Anyone using Neewer 660 and similar LED lights?

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Short story. Bought one for reasonable price and now I'm finding it very awkward to use (just testing out) as it appears to be totally incompatible with any "normal" modifiers and at the same time gives quite hard light.

I would love to hear what this kind of LED would be good for please and basically if it is a keeper. Or should I just sell it and get the proper things like a couple of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Godox-VL150-150W-5600K-White-Version-LED-Video-Light-Continuous-APP-Studio-Light/383820146829?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l9372
perhaps not right now but you get the point....

For hair light I'm thinking if I should better get 1 or 2 round heads for my Godox Ad200s.
 
If you use something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Selens-H-t...ywords=umbrella+bracket&qid=1616333275&sr=8-9 you should be able to use an umbrella and you can also clip a bit of scrim to the barn doors to get more diffusion. Generally this type of cheep LED panel has a very narrow beam angle so that they can quote high output figures due to the concentrated light. Better LED panels come with more power and often come in a choice of beam angles so you can get a much more diffuse light if wanted.
 
Read carefully, because it depends what you are using them for. Recently bought some LED lights in the context of shooting domestic property video. These were my findings:

Lightpanels like Neewer 660's. Relatively soft light source with just the supplied slot in diffuser screen - this is important because I bought them to light rooms and don't want the light source to bee too obvious when cast against a wall. Colour is OK (but not great). For budget property work, it can be sorted OK in premier pro. Probably wouldn't make tv standards but I'm not using them for TV work, just short low budget promotional videos. Power (Lux output) could be better but for smaller domestic rooms, if you have 2 or 3 of them, they work OK. Size - they are nice and small (relatively speaking), and easy to keep out of the shot. No fan noise - they don't have one. Budget wasn't the biggest limiting factor, but they are fairly cheap.

COB lights - Speaking personally I tried a Nanlite forza 60 - (the Godox you linked above is also a COB, so similar, obviously noting that it it is a different make). Somewhat brighter than the Neewer ones. Colour is very obviously white (I didn't go for the bi colour version). Some fan noise - this will vary from make to make and can to a degree be removed in post.

One issue however was a dealbreaker, and this was due to the specific usage I wanted them for. The COB light produces an extremely hard light source when used with its reflector alone. Shadows are extremely sharp and when shining it against a wall, it produces a very hard circle of white light (more so than you would get using a studio flash such as a Bowens, I would have said). This made it unusable in my case as I needed them to lift shadows in certain areas of a room without being too obvious. You can add a softbox to solve this problem, but the set up then becomes cumbersomely large in a domestic situation, and difficult to keep out of shot.

A lot of TV and film gaffers seem to like COB lights because it gives them the flexibility to either have hard light (equivalent to daylight) or soft light depending on their need. They of course in many situations will not have so many space constraints and can use a softbox if necessary. If you need a soft light source and don't have lots of space for the diffuser, a light panel may be better.
 
What do you need it for? Could help answer your question.

I’m using LED lights for videos and started with the cheaper ones a few years ago. Over time I’ve added Jinbei lights with Bowen’s mounts for all the soft boxes, and a couple of Aputure panels with wide beam angle.
 
What do you need it for? Could help answer your question.

It's difficult to say really at the moment so it would be nice to keep it as generic and open ended as possible. It is perhaps more likely to be for youtube review style videos, advertising or perhaps product / food stills photography as that makes it easier to finetune the light and compose.

From what I can see a naked 660 is too harsh for food or people (and they really complain about dazzling light). It is not really bright enough to bounce off the wall (ISO1600 f/2.8 territory or same as 2x 11W LED household bulbs; I think ISO 400 f/4 or 5.6 is where you really want to be at). With handheld umbrella in front you can start working with people. A hair light perhaps; a background - maybe???!

I think I will want to buy the proper ones next time, so looks like 150W+ COBs... for the main and fill.
 
If you are using it for stills, use flash. For video there is no option. It is fair to say that when I did tests, the COB light I used was brighter (and more unpleasant) than the Neewer ones, and indeed, if you are worried about high ISO, the only way to deal with that would be to go brighter still. On a Forza 60, you wouldn't be able to look directly into it (it is a similar sensation to looking directly into the sun on a bright day), and that is just a 60w light, albeit a quite powerful one. That is the limitation of video lights in comparison with flash. Painfully bright but not that much light on the subject when you actually measure it. Brighter COB lights are astronomically expensive in comparison to many other light sources.
 
On a Forza 60, you wouldn't be able to look directly into it (it is a similar sensation to looking directly into the sun on a bright day), and that is just a 60w light, albeit a quite powerful one.

Is it OK to look at with the softbox on?

If you are using it for stills, use flash

Sure; I have a few AD200s but sometimes I feel like I could make use of proper modelling light, particularly when I have the luxury of setting up on tripod.
 
The COB lights with Bowen’s mount work well with soft boxes.

For your newer lights you could try placing your soft box diffusion material in front of it as a variation of the umbrella idea.

If they really don’t work for you then trade them in.
 
I use these quite extensively (and similar ones) in my day job (corporate filming/talking heads/green screen).
They are quite good for single person, news style standups, where the main aim is lifting the subject or throwing some light into a dark background.
They also work well when you have a few more of them to play with as indirect and bounce lights.

I agree it's a pain to adapt them, would like the ability to put a softbox or eggcrate diffuser on the front at times!
 
You can buy a neewer softbox specifically for the 660 lights. They cost around £30 each and work very well, but obviously they reduce light output which isn't great anyway. Amazon have them.

I've also used a thin piece of diffusion material which I clip onto the barn doors with clothes pegs which also does the job.

Cob lights and moderators are obviously better, but I needed lights with a battery option, and lights that dont take up much room, and so cob lights with softboxes wern't an option.
 
If anyone is interested in these lights, they are occasionally on offer at Amazon. I picked up a set of 3 neewer 660 lights with stands and barn doors and mains packs all in a kit bag for £178 (they are usually £258)
 
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