Ikan's Newest LED Lighting Units Improve Your Lighting

The versatility of LED light units has made them the de facto standard when small, portable, battery-powered, and lightweight units are required. However, no light is perfect, and no light can do all the things that are needed on set. Traditionally, LED lights have suffered from taking a middle-of-the-road approach, trading power and control for softness, and not being all that good at softness, anyway. With its newest batch of lighting units, Ikan has taken the problem, broken it down to its component issues, and come up with a nifty solution: make two different kinds of lights.

Problem 1: The light is not directional enough. Many LED lighting units strive for the “directionless” source look, made very popular by fluorescent lighting. However, LED lights—even with diffusion panels—tend to have a grid-like effect, which limits their use as set lights. Adding diffusion only kills the lights’ output. The daylight-balanced Ikan IFD576-SP features a tight 30-degree beam angle for lots of punch. The spot beam angle helps the light maintain its output even with diffusion added, and the daylight balance CT and battery operation make it suitable for use as a fill light or on exteriors. These light units are available with an AB mount and a V-mount adapter plate, as well as in kits for a complete location lighting package. The daylight-balanced nature of these lights also makes them suitable for interior locations, where there are windows or window light in your shot.

Problem 2: The light is not soft enough. Even with diffusion, most LED lights just won't get soft enough. When you use enough diffusion to get the soft, large source you are looking for, the output is severely limited and the light becomes unwieldy. Back the light away and you end up with a point source instead of that large, just-out-of-frame source that provides a nice, soft look, while still allowing for shadow definition on your subject. Enter the Ikan Piatto. 

The Piatto lights are available in rectangular or round shapes, in small and large sizes. The lights avoid LED hot spots and the need for diffusion to soften the hot spots, allowing you to bring them close to your talent without making them uncomfortable, and providing a soft, organic light. The key is the construction of the light, which shines the LEDs into the diffusion material from the edge, causing the entire sheet to glow with even, soft daylight-balanced illumination. The high CRI provides more natural color reproduction. The lights are battery powered and they come with Canon, Panasonic, and Sony battery plates. Each light is equipped with a multi-voltage power supply, which works anywhere in the world; the PL60, PL74, and PL103 include one variety of power supply, while the PL90 uses a larger power supply. The lightweight  units feature 1/4"-20 mounting holes, and can be held and positioned with a variety of optional accessories on a stand, or even as an on-camera light. The 9" round Piatto PL90 comes built into a yoke for a 5/8" pin. The smaller PL60 (6" diameter) and the rectangular PL74 (7 x 4") and PL103 (10 x 3"), and they all include a 1/4"-20 to 5/8" swiveling light-stand adapter.

The Piatto lights are also excellent for use as accent or as an eye light, as the reflection will show a single soft source, not an array of LED bulbs. As the main source of illumination, the 9" Piatto round provides a more natural-looking reflection in the subject’s eye than a square of diffusion. So whether you’re using the Piatto LEDs to provide a soft glow, or the new 60-degree spot LED fixtures, which are ideal for interviews both inside and out, you can depend on Ikan to deliver the tools you need to get the images you want.