Are LED Lights or Panels Better?

There are two kinds of light sources for video: LED lights and panels. Both have advantages and drawbacks. Which is the best choice when you’re on a budget? Should you choose an LED light or an LED panel? I made my choice, but now, I have my doubts.

If the amount of ambient light isn’t enough, we need to bring our own lights. That’s one of the reasons why we use strobes. With a flash of light, we can produce our own creative way of illuminating the subject. But this doesn’t work for video, obviously. For that, we need continuous light.

When I was asked to film on location, I brought my Profoto B10 strobes with me. The built-in model light offers some continuous light. It was just enough, as long as I could keep the distance between the subject and the B10 unit within limits.

I agree, it wasn’t the ideal situation for shooting video. I had to crank up the ISO to get a good exposure. When I got asked more often to video, I decided it was time to buy something that was more suitable for the job. Although the Profoto B10 worked for the few times I needed more light, I knew it eventually wouldn't be enough.

An LED Panel for a Reasonable Price

There are a lot of different continuous lights available. The price ranges from less than a hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars. I had to find something that would be good for my work without breaking the bank. That’s why I decided to buy a couple of cheap LED panels to start with.

There was one thing that was important for me. It had to produce enough light to suit my needs, more than the model lights on my Profoto B10 at least. On top of that, an LED panel that could change its color temperature would be nice — not an RGB, but a bicolor light. The panels I bought were the Viltrox VL-S192T LED light. 

It sounded good: 192 LEDs that could change color temperature from 3,300-5,600 Kelvin, with 5,300 lumens. I’d read some reviews, and they were quite positive. But after I have used the panels a few times, I’m not that sure these LED panels were the best choice.

Downsides to an LED Panel

First of all, 5,200s lumen sounds great, but it turns out that the amount of light depends on the color temperature setting. Although it has 192 LEDs, it’s divided between 96 white LEDs and 96 orange LEDs. If both are at full power, the maximum amount of lumens is reached, but vary the color temperature, and you end up with half of the LEDs at a lower power to achieve the requested color temperature or completely turned off.

Although the LED panel measures 28.6 cm by 19 cm, it’s still a relatively small light source. If you keep it at close distance, it can produce a reasonable light quality, but the light falloff becomes prominent. The panel at a larger distance solves the light falloff, but the light becomes a bit harsh.

There is another downside to this kind of LED panel. If any shadow is visible behind the subject, it isn’t a very nice one. It shows a pattern because of the distribution of the LEDs. To avoid this, a diffuser needs to be placed over the LEDs, making the light more even. The downside to this is the loss of two stops of light.

I realized that this kind of LED panel has a lot of downsides, which you have to take into account. It helped me to get my shots, but it felt a bit limited. Let’s make one thing clear: this isn’t a downside of the Viltrox LED panels itself, but it's more about this kind of LED panel. I’m sure every other brand of LED panel that has a similar design will show the same downsides. Te Viltrox is not bad, even though it’s a cheap plastic product. But this is something I was aware of and the reason why it's so affordable.

Is a LED Light the Better Choice?

The best alternative is a big daylight lamp in a large softbox, but that is not workable if you have to take the lights with you on assignment. Such a big light is perfect for a stationary studio setup. The other alternative is a compact LED light, which might be more suitable for my needs. 

I’ve seen the Amaran LED lights in 60 watts, 100 watts, and even 200 watts. It will require a diffuser of some kind, like an umbrella, a lantern softbox, or just a regular softbox. One thing is for sure: it will provide more flexibility to shape the light compared to an LED panel.

There are a few requirements for this kind of light, though. It has to be able to work on both battery and wall socket, the amount of light it produces has to be sufficient for my needs, and the light has to be quiet. In other words, no loud fan noise.

I think a 100-watt or 200-watt light should be a good choice, especially when the loss of light by the softbox or umbrella is taken into account. But I have some doubts about the noise levels produced by these LED lights. I’ve been told how the fans of some LED lights can be quite loud or even disturbing.

Both LED lights and LED panels have their pros and cons. I believe both are perfectly usable, but the situations in which these type of lights shine may differ. Looking at my experience, I now see more downsides to the LED panels. Or perhaps it’s because of my choice of a cheap panel, which would mean more expensive panels would perform much better. That said, I do believe a LED light is more suitable in a wide range of situations, and it offers more possibilities with light-shaping accessories.

What do you think? Is an LED light better compared to an LED panel? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.