Ikan ID 500 LED Head

Comments about Ikan ID 500 LED Head:

I really, really want to like LED lights. I do mostly corporate videography and I would love a light that looked good while not giving off heat and was easy to transport. I decided it was time to try one and picked up this Ikan because the cost wasn't outrageous.
Because of the sadly low quality of light produced by this unit I never use it without placing three layers of various color correction and diffusion gels in front of it. I have a magenta gel, a CTO gel, and diffusion. After the gels the light doesn't fall horribly, but compared to my Chimera Triolet light, it looks pretty bad. The shadows don't fall across the face in a very flattering way and the light really brings out even minor sheen in someones face.
I have been using the light more and more as a fill light, and it works ok, but I wouldn't really recommend it yet to someone else. Wait a few more years for them to work out the bugs.

Comments about Ikan ID 500 LED Head:

This was the 4th one of these I bought to light a small studio and replace some old, hot tungsten lights. These guys put out a good amount of brightness and almost no heat. Had talent in front of them for over an hour without having to stop once for a water break or wipe sweat off her brow. The light output is pretty soft and even, though for close shots I would still recommend some diffusion to minimize shadows. They are very lightweight, so they should not be knocked around too much, but it makes them very portable. Add the battery option and you have a great location kit. They are Daylight balanced for ready outdoor use and even come with a handy remote control for turning on and adjusting brightness from a distance. The only weird thing is that after a week of use, one remote has somehow over-ridden the others, so now it turns all 4 lights on and off and none of the other remotes work. If it were not for the remote issue, this product would have gotten 5 stars.

Comments about Ikan ID 500 LED Head:

The ID 500 produces a nice soft light. Great for indoor interviews, product shots and green screen stuff. It's small lightweight. I love the remote control.
When were working as a one man band it makes shooting a little easier. The color temperature 5600 k is accurate. some led lights have weird color tempatures.

Comments about Ikan ID 500 LED Head:

I am creating a traveling interview video kit, and I ordered this for the key light along with two LED-155 heads. Seems to throw a great deal of white light but it is untried at a shoot as of yet. Build is acceptable. No protective case. Very compact but expensive lighting solution.

Comments about Ikan ID 500 LED Head:

I am extremely pleased with these new LED lights. They are a short throw (maybe 18 feet usable distance), but the quality of the light is great - even outdoors! I was hoping to just use them to eliminate shadows on an afternoon shoot, but i found them much more flexible than that. Even when using the Sony V-Mount batteries, they are light weight and easy to adjust. The light is naturally diffused and well tuned to sunlight temperature. Best of all, after burning for hours, they were cool to the touch in no time at all. It's one of the reasons I felt so free to experiment with them. And the little wireless remote is a nice touch. I wish i could give each individual light a custom ID and control each one via the remote, instead of adjusting all of them simultaneously. Hopefully Ikan will take it under consideration for the next update in the product line.

I'll be buying more of these in the future.