excellent light
By noah
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2020-12-15
very powerful, durable, and quiet light, have used it on set for many times and it works perfect, i like it better than the godox vl 300 and i use it along with my nanlite forza 300
INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE, NO FLICKER, LOW NOISE
By Art Video
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2019-04-10
First impression I had upon unboxing this light, was the design of the light, the silver/black finish with a yellow round LED cell that adds a nice accent to the look. Also, the 5 pin light cable that connects to the ballast is nice, flexible and extremely easy to handle especially when putting it away, bending very easily, to a nice figure 8 shape, feels good in the hands. I didn’t find this light heavy. It’s a beefy one but it’s weight is very light for what it is and what it gives you...
This light instantly has become my favorite one. Why? Besides the POWER and BRIGHTNESS, the Powerhouse’s ballast is tiny and SUPER LIGHT weight!! You’ll love setting up this light! It’s that simple... AC cable to ballast, then plug in the 5 pin cable to the back of the light and you’re DONE. The ballast can be installed right on the light stand! This is VERY important to me, this light has a ballast, but its almost the same convenience using a light that doesnt have one (the straight to the outlet plug type) .
I can easily move the Powerhouse light and ballast, all attached in 1 stand. No cumbersome cabling and ballast on the floor to deal with. That’s a MAJOR PLUS for me as I really dont like ballasts on the floor.
I do not recommend you using a cheap light stand given the size, price and weight of this unit. A C Stand or any other heavy duty stand recommended. search at BH for heavy Duty Light Stand and an array of options will appear.
To mount very large or HEAVY softboxes, and parabolic Octagons, not only for this light but for ANY Monolight, I also recommend adding a counter weight on the back, thus relieving any stress you might put on the yoke and the stand (just like you’d do on a Boom mic or a crane).
If you already own a Genaray Radiance, (I do) the LED color cast are identical on both lights. The perfect combination using it for main light of backlight.
Now... the stuff you all want to know...
FAN NOISE: (...there isnt ) if you use a decent microphone.
The Powerhouse has 3 fans and the ballast another 2. Noisy??? Nope! When you stare at the product at 1 foot, yes, you’ll hear all the fans. But I tested it using a professional Sony UWP-D and / or super cardioid mic on a Boom.
I recommend using the boom option for ALL lights that have a fan. The fan sound is NOT captured by the mic if you know what you’re doing.
For interviews, keep the mic as close as possible to the source (off frame) whatever that source is, your mouth or anything that is emitting the sound you want to capture on video and your audio will be clean and fan noise out. The 3 fans on the light’s body emit an softly audible sound and hey are as quiet as it can be given a light of this size and POWER.
There is no such thing as a silent light of this size. The 2 little fans on the ballast are a bit noisy but again, nothing will be heard on your recordings. My studio is dead quiet and I don’t hear the fans on my recordings as close as 2 feet from it with the microphone CLOSE to me.
I made a mega review, 50 minute long video online, everything you can possibly want to know about it is there.
HEAT. None. 1 hour running the light, it’s ice cold. With a softbox it gets no warmer than your body temp.
Light spread: softbox: it fills satisfactory and evenly. The reflector it comes with, is very reflective giving you a LOT of punch output on the light beam, regardless of being a wide 120 degree angle.
What I don’t like about the unit: (very minor things, NOT pertaining to the light itself or its performance)
1- remote control does not sync with the light. this “problem” is common on most LEDs that feature a remote. The green LCD display on the remote goes out as early as 5 seconds. I wish I could make it light up longer especially if I’m in the dark.
2- Comes shipped with no case. I spent 8 hours looking for a case that suits my needs. Yes, there are cases at BH and other sources that will fit the Powerhouse... However...since I own a Genaray Radiance and it DOES come with a case, I decided to place the Powerhouse on top, ten I immediately saw that it would fit with a FEW modifications by cutting the foam inside. now I have the Radiance and the Powerhouse on IDENTICAL cases.
What I like about that case is that it can be placed FLAT on the ground and very easily remove the light, has a ore cut space for the reflector, ballast and cables, all in a slim case that will fit anywhere in you car, closer or studio shelves. And it extremely lightweight case. Not the kind of protection that you would check this in on a flight but it’s plenty of protection for transporting normally. The case costs between $85 to$100. Genaray does not sell this case normally. You have to call and order it. BH should start caring this case for sale. You can’t find another better case for it. I like a case that I can place it flat on the floor and the Radiance case does what I want, plus theres even a pre-cut to size hole in there for storing the reflector, remote, cables, all isolated.
I definitely recommend this light and you cannot go wrong with this one.
- FLICKER FREE, even at 120FPS slow motion using a Canon 1DX Mark II and a C 100Mark II. No worries there...
- slick design and look
- lightweight
- powerful
- tiny ballast, no clutter
- Bowen’s Mount. Anything can be mounted on this thing.
[i have received this light in exchange for my honest review] and I wouldnt hesitate to put another one in the shopping cart.
Perfect for Laowa Probe Lens
By Jaime
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2020-12-17
This makes filming with the Laowa 24mm f14 probe lens a breeze! I am able to get to around ISO 400 shooting at 24 frames and can shoot at 120 frames if needed with a higher ISO no problemo with Sony. Really like this light. Sure, you can't increase the output in small increments, but really I only bought this for a lot of light. I have a few Aputure and Godox lights with less power, so this is really just for when I need a ton of light. It holds a huge soft box no problem and isn't as heavy as one would think by looking at it. The power supply is also pretty light and even has a handy strap to mount it to a c stand. Can't go wrong with this light in my honest opinion. The price was also too good to beat.
