Lighting is very important when it comes to film making. Professional lighting kits are often very bulky and are difficult to travel with. You could use an On-Camera light since they are much easier to bring around, however, you will be limited to a light source coming from your camera’s point of view. If you wanted a high-quality lighting set-up that’s easy to travel with, then you should consider portable video lighting kits.
Here are our recommendations for the best portable video lighting kits in 2019.
Contents
The Best Portable Light Kits – Our Picks
What Do These Technical Terms Mean?
LED Count
Portable Light Kits are made up of arrays of much smaller LED lights. They aren’t the only factor that contributes to how bright a light will be, but in most cases, a higher LED count means a brighter light.
Color Temperature
A number expressed in Kelvin indicating what color of light your kit is emitting. Lower numbers represent warm, orange hues, while higher ones represent the blue side of the spectrum. A wider range means a wider variety of possible aesthetics for your footage.
Why Should You Use Portable Video Lighting Kits?
There are so many lighting options out there, so should people consider purchasing portable video lighting kits instead? Well, here’s a few reasons why.
- Easy to travel with: Portable video lighting kits are much more convenient to travel with. Professional light set-ups can be bulky difficult to travel with, especially if you’re a filmmaker who can’t afford expensive transport methods such as renting out transportation trucks. If this is you, then it’s ideal that you having equipment that is easy to transport around. The lighting kits that we have recommended in this list produce professional results while remaining lightweight and portable.
- Professional Lighting Results: Just because these video lighting kits are portable, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t good at producing good lighting. We made sure to only recommend portable lighting equipment that is built to last and produce high-quality results. With these lighting kits, you’ll be able to enhance your videos/films with their high-quality lighting results and their overall flexibility.
- Affordable: When compared to more professional light equipment that tends to be bulkier in design, portable video lighting kits come at more affordable prices for any aspiring filmmakers. It’s a great way for aspiring filmmakers to start getting familiar with lighting equipment and how it affects your films.
1. Best All Around
- LED Count: 560 x 2
- Maximum Stand Height: 96 Inches
- Color Temperature Range: 2300K-6800K
- Soft Diffusers Included
- Digital LCD on the back of each light
The GVM 560 LED video light kit is our pick for the best portable video lighting kit in 2019. This lighting kit comes with 2 professional photo/video LED lights that have a slim aluminum body, making it lighter and portable. The LED bulbs can reach up to 70,000 hours of use before needing to be replaced.
You’ll have a variety of power supply methods for different filming situations. If you’re shooting indoors you can use the DC adapter, but if you’re filming outdoors then you can use the NPF battery mount. The NPF battery mount is portable and easy to carry around.
The color temperatures for this light ranges from 2300k to 6800k, by far the widest range of any of the options we saw. This means you can take your creativity to an extent that none of the other lights on this list can match. Super hot, super cold, the possibilities are endless.
It’s equipped with 560 high color rendering (CRI 97), the LED beads that help you restore true colors from your shot. These lights also have a U-sharp bracket design, allowing the light to rotate 360 degrees freely. This allows you to adjust your lighting to fit the needs of the shot you are looking for.
Another cool feature is the digital LCD screen displays on the back side of each light. The display provides an ungraded color temperature knob, which means you won’t need to apply any additional filters. The display screen is intuitive and makes everything much more convenient.
This lighting kit comes with GVM LED video lighting panel (soft diffusers) that helps illuminate a variable white balance and color temperature to satisfy all your lighting needs.
These lights also have a mobile app that can be downloaded and used to control your lights from your smartphone. Just search for the GVM app in your smartphone’s app store to download it.
This video lighting kit also comes with a specially designed durable handbag that protects your lighting equipment while making it easier to travel with.
Overall, the GVM 560 LED video lighting kit is a very good choice for someone who’s looking for a portable light kit solution.
2. Runner Up
- LED Count: 200 x 2
- Color Temperature: 3200-5600K
- Maximum Height: 79 Inches
- Includes 2 power adapters, white filters, and carrying cases.
- 1 Year Warranty
Another great choice for portability is the FOSITAN LED video lighting kit. The LED lights are made of premium aviation frosted aluminum alloy making its body non-slip and great at heat dissipation. They have a U-bracket design that makes the lights highly adjustable, making it easier to angle your light to fit the shot.
These Bi-color LED videos lights produce more natural soft light and clean white light. They are dimmable from 0-99% with 200 SMD LED, producing a more realistic color with high CRI 96+ and a wide 120° light angle. The color temperature ranges from 3200K to 5600K, coming with 13 level adjustable temperatures. You also get 2 white diffusers to help produce a softer light for your shots.
The FOSITAN LED lights have an LCD display on the back that helps you monitor your battery levels, dimming range, and color range.
The LED lights are capable of duel battery support and are compatible with NP-F550, NP-F750, and NP-F970 batteries. Do keep in mind that this kit does not include batteries. The kit does come with 2 power adapters.
This kit comes with 2m stretchable aluminum alloy light stands that are durable and very easy to carry around. 2 portable bags for the lights are also included with this lighting kit.
Overall, this video lighting kit from FOSITAN is a great choice for videographers who are looking for a high-quality light set-up that is highly portable.
3. Best Premium Choice
- LED Count: 520×2
- Color Temperature: 3200-5600K
- Maximum Height: 96 Inches
- Built In LCD Display Panel
- 2 soft filters, 1 Large Hand Bag & Power Cables.
The GVM LED Video Lighting Kit is our premium pick for best portable video light kits. These are high-quality LED lights that are made of superior aviation aluminum alloy, making them durable, portable, and great for heat dissipation. You can adjust the color temperature and the brightness of these video lights with a range of 3200K to 5600K. The lights achieve high CRI (color rendering index) up to 97+.
These LED video lights have an LCD display that shows clear brightness and color temperature readings, making it easy for you to monitor and operate the lights. The LED lamp bulbs have effective protection that extends their life. Each light is equipped with 520 high color rendering index led beads of warm and cold color helping produce more realistic shooting results.
The lights have a U-shaped bracket design, supporting 360-degree rotation. This gives you more freedom to adjust the light’s angle at your own will. They’re compatible with all light stands and are safe to place on the ground when in use.
It also comes with premium video light diffusers that can soften the light of your shot while also protecting your eyes. These diffusers work effectively in keeping a softer natural light.
The kit comes with AC power adapter for indoor video recording, but can also be used by F750/F970 Sony batteries when used outdoor. Keep in mind that batteries are not included with this kit.
You can keep both lights packed inside the portable cases that come with this kit. The cases are durable and light, making it even easier to travel with this lighting kit.
The GVM LED video lighting kit is definitely a high-quality kit that produces fantastic results. An excellent choice for any videographers who are willing to spend a little more for that premium lighting quality.
4. A Great Cheaper Option
- LED Count: 660! x 2
- Color Temperature: 3200-5600K
- Maximum Height: 75 Inches
- Barn Doors, Diffusers, Carrying Cases, Power Adapters Included.
Neewer is a solid brand that we have recommended countless times throughout our site, and this selection is no different.
The Bi-color 660 LED light kit from Neewer is another great portable video lighting kit in 2019. This kit comes with 2 Bi-color LED Video lights with U-Bracket and Barndoor designs. This makes it possible for users to adjust the lighting angle to best fit their shot. Each light comes with 330 white and 330 yellow long-lasting LED bulbs that illuminate a variable white balance from Tungsten-Daylight 3200-5600K color temperature.
You will find an adjustable color temperature knob for easy color adjustments while using your light. We appreciated the inclusion of barn doors, allowing you to better direct your light.
These lights come with 2 white diffusers that soften the harsh light. You also get an adjustable light stand that ranges from 26 inches to 75 inches in height. These stands have solid locking capabilities, giving it exceptional strength for heavy duty work. The kit comes with carrying bags to store all of your lights and accessories.
This video light is made of high-quality aluminum alloy, making it both durable and light enough to travel with. The light can be placed directly on a light stand, ground, or desk, providing users with multiple shooting solutions. It definitely makes work much more convenient.
The metal light housing is rugged for durability and helps your video lighting dissipate heat well. These LED lights can be powered by Sony NP-f550 or Sony NP-F970 Li-ion batteries for wireless operation. Batteries are not included, however, it does come with an AC adapter for plugged-in use.
Overall, the Neewer 2 pieces Bi-color 660 LED video lighting kit is another great choice. These LED lights produce professional results and are built to be lightweight, making them portable enough to travel with.
5. Budget Pick
- LED Count: 160 x 2
- Color Temperature: 3200K-5500K
- Maximum Height: 79 Inches
- 2 Orange Filters, Hot Shoes, Transparent Filters and Batteries.
- Carrying Case Included
The last video lighting kit that we would like to recommend is the LED video lighting kit from SAMTIAN. This is the budget video lighting kit option for those who want to spend less money on their lights, but still wants something that produces excellent results and is portable.
You can adjust the color temperatures between 3200k to 5500k using the two filters (white and orange) and the lights’ brightness can be dimmed from 10%-100%. This gives users more flexibility in adjusting their lights to fit their needs when filming. Thes lights can be dimmed by 8 different levels meeting different shooting situations and environments.
This kit comes with two adjustable light stands that can be adjusted from 27 inches to 79 inches in height. They’re made of aluminum alloy that makes it both durable and lightweight for travel. You also get 2NP-F550 rechargeable batteries that fully charge in only 6 hours, giving you up to 1.76 hours of use at maximum brightness.
This kit also comes with a battery charger. Great for both outdoor use and indoor. The LED lights have lifetime use of 50,000 hours.
All of these features for a much more affordable price makes this lighting kit out favorite budget option.
Factors To Consider When Choosing The Best Portable Video Lighting Kit
Portability
Of course, the first thing you need to consider is how portable the video lighting kit is. You also have to make sure that the lighting kits you are considering have features that make it more lightweight in design and also comes with accessories that make it easier for you to travel around with your lights.
Durability
Since you’re looking for portable video lighting kits, you’re probably planning on bringing them around a good amount. Making sure that the lighting equipment and accessories that come with your kit are durable and built-to-last is very important to ensure you get the best bang for your buck. You don’t want to travel all the way to a filming location to find out that one of your lights broke on the way there. Make sure you’re purchasing high-quality lighting equipment that can handle being moved around a lot.
Battery Life
Another thing to consider is the battery capabilities and battery life of the lights you are purchasing. Keep in mind that many kits are compatible with batteries of different sorts, however, they don’t come included. When filming outdoors, it’s comforting to know that your lights will last the entire day of shooting. Take some time to look at the different battery and charging options before making any purchases. Always plan ahead and buy extra batteries if you think you’re going to need them. Remember that time is money. You don’t want to waste any time by having to extend for another day of shooting because your batteries died.
Well, there you have it, the best portable video lighting kits in 2019 that we would like to recommend to you. Portable lighting kits make for great additions to your film arsenal.
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