LED Flashlight for Night Photoshooting

Hollo guys, i'm new here.
I'm searching for a Led flashlight that i can use it on my night photoshootings with brides and grooms or other couples.
I need it to have neutral light ( ~5500K) and it needs to run on 2 or 4AA batteries.
I;ve tried Nitecore EA41 but it's no good. First problem is the colour of the light, green with a lit bit of yellow. The second problem is the light beam ( in the middle is verry powerfull and an the sides is flood light, much less intense ). I need it to be as consistent as possible.
I;m looking for an LED Lenser P14.2. What do you think ?
Wich type of LED should i be searching for ? XP-G, XP-G2, XP-E2 ? The Nitecore EA41 has XP-L2 (U2) and it's colour is bad for photos.
Thank you a lot guys !

anybody ?:thinking:

hi
for photoshoot at night, i use an armytek tiara warm, with good result. the flood is good, nice power and color is ok. i use that for macro.
i think nichia 219 hi cri should be near perfect for that, but don't know if it's use on AA flashlight.

Forget the Lenser P14. I have one kicking around. And it's just another ugly cool white. Remember that most flashlight manufacturers LOVE cool whites, because they allow them to advertise higher lumens, which tenda to dazzle customers. You need something with a better tint for night photography.

There are no 4xAA high CRI lights. And even finding a neutral XM-L2 will be hard in this configuration. But how about an Eagletac D25A2? It's a 2xAA, and it's available with a Nichia 219 if you want a high CRI light. It's also available with a neutral XM-L2, which may or may not fit your needs. For something smaller, you can go with the 1xAA D25A, which is also available with the Nichia or neutral XM-L2. You will give up brightness, though.

Also, you could get a Zebralight SC52 (1xAA). The SC52d is the high CRI version, which may work well for you. The SC52w is significantly brighter, and may also work. Finally, if you don't need a very bright light, you can get an L3 Illuminations L10 with the Nichia 219 (1xAA). In addition to having the Nichia 219, it's also fairly inexpensive - perhaps the most inexpensive high CRI light out there.

One thing I should mention. If you are hellbent on using alkaline batteries rather than NiMH, the D25A2 is a better choice. Alkaline batteries just don't work well in 1xAA lights, at least if you want to use the maximum settings. On the other hand, the 1xAA lights here (with the exception of the L10) can work with a 14500 Li-Ion for higher brightness, should you ever decide to go this way.

If you are photographing mainly human subjects, nothing beats using a dedicated flash. Humans do move and you want the flash to freeze them for longer exposures. Compared to a dedicated photographic flash which fires only a quick short burst, LED flashlights will only be distracting and blinding for the subjects' eyes. Those with highly sensitive eyes may even squint.

If you really needed a really floody beam, try the Zebralight SC62. Do note that most LED flashlights does not produce pure 5500K tint. They are either in the 6000k plus tint or below 5000K. If it's not floody enough you can always add a diffuser to the front end to diffuse the light.

The Elzetta AVS Bravo has a slightly warmer tint somewhere in the 4500K tint. The good thing is you can always remove the optic in the head to get a pure flood beam with no hot spot or attach an optional flood optic to diffuse the light. You can always correct the white balance later if that is not the tint you want, or alternatively add a piece of Lee filter gel in front to correct the tint.

pjandyho said:

The Elzetta AVS Bravo has a slightly warmer tint somewhere in the 4500K tint. The good thing is you can always remove the optic in the head to get a pure flood beam with no hot spot or attach an optional flood optic to diffuse the light. You can always correct the white balance later if that is not the tint you want, or alternatively add a piece of Lee filter gel in front to correct the tint.

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Then again, you can't filter or Photoshop away poor color rendition. And changes in tint across the beam (as often happens with low CRI emitters like cool white XM-L2 emitters) can make things REALLY difficult. This is why it is best to use an emitter that already has a better tint and CRI. I would say to at least get a good neutral XM-L2 (like the Eagletac D25A2 I mentioned above. Or consider a Nichia 219 (also available with the Eagletac D25A2).

By the way, the SC62 that the other poster mentioned might also be a good choice. It is available in the 'w' (neutral XM-L2), 'c' (warm/neutral high CRI Luxeon T), and 'd' (daylight tint high CRI Luxeon T) versions. But it is a 1x18650 light, not a AA light. If you don't want to mess with Li-Ion, go with the SC52 instead. It's available in the 'w' and 'd' versions, but NOT the 'c' version.

Forget the Led Lensers. On flood mode the yellow in the beam gets pushed towards the edge, leaving the centre with an awkward purpleish cool white beam, which is not suitable for your use.
For a 4AA set up, check out the Thrunite TN4A NW(Neutral White) version.
If you are not dead set on using AA batteries, the Zebralight SC62W/SC62d would be great choices as StorminMatt mentioned. W for more lumens and d for better color rendition. If you want completely floody light with no centre beam(hotspot), H600Fw Mk II and H52Fw would do the trick. the H52Fw uses AA batts which is another plus for you.

A dedomed NW xml2 lenser would prob do it. I have one and in flood mode, the tint it beautiful and even across the whole beam profile.
Mine is in a modded coast polysteel light.
One thing to keep in mind, the dirtier PWM lights will cause odd artefacts in photos.

After having recommended those two lights above, I still feel that LED lights make a bad choice for photography. For the price you pay to get an LED flashlight, you could buy some very good Chinese made camera flashes which are quite good in quality.

pjandyho said:

After having recommended those two lights above, I still feel that LED lights make a bad choice for photography. For the price you pay to get an LED flashlight, you could buy some very good Chinese made camera flashes which are quite good in quality.

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I disagree. Flashes have their advantages in certain situations. Portraits are obviously one example. But when it comes to outdoor night photography, a flashlight can be very advantageous compared to a flash. For one, you have better control over what you are illuminating. You also have better control as far as how much you wish to illuminate different parts of your composition. And finally, as said before, you can choose the tint you want to use. I'm sure there are other advantages I can't think of right now. But the bottom line is that using a flashlight for long exposures allows you better control of the illumination of your subject than a flash for nighttime outdoor photography (although it would certainly be a good idea to carry a flash for those situations where it is more appropriate).

thank you guys. Ofcourse i have flashes, 3 of them It has disadvantages in night photography, as StorminMatt said. I want to see the shadows and the light when i press the shutter of my camera. With Flash, u can easily miss the subject ( i want a narrow beam of light, using snoot on my flash ). I have 2 LED Lamps for video as well, YongNuo YN140 and YN160II but the light shape is not circle and it is not as portable as a flashlight....

So what sort of beam profile do you really need? From your first post I gather that you probably need a smooth beam with no hotspot? Presumably a floody light but I am not sure? Now you are talking about wanting a narrow beam of light which is more of a throw light, and more appropriately a spot light? Without knowing exactly what sort of beam pattern you want it is kind of hard to suggest a light.

The reason why I suggested using a flash is because over the last two decades of doing commercial and corporate photography, I have never had a problem controlling the light output on my subjects. Of course, many a times shots are done on studio strobe lights but sometimes on small camera flashes. I find it more consistent and much more predictable than using a handheld flashlight. In a commercial paid job, predictability and consistency from shot to shot is of paramount importance because I will be shooting the same angle multiple times just for selection of the best expression. No handheld flashlights for me.

pjandyho said:

The reason why I suggested using a flash is because over the last two decades of doing commercial and corporate photography, I have never had a problem controlling the light output on my subjects. Of course, many a times shots are done on studio strobe lights but sometimes on small camera flashes. I find it more consistent and much more predictable than using a handheld flashlight. In a commercial paid job, predictability and consistency from shot to shot is of paramount importance because I will be shooting the same angle multiple times just for selection of the best expression. No handheld flashlights for me.

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But you're talking about studio work vs outdoor nighttime photography or light painting. They're COMPLETELY different. For studio work, a flash would DEFINITELY be better. But for the outdoors (where you are generally going to be shooting long exposures), a flashlight is preferable. Remember also that much outdoor nighttime photography tends to be impromptu and spontaneous, and may require a good deal of travel by foot. Carrying a ton of specialized lighting equipment may not always be possible. A flashlight and lightweight flash may be all that you can realistically take. And the flash won't work well for everything.

Depending on how much light and throw you need... I would suggest looking at:

Zebralight SC62c (warm temp, hi CRI)... SC62d (neutral temp, hi CRI), SC62w (more light, less CRI), and SC52Fw (diffused beam)

I often use my H502c for photography... which has an even flood beam (no hotspot)... but I am usually close to my subject and shooting f/2.0... If I need more light, I use my H52Fw which has a pretty even diffused beam and provides more lux but has lower CRI... If I still need more light at distance, I would use my SC62w.

Note: the "F" series of lights may not appear to have any hotspot to our eyes, but you could still get heavy vignetting in your photos. The 502/602 series are the only lights in the ZL line that will have no hotspot, at the significant cost of throw.


Not sure if any of those will actually provide enough light for the situation you are describing... and I think you will need the light to be fairly floody. The one small light that might do it is the H600Fw.

I would use a diffused halogen "video light" and a 12v battery pack for wedding work.

StorminMatt said:

I disagree. Flashes have their advantages in certain situations. Portraits are obviously one example. But when it comes to outdoor night photography, a flashlight can be very advantageous compared to a flash. For one, you have better control over what you are illuminating. You also have better control as far as how much you wish to illuminate different parts of your composition. And finally, as said before, you can choose the tint you want to use. I'm sure there are other advantages I can't think of right now. But the bottom line is that using a flashlight for long exposures allows you better control of the illumination of your subject than a flash for nighttime outdoor photography (although it would certainly be a good idea to carry a flash for those situations where it is more appropriate).

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No professional would torture their subjects with a flashlight, other objects fine, not people. Learn to use your flash and improvise. This is what happens with monitors. Before 1998 when we switched to the digital medium, I had millions of negatives, nothing like learning on film.

For art photos and experimental work, flashlights are fun, for a while, but the Dude at the top of the page wanted to use a flashlight for a wedding, again never subject people to this.

I can can focus hot lights, and that is not the same thing, we have hot lights, but for people strobe systems are best.

If you're shooting at a wedding, then it's a stationary enough event you should be bringing professional lighting with diffusers. For anything else, a good, high quality flash will suffice.

StorminMatt said:

But you're talking about studio work vs outdoor nighttime photography or light painting. They're COMPLETELY different. For studio work, a flash would DEFINITELY be better. But for the outdoors (where you are generally going to be shooting long exposures), a flashlight is preferable. Remember also that much outdoor nighttime photography tends to be impromptu and spontaneous, and may require a good deal of travel by foot. Carrying a ton of specialized lighting equipment may not always be possible. A flashlight and lightweight flash may be all that you can realistically take. And the flash won't work well for everything.

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My friend, the OP is talking about doing wedding photography here. His subjects are humans and not an object. Do you know how torturous it is to make your subject stand still for a long period of time just so you can use your light painting technique? This is a no go in my book. It is selfish and inconsiderate on the part of the photographer, and how else are you going get great spontaneous expressions on the subject's faces when they are suffering there?

By the way, I am not talking about studio work. I am talking about bringing the lighting onto the set. There are portable lighting systems operating off battery pack. You could also use hotshoe mounted flashes if lighter weight is preferred.

pjandyho said:

My friend, the OP is talking about doing wedding photography here. His subjects are humans and not an object. Do you know how torturous it is to make your subject stand still for a long period of time just so you can use your light painting technique? This is a no go in my book. It is selfish and inconsiderate on the part of the photographer, and how else are you going get great spontaneous expressions on the subject's faces when they are suffering there?

By the way, I am not talking about studio work. I am talking about bringing the lighting onto the set. There are portable lighting systems operating off battery pack. You could also use hotshoe mounted flashes if lighter weight is preferred.

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Yeah, cause WE all have that kinda money.

Fechete Ionut said:

Hollo guys, i'm new here. I'm searching for a Led flashlight that i can use it on my night photoshootings with brides and grooms or other couples. I need it to have neutral light ( ~5500K) and it needs to run on 2 or 4AA batteries. I;ve tried Nitecore EA41 but it's no good. First problem is the colour of the light, green with a lit bit of yellow. The second problem is the light beam ( in the middle is verry powerfull and an the sides is flood light, much less intense ). I need it to be as consistent as possible. I;m looking for an LED Lenser P14.2. What do you think ? Wich type of LED should i be searching for ? XP-G, XP-G2, XP-E2 ? The Nitecore EA41 has XP-L2 (U2) and it's colour is bad for photos. Thank you a lot guys !

Click to expand...

You're going to have a hard time getting LED flashlights at the same CCT as regular strobe units. There simply isn't very much available at around 5500K.

Maybe a Infared led is a good option!

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Night-infrared-led-flashlight-for-camera_60214721891.html