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Digital Capital Week Opening Party - How good is the Comer 1800 LED light?

Posted on 6/15/2010 2:25:00 AM

Chris Condayan at SuspectDevice.net sent us an article and sample videos of the "Digital Capital Week". Original article at http://suspectdevice.net/digital-capital-week-opening-party-how-good-i

Digital Capital Week Opening Party - How good is the Comer 1800 LED light?

This past weekend I was asked to document the opening party for Digital Capital Week, a ten day, city-wide extravaganza of tech talks, workshops and bar camp style meet ups.

The opening party was based mainly out of the Longview Gallery on 9th Street, NW, but extended into most of Blagden Alley that cuts through DC's small loft/warehouse district by the city's convention center.

This location is awesome for events of all kinds from art exhibits to indie film premiers to live bands, and there's even a secret indoor skateboard bowl in the vicinity.

One of the big issues in all of these Blagden Alley venues is lighting, especially at night where both outside and inside environments present various challenges. In order for me to get the job done right for run and gun type interviews, b-roll, etc., I needed a powerful on camera light.

I did lots of research the week before online and I have had previous experience with a Lite Panels flood light, one the best on camera LEDs in the business. The problem is that while the Lite Panels light works well in tight spaces it really loses it's effectives on subjects more than 4-5 feet away. For DC Week's opening party I needed something more powerful that's just as light weight and mobile.

Then I discovered the Comer 1800 which I believe is sold exclusively through L.A. Color Online. The online video examples sprinkled on the web were promising and I decided to drop the $500 and give it a shot. The results speak for themselves. Here's an interview with Peter Corbett, iStrategy Labs and the man behind Digital Capitol Week, that includes lots of b-roll in a variety of different light situations.



One of the best things about the Comer 1800 is not just it's amazing output, dimmer control, built in spot light filter, diffuser filter and barn doors, it's that the Comer sales representative Taky Cheung made sure that I not only got the light on time for the shoot, but also took the time to follow up to make sure I was happy with everything.

Considering the spectacular results this light produces and the fact that the Comer 1800 deluxe kit that I bought is less than half the price of a Lite Panels flood kit, this is a must have for any independent or professional camera man.

Here's another example of the light in action on an interview with O'Reilly Gov 2.0 correspondent Alex Howard.



The song in the videos, "Welcome to DC," is by Mambo Sauce courtesy of www.musicalley.com by Meevio.

The gear used in this shoot includes:

• Canon XH A1s HDV Video Camera
• Canon EOS Rebel T1i Digital SLR Camera
• Comer 1800 LED Light
• RedRockMicro Shoulder Mounts
• Audio-Technicas AT875R Shotgun Mic

It was shot by me and Ray Ortega.

Hopefully more footage will be posted soon.

Chris Condayan
csuspect1@gmail.com