LitepanelsLitepanels provide soft, LED lighting when shooting video with your digital SLR.July 2, 2009 By Dan Havlik 
The MicroPro is the newer of the two, released last April at the NAB convention in Las Vegas. It doubles the light output of the original Micro, providing a maximum 5600K daylight source and is really what you'll need if you plan to light a scene with more than one person in the shot. The NAB debut of MicroPro hints at the lineage of these devices which were initially created for the videography world but have been taken up by photographers either when shooting stills—wedding photographers love them for dark receptions—or when capturing HD video with cameras such as the Canon 5D Mark II or Nikon D90. My first impression on seeing the Litepanels fixtures in person is that they look and feel a lot cheaper than I'd expected. Made pretty much entirely of plastic aside from the metal cold-shoe mount on the bottom, Litepanels don't seem like they would survive a drop if they ever fell out of your bag. (I didn't want to risk actually putting that to the test!) For how flimsy they feel, they also aren't exactly cheap in price either. The MicroPro goes for $450 and the Micro sells for $285. The two fixtures come with amber diffusion and tungsten gels for modifying the light. These clip on to the front and can be stored on the back of the Litepanel when not in use. The amount of light emitted from the fixture is controlled by a plastic knob on top of the device. The knob clicks on or off and light increases as you turn it clockwise, sort of like a Torchiere floor lamp in your home. I really would've liked to have had some kind of level indication on the knobs or, at the very least, markings of any kind that I could reference for future use. As it was, it was pretty much an instinctual process to know how much light you'd need for a scene. Those design quibbles aside, I was really impressed with the quality of light emitted from the Litepanels and lack of color shift as I dimmed or increased the light. If you've never worked with LED light before, you might be surprised at how bright but soft the effect is on the faces of your subjects. It produces great catchlights in the eyes, for one, and doesn't appear too harsh or contrasty. Along with being useful for shooting stills without having to resort to flash, soft LED light is great for HD video footage which is notorious for revealing every flaw in your subject. Though Litepanels attach to the top of your camera via the hotshoe, they come with a threaded receiver, letting you mount them on a light stand or a camera arm. In my use of the MicroPro, I had an assistant hold it off-camera above my head to provide a very soft effect, kind of like the light from a street lamp. Battery power was surprisingly good on the MicroPro. It's rated at over five hours with Lithium Ion AA batteries which I, more or less, achieved. When the power is running out on a Litepanel, it won't shut down completely, just gradually dim so you can still use it if you're running low on juice. There's also an optional AC adapter. THE BOTTOM LINE If you've been shooting video with a digital SLR and want to add some pop to your low-light footage without having it look too harsh, Litepanels LED light fixtures are a convenient and effective solution. Though I wish they had a more durable, high-quality design, the Litepanels Micro and MicroPro provide soft, continuous illumination on subjects' faces and pleasing catchlight in their eyes.
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