# Is it possible to build a brighter version of this video light?



## LEDHerb (Jul 16, 2012)

Hi everybody,

I shoot videos and shorts. I would love to build a brighter and cheaper version of this light:

http://library.creativecow.net/kobler_helmut/SolaENG-review/1
http://www.litepanels.com/language/pages/sola_eng.php

They claim it is the equivalent of a 250 watt incandescent. I couldn't find any mention of lumens. Am I correct the 250 watts roughly equals 4000 lumens?

I'm mainly only concerned with brightness and size. 

Thanks for any ideas you can offer.


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## Optical Inferno (Jul 17, 2012)

If I remember correctly, Khatod makes a fresnel lens that can be used with most power LEDs from Cree and Lumiled. It will allow the light to focus and flood depending on the distance of the lens from the LEDs.

As for lumens...it's hard to assume a lumen value as manufacturers have different techniques ultimately resulting in different lumen values for their products. 250W incandescent lights can produce anywhere from 2000-4000lms maybe more depending upon the manufacturer technique. They do however give the Lux value which is more common for stage lighting. 

The lens from Khatod should allow you to calculate approximately how much candlepower or Lux you can achieve with a given lumen LED. So the best bet is to find a lens that works for you and calculate backwards to find how many lumens you will need from each LED to achieve a specific Lux value.


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## videoman (Jul 18, 2012)

Are you intending to make a "focusable" or variable beam angle capability unit like the Sola model?
I can suggest leds and driver to make a unit that is brighter than the sola and perhaps better suited for video color rendition in the 3000K range with High CRI index. I have built one myself that delivers 3200 lux at 3 feet, 90 CRI , draws 26 watts and can operate from 7.2 volt camcorder battery. That Sola needs 12 volt DC source or more to make it function, so a rear mounted battery on the light is out of the question. That unit I have seen on pro ENG cameras and fed off the brick 14.4 battery or belt packs. Depending on the video work you intend to do, I would choose my leds wisely. Are they going to be 5000K+ for outdoor or 3000Kis for tungsten balance ? I have also made a on-camera light that has a 3 position switch for 3000K-4000K and 5000K using 4 leds with
medium beam Ledil Boom reflectors. 2 leds are 3000K hi CRI and 2 leds are 5000K. A 2p2t on-on-on switch takes care of either or both on function.
You may want to consider Taskled H6CC driver and add a 50K log pot for dimming. How about checking out either the Cree MT-G's or the XM-L's.
With a single Sony NP-F970 camcorder battery on my unit I get well over 2 hour run time at full pop. If I dim it down a bit, I gain big time on run time.
If you really want to make the light focusable, then perhaps a single large die led may be needed along with a mechanical fresnel positioning device. You can also achieve a 2 mode wide or narrow beam like I did on another light by using 2 different reflectors like a wide Ledil Boom and a narrow Ledil Boom and also using that switch (on-on-on) for beam choice.
On the MT-G-s, I had to ream out the Ledil booms using a stepless drill bit for the leds to fit. I was worried that the booms were not designed for the Mt-G's but they work great and the narrow beam throws out to well over 60 feet. Make sure the housing is well heat sinked, them leds heat up very quickly.


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