Portable Lighting Kit Using Reverse Light Stands
Having a lighting kit is essential for most in the production business. Having a truly PORTABLE Lighting Kit is another story. In the video below, we show you how lightweight Reverse Folding Lightstands not only fold up to fit into a standard TSA approved carry-on roller bag, but also how they are sturdy enough to hold something like an F&V R-300 LED Ring Light.
Since the F&V R-300 LED Ring Lights are so compact, lightweight and have a powerful output of light, these are the lights that we’ve chosen to use for this example. Packing 3 R-300 Ring Lights into a roller bag along with ankle weights, AC and DC power supplies, standard Sony batteries, a ball joint, 3 Reverse Light Stands, a camera AND a lens was quick and everything was able to fit perfectly.
These Reverse Folding Lightstands also have legs that are capable of falling completely flat onto the floor while the stand itself is extended upwards. This enforces the center of balance and could completely eliminate the need for any sort of weights at all. These light stands are only 2.2 lbs, they fold down to around 18″, are capable of extending up to 7’5″ (6’5″ to be safe) and have a max payload of about 6.5 lbs.
The roller bag we used is an old Tamrac roller bag. Another solid option could be this Pelican 1510 Hard Case with Padded Dividers (Black). This roller case is TSA approved for carry-on, waterproof, crush-proof and dust-proof with internal dimensions of 19.75″ x 11″ x 7.6″.
Pelican 1510 Hard Case with Padded Dividers (Black)
Thanks I need a more portable lighting set up will have to look into these lights.
Also the light stands looked massive until you said 7ft I guess you must be small.
Thanks for the info
Alex
@Alex I’m 5’3
Good for future reference. I am used to putting up light stands and thinking these need to be taller and you just cort me of guard, very helpful that you gave the size and not just let me assume wrong
I am 6ft4 btw this will be where my problem comes from and don’t get me started on looking for a compact monopod.
That looks like a good deal on the compact light stands. I’ve had a number of compact stands for years, paying 50%+ more for mine. I really like them and they are great as long as the load is light and you don’t need a large modifier outside. They’ve let me carry 3-6 light setups on my motorcycle for photography.
Richard.
@Richard Very cool. Having the ability to go portable easily is priceless when you need to. This certainly applies for riding a motorcycle! ha
Hi Olivia,
Thanks for this. Can you give a link where I can get the AC/DC power supplies for the R-300.
Thanks again
@Dichiee For portable battery power you can either use standard Sony NPF550 Batteries or something like a Tekkeon Portable Battery Pack. For the AC adaptors, we used Standard 12v AC Power Adaptors.. let me check on which brand though.
I’m assuming an NP-F 750 will also work, but perhaps the 950 might make it too top heavy on this kind of stand? F&V says the 550 will run the light for 45 minutes, but is that consistent strength throughout? from when will it start dimming?
@Marq I’ve used both of those batteries on the R-300, the NP-F750 and the NP-F950 both are NOT too heavy nor do they tip the light from my experience. As the battery gets very low, the light may start to dim a bit towards the tail end of the charge.
Thanks Olivia,
Ya I’m using those batteries for the R300 but wanted to plug when shooting inside the studio. Let me know which brand is it. Thanks again
@Dichiee Hi, this should work: Universal AC Adapter 15V 16V 18V 18.5V 19V 19.5V 20V 22V 24V 70W
Where did you place the hair light in the first part of the video? It looks like it’s below and behind you, but I was wondering about how high (or low) you have it placed. Thanks!
@Bobby The hair light was placed behind me from just below my shoulder blades and to my left (out of frame).
Hey Olivia,
Funny this is just what we were talking about. Thanks for showing this. I was thinking about a Pelican 1510 for this same kit. It’s TSA approved for carry-on and has internal dimensions of 19.75″ x 11″ x 7.6″. I imagine it would work too for someone who wants something more protected. What are the internal dimensions of the roller bag in the video? Thanks and happy 2013
@Eric We actually have that same Pelican here at the studio but it is being used for the BMCC. The internal dimensions are also 19″ for the Tamrac bag shown in the video.
this was funny.
great tip. I do the same with five YN-160s.
Hi, are these only available from Hong Kong?
@Marq These particular ones, from what I know, yes.
There are a few reputable local companies that make similar reverse stands including Lumopro at mpex.com, the Cheetah mini at Cheetahstand.com and the Matthews reverse stand. I have the latter and it’s beefy enough to fly a Kino Diva at lower heights.
@Rob Could you link me to the models you’re talking about? Thanks
Which ankle weights do you find to work best? 5 or 10lbs?
@Corbyn For these lights, you could go 5 lbs easily.
The reverse stands are excellent and portable telescopic background stands are great too. They’re much lighter and some of them extend to around 4 feet which can also be very useful.
For more height (and more expense) look at the Lowell Uni-stand stands which are the same design but reach up to 7′ 11″. You can also buy extension bars which thread into the top of the stand to give you an extra foot or two at the expense of some stability.
I have a similar kit only I’m using 2 reverse stands, 2 background stands, and some clamps (plus some other fixtures and friction arms). I have 2 small on camera style LED panels (small enough to fit my
Honl Photo Color Correction Filter Kit for Honl Photo Speed System…bonus!), 3 of the popular rectangular 311 bi-colour LED lights and the Fotodiox 411a battery powered ring light. It’s bulkier than the F&V and doesn’t mount as well but I’ve found that I can mount it like a standard light on a stand with the help of a super clamp and an umbrella brackeg….with the two large batteries it comes with, it’s an arrangement which I like a lot. Top the kit off with some 18Ah battery boosters and I’m good to go and carry-on friendly.
Here’s the Matthews reverse. It seems to be backordered everywhere. It can do up to 11 lbs.
Matthews Reverse Stand – 7′ (2.1m)
Lumopro compact. MPEX also has a super small 12″ one but it only goes 3.2 feet high.
Lumo Pro Compact Light Stand 7′
Here’s the Cheetah mini
Cheetah Mini
Hi Olivia, thx for the demo. You’re awesome.
A question though, do u find the stand durable compared to the foldable light stand from manfrotto. I actually live in Hk, seen similar stand and found the joint quite fragile, though I am not sure if that’s the same one you are showing.
Do u have chance to post a photo showing that all of these fit in the pelican 1510 pls? As that’s exactly what I am looking for. At the moment when I need to carry light and stand, I haven’t yet found a good way to “carry” or “stick” the manfrotto foldable stand outside the pelican case.
Thx again….
@Tam I have not used the Manfrotto stand that you’re referring to so I cannot say for sure. I will get an image of the stand inside the Pelican Case. It does fit.
Did you ever get a picture of the Pelican case with the 5001b stand in it? I own the Pelican case (per your suggestion), and I’m about to buy the stands, but wanted to be totally sure before I spend $150 on three stands. Thanks!
Btw, have you ever used the F&V z96 lights? They are modular so they can be stacked to create equal light to a r-300. There are almost no reviews or videos on these being used in the real world using their modular features (aside from 1 promo video). As a budget videographer, I went with these instead of the r-300 because I didn’t have to upfront $600 for a three point setup. Each lights $80 on Amazon, so I could start with 3 and build up to make bigger LED panels.
Thanks!
@Joshua Yes, I did! CLICK HERE for the blog post with the picture. I also did a blog review on the K Series Stackable LED Lights from F&V CLICK HERE for the full blog and video review.
I’m ordering the stands but am unsure how I’m supposed to change the angle of the lights up and down on them- will I need some kind of ball head or something of the sort to accomplish that? Thanks
@Keith Yes you will need a mini ball head if you wish to change the angle. A ball head that mounts on a 1/4″20 thread (any standard camera mini ball head).