LED lights are desirable for a lot of reasons. They don't produce a lot of heat, they're energy efficient, and you don't have to break the bank in order to get your hands on one with a decent amount of features. But which ones should you get? Caleb Pike of DSLR Video Shooter tested a bunch of sub-$50 LEDs, comparing output, color temperature, and other facets to come up with 7 great options for budget filmmaking. Check out his video below:


Considering the fact that these LEDs were $50 or below, they actually had some impressive features, like brightness (especially considering their sizes and prices), dimmers, bi-color, and extras like LCD screens to show battery levels. Still, others had some issues, like slight color shifts, poor battery compartments, and no DC jack for alternative power options.

Really it just comes down to what you need for your project. If you need the strongest, most inexpensive LED light possible, the Bestlight 176 might be a good choice for you, since it's the cheapest and also extremely bright. If you need a cheap bi-color light, the Gigalumi 228 and the Yongnuo YN300 Air both have that feature, though the Gigalumi is much brighter than the YN300 Air. Again, it all just depends on which features are most important to you.

Before you buy, be sure you understand certain aspects of a light, like brightness, CRI, power options, and other features that might be important, like LCD screens, battery life readers, dimmers, bi-color options, etc.

To learn more about the lights Pike talks about in his video, head on over to his blog post.

Which LED lights do you recommend that cost $50 or less? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: DSLR Video Shooter