Customer Reviews

36 Led Light for Cams - Int'l

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

FORGET THE INTERNATIONAL PART. This is a light for domestic US use that you can also use internationally. It should completely replace the Sima SL-20LX, and addresses all it's primary deficiency: the SL-20LXI can be used with the AC Power plugged in, unlike the LX.

After buying 3 Sima SL-20LX, I discovered that you couldn't run the light on the AC Charger. When you plug the charger in with the LX version, it cuts the light out while it's charging.

During an interview, my lights started flashing and then went dead. Then you have to wait for it to charge before you can use it again.

NOT SO WITH THE SL-20LXI! The LXI comes with a nifty charger with interchangable plugs which work I presume in Europe and other countries with 220 volts AS WELL AS US 120 volts, and I imagine it's a constant regulated voltage charger. As such, Sima seems to have changed the circuitry so the power from the battery no longer cuts out to the light while you're charging. BUT ONLY ON THE LXI VERSION. The power supply doesn't help with the LX at all. So now I have 3 LXes, and 3 LXIs. Well, you can never have too much light.

These things put out a lot of light, especially for their size. I'd estimate color temperature at around 4500K, but it white balances well on its own, and works well with florescents, which thanks to compact light bulbs, are really really common. I've bought 3200K gels when I'm mixing with incandescents, though that does give a nice warm fill with the 4500K white balance

The light interlocks with other 20LX and 20LXI lights, and is simply the most amazing value in video lighting today. I also like that they're cool to the touch, and if I have to use them on battery power alone, they last a little under an hour. The throw isn't too far, so they're not going to replace your 50 watt halogens, but for 15 feet and under, they do beautifully with my Canon HG-21 for interviews. They also pack small enough to carry a bunch of them, so if you need to light a larger area, you can discretely tape them up or put them around with light stands. The light is fairly soft even with the highish color temp, the built in you-don't-have-a-choice diffuser having a really nice dispersion.

Since the lights interlock, if you really do want a ton of light on top of your camera, you can interlock as many of these things as you want. I've tried 5 of them on top of the camera, and it lights up a really wide area with 180 LEDs. For [...] 5 (or thereabouts) that's a lot of light. The Sima SL-20LXI is the most practical, amazing value in lighting I've seen and I love using it. There is one drawback. You can't change the battery. Sorry. But they're almost as cheap as a lithium-ion battery alone. Not enough of a drawback for me to dock it a star though.

Also, I had to get a cold shoe adaptor to use it with my Canon HG-21. You can find those here: [...] and here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AHUPRA (same company either way).

Summary: Epic WIN!

This video light is bright. I like how light and compact it is. This is one of the good accessories for new modern video camcorders, small and light for any shooting situation. This light model works from the built-in battery and from plug-in power as well. I haven't had a chance to test life the battery for continuous shooting and on/off use yet. But with the option to use when plug-in, you can save the charge when shooting an indoor interviews. Also, with this option the light is not a total uselessness if the built-in battery dies. The price is very inexpensive. You can pay a lot more for other products which produce the same mount of light. I'm pleased with the purchase so far.

I have four of these lights and love them! They are great additions to your field video kit and a couple of them combined work great. The international version does support multiple outlets and voltages, but the real advantage and reason to buy it is that the light can run on the AC power! The other version (US only) turns off if you plug it in while trying to run it, and when the battery is running low the light starts to flash. Spend the extra and get the international model. Highly recommended!

Bought it as a fill light. Works Ok.

Great when there is no other light source.

Not very spotty , so video looks decent enough.

Don't expect too much of this tiny light.

I ordered what I thought were the Sima 20LXI lights. What I received were Hakutatz VL-36!

One quit working the DAY AFTER I received it. Also, they cannot turn on while charging. While on, they do provide bluish white light though. You may have to adjust your white balance to get a good image.

If you order the lights, make sure you get what you paid for!

Mine came from Cowboy Studio.

I got 3 of these lights for those times when I couldn't really "control" the lighting for video by bringing in my softboxes & hair light. These are bright, easy to use (on/off switch), and can be plugged into the wall for power if needed. Most of the time I don't even mount them to my video camera, I'll put them near the subject or point them from across the room. I found these very useful while traveling with limited space for my equipment.

I bought two of these thinking that 600 lumens wasn't enough... man was I wrong and right.

wrong because if you are in an interview situation and have a light mounted on the camcorder to catch a moment, it's perfect.

right, because the light has the ability to be mounted on a tripod of by itself and I need more of these to create lighting control within a setting.

these are great lights, output amazing light quantity and quality... you set perfect white balances with these at hand... I need more of them.

on a sad note, I did have one of them loose 3 leds on the grid. on a good note, sent it to the manufacturer and within a week I had a replacement in my hand... wow that was fast...

This device is very convenient since it is lightweight, durable, and gives light that is often adequate. One important feature is that the light shines even when the input of electricity is happening. I made a wire to connect the light to a 6 volt battery, the kind used for lantern flashlights (about one pound-- has little spiral connections on top) and that rig is sufficient to run the light for many hours. One such battery can run two lights simultaneously, stacked. Worked well in remote locations in Amazonia.

It's a decent little light that has 'ok' battery life with some solid light output. The hot spot from the light isn't as defined as most lights but it's still there. It's lightweight and easy to mount. For the low cost and flexibility you get with this light, it's a good purchase to have a few on hand.

The only thing I'm disappointed in is that after 3 full uses (taking the battery from full to dead), I already have 4 LED's that are out. Not a good pace.

This is a great led lamp. I have ben looking for a good, even white led lamp for shooting book pages for OCR and all the ones I'd tried either gave no smooth light or odd colored light. I took a chance on this after reading the LA review of it not being "just" international. He was right, the package comes with various adapters including standard US type. Plus it came with a side sitting bracket so you don't need to buy the threebie offered automatically by the amazon robots :-) . The light is clean and seems to me to be even and bright white across a 5 to 8 foot stage. As mentioned, probably not great for portraits because it is *very* bright but for my needs it is great. I'm ordering another for sidelighting.