Sima SL-200LXI Video Light

Comments about Sima SL-200LXI Video Light:

I picked up the SL-200LXI after trial using one from a friend. I appreciated its optional colors as well as the longevity of the battery. With similar lights often have people who need me to turn it off but not once did anyone tell me that this light was too bright. All the while I was able to light up an entire wedding dance floor and was able to get the shots I needed.

Comments about Sima SL-200LXI Video Light:

purchased these to help give me a touch more fill when shooting video with my 5d2s. overall, they're definitely not useless in a pinch, but there are some issues. the touch-sensitive controls sound cool until you realize theyre not that sensitive to your touch. also, since you don't really know where you are setting-wise unless you go all the way to an extreme, then dial it up/back, it's tricky to match 2 (or more). a dial would be preferable, as you could set a bunch of them in a second without having to blind yourself as you watch the colors/brightness change. which i suppose would help with discretion - get your settings right and THEN turn it on. once you get past the the controls, the color SEEMS pretty accurate. again, you have to consider the size and cost. it's not meant to light up a dance floor, but will do a great job with a ring or product shot. as far as build quality, it feels pretty solid. its not meant for coal miners, but it appears to be able to handle the day to day rigors of a moderately careful photographer. again, if you need a touch more light (and hopefully have a slightly more controlled environment), you should be fine with these, if not immensely impressed.

Comments about Sima SL-200LXI Video Light:

I'm a professional wedding videographer. I bought this light to use as fill light and to add some contrast to the the subjects. For this, it works beautifully. The light is plenty bright enough up to about 6 feet away when on full power (more about that soon). The light is lightweight, well-built, and small. You will obviously need some kind of bracket in order to mount both this light and, say, a shotgun mic at the same time (even though I guess you could mount one to the side of the light as they have these modular cold-shoe slots for add more lights... I oughta try that out and update this post).

I chose this light because of the ability to change the temperature of the light as well as the brightness. For me, the "warm" spectrum turn out too green for my taste. This is unfortunate. I'll probably stick with the neutral and cooler varieties and try to fix the white balance in camera or post. The other downside is that the refresh rate of the light when not at full-power causes banding or flickering on my D7000 when shooting at 1080p 24fps.

The worse part about this light, though, is the touch controls. They are WAY to sensitive and just not a very accurate or user-friendly way to control the device. Dials would have been much more ideal in my opinion.

Overall, I'm happy with the purchase I just wish the color cast was better, the touch controls were dials instead, and that the refresh rate of the LEDs were faster.

Comments about Sima SL-200LXI Video Light:

Good: Nice charging system. Clever mounting of additional accessories that fit in normal camera accessory slot(s). Good adjustment of power and color. Small convenient size. Lightweight. Good tripod mounting kit, which can take other cams and/or accessories.
Fair: Built-in charger - non replaceable batts (better with replaceable AA batteries.)
Poor: Not enough light - would not provide even at 5 feet distance with any useful illumination. Useless even as a fill-light outdoors at any distance beyond 3 feet. Seriously Underpowered!

Comments about Sima SL-200LXI Video Light:

This light does exactly what I need it for, just enough light for darker conditions. My JVC doesn't have an onboard light and I was have a tough time in poorly lit situations. This thing won't exactly light a stadium but it's perfect for standard video recording. Need more light, buy another one or two and simply clip it on! I love the adjustable light temp. also as I can get near perfect skin tones. The dimmer is equally useful. A great addition to my vid gear. I bought this w/ the TR56 bracket and it's nothing short of perfect! Totally pleased!

Comments about Sima SL-200LXI Video Light:

This is the fourth Sima LED light I have purchased, and this latest iteration includes a poower unit to recharge anywhere in the world. Now not just the light output is adaptable to the situation, but the unit can travel as well. A nice improvement all around.

Comments about Sima SL-200LXI Video Light:

The SL-200LXI is an improved version of the extremely popular SL-20LX. It adds a dimmer as well as the ability to control the color temperature.

It's nice and simple but it's also twice the price of its little brother and I must admit that although it's quite functional and I don't feel so good about paying that much more.