Equipment Comparison

Professional Videography Lighting : What are my options?

Looking for the perfect professional lighting for video? It can be difficult to find which light will be suitable for your filmmaking. How bright do you need the lights to go, and what features do you need them to have? We've put together a comparison of four of our top ranges of lights so that you can make an educated decision on which lights to use.

The ECHO600 - Professional Lighting For Video

The only panel on this list, the ECHO600 is a 600w Bi-Colour LED Panel that packs a punch, and at broadcast quality, is perfect for large-scale film work. With high-intensity output, the ECHO acts like a floodlight, and uses all 840 individual LEDs to throw a lot of light over quite a distance, making it suitable for location shooting and for dramatic shots.

The ECHO600 Professional Lighting For Video also features a secondary optical lens on it's four LED circles, providing you with a beam angle of 45° adjustable up to 90°, enabling you to control the spread of light to your needs. Bi-Colour features also mean that you can change the colour temperature to the tone that you need your lighting to represent. Do you need a light that can replicate a warm sunset, as well as a cold moonlight? Then the ECHO, with a colour temperature range of between 2900K – 5600K, may be for you!

The ECHO Lighting Videography also comes with an especially designed softbox with diffusers and grids, to allow you to soften the spread of light and reduce the harshness of shadows, and supports up to 4000fps, so you don't need to worry about flickering when shooting slow-motion, high-fps footage!

See below for a comparison of using the ECHO outdoors at full power at night:

The Godox KNOWLED Range - Professional Lighting For Video

If you're looking for lights with more choice, however, the KNOWLED Range may be more suitable! With three different power models (230w, 330w, 740w), each available in either Daylight Balanced or Bi-Colour options, the KNOWLED range offers 6 different models currently, with the MG1200, a 1200w+ model, being the latest addition!

Able to similarly throw light over long distances, the studio head format with reflector and fresnel lens/snoot compatibility mean that more directional light can be achieved with these lights, rather than the flat wash of light provided by the ECHO.

KNOWLED M600bi Variable Colour Temperature

These COB LED studio heads have all the benefits of modern video lights, including control via the Godox App (wireless remote control & DMX support also available), and a super-quiet cooling system so that loud fans don't interfere with your audio recording, as well as a range of 12 built-in lighting effects including broken bulb, camera flash, lightning, and TV screen effects, to make your shooting even easier!

Bi-Colour versions feature colour temperatures between 2800K-6500K, and all models feature broadcast-level high TLCI and CRI ratings for their colour quality. Power either via mains in a studio environment, or switch to a battery if you're going to be shooting in any awkward outdoors locations without having to worry about finding mains power! Solidly built and meant to last for long shoots, the KNOWLED is a great workhorse for high-intensity projects.

The Godox SL Series

Similar to the KNOWLED Series, the SL Series Professional Lighting For Video features a range of lights at different wattages, with the option to choose between Daylight Balanced or Bi-Colour (2800K - 6500K) models. The SL series benefits from being able to be used with a wide range of modifiers, due to it's Bowens S-Type mount, so you can use any Bowens modifiers you already own, or purchase some more to use specifically with your new lights!

These studio heads are especially designed for content creators, creating short films or YouTube videos or online documentaries for example. With around the same power as the KNOWLED series, the SL series is designed less for long shoots, and is instead more suitable for lower intensity projects. With high versatility, and a more affordable price point than some of the other options, however, they'll work perfectly for low-medium budget productions, and they will still fulfil your creative needs!

The SL series Lighting Videography also works perfectly as a photography light as well, if you're looking for a light that will tick the boxes for both video and stills work, without breaking the bank completely. However, the SL series is mains powered only, and does not have the option to be used with batteries like the KNOWLED range.

Choose wattage options from 100w, 200w or 320w and choose either Daylight or Bi-Colour options here.

The PiXAPRO LEDS350D and LEDS500D

Finally, the LEDS350D and LEDS500D studio heads are also powerful options for outdoor shooting, at 350w and 500w respectively, thanks to their advanced High-Intensity Integrated COB LED technology.

LED S350D and LED S500D are the more affordable range and professional lighting for video, suitable for filmmakers, for broadcast, and even for content creators with a higher budget. Powered by the control pack, which can either be hooked up to mains power or powered by 2-4x V-Mount batteries attached to the battery panels, these lights are a great portable option for filming on the go. These heads are also super versatile and can be used for photography too, but are daylight balanced with a fixed colour temperature of 5600K.

With remote control (supplied) and DMX support, as well as an absolute brightness of 45,000 lumens (S500D), these lights are a great option for professional work.

See them in work here:

Still after some more assistance and can't choose which light would be best for you? Why not get in touch with our team via info@essentialphoto.co.uk and we will be able to answer your queries!