Being a photographer who loves using off camera lighting, I am always intrigued by new and innovative lighting gadgets. Tiffen unveiled the Lowel GL-1 Power LED Light at PDN this week, and it is definitely something different in comparison to the types of lighting I am used to.
From the official press release:
About the New Lowel GL-1 Power LED Light
Designed in conjunction with world-renowned wedding and event photographers Brian Marcus and John Solano, the Lowel GL-1 is the perfect complement to today’s DSLR cameras. It lets shooters harness the creative potential of high ISO shoots.The Lowel GL-1 Power LED is a battery-powered, focusable and dimmable, photo-quality tungsten color LED light. This means users can control the diameter of the light beam, focusing from a tight spot to a wide flood. The beam is very even, from edge to edge, with no hot spots.
GL-1's dimming ability lets users vary the amount of light output from 5-100%, without any shift in color temperature, to perfectly match the atmosphere of the location. With the integrity of the atmosphere maintained, photographers and videographers can see the exact effect the light has on their shot.
The New Lowel GL-1 Power LED Feature and Benefit Highlights Include:
Powerful Output – State-of-the-art LED provides a wide focus range, from spot to flood; allows shooters to create that dramatic Hollywood-style lighting either close up or from 20 feet away
Tungsten Color – Flatters skin tones, outputting a very high-quality photo image
Self-Contained DC Power – Gives shooters maximum portability and speed in lighting placement
Two Ways of Dimming – 1) Use the adjustable Dimming Trigger to quickly achieve the perfect light level for short-term handheld use; 2) Lock the light ON and dial in intensity for longer-term constant output at any level, perfect for mounted use or time lapse “Light Painting”
Silent Diaphragm Cooling – Eliminates distraction while shooting in quiet moments
1/4-20 Screw-Thread on GL-1 Base – Provides option for tripod/stand mounting for longer term lighting setups
Lowel GL1 Power LED Specifications
• Dimmable focusing LED fixture
• Dimming Range – 5-100%
• Color Temperature – 3000K
• Color Rendering Index – 90
• Focus Range – 5:1 (approximate)
• Output Reading at 5 feet, full spot: 398-foot candles
• Output Reading at 5 feet, full flood: 73-foot candlesPricing and Availability
With an MSRP of less than 800.00 USD, the Lowel GL-1 Light will be released in Q4 2012.
To me this all seems really interesting, but generally when a company says "an MSRP of less than ____" it normally doesn't tend to be much less than the number they state. With that being said, paying $700+ for this seems like a big chunk of change for one light. Time will tell the uses and efficiency of this guy once it hits the market. What do you all think? Let us know in the comments below.
This looks like a flashlight am I missing something?
These all look like regular cars.
http://exoticcars.about.com/od/toptens/tp/MostExpensiveCars.htm
No, they don't, not in the slightest.
why 3000k?? wouldn't daylight balanced 5000k be better??? i mean, you can always gel, but 5000k is like a standard....
Daylight Balance would be better if it didn't have a filter mount - It's tungsten based temp gives it a warm glow to the photos - go to www.thegunlight.com to see the light do it's thing. A review with no research is all this is.
Hehe Zack Arias just made fun on this piece of 'light' and I sure agree with him => http://instagram.com/p/RNh98ymojI/
haha, I'm not a Zack Arias fun but if he keeps on posting truth like this....I might be.
Ha, my thoughts exactly :)
I really cannot justify this purchase when I can get a Paul C Buff Einstein instead.
Nicholas,
You are comparing Apples to Oranges.
This is a constant Light source. With a Fresnel Lens.
You are comparing this to a flash.
They are two different tools.
Both are needed.
the only thing that is more ridiculous than this product is it's pricing ...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/841262-REG/Canon_Speedlite_580EX_I...
what about these prices.
Didn't you just type above:
"You are comparing Apples to Oranges.
This is a constant Light source. With a Fresnel Lens.
You are comparing this to a flash.
They are two different tools."
RIP.......OFF!!
They could sell Hundreds of thousands of these if they priced it right, but nooooo, they have to be greedy. It's a flashlight, that's it. It costs 5-10 bucks to produce in China, come on!!!
This thing better be able to light up the Taj Mahal from Everest for that price
Its a 35 watt LED
That is equal to a 250 watt Halogen lamp
Just buy a Z Ray (Binkman dual xeon) at 29 bucks and set a custom white balance.. works fine..
I started using those 7 years ago.
You cant do an even illumination from 30 feet away.
The light fall off is terrible at a long distance and the lights are not photo quality.
Or Video Quality.
Illumination is far from being even.
But the brinkman is worth the price of $29.00
I saw it at WPPI 2012 and it looked cool but I'd say max price of maybe $150?
It's a flashlight for gosh sake.
And a Lambo is just a car.
this isn't a Lambo, it's more like an Acura that THINKS its a Lambo when its really just a hyped up Honda
Thanks "Obama 2012? BACKWARD". Couldn't have said it better.
LOL, add photo in front of the description and add $770. Granted this product has a few more benefits than the link below, but are they worth it??
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UJYPEQ/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00
Its worth it if you make your living from the images you take.
You are incredibly defensive about this product. It is a cordless drill/light with a $5 fresnel lens. For the price it should have variable white balance (with precise digital readout/setting), a solar charging circuit so I never have to plug it in, and a lifetime warranty and free batteries for life, as is common with a number of brands of the (<$100) cordless drills on which it is so obviously based.
right because no one EVER made money in photography before this flashlight was marketed by Lowel
LOL, Zack Arias keepin' it real! This is a rip off
I doubt it will matter how much this thing costs. It aesthetically looks awful, and I doubt it will function well. Why put a handle on a light when you still have to hold the camera? Also this thing looks like it will be really unbalanced when its attached to the top of a lightstand by the 1/4-20 bolt. Just get one of these (http://www.boschtools.com/Products/Tools/Pages/BoschProductDetail.aspx?p...) and you can have removable, rechargeable batteries for it that will work with power tools. And who doesn't like power tools?
Aesthetically Awful???
How about eregonomically perfect for an assistant to use.
Unit is 3.5 pounds.
Perfect on a stand with a tilt head.
I'm sorry your design sucks and will be discontinued before the second production run
This is one thing that bothers me about phtography. I could potentially see the light being expensive if they used VERY high quality parts, like very nice color match LEDs, and Battery X, the focus was designed in such a way and so on, but it give NO details into what any of that is. I know Photographers aren't engineers but it would be nice to know. Also, the "co creator" needs to take off the night club glasses and shirt. I feel like he's trying to sell Bently's to Russian club owners.
jajajajajajajajaja
You are funny Joey.
Love the Bently line.
I swear thats a good one!!!!!
Thanks for not saying a cheapo car.
Yeah, the way you defend this I'm gonna guess you're John Solano. I like the comment the guy made on YT about you today. Nailed it.
jajajajajajajajajajajaja
love me or hate me.
It wont MAKE me or BREAK ME
That is why I like Zack. Keep it real :D
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/2c8c4b3b58/chappelle-show-when-keeping-...
I swear I had to check the calendar to make sure it wasn't April 1st.
seems legit ......... :/
$150 tops... I'd buy 2 of'em... I really think the two main guys were like this.. "Hey guys, we have this fat flash light, throws out some good power and it's dimmable. Pretty nice eh? yea yea, really nice. Bulk price on 1000 piece flats run us about 10 bucks per piece, ok what do we charge? Might as well charge 800 bucks... Did you see the Ice light the other day? wtf? It's 500... Well its' better than that crap so lets price it better"... Thought process is out the door, people don't know how to run companies anymore I've gathered. They want in and out fast enough to make bank and they don't care. Where is the Care? =(
800 bucks for a flashlight. they must be mad as a hatter.
The light quality is awful in the demos.
Look at the images on the site
http://thegunlight.com/pro-gallery
You cant judge images from a Video on demos.
These demos are to show you the speed in how its done.
Did April come early?
But I think it has a filter mount and they showed it with a daylight balanced filter.
Its an 82mm thread for a filter
haha - I already have brighter lights which are additionally waterproof, and constant brightness for the enter charge of battery and they cost a fraction of that!
Plus who wants 3000k?
Flashes are approx 5500k, surely they should have used the same colour as those so they can be used together?
Craig,
We shoot events in hotels in Los Angeles and NY
Beverly HIlls Hotel, Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria, The Pierre etc....
Tungsten balance is needed for indoor situations.
That is when we use this tool.
If you shoot a flash in 5500 K with a Tungsten Ambient LIghting, you get not true colors in the images.
The background go;s to red.
As far as brighter lights.
That does not mean much.
This is a precision tool
A focusable even light source.
Nothing like it exists.
Fresnel Lens, in a portable battery operated hand held light.
I actually had a chance to use this thing at an event recently and it works brilliantly.. Its perfect for lighting something specific or something really wide. I like the fact that the trigger controls how much light you get by squeezing with more or less pressure. Price is definitely out of my reach though..
The idea works, but the majority of photographers already have some sort of portable light/flash. I can't justify spend 7 or 8 hundred for a continuous light source. Video would be a better use for this light. Plus I think customers expect you to bring "Lighting", and their first though is going to be "Hey this guy is lighting us with a flashlight".
160th. You said it. The IDEA works
This is a light with a FRESNEL lens. That you hold in your hand. That is battery powered.
You say that customers expect you to bring " LIGHTING "
That comment intrigues me.
They hire your for work you produce, not for the camera , or equipment you bring.
As long as you produce, what them hired you for.
I think customers want you to bring an experiance.
If you are photographing a wedding couple.
( I bring this up, because this is what I do for a living )
You have 10 minutes to rock out 15-20 GREAT images of them.
The GL-1 allows you to move around freely at a location.
Illuminated your subject fast and effectively
When you do this.
Clients are in AWE that you can do so much with so little.
They did not feel like the photography experiance was a chore.