In no particular order, I have listed below two different LED Video Lights which I feel are the most affordable and offer the most value for your money.

DISCLAIMER: This article is solely the author’s personal opinion and is not sponsored by any of the brands or retailers mentioned below.

Aputure Amaran AL-528W LED

 

This popular model from Aputure is actually one of the three variants in the 528 series (Spotlight, Wide, Bi-Colour) and offers a wide spread, daylight-balanced 5500K light of 1220 lux (a measure of light intensity) at a distance of 1m. Besides being insanely bright for something its size, its sleek and lightweight iPad-size form factor makes it a favourable addition to our arsenal.

Here’s a fantastic video by MrCheesyCam comparing all three variants of the 528 series.

There have been some complaints of flickering issues affecting certain users but I have yet to experience this myself. Flickers may only appear when you’re using really high frame rates so as long as you’re using lower frame rates (60fps and below), this light should perform great!

I purchased the AL-528W last year from Digicolor Online for MYR512.90 while it was on sale. The best price that I can find as of today is MYR529 on Lelong.com.my.

Besides the light itself, the 528W comes with a handy carrying pouch, an AC adapter, a light-stand mount, and Tungsten + Daylight filters. The 528W can be powered  either by 2 Sony mount NP550/750 batteries which you can get on Kenz.com.my for MYR90 or by the AC adapter provided. You should stock up on these Sony brick batteries as they work with tonnes of other equipment as well (eg. I use them for my field monitor and Z96 LED light). Although I have not personally tested the battery life on the 528W, you should get at least 1.5-3 hours of juice from a set of fully charged batteries.

F&V Z96 LED 

This was the first LED I bought for my kit and the best thing about this is how small and how flexible it can be for many different applications. You can use it on its own and get about 800 lux of brightness out of it or use the brackets (sold separately) to combine it with additional units. Combining 4 of them gives you a big LED panel of 3200 lux.  Note that you will also have to purchase a power splitter if you want to control the brightness of all 4 simultaneously. Unlike bigger LED panels such as the 528W, the Z96 indulges you with the option to use either 5 AA batteries or a single Sony mount NP brick battery. However, some reviews have noted that when using AA batteries, flickering might occur when the battery life is low, and that the Sony batteries would produce a constant power supply.

Since they are so small, you can literally mount them anywhere with a magic arm. You can put them on handheld camera rigs, Glidecams, tripods, suction cups and light stands. It’s easy to carry around as it can fit in the camera bag itself and won’t become a nuisance if you decide to mount it on your camera and go handheld. For that reason, this is a go-to light for wedding and event videographers. I’ve even used it for taking photos!

I bought mine from Famecherry.com where it’s currently selling for MYR199. Famecherry also sells various accessories for the Z96. Inside the box, you will find the LED itself, daylight & tungsten filters, a bracket to connect with another Z96, a ball mount and an instruction manual.

SEAN NG.