Have you ever tried adding a snoot to your LED Video Light to obtain a nice spot? This might work to prevent spill, but it doesn't truly refocus the light output or improve throw distance. You can find plenty of halogen style lights, but the best thing about LED Lighting is low power consumption, low heat, and typically has the option to run on batteries for remote location use. Unless you want to lug around a huge light (like these), choices are limited when trying to find a good LED spotlight in a small form factor.
These KOLL Solari LED Lights on the other hand use an interesting fresnel lens filter that not only creates various sized spotlights, but actually refocuses the full light output making the spotlight brighter and allowing for further throw.
Three separate filter trays on the KOLL Solari are only a few millimeters apart, but can drastically change the size of the spotlight effect depending which slot you choose. The concentration of power into a single spotlight definitely works on these lights. Now i'm more curious to see what the L15 Spotlight (more than 3x brighter) would look like compared to this L3. Maybe i'll get a chance to test this in the near future.
Koll Solari L3 LED Video Light Samples
Starting at around $350 dollars, these lights are pretty pricey, but while basic Barn Doors on LED lights won't offer more than a simple light blocking, these Solari lights truly focus light output and improve throw in a portable compact design. The Solari uses high power LED bulbs and are available in an L3 LED Light (seen in video) Illuminance: 720 lx, L5 LED Light Illuminance: 1630 lx, and an L15 LED Light lluminance: 2300 lx.
More info and technical specs about the KOLL Solari On-Camera Spot Flood LED Video Lights can be found at the F&V website (Click Here)
Koll Solari L3 L5 L15 On-Camera LED Video Lights
Reginald
I am interested in how the three led configuration is affected by a light shaper such as a flag or cookie pattern. Does any have experience using these?
Zach
@Lee - how effective is the L15 as a spot from approx 15-20 feet away? I am looking to place one of these on a light stand and aim at the dance floor during wedding receptions. I would prefer to use it in this manner and not as an on camera light.
Lee
Ok no problem, I was just hoping you might have something in your bag of tricks that you could recommend.
Emm
Post author@Lee - I'll try to look into this when I can, otherwise I would contact F&V for the exact specs.
Lee
Hey Emm, there isn't a ton of info, but the back of the light says, DC 10.5 ~ 18v. I assumed it would take anything between those numbers, but I'm not sure. I had a 12volt adapter that fit, but I can only turn the light up to around 75% brightness before the light shuts itself off. Do you have any recommendations? The last thing I want to do is burn out the light because I used the wrong adapter...
Emm
Post author@Lee - Sorry I don't have one in front of me. What type of AC power supply are you looking for (voltage)?
Lee
Hey Emm,
I just bought two of the Koll Solari L15's and was a little disappointed to discover that they do not ship with a power supply. Do you have any recommendations for a quality AC adapter?
Reginald
Have you tried this light with a cookie pattern or some other light shaper?
D'Arcy
What kind of flares would these lights give off if shot directly into the lens? The affect isn't that great with the typical LED lights. These could be great for music videos.
Emm
Post author@YesYesMovies - I have a few readings, but haven't compiled them together yet.
YesYesMovies
@Emm Love the detail and dedication in your work Emm.
Did you ever compile the data for the shootout involving the other LED lights?
VisX
@Verm
Maybe the reason for 2 digital backs is to make the device smaller. In a session you will only need 1 of the 2 backs. So you can leave the other one at home/studio.
Another reason maybe to make the electronic portion of the design simpler.
Verm
@Robert
What I meant is that I find it inpractical to carry two bodies around when you could just have both the battery and DC input on one body like any other LED light. There's probably some good reason for it, I just don't get it. What would be the real world advantage of having 2 bodies?
Emm
Post author@Robert - Here's a snapshot from Spectrometer from 3 ft away with tightest spotlight and no filters or diffusers (just the fresnel). The CRI rating on their site was 80, so I would say that's darn close. LUX reading was also close to their website, so I would say their test was around 3ft. The only thing off is the color temp, i'm reading it much cooler than 5600K.
Robert
@Verm
I'm not sure how you can say it kills portability since we're talking about something that's about as big as a two-week old kitten. So for a three light shoot, I'd end up carrying six kittens instead of three. Even then these are smaller than even a 1x1 flat-panel LED, and those are crazy small compared to my 32-inch soft boxes.
I would love to know, however, what the "high CRI" claim on F&V's Web site actually comes out to, and whether there's any sort of green spike.
Emm, any chance you could add this to your big round up of LED lights?
Verm
That's one effective filter lens! And the backlit LCD is quite a nice feature compared to cheaper lights, but those 2 separate bodies for battery vs DC input is really strange and sad since it kills portability.
Steve Ellington
How do shadows look with these lights? I could imaging a multi-shadow issue being pretty pronounced