| Cameras Lenses Audio Support Lighting Rest of the Kit |
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The lighting equipment here are professional tools. You can certainly find less expensive lighting fixtures and they may be perfect for your production. I’ve used a $5 clamp-on garage light with an off-the-shelf bulb when that’s what worked for me. But my recommendations here are for tools that I know will do the job safely and dependably.
Also on this page you’ll find some of the extras that can make a difference no matter what the quality of your lights. Learning how to use gels and other tools to modify the light can fix problems before you get to post as well as add a professional touch to your shots.
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Kino Flo is a dependable manufacturer of professional lighting. Their fluorescent kits are used by lighting directors who need color correct lighting without the heat and power issues of standard tungston lights.
This link is to a selection of kits and individual fixtures. Pros: solid construction, dependable color temperature, low power, low heat |
 Buy at B&H |
ARRI is another well established lighting manufacturer. You’ll see ARRI lighting equipment on film sets around the world. I’m recommending this kit because it’s a mix of LED and standard tungsten lighting fixtures.
LED lighting seems to be perfect for DSLR video. It’s low power, zero heat, soft light that wraps nicely around objects. But there are times when you need the harder shadows of and directional control of a Fresnel. One issue of using LED lights with DSLR cameras is balancing the color temperature. The ARRI Locaster LED panels are not only dimmable, they offer six different color temperatures between 2800 and 6500 degrees K. That means you can blend them into almost any ambient light perfectly. Pros: variable color temperature, dimmable, includes LED and tungsten fixtures |
 Buy at B&H |
Lowel is yet another well-known and respected lighting manufacturer. I’m linking to one of their smaller LED lights known as the Blender.
I have used a Lite Panels portable LED light for several years and love it. But I have to carry a set of color filters to hopefully match the rest of the lighting. The Blender offers a blend of 2800 to 6000 degrees K for color temperature so that will no longer be a problem. They are small enough to mount on the top of your camera as an eye-light. And with 56 watts of illumination you can use them on the side for a bit of fill light. They are battery operated and you can choose adapters for most brands of camera batteries. They come in a kit with AC adapter, carrying case, mounting brackets, diffusion filters and most everything you need. Pros: variable color temperature so you can match ambient light, small, battery operated |
 Buy at B&H |
The Rotolight RL48-A is a unique light that may be useful in several circumstances.
This is a small ring light that slips over your shotgun mic or mounts on a small stand. They operate for about 3 hours on 3 AA batteries and produce an even soft light. The lights come in a kit with several filters for balancing color temperature, adding diffusion and reducing the light up to 1.5 stops. They weigh about 5 ounces so they are easy to carry. You can mount one on your camera and having operating in a few seconds. Ring lights have been used in the fashion world for years to produce an even light for faces. Plus they give you a perfect “eye light” with the reflections of the lights in the eyes of your talent. The Rotolight helps avoid red-eye by being mounted slightly off-angle from the lens. You can also mount them on a stand to use as fill light. With a 50 watt output you can increase the light on your subject without pulling out power cables and heavy fixtures. The link on the left goes to a version that includes a free accessory pouch. Pros: small, light-weight, uses standard batteries, can be matched to a variety of color temperature, provides smooth even light perfect for interviewsm low cost |
