Lighting is an essential part of every studio or video shooting scene. For that reason, as a photographer, learning to manage and combine various lighting sources is just a part of your job. While inside the studio you rely on added lights, it doesn’t mean that artificial lighting is not needed in outside gigs.
In addition, combining continuous sources and flashes is important as well. They serve different purposes and can be found quite handy in video shooting. At last, to show your creativeness, you need all the equipment pieces that enhance your work.
In this article, we’ll talk about the best COB lights you can purchase for your video shootings. In addition, you will see why should you consider using COB over the other options, and what benefits it offers. Keep reading and find out more.
Table of Contents
Explanation of COB lights
The meaning behind this abbreviation means that the chips are on the board. It explains the technology behind this lighting source where lots of diodes are mounted on the same board. This contributes to more efficient energy consumption, as well as a dense source that produces high-brightness light.
As a continuous source, the COB is meant to be used to light up the whole scene. It can be positioned in a way you wanted since you can use it in a studio, mount it on a rod or take it with you for outside shootings.
Compared to the other LED products, you cannot notice any spaces between the diodes in the COB sources. Because they are tightly packed together, the light they produce is a lot stronger, however, you can always dim it, or adjust it in a way you want.
Best COB lights for you to consider
After the explanation of the technology and the COB Led meaning, it is time to go through some of the best products you might consider getting as an addition to your equipment.
1. LED video light from EMART
With highly adjustable settings, this EMART continuous lighting comes with one-eighty degrees angle to light up the scenery. In addition, it has sixty-six bulbs which contribute to the fullness of the light. With eleven brightness settings, you can surely get the right amount of lighting you need.
In addition, it comes with four filters that help you to adjust the color. Just place the filter in front of the panel, and you can come up with a specific color that complements the shooting right. At last, you get two tripods as well as cables and everything else you need to adjust your setup.
2. CL100-M from COLBOR
Another product that is surely a great addition to every photographer’s setup. COLBOR offers COB LIGHT LED that its advantages are over the standard lights. It is highly compact making it a great option for outdoor filming. In addition, it has creative portable batteries that help you avoid bringing large adapters without need.
The light does not produce lots of noise, so it will surely not compromise the video material you’ve gotten. In addition, it has seven effects and lighting mods that help you to adjust the scene right. Lastly, you can control the light through an application that is surely efficient enough.
3. X60 V2 from Sokani
As one of the smaller COBs, this product surely gets the job done well. It has five settings including flashing, fireworks, and more to help you in expressing your creativity.
Although it is not connected through an application, you get a remote to where you can adjust the power and come up with the settings we mentioned above. In addition, the mounting spot is universal, so you can use it on most rods you currently have.
You get an LCD to observe the features. With that, this is a great option for video shooting, as well as a COB Led work light. In addition, it is great for recording children since it’s a continuous luminous source that does not hurt their eyes.
Benefits of using COB
We explained the technology and what COB is, as well as some of the best products to consider. For that reason, it is time to go through the benefits that it offers compared to the regular panels.
-
Higher brightness
The first thing that makes the COB source superior to the others is that they are tightly packed with diodes and produce higher brightness. Everything is dependent on the lumen the light produces. The COB starts with eighty and can go over a hundred lumens, while the regular panels start with only fifty lumens.
This makes one source efficient enough to illuminate your whole scene, and you may even have to dim the lights on certain occasions. When there is a product that offers such strong light, you don’t have to think more.
-
Energy costs
No matter the LED source you select, the energy costs will surely be less when compared to regular bulbs used previously. The high energy efficiency comes both in COB and surface-mounted devices, however, it all depends on the watts and lumens used.
In addition, the COBs do not get hot, so you will not need to rest them for a while and then continue. This offers an unobstructed workflow for five or more hours which is surely beneficial, both for you and the models you are shooting.
-
Color adjustments
This is where the COBs have their only drawback. On the surface-mounted LEDs, you can completely adjust the tone and color, and you can further combine them with RGB to achieve any color you want.
However, COBs only come with a specific and predetermined color tone. Although you cannot adjust the tone through the device, there are additional pieces of equipment that let you slightly manipulate the light.
-
Quality
The quality of the light produced is different among the LED platforms because of the technology behind them. Because of the fewer diodes in the surface-mounted platform, there is a production of glare which makes it only suitable as a pointing light.
On the other hand, the compactness of the many diodes in the COB source contributes to a uniform light. The beam is wide which makes COB just a better light source. In addition, it can be further manipulated to come up with a beam that works in your case.
-
Price
The price behind the two LED platforms is different because of their technology and the costs of their production. The COB is usually cheaper because of the less labor needed, and because the materials are more affordable. For that reason, you can expect the COB to have around a five percent less price.
With such benefits and versatility in application, COB lights are surely a great addition to the equipment setup of every photographer. Not only do you get to control the scenery the way you wanted, but you can also use color filters and effects to express your creativity in the right way.
