LED grow light panels for continuous lighting?

[jp]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370526616178

Been wondering if anyone has used these grow light panels for continuous lighting for photo? I'm only doing B&W film, so color quality isn't critical. I suppose I might be able to use a WB card with digital, but that's not a deal breaker.

They look like 12x12 picture frames with 225 LEDs; 13w is pretty bright for LED use.

I'm thinking if I assembled a grid of these, it'd be a nice window shape or thin softbox.

Am I out of my mind or is this a good idea? I've searched a bit, but it seems most people are interested in growing plants, not taking lighting photos.

[Mark Woods]

LED light sources are used all of the time in motion picture production. The thing to think about here is how much of the light is UV and how much is usable for your capture medium.

[jk0592]

There are many LED panels available at B&H http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/769799-REG/Dedolight_TP_LONI_D15HO_Felloni_Techpro_15_deg_Standard.html

but they are much more expensive than the ebay example.

[Wayne Crider]

It's a novel idea but 13 watts equals only about 60 watts from a standard bulb. If your shooting portraits and want to keep you shutter speeds reasonably short I don't think Led's are going to do it. You can use a flash with a modeling light or pop your flash setup with a digital camera for a preview. Another idea is some high power bulbs pointed into an umbrella. I use 200 watt bulbs in Home Depot clamp reflectors pointed into umbrellas for video work on occasion. My aperture is pretty wide and the DOF is pretty thin but it can work.

[Sevo]

LED light sources are used all of the time in motion picture production. The thing to think about here is how much of the light is UV and how much is usable for your capture medium.

White LEDs emanate much less UV than incandescent bulbs - for practical purposes zero. Their diode emission is narrow band deep blue (fluorescence converting that to some kind of white). But unless you need UV for some special purpose, that difference is negligible, intense deep blue has pretty much the same visible effect on film and sensors as near UV (including day-glo fluorescence) - and to make matters worse, UV filters will have little or no effect on it!

"Grow lights" (of whatever technology) have bigger problems than UV - they are designed to emit no green or yellow (as these are reflected by foliage rather than used in photosynthesis). On LED grow lights, the spectrum will be the original blue superimposed with a red fluorescent band - I'd expect them to deliver results similar to using strong magenta or lilac filters...

[jp]

Thanks for the comments so far. One can buy UV or red+blue grow lights, or plain white ones like linked. I agree 60w equivalent isn't a ton of light but you don't get a ton of LED light for $33. I was thinking 6-12 of them in an array might make some "north window" style light for shooting soft focus lenses wide open.

I've already got white lightning flashes with modeling lights and umbrellas, for bigger distance or power needs, etc... Lots of the old lenses don't have any sync at all.

My only current continuous light is a $7 aluminum flood light bowl with a light socket in the middle like you'd use to keep baby chickens warm or for a construction work clamp light. Works OK close for flip videos, etc....

[Wayne Crider]

Well it's always fun to futz around and make things and experiment. Of course I would use it as a grow light for my tomato starts. If you do wind up making one let us know your procedure and the led's you used. Overall I'd probably just use a 150 watt Chromalux daylight lamp in a beauty dish thru a window pane, but there's lot's of ways to skin a cat. ;)

[Drew Wiley]

"Grow light" panels? Are you sure this isn't for "medicinal" photography?????

[desertrat]

"Grow light" panels? Are you sure this isn't for "medicinal" photography?????
As in growing plants one doesn't want the neighbors or law enforcement authorities to see? (there isn't a 'whistling' smiley here?)

[Will Frostmill]

White LEDs emanate much less UV than incandescent bulbs - for practical purposes zero. Their diode emission is narrow band deep blue (fluorescence converting that to some kind of white).

"Grow lights" (of whatever technology) have bigger problems than UV - they are designed to emit no green or yellow (as these are reflected by foliage rather than used in photosynthesis). On LED grow lights, the spectrum will be the original blue superimposed with a red fluorescent band - I'd expect them to deliver results similar to using strong magenta or lilac filters...

Hmm, this might be useful with blue-sensitive x-ray film?

[Neal Chaves]

The major competitor for LED lighting today is induction lighting. Induction has high power, long tube life, accurate daylight color balance, cool operation and instant start-up. One of our forum members, my friend David Mendelsohn, http://www.davidm.com
is leading the way on this and has a distributor agreement with a manufacturer. The induction sources beat LEDS on power and price for continuous light sources for film, digital and video applications. Contact Dave for more information.

[Jay DeFehr]

I saw this article recently-

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/08/ff_lightbulbs/

Very interesting.

[jp]

I received the two panels I ordered. The color temp is a bit cooler than cloudy daylight, but it won't matter for B&W film. I haven't done a white balance card with digital yet.

I took one apart. It's economically constructed of chinese origin and simple design. Its rugged, but unfinished inside. The 225 LEDs are on one big circuit board (with a white finish or mask on the front). No UL or CE listings that I saw. I took the back cover off, and the power cord that goes from the internal switching power supply was hand soldered to the board, tied in a knot for strain relief and goes out the corner. It was free to abrade against the circuit board, where the LED's leads are were not trimmed after wave soldering. Basically a cord flopping around against a board covered with sharp metal pins. As is, I can't recommend it for unattended use unless you want to provide a sleeve, tiedowns, or standoffs for the cord inside the box. The switching power supply circuit board on the back of the LED panel board was attached with adhesive foam like weatherstripping. A higher quality design would have used plastic or metal standoffs to connect the circuit boards together mechanically.

The light output was plentiful and fairly directional. It was lighting up the wall 15 feet away in normal interior lighting. I put a person beside a full height glass door, where it was getting cloudy diffuse lighting from outdoors (gray day but not gloomy), and put the LED panel on the other side of their face, and it provided a comparable amount of fill. I haven't shot any portraits with it or measured it with a light meter. I'll do that within a couple weeks.

Kinda got what I paid for for $32 shipped. I have no idea if more expensive chinese grow light panels are built better but wouldn't count on it.

[Jan Harvey]

What these lights produced sun spectrum for plants ?

[Jeffrey Arthur]

Amazon has a wide selection of led lights for photography with barn doors.

[Jan Harvey]

Thanks jeffrey for sharing information about best source of grow (http://highpower4s.com/what-are-full-spectrum-led-grow-lights/) lights.