Z96 dimmable LED lights

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farss wrote on 7/12/2011, 2:14 PM
The Z96s are so light you can use mic stands, even add a goose neck to them so you can position the light easily at any angle.

Yes, when the battery is almost flat these lights will blink. This is not a problem unique to the Z96s.

Bob.
Laurence wrote on 7/12/2011, 2:20 PM
Hmm, is there a mic stand gooseneck with a tripod sized screw at the top end?
craftech wrote on 7/12/2011, 5:44 PM
I just ordered two Z96s. Now I'm thinking about very portable light stands. What do you guys think about using these for stands?:

cgi.ebay.com/Horusbennu-MP-4500ST-Standing-Camera-Monopod-NEW-/270758196742?pt=US_Tripods&hash=item3f0a723606

It says max height is 138cm. That's only 4.5 feet.

John
Laurence wrote on 7/12/2011, 5:56 PM
That's nowhere near tall enough. Thanks.
farss wrote on 7/12/2011, 6:06 PM
" is there a mic stand gooseneck with a tripod sized screw at the top end?"

Not that I've found however a 5/8" to 1/4" adaptor can be bought very easily, most places that sell audio gear would have them.
For some obscure reason the "European" mic standard is 1/4" and for the rest of the world it's 5/8".


Bob.
Laurence wrote on 7/12/2011, 6:14 PM
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/284215-REG/Delvcam_DELV_LSM_DELV_LSM_Light_Stand_Mount.htmlThis[/link] would do the trick, mounted on a regular light stand.

Laurence wrote on 7/12/2011, 6:24 PM
Better yet, how about a couple of http://cgi.ebay.com/Bracket-Flash-Shoe-Umbrella-Holder-Swivel-Light-Stand-B-/290532396188?pt=Camera_Flash_Accessories&hash=item43a5148c9cthese.[/link] Either with or without a reflective umbrella.



Has anyone tried a Z96 with an umbrella?
John_Cline wrote on 7/12/2011, 8:24 PM
As long as we're on the subject of the Z96 lights, does anyone have an experience with these 160 LED lights from Amazon? They look quite similar to the Z96 and even take Sony F, FH and FM batteries. They don't have the nifty magnetic filters, but they do have 64 more LEDs and can be dimmed.

NEEWER CN-160 DIMMABLE LED VIDEO LIGHT
farss wrote on 7/13/2011, 1:52 AM
"Has anyone tried a Z96 with an umbrella?"

I have a couple of umbrellas that stay in the car. They're OK with a 70W CFL but with a Z96 you're going to loose way to much light fit to achieve anything usable.

Bob.

[edit]
Laurance, sorry I didn't answer your other question about the light stand to cold shoe adaptor.
Both of those should be OK. I have quite a collection of those things and none of them are entirely perfect.

1) Most do not fit Manfrotto pins properly due to the threaded spigot on the end ot the Manfrotto version of the pin.

2) A lot of them are designed to hold flash guns which do not have a lock down ring and need clearance for the hot shoe contacts. To get around that the have an additional mechanism for clamping the shoe and the parts can easily become separated and lost.

Mind you all of them are very cheap, Amy's store has a "360 swivell" version that I have and it's quite good apart from problem 1). I must see if I can counterbore them enough to get over the problem.
farss wrote on 7/13/2011, 1:57 AM
" does anyone have an experience with these 160 LED lights from Amazon?"

Yes, one of the businesses I do some work for sells them at cough, cough, $199. At Amazon's price they are OK but not as good as the Z96 which is only a bit more expensive.
I should mention at NAB someone was selling the Z96 at $239.

Bob.
Laurence wrote on 7/14/2011, 8:21 AM
When I put the 35mm prime lens on my Nikon DSLR, the footage looks really good in average household evening lighting. This is so different than my experience with 1/3" sensor HDV which really needs to be lit in that kind of environment. It seems to me that the z96 should be able to bring out the face a little and a second one in back to highlight the hair would be nice but not necessary. It's amazing to me after all these years of lighting the heck out of things that now that is all you need.

Does anyone have any screenshots of a talking head shot with a DSLR and lit with natural light augmented by small battery powered LEDs?
mcvap wrote on 7/14/2011, 9:53 AM
Another question here,
Is it the same Z96 model:
Mergeable Cordless 96-LED?




farss wrote on 7/14/2011, 2:36 PM
If you mean the one from gadget.brando.com then yes, based on reports from people at DVInfo who have bought from them.

Bob.
johnmeyer wrote on 7/14/2011, 5:15 PM
The last batch of 10x Z96s I bought cost around USD 70 inc free postage from China. The vendor sells on eBay under the name "Yespainting"I bought some from this vendor last fall. Long story short: product never arrived. "Yespainting" was exceptionally accommodating, and refunded my money.

I have purchased quite a number of products from China and Hong Kong (OK, they are now the same, but they still seem different to me), and not had any problems before this. Since this vendor was so easy to work with, I cannot give him a negative review, but you should be aware that you may or may not actually receive the merchandise, and you'll need to be willing to put up with the minor hassle of requesting a refund.
farss wrote on 7/15/2011, 2:55 AM
"I bought some from this vendor last fall. Long story short: product never arrived. "Yespainting" was exceptionally accommodating, and refunded my money."

Sorry to hear about your experience.
The only time I've had a bad experience was with a local eBay vendor. Didn't reply to messages or emails. It wasn't until I had Paypal put a hold on his funds that he started talking and the item was actually shipped.

Parcel post from China is now handled through a logistics centre in Australia, the address appears to be checked and the package labelled by Australia Post. All deliveries have to be signed for.

Just about to order another twenty Z96s, hopefully they arrive as easily as they have in the past.

Bob.
Jay Gladwell wrote on 7/15/2011, 4:43 AM

Brooklyn, NY: Z96 $69.95

Hong Kong: Z96 $69.90




paul_w wrote on 7/15/2011, 4:59 AM
Totally happy with mine. Bought from UK ebayer - he did a deal for a multiple purchase. £52 (pounds) each after discount. Going to order some more.
Arrived the very next day.

Paul
craftech wrote on 7/15/2011, 5:52 AM
I ordered mine from this eBay vendor on July 9. They seemed to have one of the best feedback histories.

I'll post back when I receive it.

John

As a side note, I have ordered from China before. Most recently was last fall from DealExtreme. It took a month to receive the items. There was a mistake in the order and while DealExtreme was very good about replacing it, it took another month to get the replacement.

The worst experience I ever had was when I ordered an expensive Sony editing deck from an American vendor that lives in Japan. He told me that in order to guarantee that it wouldn't be lost I had to use US Postal Service Global tracking.
The US Postal Service has the worst tracking I have ever experienced. I paid $120 for tracking. It showed up in the system two days AFTER I received it.
farss wrote on 7/15/2011, 6:33 AM
By the way if anyone is interested in some cheap lights at the other end of the scale I can do a great deal on Cinemill 24KW HMIs. Just to be clear that twenty four thousand watts. I don't want anyone to make the same mistake as another Australian who bought what he thought was a 1,200W HMI cheap through eBay.
When it arrived in Australia and he went to the wharf to pick it up he quickly realised he'd gained a "0" somewhere and the light was in fact 12,000W. It might seem quite a bonus until you consider a new lamp is around $3K and you need a generator to power it.

Bob.
mcvap wrote on 7/15/2011, 2:31 PM
Yes Bob, The one from gadget.brando.com , they send me e-mail today confirming that it the same product model F&V Z96.
craftech wrote on 7/18/2011, 1:50 PM
OK,

I received my Z96 from This eBay Vendor today.

Brand new and in perfect condition. Works well.

So I ordered it on July 9 and received it from China today July 18.
Nine days isn't bad at all. Price was great. I'm happy.

John
Laurence wrote on 7/18/2011, 3:35 PM
I got mine (two of them) today as well. I have a http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=348069&is=REGSony NP-F570[/link] in it right now. I want to see how long it lasts before I order another one that size. Hopefully I won't have to go to a larger size.

Does anyone know how long one of the NP-F570 form factor batteries lasts? There are some great deals on generic batteries like this on eBay. Here is a brand new one for $8.89 including shipping!:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Battery-SONY-InfoLithium-L-NP-F330-NP-F550-NP-F570-/380354497375?pt=Batteries_Chargers&hash=item588ee50b5f
craftech wrote on 7/18/2011, 4:34 PM
Does anyone know how long one of the NP-F570 form factor batteries lasts? There are some great deals on generic batteries like this on eBay.
===================
There has been some discussion regarding that at L.A. Color Online.

John
ushere wrote on 7/18/2011, 4:38 PM
peter wright did a test with one, and i followed up with two of my own - 1 hour minimum. not bad at all!!!