The amateur videographers among CrunchGear’s readership (hello!) know that even with the high-tech video tools we have available to us today, lighting can often be an issue. Pros take lighting very seriously, a fact Christian Bale does not appreciate. And when it comes to your crude YouTube-based dorm sitcom, the commenters will savage your poor lighting more than your bad writing. But if you get this budget 70-LED array, your climactic llama confrontation scene will be bathed in cold white light and every drop of spittle will be illuminated.
It even has its own built-in battery which you can charge with a wall charger or USB, and should fit right into your camera’s hot shoe. Great for interviews at things like CES, especially if they put you in the green room where there is almost no light at all, Sony, and you could have given us two minutes to set up, come on!
Of course, there’s more to lighting than just blasting the subject with a big white light. You’ll start getting into filters and gels, using the built-in reflectors to achieve a more glancing light, and so on. It’s a slippery slope from amateur to prosumer, so let Brando give you a push. $60 is less than a buck per LED.