Rotolight Neo 2 for Weddings

[roc1]

Just wondered if anyone here has used one of these to light a first dance at a wedding?

Want to get a video led light to try instead of using flash, and this updated version seems to have more output. Just hard to find examples online of anyone using a Rotolight for this purpose, so wanted to see if it would nicely light a couple who are 10ft or so away.

Thanks.

 

[Scooter]

I think the first dance is probably the only bit of the wedding you're going to get away with using LEDs on. Although they will also be effective up-close for head shots. The first dance will no doubt be in the evening, the light will be lower, and the 1032 lumens from the Neo 2 will fit in nicely. You'll also be able to see the effect in real time. There endeth the advantage though tbh. On that dance floor, people will be moving, and with continuous LED light, you'll need to rely on your shutter to freeze motion, which means higher shutter speeds, and so even higher Iso's.

LED in general will not work too well during the day, especially outside as it lacks the power to allow you to control the sunlight. At best you will get a bit of fill. If you've been looking at Rotolight, I'm sure you've seen Jason Lanier's work with them. Note his recent work where he uses Rotolight almost exclusively over flash is very noisy, and he tends to shoot at night. He does occasionally have a go at using them in the day, but the effect is almost homeopathically subtle. LEDs work really well on video, as at 24fps, the noise goes away as it's never exactly the same pattern frame-to-frame as the camera moves and subjects move.

If you must use LED for stills (and don't get me wrong, having the ability to see the light should not be underestimated: I use big LED spotlights inside, if I'm bringing in the practical and ambient light, as I'll need to shoot at wider apertures and higher Iso's to get that to show up anyway, so I may as well use a continuous light - it's just easier - especially if I'm placing hard shadows very precisely). The Rotolights have 2 more disadvantages over just about every other LED light panel though:-

1.. They still use a pile of AA cells for portable power. This is a nonsense in this day and age, when Sony N series and V-Lock batteries have been a standard in the video world for a while.

2.. They are ridiculously expensive. One Neo 2 at 1032 lumens is £300 (ie actual Earth pounds). One Viltrox 116t adjustable colour panel at 987 lumens is £28. Ok it's not quite as bright, but then it's nowhere near almost-as-expensive. You could buy 10 of them for the same outlay. The Viltrox light also takes Sony N series batteries, clipped to the outside, so you can choose the size of the battery you want to attach, and it's one battery, that clips onto a charger very easily. Like the Neo, it also has a 12V input jack.

Now - I also have a beef with Rotolight's marketing. I'm sure, whatever they claim is technically correct, however you need to think about what those claims actually mean to see how misleading they are. Rotolight added a bit of snake oil to their product in recent years and they flash! They even teamed up with Elinchrom to produce a "trigger" for them. The marketing blurb is along the lines of "it's 5 times brighter in flash mode". Ok that sounds good right? I mean it's another 3 stops of light or thereabouts.. But - you need to look at light delivered during the exposure not the power (rate of delivery). Say you shoot with a Neo as a continuous light at 1/100th of a second. This is not unreasonable, in fact you may shoot with longer shutter speeds, depending on how much movement you need to cope with, but 1/100th is a good start. Now, wait - here comes the Neo 2 flash, at 5 times the output. But how long does that flash last? Rotolight omit this from their spec sheet, but even a slow flashgun will be around 1/500th of a second. Oh - so wait, it's the Roy feckin Batty of lights? It's burned 5 times brighter, but for only 1/5th of the time, so the er.. total output is... the same. Now, if it lasts longer than 1/500th of a second, its not really a flash is it? This may be ok, and if the light lasts your shutter duration at 500% - then great. Then you notice the asterisk. Yes folks, it only does 500% when the power supply is plugged in. Off the AA's it'll manage 250% over the continuous output. So, tbh, forget the flash gimmick. The final nail in the coffin of credibility comes in the shape of "High Speed Sync". I just can't even read that on their website without laughing. They're essentially claiming their continuous light, uses a technique (HSS) to convert flash into continuous light. Just let that marinate for a bit. It's already a continuous light. They made it "flash" and now their making it pulse that flash to last the entire shutter duration? Ie time for the shutter to complete it's pass - not the "shutter speed" which is the time between trailing and leading edges of the 1st and 2nd curtain passing the same point. Typically the shutter takes ~1/300th of a second to complete a sweep on most focal plane shutters. Also, they misleadingly quote the power output for the so-called "HSS" mode at a shutter speed of 1/60th - which is very definitely under the x-sync limit for any modern camera.

In short, they work, and I'm sure their bigger Aeos and Nova lights work well on movies sets, however they're all stupidly expensive, the Neo has impractical power options, and the company seems to think we're all a bit simple. I'd look around at other panels before buying one. Lencarta also have a some nice options. If you need a flash - buy a flash.

Neo 2
https://www.rotolight.com/product/neo_2/


Viltrox 116t
https://www.amazon.co.uk/VILTROX-L116T-3300K-5600K-temperature-Camera/dp/B01KZN9YOE/

Lencarta 312 LED panel
https://www.lencarta.com/all-produc...deo-light-panel-dimmable-3200K-5600K-hakutatz

Or if it must be round
https://www.lencarta.com/ultra-thin-led-panel-soft-diffused-slimline-led-light-con020

 

[roc1]

Awesome reply thanks! Didn’t realise Lencarta (who I really like) did panels, do you think the 312 one would have enough power to light a subject 10ft or so away?

 

[Garry Edwards]

What Owen said, 100%.
I will add just one point . . .
If you use a flash instead, set low power, and "drag the shutter" - American for use a slow shutter speed, you'll get almost the same result as that from the overpriced, overhyped Neolight.

I say "almost" because although you'll still get some movement blur from the long exposure there will be an underlying sharp image from the flash, and you won't get the noise either.

 

[swanseamale47]

I think the first dance is probably the only bit of the wedding you're going to get away with using LEDs on. Although they will also be effective up-close for head shots. The first dance will no doubt be in the evening, the light will be lower, and the 1032 lumens from the Neo 2 will fit in nicely. You'll also be able to see the effect in real time. There endeth the advantage though tbh. On that dance floor, people will be moving, and with continuous LED light, you'll need to rely on your shutter to freeze motion, which means higher shutter speeds, and so even higher Iso's.

LED in general will not work too well during the day, especially outside as it lacks the power to allow you to control the sunlight. At best you will get a bit of fill. If you've been looking at Rotolight, I'm sure you've seen Jason Lanier's work with them. Note his recent work where he uses Rotolight almost exclusively over flash is very noisy, and he tends to shoot at night. He does occasionally have a go at using them in the day, but the effect is almost homeopathically subtle. LEDs work really well on video, as at 24fps, the noise goes away as it's never exactly the same pattern frame-to-frame as the camera moves and subjects move.

If you must use LED for stills (and don't get me wrong, having the ability to see the light should not be underestimated: I use big LED spotlights inside, if I'm bringing in the practical and ambient light, as I'll need to shoot at wider apertures and higher Iso's to get that to show up anyway, so I may as well use a continuous light - it's just easier - especially if I'm placing hard shadows very precisely). The Rotolights have 2 more disadvantages over just about every other LED light panel though:-

1.. They still use a pile of AA cells for portable power. This is a nonsense in this day and age, when Sony N series and V-Lock batteries have been a standard in the video world for a while.

2.. They are ridiculously expensive. One Neo 2 at 1032 lumens is £300 (ie actual Earth pounds). One Viltrox 116t adjustable colour panel at 987 lumens is £28. Ok it's not quite as bright, but then it's nowhere near almost-as-expensive. You could buy 10 of them for the same outlay. The Viltrox light also takes Sony N series batteries, clipped to the outside, so you can choose the size of the battery you want to attach, and it's one battery, that clips onto a charger very easily. Like the Neo, it also has a 12V input jack.

Now - I also have a beef with Rotolight's marketing. I'm sure, whatever they claim is technically correct, however you need to think about what those claims actually mean to see how misleading they are. Rotolight added a bit of snake oil to their product in recent years and they flash! They even teamed up with Elinchrom to produce a "trigger" for them. The marketing blurb is along the lines of "it's 5 times brighter in flash mode". Ok that sounds good right? I mean it's another 3 stops of light or thereabouts.. But - you need to look at light delivered during the exposure not the power (rate of delivery). Say you shoot with a Neo as a continuous light at 1/100th of a second. This is not unreasonable, in fact you may shoot with longer shutter speeds, depending on how much movement you need to cope with, but 1/100th is a good start. Now, wait - here comes the Neo 2 flash, at 5 times the output. But how long does that flash last? Rotolight omit this from their spec sheet, but even a slow flashgun will be around 1/500th of a second. Oh - so wait, it's the Roy feckin Batty of lights? It's burned 5 times brighter, but for only 1/5th of the time, so the er.. total output is... the same. Now, if it lasts longer than 1/500th of a second, its not really a flash is it? This may be ok, and if the light lasts your shutter duration at 500% - then great. Then you notice the asterisk. Yes folks, it only does 500% when the power supply is plugged in. Off the AA's it'll manage 250% over the continuous output. So, tbh, forget the flash gimmick. The final nail in the coffin of credibility comes in the shape of "High Speed Sync". I just can't even read that on their website without laughing. They're essentially claiming their continuous light, uses a technique (HSS) to convert flash into continuous light. Just let that marinate for a bit. It's already a continuous light. They made it "flash" and now their making it pulse that flash to last the entire shutter duration? Ie time for the shutter to complete it's pass - not the "shutter speed" which is the time between trailing and leading edges of the 1st and 2nd curtain passing the same point. Typically the shutter takes ~1/300th of a second to complete a sweep on most focal plane shutters. Also, they misleadingly quote the power output for the so-called "HSS" mode at a shutter speed of 1/60th - which is very definitely under the x-sync limit for any modern camera.

In short, they work, and I'm sure their bigger Aeos and Nova lights work well on movies sets, however they're all stupidly expensive, the Neo has impractical power options, and the company seems to think we're all a bit simple. I'd look around at other panels before buying one. Lencarta also have a some nice options. If you need a flash - buy a flash.

Neo 2
https://www.rotolight.com/product/neo_2/


Viltrox 116t
https://www.amazon.co.uk/VILTROX-L116T-3300K-5600K-temperature-Camera/dp/B01KZN9YOE/

Lencarta 312 LED panel
https://www.lencarta.com/all-produc...deo-light-panel-dimmable-3200K-5600K-hakutatz

Or if it must be round
https://www.lencarta.com/ultra-thin-led-panel-soft-diffused-slimline-led-light-con020

So if you buy 5 Viltrox you get the same as the 500% all the time at half the cost. Sounds like a winner to me

 

[Scooter]

Awesome reply thanks! Didn’t realise Lencarta (who I really like) did panels, do you think the 312 one would have enough power to light a subject 10ft or so away?

At night, yes you'll get away with 10 foot at high Iso, wide open with an LED panel. I should have added, that the Lencarta lights come with a battery, charger etc which is why they're a bit more than the Viltrox light that doesn't (in that listing: some deals include the battery etc).

 

[Simon Knight]

I am bumping this thread because it was presented to me in a recent google search and I felt it was overly negative about the Rotolight Neo 2. As an owner of two Neo 2s as well as quite a few flash guns (speed lights) I feel that I have to respond with a counter point of view to some of but not all Scooter's points. Please note that I don't want to start a fight and I fully accept that Scooter is entitled to his views.

By using six high power AAs Rotolight have kept the design low profile and neat however I do accept that they probably could have used a NP-F550 series and not introduce much bulk to the design. I find that the AAs last most of a day so while I do sometimes carry a spare set in the bag it is usually me that gets exhausted before the batteries in the light.

I have never had to pay as much as £300 for one with my second Neo 2 costing in the region of £170 on special offer.

It appears to me that Scooter is upset by Rotolight's use of the term flash in their marketing and is possibly reading to much into the use of the term which here in the UK is used to describe what in the USA are known as speed lights. LEDs, gas discharge speed lights and studio flashes can and will overheat. With LEDs the manufacturer balances output brightness against the life of the LEDs. Rotolight's solution is to allow the Neo 2 to emit a bright pulse of light for a short period of time. The duration of this pulse is set by the user and is between 1/50th and 1/1000th of a second. When powered by the six AAs this pulse is a little over a stop brighter than full continuous power and when on external power it is just over two stops brighter. These two output levels are known as Max and Max+. So the pulse is not designed to freeze movement or replace your speed light it is just a method of gaining up to an extra two stops of light which you can use at any shutter speed.

Scooter has an issue with the use of the term "High Speed Sync" which I find difficult to understand. With speed lights HSS allows a shutter speed faster than the cameras native x-sync speed to be used. When used in this mode speed lights in effect become short duration continuous lights outputting a series of reduced power flashes of light. With the Neo 2 you may shoot at any shutter speed you like while the light while it is a continuous light. However, it is likely that if you want to use its pulse/flash/boost mode that your camera and trigger or cable may restrict you to using certain shutter speeds or modes depending on how camera's hot shoe has been implemented. For example my Lumix camera allows me to trigger the Neo 2 at any mechanical shutter speed but it will not trigger or even allow any of the multiple shot drive modes to be used. If I wish to use a multi shot drive mode while shooting with the Neo 2 in flash mode then I will have to purchase the Elinchrom trigger.

The original poster asks if the Neo 2 could be used to photograph the first dance, my view is that yes probably depending on the lens you are using i.e. a wide aperture will be of help.

For anyone reading this thread who is thinking of buying either a speed light or an LED then I would suggest renting or borrowing both and giving each of them a trial. When using the speed light you will also probably want some form of modifier and a trigger system so that you can use off camera flash. With the Neo 2 a fast lens is advisable. I find that the quality of the light from the Neo 2 is superior to the light I get from my speed lights fitted with modifiers and gels but I appreciate that this is a highly subjective view. Both types of lights have advantages and disadvantages and one does not replace the other. There are cheaper LEDs

The reason why the Neo 2 has become my light of choice is down to two reasons: first I love the quality of the light it produces and secondly it is so simple to use being light weight and highly portable.

S

 

[Garry Edwards]

It's always good to hear an alternative viewpoint.

I won't address the points about Scooter's comments, he can do that for himself and he is a much nicer person than I, and far more polite.

Personally I don't have any issue with Rotalite products and concede that they may have some use in certain, very limited scenarios. Artificial light isn't just about purpose-designed flash, experienced photographers use what David Bailey once described as "Available light" - any light that's available, including candles, car headlights, torches and even the low-powered LED lights that became available many years later. My issue is about what I consider to be deliberately deceptive marketing. Any photographer can see that statements made in marketing videos such as "No Photoshop magic used here" are simply untrue and that the "results" displayed are entirely produced in post-processing and could not have been produced as claimed, but it seems to me that these products are specifically targetted at those who are not photographers and who can't see what must be blindingly obvious to more experienced people.

But, if you're happy with the ones that you have presumably bought, then that's good.

Just one question:

The reason why the Neo 2 has become my light of choice is down to two reasons: first I love the quality of the light it produces

What do you mean when you say that you love the quality of the light?

 

[Scooter]

Hi Simon - no problem hearing alternative viewpoints, and certainly the issue with using AA batteries is a minor one - just a little bit odd in this day and age of much better performing batteries - that are in one convenient unit. You could, of course plug in an external pack into the 12v jack. I should point out that I'm not "upset" about any of it - Rotolight don't have my money I don't think there's anything wrong with these lights either really - for their original intended purpose of lighting video, and as Garry says, stills photographers can certainly make use of them, and any other light source we find lying about. The main issue is, for many applications - there's just not anywhere near enough light coming from them, whether it's continuous or pulses. When the light output is more or less in the ballpark with the rest of the light in the scene though - then sure - they represent a viable solution - albeit at a very high price. (A Viltrox 116t is £35, a Godox V860-II speedlight is £150). Of course in the video world, Arri will add another 0 to the end of Rotolight's prices - and this is where Rotolight's pricing, and their products, make a lot more sense.

However, I do have a problem with their marketing on two fronts. First, that this is somehow better than a speedlight in a small softbox out in broad daylight as a key light, and then there's this whole high speed sync thing. HSS is a way of making a flash appear to output light continuously for the entire shutter operation :-

The duration of this pulse is set by the user and is between 1/50th and 1/1000th of a second

1/50th of a second is easily a longer duration than even the slowest modern curtain shutters take to complete their travel, so why the need for "high speed sync"? There's no need for micro-pulses if the light already lasts the entire exposure. I suspect that Rotolight know this, and there is, in fact, no "high speed sync" going on. Yes - you may need to emulate HSS to convince your Lumix (and other cameras) that you have a HSS capable flash attached, and so allow the higher shutter speeds to be selected, but tbh, all of this faff, and having to use an Elinchrom Skyport for 1 or 2 stops more light, than the regular continuous LED mode? If you're that desperate for more light, and you're already willing to use a flash trigger, just use a speedlight - and have 10 times the light, in a smaller package.

So the pulse is not designed to freeze movement or replace your speed light it is just a method of gaining up to an extra two stops of light which you can use at any shutter speed.

This was not how they marketed it though. In fact, there was no mention at all of the duration of the flash in their marketing material when I wrote the post above - however they have now added the flash duration to their website, even if it's only in the tech specs tab, which is some small progress. https://www.rotolight.com/product/neo_2/ There's still a strong message there though, and in videos by their affiliated photographers that this is a speedlight alternative - and it just isn't.

The reason why the Neo 2 has become my light of choice is down to two reasons: first I love the quality of the light it produces and secondly it is so simple to use being light weight and highly portable.

I'll echo Garry's request for more detail on the quality of light. I doubt it's more portable than a speedlight, although it may be lighter, even with six AA's on board.

 

[sk66]

There's no need for micro-pulses if the light already lasts the entire exposure. I suspect that Rotolight know this, and there is, in fact, no "high speed sync" going on.

Well, since LED's always illuminate via pulses I guess they are always in HSS...
And a typical speedlight will be faster than 1/1000 at full power (or 1/2 power for t.01)... so no competition there either in terms of freezing motion

I'll echo Garry's request for more detail on the quality of light.

Being that the Neo has less than ~1/100th the power of an average speedlight I suspect the typical result is less *artificial* because it uses a lot more ambient/available light. But, A Neo is much larger, and much less of a point light source, than a fresnel lens speedlight... so I can see where the quality of the Neo might be notably better than an unmodified speedlight at extremely short distances.

 

[Garry Edwards]

Being that the Neo has less than ~1/100th the power of an average speedlight I suspect the typical result is less *artificial* because it uses a lot more ambient/available light. But, A Neo is much larger, and much less of a point light source, than a fresnel lens speedlight... so I can see where the quality of the Neo might be notably better than an unmodified speedlight at extremely short distances.

Well yes, fair point. As it does virtually nothing except in total or near-total darkness I suppose that the "quality of light" (whatever that means) will be different from that of a flash.
And yes, it's physically larger than a fresnel flashgun and so, at the very short distances at which it has to be used I suppose that the relative size of the light source will be tiny rather than minuscule. But it's still tiny, basically a copy of the old-fashioned barndoor fitted to a Redhead or Blonde, or just another LED panel light. The laws of physics are immutable, the only way of making a light soft is to make it bigger or to move it close and the only way to make a light harder is to make it smaller or move it farther away - "built in diffusion" does neither.

But I'd still be interested to hear from @Simon Knight on this, he may know something that the rest of us don't and I'm certainly not suggesting that he has allowed himself to believe that the beautifully retouched (Photoshop created) shots shown in the various videos were or can be created using just the lighting claimed.

 

[Scooter]

Well, since LED's always illuminate via pulses I guess they are always in HSS...

Being that the Neo has less than ~1/100th the power of an average speedlight I suspect the typical result is less *artificial* because it uses a lot more ambient/available light. But, A Neo is much larger, and much less of a point light source, than a fresnel lens speedlight... so I can see where the quality of the Neo might be notably better than an unmodified speedlight at extremely short distances.

Well yes it is bigger at around 6 inches in diameter, and so technically softer, but not large enough to be counted by most photographers as a "soft light" for any human sized subject, and certainly not large enough to justify all the cooing and ahhing about it that you see online or in Jason's videos. I think you may be onto something with the relative ambient light level - for some people, their experience of flash lighting is limited to rabbit-in-the-headlights on-camera pop-up at night type shots where the subjects are blasted with light and background is in darkness. Night-club shots.

shots shown in the various videos were or can be created using just the lighting claimed.

Love the section on "portability" introduced by a shot of him lugging a light the size of a suitcase - *and* a battery the size of a house brick.

Here's the Neo 2 video:-

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMTgeycvsK8


"it can replace your flash" "it's a very soft light" "never miss a shot" (implying that sometimes, your flash doesn't fire whereas the triggering chain for the Neo 2 is faultless, despite it being the very same Elinchrom skyport you would use with an Elinchrom flash). " with traditional strobe you're constantly battling with focus". (only if you shoot in the dark, and even then, my camera has a focus assist beam)

There's plenty of actual good things to say about these small LED lights, but they will not replace your speedlight unless you only ever shoot in the dark. Plus - I think it's worth reiterating: they are ridiculously expensive for a small LED panel in the 1000 Lumen range.

 

[Garry Edwards]

This is the one I "like" the best. Don't worry, you only need to watch the first 22 seconds

 

[sk66]

This is the one I "like" the best. Don't worry, you only need to watch the first 22 seconds

I got sucked in and watched the whole thing... wow, that is spilling over full of s***.

Two catchlights?



No Neo catchlight, no falloff... zero evidence of use



WTF? Really?? That's what a Neo looks like reflected on a car? (TBF, there is about 1 stop evident from the Neo in this one)


And there's some in there I can't even explain...


But there is at least one place where they show you the truth.



I guess the video does show much of "the real truth"... you just have to pay attention and turn the audio off.

 

[Scooter]

No Neo catchlight, no falloff... zero evidence of use

Hmm maybe - there is a hard shadow from the nose across her cheek from a small source, to her left, and the sun is coming in from behind her. I could give this one the benefit of the doubt, although it could be another window

But there is at least one place where they show you the truth.

LOL - I'm pretty sure there are the exact same frame tbh - shooting handheld and stopping to turn the "flash" on before the second shot, and yet he hasn't moved, not even a hair, and neither has the camera (that Jason habitually has dangling at arm's length). Certainly zero evidence of any additional light...

This one is my favourite:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt6N6aAX0LQ


Watch a man attach more and more diffusion filters to an Anova Pro (same as Neo but a bit bigger) to "soften" the light. Observe as the light stays just as hard To your point earlier Steven, I think what happens here is he adds more diffusion layers, which lowers the output of the light, making the ambient fill contribution higher and so reducing the density of the hard shadows... Wonder if he's found the "100% soft light" button on the back... The one with a 1 and a 0 on it.

 

[Garry Edwards]

There's a BTS shot at 2.28 showing the light pointing downwards and illuminating the right-hand side of the model, but at 2.32 the apparent resultant shot shows that the light has magically moved to her above left . . .
And on the subject of diffusion, unfortunately Mr Lanier doesn't explain how and why the laws of physics don't apply to the Rotalite products, perhaps @Simon Knight can come back and explain?

 

[paul.w]

The Vibesta Peragos Disc 304P works better than the rotolight neo2 as it can accept sony npf batteries as well as AA's.

I've found it very useful for video, but if you want more light output (which you will eventualy) then the rotolight Aeos is better, but VERY expensive, and too big to sit on top of your camera, (can be hand held by a willing assistant though)

 

[sk66]

LOL - I'm pretty sure there are the exact same frame tbh - shooting handheld and stopping to turn the "flash" on before the second shot, and yet he hasn't moved, not even a hair, and neither has the camera (that Jason habitually has dangling at arm's length). Certainly zero evidence of any additional light...

The second image has a slightly brighter exposure on him... about .5 stop maybe. But it does seem like that could be editing more than a separate image.

Wonder if he's found the "100% soft light" button on the back... The one with a 1 and a 0 on it.

 

[sk66]

This one is my favourite:

Wow, that is really bad!
A lot of the DIY "soft light" hacks for pop-up flash do the same thing; eat flash power (i.e. putting masking tape/tissue over the bulb). But from "a professional??" They ought to retitle that as "how to kill the battery in 1/4 the time."

TBF, he does mention among the effects is a reduction in contrast between highlights (flash) and shadows (no flash), and a reduction of specularity/brightness in highlights (same thing)... But that is really the only effect; and he should have said "it causes a reduction in flash contribution... just like turning the power down does!"

 

[Richard King]

For giggles, I shot with a colleagues Neolight on a dull day and I wondered if it was even turned on, it was utterly ineffective I then shot with a real flash, which promptly overpowered everything on just 1/4 power. Nuff said.

The colleague in question then explained how brilliant it was, and that I should use ISO to do the heavy lifting. Photography and physics just doesn't work like that.

Anyhow, after that, because we needed it I added a big octabox, and the real flash was still still batting the ball out of the park on 1/4 power. the Neocrap had no real answer... that is no way of adding a decent volume of soft even light that is slightly useful on a dull day.

The worst of all, is that the purple (and oddly green on the edges) colour cast the Neocraps threw in just screwed up a underpowered badly lit shot. Lucky I discounted it early on as a waste of time

If you want a flash, buy a flash, if you want a video light buy a video light, they are both useful, but the Neo thingy is pretty crap in both respects. most photographers have a speedlight and honestly you Jerry rigged a speedlight to shoot through a sheet of a4 paper you would get a better result

Today, for the first time in ages I cranked a pair of flashes up to full power (outside to inside shot of a huge space). I can carry on one shoulder enough flash power to light most things, regardless of the ambient light.

LED's are fantastic, but they are not anything remotely like real flashes