A small team based in Melbourne, Australia wants to change how you view your studio lights. They say their new invention, the LED Light cube, offers answers to age-old problems. Their Cube has no recycle time, better control over light output and no external battery packs. Due to The LED Light Cube using an LED model rather than a filament, the Cube can just as easily double as a video light as well as a flash. Sounds cool right?
LED has grown in popularity immensely over the past two years, and I had heard of some manufacturers toying with the idea of using LED as a strobe as well as a constant light. That's exactly what this little cube purportedly does. So here is what the team has come up with:
- LED Light source
- Continuous high speed flashing at full power
- High capacity – over 1000 flashes from a single battery charged to full power
- 300 watts (f22 @ 1 meter / 100 ISO)
- Stackable for building versatile light banks
- Adjustable flash speed – 1/8000 secs to 30 secs
- 5500k color temperature
- Stable color temperature, even while power levels are adjusted
- Dimmable video light
- Noiseless. No internal fan. No added noise on film production.
- Master control – one unit controls those interlocked (master/slave)
- Modelling light feature
- Fully portable with internal battery
- Trigger remotely via synch cable, wireless trigger or as a light sensitive slave
- Size: 100mm (approx. 4 inches) x 100mm x 100mm
- Weight: 0.750kg (approx. 1.65 lbs)
I like the idea of stacking the cubes together to create larger banks of light. What I'm most curious about is the quality of light this produces. I also will want to see some modifiers for it, since even though it might not need softening like a traditional flash tube, I would still like the option to sculpt the light to my choosing.
For more, you should check out their Indiegogo page. So, are you interested?
[Via Lensvid.com]
No in-action shots, no images of light quality, no demonstrations, just :words: - no thank you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJlcoozz61E
I'm sorry, but that didn't exactly improve my impression of the product. 480p blurred images and unedited shots that seem overexposed to me (and completely lack contrast and sharpness). I get it that you don't have a lot of budget to do this (obviously) but for someone to invest in your product you really need to show the details and prove your claims. I'd also like to see the finished shots from this video.
so it works like a regular flash? I agree with Tobias, need a demonstration.
That's like Canon coming out with a 10-800mm F1.4 with loads of lovely shiny photos and videos of the lens but no actual real world images. Best of luck with that lads, won't hold my breath for you :)
Too much talk and not enough rubber on the ground.
Very exciting, can't wait to see a real world demonstration and know what the price point is.
PeteSuttonFineArt.com
Price point is $2400 for a quad set according to the Indiegogo-site.
$600 for half a speedlight (based on the guide number), they can keep it.
I know your comment is old, but never hurts to check in and for other people that read into this article.
This light is 150Ws based on B&H, which comes out to be about 161" GN. Our high end speed lights are at 190' GN when zoomed all the way in. The Led light cube is much wider, thus you'll have to measure the GN of a speed light at a wider zoom. My 190GN flash gets to be about 100GN, give or take, which is about 60Ws. This LED light is 2.5 times more powerful in more commonly used manner (how often are you going to use your speed light without any modifier and zoomed in all the way?).
By having a bigger spread, it allows it to be used with bigger light modifiers and still fill the entire box evenly. They also don't need to keep it because a lot of people wouldn't mind a instant refresh time to burst, and the freezing time is plain insane (1/8000th?). We can also use it to match our shutter speed. If I want my shutter speed to be 1/500th to reduce ambient, I can increase the flash duration (HSS in a sense), so that my "flash" will still be open when the curtain closes.
I think someone read the Steve Jobs book and decided to make their own version of NexT. Except that was an actual thing that worked.
HOW MUCH?!? $695 per light? Is that Australian or US $ ?
That's in US$
i'll trust them a lot more when they know what a white balance is.
Will it be available in USA house current?
The Cube does not connect to mains power so it is only the battery charger that needs to be compatible with US house current - and it is.
I'd really love if it had more modifiers as Jaron mentioned, especially grids!
We've been doing some high speed synch tests over the weekend, which you can see here:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-led-light-cube/x/4029665?c=gallery
Our engineers are in the process of preparing further data, but all preliminary tests are extremely positive. We're just not releasing solid data yet because we feel the Cube can even out-perform our expectations.
This is a fundamentally new idea in photography. Controlling individual light duration as compositional elements. Sure we have poor mans versions, mixing constant and strobe and dragging the shutter, but individual and precise control per light, that is compositionally new, innovative, different.
It will be a silent revolution in photography because it is a heavy and new thought.
No idea how to meter it. Technologically likely to be a mess at first when it comes to Hypersync, front curtain and rear curtain, but the promise of it - wow.
Examples of mixed duration:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/siliconprophet/8230045967/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/siliconprophet/5738710165/in/set-7215762648...
(They send me some lights, I'll send them back some stunning images showing the concept - a pictures worth 1,000 words right? Certainly better than a breaking water ballon. This is an actual offer LED Light Cube people, gear would need to be shipped to Austin Texas :-).
Hi Michael... We only have a few 'Frankenstein' prototypes of the LED Light Cube at the moment. We're crowdfunding so we can refine these models and complete the first production run of the Cube. Then we'll have some for potential testers...
I understand. For what it is worth, I'm actually used to working with Prototypes and Beta technology - I've do it for a number of companies regularly (sometimes under non-disclosure).
When ever you are ready, at whatever level hardware, please reach out and let me know and I'll make the time in my schedule to push the Cubes to their limits and see how far I can take the new compositional element of flexible light duration. :-)
PS. Love your work!
Thank you!
In case it is of use to know, I'm a Nikon D4 guy at occasionally uses a Fuji x-e1 as well. Favorite lighting tools in order are 1) Ambient (usually with supplemental light), 2) reflectors and scrims, 3) Ice Light, 4) PCB Einstein's, 5) Nikon Flashes.
I'm thinking the Cubes may fit right in there. :-)
Here's some more fun :) http://youtu.be/Agsa_z5NBns
Your on the right path, and that's very cool, though really that setup doesn't have much difference between it and a set of constant or hot lights from what I can see (except perhaps in light output? Which begs the question if this mode can completely over power ambient light?).
I've got rather a different idea I'd share with you via email if you supply me one. :-)
Sorry for the lateness in reply, Michael. Only just revisited this page. Email Nathan Oxley - info@ic12.com.au, Cheers for that.
We've been playing around with the Cube some more. This time with cooking flour! Take a look here: http://youtu.be/Agsa_z5NBns
Very pleased to say we've passed our $60K goal. Still got 10 days to go of the campaign: http://bit.ly/13NrtEP
Would love to be tester. I currently use speedlights as my portable lighting options but have been looking into LED as an option. I have my reservations about a few. I'm based in new Zealand https://www.facebook.com/PinkPenguinPhotography
4:20 minutes and no demonstration, no pictures...
This product needs a promotional video ;-)