Sima SL-10L LED

Just wanted to give an honest opinion about the Sima SL-10L LED Universal Video Light I just received from B&H yesterday. It is a very small, compact unit that performs very nicely. Very bright (almost blinding if you stare right at it). The only con would be that the light isn't distributed in a wide field. It is more concentrated in a narrow beam. We are very happy with it.

Cool man, thanks. Ive been looking for a good on cam light, so maybe Ill check this one out.

BH rocks, no doubt.

I'm going for this one as well. It's no Paglight (http://www.paglight.com/), but it's 10 times cheaper, weighs a pound including the battery pack, and the other reviews aren't bad (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FFF4NS/), either.

thanks for the mini review! i was also about to try this one out. there is surprisingly little info about the inexpensive camera lights out there.

also, i just ordered this light from buy.com, and used google checkout to get $10 off.. so the shipped price was only $18 :D

Is there any standard measure like Lumens or Foot Candles or anything published for the amount of light that comes from different video lights? I feel strange comparing lighting options and not knowing which one is brighter or dimmer than another.

Is there any standard measure like Lumens or Foot Candles or anything published for the amount of light that comes from different video lights? I feel strange comparing lighting options and not knowing which one is brighter or dimmer than another.

I suspect nothing really useful -- since changing reflector design can change the effect. Really bright small spot (the interviewees face is good, but the neck is in blackness) to less bright flood -- all with the same bulb.

Many times you can look up the specifications for the bulb which may have the wattage, approximate lumens and color temerature.


The fixtures usually only have a maximum wattage rating.



Rich

Yeah, these little suckers are bright, if a little harsh, so I'm thinking of applying a slightly opaque film over it for some diffusion. They don't get hot, so it should be fine. But overall, they're a great value and they'll do fine in a pinch.

Thanks. Edit: I bought the Sima. Having charged and tested it:

- It's smaller than I expected (I was picturing it being the size of a cell phone, it's a little smaller than that.)

- The light is bright enough to film in a dark room with my Canon HV20, and get significantly better lighting than with just the built-in light. It's sortof like have 10 of the built-in movie lights instead of one.

- The light is a spot-beam, coving a narrow field of view. When the camera is zoomed all the way out, it makes just a bright circle in the center of the frame. When you zoom in a bit, it can fill the frame more evenly.

- There is no battery compartment to open, instead you'd need to open up the whole case if you ever wanted to replace the batteries. They are just AAA NiMHs, but it is designed that you should just leave them in all the time, not buy and bring spares with you to the shoot. I guess this is OK if you're not going to need more than an hour of shooting with it.

-jeremy