How bright is an X wattage video light?

[ChrisA]

The question in the subject almost doesn't make sense although it would if there was a standardized way to describe brightness of video lights

I don't have any "feel" for how bright a certain wattage video light is. If someone could tell me that a certain wattage light with a given coverage width at a certain distance gives the same exposure as sunlight in shallow water I could work out most everything else.

With still photography the "Guide Number" says a lot about the strobe.

If you don't have numbers, how about subjective assessments, "100 wats of light, two feet away from the subject is as bright as daylight. I'm trying to comeup with some way to put video lights on some kind of standard scale.

You might guess that I'm shopping for video lights. I'll use them at night for subjects within about three feet of the camera. I'll use them in the day

 

[ronrosa]

The question in the subject almost doesn't make sense although it would if there was a standardized way to describe brightness of video lights

I don't have any "feel" for how bright a certain wattage video light is. If someone could tell me that a certain wattage light with a given coverage width at a certain distance gives the same exposure as sunlight in shallow water I could work out most everything else.

With still photography the "Guide Number" says a lot about the strobe.

If you don't have numbers, how about subjective assessments, "100 wats of light, two feet away from the subject is as bright as daylight. I'm trying to comeup with some way to put video lights on some kind of standard scale.

You might guess that I'm shopping for video lights. I'll use them at night for subjects within about three feet of the camera. I'll use them in the day

I use a halogen light with a 100 degree reflector. For night dives, 50 watts is plenty for wide angle and therefore closeups and macro.

Daytime is trickier because the deeper you go, the more effective your light will become. I'll venture to say, lights for daytime are best used for closeup or macro work.