If you've shopped for LED lights, you probably already know that light- emitting diodes are very efficient and require less battery power than their tungsten counterparts. LEDs emit far less heat than standard on-camera lights, and they also maintain a consistent color temperature across the entire dimming range. With obvious benefits like these, why hasn't LED lighting taken the video market by storm? Quality LED lights historically have been costly, and the few affordably priced options on the market simply didn't perform adequately. So I was intrigued to test a new LED on-camera light system from VariZoom (www.varizoom.com).

Click To Enlarge Battery adapter, carrying case, and light.

Click To Enlarge Detail of the flip-down plastic dichroic filter and barn doors.

The new lights in the VariZoom S-2000 series feature four LEDs arranged in a 2 x 2 grid. The light-emitting diodes themselves are buried in optics that spread the light. Output is equivalent to 40 watts, and the light temperature is a cool, blue 5600K. The S-2010 series I tested consumes a low 12 watts, and the manufacturer states the LEDs last beyond 100,000 hours of use. The light has two barn doors attached to each side to help control light spill. It also has a 3200K filter mounted on the top and a diffuser mounted on the bottom. The S-2010 attaches to the camera with a standard shoe mount. A fully controllable dimmer as well as an on/off rocker switch are located on the back of the light.

The kit

The S-2010 kit comes with a short cord and power adapter plate to power the light from a standard camcorder battery. The battery locks into the adapter plate, which has a clamp that allows the adapter to be mounted to the camcorder handle. VariZoom offers four different battery adapter plate styles, one for each major camera manufacturer. When ordering, simply specify the appropriate model. The S-2010F plate fits Sony batteries, the S-2010P is for Panasonic, the S-2010J is for use with JVC, and the S-2010C works with Canon batteries. Note the adapter kit doesn't need to match the model of the camcorder in use. It corresponds simply to the model of batteries that will be used to power the light. If you're a Canon XL H1 shooter but also happen to have extra Sony L series batteries lying around, you can use this light with the Sony battery kit on your Canon camera. Blasphemy, I know, but it works.

I was pleased the kit arrived in a tough little padded pouch, which is the perfect size for the light, adapter, and maybe one of your smaller batteries. The LED light housing is constructed primarily of a nice, thick-gauge metal, and the dimmer feels solid. The only potential weak points are the flip-down filters, diffuser, and barn doors, which are plastic and could snap off during rough handling. I hope VariZoom will offer replacements for a nominal fee. Overall, the entire kit is very well constructed and feels like it could take some abuse.

Click To Enlarge Kit optimally mounted on a Sony HDR-FX1 camcorder with a small Sony NP-570 battery in the adapter.

The light kit and battery adapter mount to the camera shoe and top handle easily and quickly. With a small Sony NP-F570 battery, the entire kit adds nearly 1.5 pounds to your camera rig. Not an inordinate amount, but you'll feel the extra load. Handheld shooters may find themselves supporting the camera base more with their off hand. About half of this weight can be attributed to the adapter plate and battery. You can place a shoe mount on a tripod and then easily use the kit as small off-camera or supplementary lighting.The kit also works well as a small kicker or rim light when a full lighting setup isn't possible.

Light emissions

Considering the square grid arrangement of the four LEDs, it's surprising how evenly spread the light output is, particularly with the diffuser engaged. I used the S-2010 while shooting both standard and high-definition widescreen footage, and I was impressed with how evenly the frame was lit, even at the far edges. On a recent multi-day shoot near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the S-2010F kit was one of the only usable sources of light after sundown. It performed flawlessly, and the lack of available AC power for battery charging proved to be of no concern-there was simply no need to charge the battery, thanks to the low power consumption of the light kit.

The temperature of the S-2010's output is very close to daylight-balanced, and is certainly right in the 5600K range. Engage the flip-down tungsten dichroic filter, and the light temperature instantly converts to 3200K. To my eye, it looks just a little bluer than a true 3200K, but is very close and mixes beautifully with other tungsten light sources. This kit is well suited to run-and-gun situations: with a flip of the filter you can convert to match interior or exterior light sources. No inconvenient gels to mount and no fuss involved. The dichroic filter coupled with smooth dimmer control also means that this kit functions very well as a simple on-cam fill light, both indoors and out.

The dimmer is very smooth and affords fine-grained control of almost the entire output range of the light. While dimming on the low end of the LED's output, I noticed it would sometimes waver a bit and cut out at approximately 3 percent to 5 percent output, instead of dimming all the way down to 0 percent. This didn't pose any problem-it's just something to be aware of. Along the same lines, if the dimmer is set all the way to its lowest setting when you switch the light on, the LEDs won't come on until you turn the dimmer up to around that 3 percent to 5 percent range. The kit I tested exhibited both behaviors very consistently. Again, this did not prove to be a problem. It is so close to fully dimmable that I have no qualms calling it just that.

Click To Enlarge The dimmer knob and power switch are located on the back of the metal casing.

Click To Enlarge The light attaches solidly to a standard camcorder shoe.

After 5 to 10 minutes of use with the dimmer at maximum light output, the rear casing of the light became hot to the touch. To be clear, the LEDs and optics remain cool, and no heat is projected on subjects or talent. The metal casing itself gets hot when the dimmer is at max output. Continued use at that output level makes the casing almost too hot to touch. However, when used at 50 percent or even 75 percent output power, the casing barely gets warm even after hours of use. I tended to run it at 50 percent to 60 percent output most of the time. 100 percent output is quite bright. When I used a fully charged Sony NP-F570 battery, I could consist-ently run the S-2010F for more than 1 hour, 15 minutes at full 100 percent light output, and more than 5 hours at approx-imately 50 percent light output.

One area that needs modification is the bottom of the battery adapter. Although the mount's vise-like grips are covered with a layer of soft rubber, the underside of the mount isn't padded at all. I can already see a few small marks on my camcorder top handle. A small piece of soft foam or some gaffer's tape on the bottom of the adapter grip can easily remedy this lack of padding.