Will High-Intensity LEDs replace studio Strobes?

[SpeedGraphicMan]

With the recent introductions of some pretty amazing High-Intensity LED technology... I can't help but wonder... Will High-Intensity LEDs replace studio Strobes in the near future?

I have seen LEDs the size of the tip of my pinky finger give out light equiivelent to a 500W tungsten bulb! With practically Zero heat!

Obviously Tunsten lighting will die/be replaced... But what about studio strobe lights?

Here is a basic run of the mill beginners unit...
Flashpoint 500 LED Dimmable AC Light VL500A

And a more expensive one...
Litepanels Hilio LED Fixture 907-1001

That is what is available now but with the latest and greatest... Those banks of bulbs will be replaced with 10 or less!

[dmthompson]

Originally Posted by SpeedGraphicMan

With the recent introductions of some pretty amazing High-Intensity LED technology... I can't help but wonder... Will High-Intensity LEDs replace studio Strobes in the near future?

I have seen LEDs the size of the tip of my pinky finger give out light equiivelent to a 500W tungsten bulb! With practically Zero heat!

Obviously Tunsten lighting will die/be replaced... But what about studio strobe lights?

Here is a basic run of the mill beginners unit...
Flashpoint 500 LED Dimmable AC Light VL500A

And a more expensive one...
Litepanels Hilio LED Fixture 907-1001

That is what is available now but with the latest and greatest... Those banks of bulbs will be replaced with 10 or less!

I think these could become a replacement for the current "hot lights" that are used in some studio applacations but will not replace strobes. They simply do not put out the amount of light necessary to give the photographer the ability to use the smaller f stops necessary for the DOF needed in most cases. The light output of the LEDs woud have to increase many, many times over what it is or projected to be in the forseeable future. Even a 1000w constant light is way underpowered for most work.

Dwight

[zemlin]

I'll never say never when it comes to technology developments.
I know heat dissipation is a significant factor with LED lighting. I have no idea how much additional light you could get from a current LED if you pulsed it for 1/5000 of a second vs continuous. The gains in LED lights have been pretty amazing over the past few years. It wouldn't surprise me if LED strobes could happen, but like everything else, they will probably have to be available for a while before they are affordable.

[WayneF]

Originally Posted by SpeedGraphicMan

With the recent introductions of some pretty amazing High-Intensity LED technology... I can't help but wonder... Will High-Intensity LEDs replace studio Strobes in the near future?

I have seen LEDs the size of the tip of my pinky finger give out light equiivelent to a 500W tungsten bulb! With practically Zero heat!

Obviously Tunsten lighting will die/be replaced... But what about studio strobe lights?

Here is a basic run of the mill beginners unit...
Flashpoint 500 LED Dimmable AC Light VL500A

And a more expensive one...
Litepanels Hilio LED Fixture 907-1001

That is what is available now but with the latest and greatest... Those banks of bulbs will be replaced with 10 or less!

Don't hold your breath. The specs in your links on the first one says it draws 42 watts of power. The second one (for $3145) draws 125 watts.

The LED efficiency is higher than incandescent (similar to fluorescent efficiency), but that is still almost zero power for photography. And it is only continuous light of course. Continuous is a real big deal, and if the shutter is not open, it is only heat. Continuous is necessary for video.

A 500 watt continuous light is relatively insignificant compared to a 500 watt second flash. There is a Night and Day difference in the available light produced.

The 500 watt second flash is maybe 500,000 watts for duration 1/1000 second, and the camera can use all 500 watt seconds of it, at any shutter speed that can be synced.

If the shutter speed was 1/100 second, then 500 watts continuous could only use 500 w x 1/100 s = 5 watt seconds of it - only while the shutter is open. (but these units are only 42 and 125 watts - so 1/100 of that is not much).

Also, LED has an incomplete spectrum (like fluorescent), and photographic color will be better from either flash or incandescent.

[Sailor Blue]

The biggest problem I see with any form of continuous lighting is that if it is bright enough for you to use even 1/60sec for a shutter speed at f/8 it is nearly blinding for the subject. The result is squinting and tearing. Strobes eliminate those problems so I think that they will always be preferred for portraiture.

zemlin, how about this $47 flash.

New Yongnuo LED Macro Ring Flash MR-58 for Canon Nikon Pentax Panasonic Olympus | eBay

[Image Zone]

Not in the very near future. Studio strobes put out far more light. Tungsten s are hot. Just get some strobes for now and learn to use them. Alien Bee's are your best buy and used by a lot of professional studio photographers. www.paulcbuff.com

[zemlin]

Originally Posted by Sailor Blue

zemlin, how about this $47 flash.

New Yongnuo LED Macro Ring Flash MR-58 for Canon Nikon Pentax Panasonic Olympus | eBay

With a guide number of 12, this is pretty low power. I did not turn up any info on flash duration on this unit - but it's a start.

[WayneF]

It might do for macro work, assuming you wanted a ring flash.

Guide Number 12 / f16 = 9 inches working distance. ISO 400, 18 inches.

[Sailor Blue]

Originally Posted by zemlin

With a guide number of 12, this is pretty low power. I did not turn up any info on flash duration on this unit - but it's a start.

There are a number of these macro flash units available, even from well know companies. They don't need high power since they are used for macro photography.

I suspect the flash duration is long when compared to a traditional flash. They might not be the best choice for insect close ups but they are fine for things like a dentist shooting the teeth before and after straightening, etc.

With ever more powerful leds becoming available I predict that it won't be too many years before you will be seeing hot-shoe led flash units with reasonable powers.

[quantumhelp]

Doing portraits is a NO-NO with LED's or even photo floods. It is blasting them with very bright lights and you will get closed eye, squinting, painful expressions. Also, currently LEDs are not full chromatically correct and you will have problems with certain colors.