I had the chance to try the Dot Line DV60 LED light kit and here is a quick hands-on report.
Overview
The kit comes with a rechargeable battery, a bracket and an adapter for Sony camcorders:
The DV60 LED unit is flexible and can be mounted several different ways with the provided bracket (compatible also with a light stand):
The housing is made out of plastic but the unit is very light and it may survive a 6ft drop (I did not try that). The DV60 is stackable - you can stack multiple units by the rails on each side.
The DV60 is small and costs $99.95. Here is a size comparison with the popular Litepanels MicroPro unit (on the left) which is almost four times more expensive:
On the back the Dot Line DV60 (right) has only an on/off switch (the MicroPro has a dimmer and runs on 6 AA batteries):
To get an idea of the light power produced by the Dot Line DV60, here is a comparison with the Nikon SB-900. The first two images were taken at ISO 800, 1/50s, f/2.8 at aprox. 10 feet (3m.):
Dot Line DV60 LED light test at 10ft
Nikon SB-900 test at 10ft
At aprox. 20 feet (6m.) you can see that the LED light kit has problems illuminating the scene:
Dot Line DV60 LED test at 20 feet
Nikon SB-900 test at 20 feet
The Dot Line DV60 can provide decent lighting up to 10 feet. Here is a video test of the LED kit - in the first portion I used a point and shoot camera and then a DSLR with a fast lens:
Specs
- After a full charge the battery should last 1.5 hours
- 60 LEDs
- Daylight balanced 5600°K
- Lithium-Ion battery and charger included
- Optional 12V car charger available
- 220-240v compatible
Conclusion
I find the LED lights useful mainly for video, but I did however use the DV60 kit few times for some close up product shots. The included rechargeable battery is a plus. The all-plastic body is a minus, but even more expensive models are still made 100% out of plastic. The DV60 LED kit is small and lightweight and will also be a good fit for smaller cameras. If you are doing a lot of video work, you may want to step up for something more durable (made out of metal) like this Litepanels 1X1 (price: $2,545.00) which has dimmer and color correction controls:
