Video newbie. How Much Light.

[matt215]

I've been shooting stills got a while, but want to get into video. So my question is how much light do I need? Specifically, how much light for macro? I have a sola 800 and a sola 2000. Will these two lights be enough? Too much? By the way I'm shooting a canon 5d mark3...

 

[Mike]

I'm converting from stills to video too and from all the reading I've done, everybody is turning down the power on their powerful lights when they shoot macro. I can't imagine how a Sola 800 and 2000 wouldn't work out just great.

 

[Interceptor121]

Your set up is plenty, one thing to consider though is that you can dim your 2000 to 1000 and 500 whilst the other 800 400 200 so they will be uneven beams

 

[toozler]

I've been shooting stills got a while, but want to get into video. So my question is how much light do I need? Specifically, how much light for macro? I have a sola 800 and a sola 2000. Will these two lights be enough? Too much? By the way I'm shooting a canon 5d mark3...

Matt, I was surprised myself how a tiny 180 lumen light (with a micro diffuser) worked with my GoPro camera (with a +10 diopter rigged in front of it).

It's not top notch quality - given the camera's limitations and the videographer's lack of super steady hands - but it clarified, at least to me, that for macro, or close-ups in this case, not a lot of power is needed, this is just a 180 lumen 60 degree beam torch well diffused. No need to light up to 5-6 feet with 2000 lumens of power when your subject is a couple inches away.

[video=youtube;yguNjDTO9-M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yguNjDTO9-M[/video]

Of course, you will get better results with lights that costs 10x more, but are the results 10x better?

 

[Mike]

Matt, I was surprised myself how a tiny 180 lumen light (with a micro diffuser) worked with my GoPro camera (with a +10 diopter rigged in front of it).

Wow, that's with a +10 diapoter? I was expecting it to be a super close up.

 

[Interceptor121]

Mike that is a gopro and does not zoom so things are still tiny, plus the +10 diopter in air becomes around +3 in water that is pretty much the same the gopro can do by itself. So not a typical example of close up lens usage