweight and will power the light for a very long time, up to 3 hours at full brightness. In fact, I have yet to drain a full battery using this light.
The light is designed to be attached to the accessory shoe of your camera, and I've found it one of the easiest lights to attach and remove, thanks to the larger-than-average release dial at the base of the light. At just over 14 ounces (without battery), it tends to make the camera a little top-heavy, especially with lighter cameras such as the FXl, but there is a definite advantage to not having any cables running from the light to a battery belt.
The light performs well up close, especially within a 10' range, but drops off significantly after that. To combat this problem, there is a built-in condenser filter that intensifies the beam, although I found that this did not work well in the widescreen format and produced a look that reminded me more of an extremely bright flashlight.
The unit is outdoor-balanced at 560Ok, which causes a noticeable blue tint in indoor applications. I experimented with...