There’s a new LED soft light for digital movie making and photography. Designed by a cameraman for camera people, it’s called Softy Lite.
Maxim Ford, cameraman and designer of Softy Lite said “With the explosion of low budget dramas using new digital movie cameras like the Canon D5 and Sony F3 I wanted to make an affordable light that would have the potential for great drama lighting. The new cameras, being very sensitive, require a lot less light than their predecessors. The conventional soft lights I had been using were too powerful, and they suffered from spilt light out of their sides and back. Working with new LEDs I have designed a light that produces a daylight balanced soft light with no spill, that is easy to control via a supplied snoot and egg crate, giving the output a broad, medium or narrow beam of light. The LEDs have the advantage of running cool and the low voltage operation makes them safe and easy to use.”
The Softy Lite is small and compact and can be used free standing on its side or back, fitting into tiny spaces, in a car or on a bookshelf. It comes with standard professional light fittings so can be used on all film industry lighting gear, stands, clamps, turtles etc. It is daylight balanced and easily filtered to tungsten with regular gels.
Manufactured in the UK from aluminium with a tough protective coating, it is both light weight and rugged, designed for the tough environment of the film industry, but light enough to be easily mounted on set, and compact and light for easy transportation.
Each Softy Lite has 8 panels of 48 LEDs, daylight balanced and wired for 12 volts in banks of three. The LED panels can be switched in any combination with just four switches. In photographic stops, each switch halves or doubles light output giving total flexibility.
Measuring just 23cm x 23.5cm x 8cm, Softy Lite is lightweight at only 1 kilo. Power requirement is 12 DC power from mains or battery supply with standard universal 2.1 mm power socket. Power consumption is 3.5 amps, 60 watts.
The light is available as a single light set or a 3 or 4 light kit, each complete with stirrup, stand, diffuser, snoot and egg crate for each light. Mains power supply sold separately, along with other accessories.
