Pro Video Gear

Some of the tools introduced this year helped redefine what’s considered ‘the cutting edge’

Daniel Brockett

In 2019, we saw some intriguing developments in the new digital video tools from this season: 6K. Full-frame sensors. Mirrorless cameras and mirrorless disruptors. Internal vs. external RAW. New camera card media formats. Shooting to SSDs. Ultra-bright monitors. In many cases, these technologies and features weren’t available to most just a year or... Read more

Review: Luxli Cello RGBAW LED Panel

Here's Daniel Brockett's quick take on a versatile RGBAW LED panel

By Staff

Contributing editor for HDVideoPro Daniel Brockett gives us a quick take on the Luxli Cello, a RGBAW 10-inch LED panel. As he notes in the video, the “AW” in the name stand for “amber white.” It also means that the “white LEDs in the panel are made up of two types of diodes…. combining the output of the two... Read more

How To Successfully Push The Limits Of A One-Man Band

If you’re going to go with a one-man band approach, follow these tips and suggestions

Text & Photography by Daniel Brockett

This shoot pushed the limits of how much gear I could set up and manage solo. An interesting and significant by-product of the digital revolution is that most of the gear used today to create television and film is now significantly lighter, smaller, less expensive and higher-quality than anyone could have imagined 15 or 20 years ago. Many of us are... Read more

Can A Downsized Panel Be A Good Thing?

Litepanels brings forth a 1x1 Gemini bi-color LED softpanel

Daniel Brockett

I evaluated the Gemini 2×1 last year, and I’m a big fan of the light. But relative size, weight (50 pounds, when you factor in the weight of its heavy-duty shipping case) and price ($3,200 each) held me back from buying it. But those factors aside, I’d be very happy owning the Gemini 2×1 as my primary key source. To recap, the Gemini 2×1... Read more

Kamerar Brightcast V15-345 LED Panels

Portable, Versatile, Flexible Light

Dan Brockett

A close-up of a drink being mixed lit by two Kamerar Brightcasts. The Kamerar Brightcast LED panels caught my eye a while ago. I already own other LED panels, like the Aputure Lightstorm LS-1S, and have owned and used quite a few other LED panels from Litepanels, Cool Lights, Arri and others. What I found intriguing about the Kamerar Brightcasts were... Read more

Shine A Lot Of Light With Fiilex’s Q8 Travel Kit

Putting Fiilex’s new Q8 travel kit to work

Text & Photography By Daniel Brockett

The new Fiilex Q8 Bi-Color LED Fresnel Kit is billed as a high-power light with the ability to focus from spot to flood, flicker-free operation at any frame rate, smooth dimming down to .1 percent intensity, and powerful color controls. The Q8 has a tunable color temperature from 2800K to 6500K, 340W power consumption and output, and a hue control that... Read more

Photography By Bike With A Good Light

With the Lustra 50, PRL has figured out LEDs so photographers and videographers don’t have to

DL Byron

Last week in Seattle, on Tuesday, when I was writing about dreariness (I called it dreeping), it was three times darker than the solar eclipse. THREE TIMES, and that reminded me to share with you how I’m getting street shots, even on the darkest days. It’s the Lustra 50 light, and what you need to know is that PRL has figured out affordable high-quality... Read more

Hands-On Review: Interfit Honey Badger Strobe

A tough, lightweight and powerful strobe/head lighting unit. Oh, and it’s bright yellow.

Chris X Carroll

A four-foot-wide, brilliant yellow snow shovel sat for several years in the corner of my studio. Without exception, men who saw it would get a kind of gleam in the eye and immediately start asking where I got it, how it was to use, and on and on, no matter the season. Oddly, in the three years I wielded it to great acclaim, not a single woman took the... Read more

Revisiting NAB 2017

A look back at some of the best new products we saw at the industry’s leading trade show, a number of which we’ve since had a chance to review hands-on

David Schloss

Canon EOS C700 We’re taking a look back at some of the new products we got to check out at NAB 2017. We’ve since had a chance to review a number of them hands-on since this article appeared in print, so look for the links throughout this article. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas is a massive, sprawling affair each... Read more

Slimming Down Your Video Kit

How to do more with less for one-man-band and small-crew shoots

Dan Brockett

Sony a7R II I recently had a conversation with a videographer who was searching for cases for his lighting kit. When I asked what kinds of lights he wanted to bring on his shoots and what kind of shooting he did, he replied that he was looking for just the right case to hold his ARRI 650w, 300w and 150w Fresnels, as well as two Lowel Rifa lights. In... Read more

The Video Lighting Revolution

How LED technology will grow to new heights for 2017 and beyond

Dan Brockett

The increasing versatility and dropping production costs of LED lighting panels make them attractive lighting solutions in the broadcast and film industries. Over the past few years, the tools we use to light for video have changed immensely. Gone are the days of needing heavy, heat-generating and expensive lighting sources for every shoot. The availability... Read more

DIY High-Power Video Or Still Light For Under $200

We made our own 11,200 lumen LED lighting solution that’s lightweight and durable. Check out the how-to video.

David Schloss

We’re always looking for ways to save time and money in the studio, so we set out to see if we could create a low-budget but powerful lighting solution for photography and videography. After wandering the aisles of the local hardware store, we found materials that allowed us to create our very own studio lighting hack—an 11,200 lumen light that... Read more