Dedolight • Visual Departures

Archives for ‘Dedolight’

NAB 2010 Report: Dedolight and Matthews Studio Equipment

I'm just back from the NAB show in Las Vegas (that's the National Association of Broadcasters, an organization that goes back to 1922 when radio was the only broadcast medium). It's a huge show, covering every aspect of television and radio and there's always a lot to see and learn. Russ Carswell, our sales director, was with me and we were part of the Dedolight team from Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

Dedolight is a big, important, and growing part of our business. As a lot of you know (and if you don't, just browse the Dedolight category on our site), it is a truly unique system of continuous 'hot' light that is used by thousands of photographers, video shooters and filmmakers all over the world. These days, with cameras shrinking in size (and sometimes price tags), it's more important than ever that lighting be extremely portable with finely controlled output that adapts to every possible shooting situation.

This year, we helped Dedolight introduce some new accessories for their LEDZilla on-board LED light, designed for small video cameras, as well as the new HMI 1200-watt head. We first showed LEDZilla (technically the DLOBML) at NAB last year; the response was tremendous and the demand has never slowed down. LEDZilla carries on the tradition of Dedolight design, innovation, and engineering, and is made with the quality that has always gone into every Dedolight.

Among the new items will be a miniature soft box, a 'Chinese lantern' head, and what looks like a miniature 'light saber,' all of which will use the same bayonet mount as the current LEDZilla optics. Dedolight believes LEDZilla is a great new "platform" and is expanding the system to support more and more usage scenarios. The new accessories will be available this summer.

Getting back to the topic of camera gear getting smaller every year — I want to share some of what I saw at the Matthews Studio Equipment booth. Matthews is a U.S. company whose products are in (it seems) every studio and on every location shoot in the world. If you don't know them, you should. What I saw that got me really excited is their new line of MICROgrip equipment. It's a series of components designed for table-top shooting and the mounting of small gear in just about any set-up and configuration. Imagine a grip head that fits in the palm of your hand, made with the same precision as its big brother. Like most photographers, I’m always looking for products that, on location or in the studio, will let me put my lighting and still life subjects exactly where I want them. For the same reasons that Dedolight is so great because the lights don’t get in the way of what I’m shooting, small grip gear makes life a whole lot easier for table-top shoots.

Look for further impressions from NAB 2010 on my blog over the next few days!

Tags: Dedo Weigert Dedolight grip LED LEDZilla Matthews MICROgrip NAB NAB 2010 soft box

Dedolight: Precisely-Engineered Lighting Equipment

Click here to browse our entire Dedolight category… or download the complete Dedolight catalog.

A Beautifully Engineered, Compact Lighting System

Dedolight is one of those rare products that has actually transformed the way still photographers and TV/motion picture professionals work, by combining an unprecedented level of lighting precision with portability no other "hot" light system can match. It would be impossible to summarize the 98-page Dedolight brochure here — contact us for a complete catalog — but here are a few key points:

Dedolight's unique construction allows for a focusing range of 1:25, with virtually no fall-off, and incredible edge-to-edge sharpness.
Oscar-winning optical design produces the effective output of over 300 watts from a standard 100-watt bulb. Superior venting allows Dedolight heads to be mounted at virtually any angle, including upside down.
Accessory attachments enable the creation of a rectangular beam of light 1/16" in width, or a circle of light just 3mm in diameter.
Small size and extreme durability mean that Dedolight can be mounted in virtually any way–even using gaffer tape!
With a variety of kits and individual units, there is a Dedolight for virtually any shooting scenario.

Some Elements of the Dedolight System

The DT12-4 is a 12-volt control unit that can power up to four 100-watt heads (DLH2P), with each head selectable to a range of outputs and color temperatures, from 3000K to 3400K. The power pack itself can be run from any line voltage in the world. Each individual head can also be run from an alternative 12-volt power source, such as a battery belt or a car's cigarette lighter.

The DT24-3 is a 24-volt control unit that allows the DLH2P head to use a 150-watt bulb, providing 50% greater output than the 12-volt, 100-watt system.Each head is individually selectable over a range of color temperatures and outputs, similar to the DT12-4.

The DLHM is a "self-contained" 100-watt head, meaning that it has its own built in voltage transformer, and can be plugged directly into any 110-volt U.S. outlet. A 220-volt model is also available.

The DLOB head, a.k.a. "LEDZilla" is designed to be mounted directly on a professional broadcast video camera. This head is permanently fitted with a daylight conversion filter that can be flipped in and out of the light path as needed. Extremely flexible power options make it possible to use this head anywhere, all day long.

Dedolight's unique optical design makes possible its most interesting and creative accessories: the Dedolight DP-1 and DP-2 projection attachments. Specially designed to match Dedolight's own optics, they allow you to project precise shapes and patterns of light onto your subject or set. Geometric shapes of light can be created simply by adjusting framing shutters in the projection attachment. Perfect circles can be produced with an adjustable 18-blade iris. A gobo holder lets you use any of hundreds of Rosco M-size gobo patterns, which include everything from windows to foliage to "breakups" that dapple the light. A pattern's softness is varied simply by focusing the projection attachment's lens. And whether the projection is pinpoint-sharp or soft, Dedolight's optical precision eliminates color fringing.

How it All Comes Together

Dedo Weigert, the inventor of Dedolight, has a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and passion for lighting. In this 13-minute "Lighting Master Class", he explains how the Dedolight system architecture gives you tremendous lighting flexibility–without sacrificing simplicity.

Interested in Dedolight?

We ship Dedolight products all over the United States, so chances are good that you can buy one locally (or order online, if you prefer.) Get in touch to find a dealer or request a catalog!

Tags: Dedolight light lighting

The DLH1x150: A Great Light Head for Even Soft Box Lighting

In the last few years, Dedolight has come out with a range of soft-light heads and matching soft boxes that are unmatched in their evenness of light. One model in particular has been getting a lot of attention: the DLH1x150.

It's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, uses a 150-watt clear bulb rated to last 1000 hours, and mounts in a very small soft box. It's fantastic as a "run-and-gun" light in film and video and as a way of lighting up the interior of a car or plane; it's also wonderful for shooting food set-ups on location or impromptu interviews.

Normally it's connected to an in-line dimmable power supply (DT24-1U), but by changing the bulb to a 100-watt, 12-volt lamp, and using the appropriate accessory cord, it can run from a battery belt or a vehicle's accessory outlet.

It's a beautiful piece of engineering, and remember that the light output of a Dedolight head is much more efficient than a bigger and hotter fresnel or open-source light fixture.

Tags: Dedolight head light soft box

LEDZilla: A Game-Changing On-Board LED Light Head

Lightweight, Dimmable, Zoomable, Precise… It's Everything We've Been Waiting For

First annouced at NAB 2009, the Dedolight LEDZilla uses a single, high-power LED to give you amazing output levels in combination with the trademark Dedolight double aspheric optics. Unlike most LED lights, the LEDZilla is focusable from 4° to 56°, with smooth light distribution in all focusing positions.

Click to read the full Dedolight LEDZILLA spec sheet (PDF).

The unit includes a wide angle flip-up diffuser for 70° angle, smoothly covering the widest zoom and widening the beam more horizontally than vertically (1:1.66) — after all, we don't shoot round pictures! The diffuser lets you achieve a clean, sharp, single-edge barn door shadow or a very gentle light and shadow transition.

An adjustable support arm allows it to be positioned above and forward. Color quality is maintained across the entire dimming range, from full blast down to zero. The dichroic flip-down filter converts from daylight to tungsten quickly. A front-end bayonet allows future attachments and light modifiers.

LEDZilla's power requirements are impressive, as well. Despite its amazing brightness, it requires only 8 watts, and can be run from any 6V to 18V DC source. Adapters are available for Anton/Bauer or PAG systems, XLR, Swit battery, or your car's cigarette lighter. The optional battery shoe accessory is compatible with Sony and Panasonic mini-DV batteries, potentially giving you a full day's use from just one or two camcorder batteries.

LEDZilla accessories are listed on page 3 of the spec sheet.

LEDZilla Accessories

Dedolight believes in the LEDZilla design so thoroughly, they have created an ecosystem of high-quality matched accessories around it. Highlights include adapters for all manner of shoe and stud mounts, international and DC power adapters in various lengths, a self-contained AA battery pack, suction and rail mounts, and a soft pouch.

Tags: Dedolight head LED LEDZilla light on-camera portable