$300 vs. $50 LED strip light for photo/video production

https://youtu.be/VghrQdBpH4I

Hi, I’m Tyler and this is the Sharp Shooter. Teaching you valuable skills to make better videos.

Today, we’re comparing two lights.

The first is the Genaray SSL-36B, which is marketed as a 36-inch soft strip bi-color LED light for video and photography. It sells new for about $300.

The second is the Real Work Tools work light, which is marketed as a 5000-lumen, daylight-balanced LED fixture. It’s designed to be a light hung in garages and workshops and I paid $15 for mine on Black Friday a few years ago at a store called Rural King. You can buy them new for $25 year-round when they’re not on sale.

Now, I did have to buy a few accessories for the work light to make it fit on my light stands. We’ll talk about those details later, but I spent less than $50 on the light and its fittings.

Before we compare these lights, I’d like to talk about strip lights, because you don’t see too many people on Youtube reviewing them.

Professional “strip lights” describe a type of light that’s long and narrow. They’re great for many applications. I often use them mounted vertically as a fill light for portraits because they evenly light a person from head to toe. I’ve also mounted them horizontally at tall heights to illuminate large backdrops up to about 10 feet wide.

Most LED strip lights are diffused by design, so you don’t need to use any additional soft boxes to achieve flat, even lighting with very little shadows. And if you need a very large light source, you can stick one of these lights behind a large diffuser, and it works well to create very soft light.

I’d recommend strip lights for any beginner or professional because they’re simple, effective “soft” lights that are extremely versatile.

First, let’s talk about how these two lights are similar.

They both produce bright, even light. In terms of brightness, the work light is measured as 5,000 lumens and the Genaray is rated at 1,300 lux at three feet. So, lumens are a brightness value and lux is a measurement equal to one lumen per square meter. Manufacturers and industries rate their lights in different ways, and I don’t have a light meter on me that can measure footcandles, so I can’t give you an exact number on how these lights compare to each other.

What I can tell you is that they both consume just under 60 watts when running at full brightness, and to my eye, they appear to be a very similar brightness value.

The LEDs on both fixtures are mounted behind a plastic white diffuser, so they both produce soft even light.

These fixtures are not equipped with cooling fans, so they run silently.

Lastly, they can both produce a “daylight” color temperature, which is about 5,600 degrees Kelvin. The Genaray is bi-color, meaning it can produce “daylight” and “halogen” tones. While the work light is a fixed color rated at 5,000 degrees Kelvin…which to the naked and eye and my camera is close enough to the true 5,600 daylight measurement that you won’t noticed any odd differences when pairing this with other daylight balanced light.

I’ve been using both of these lights for around 3 years, both on professional shoots.

Now, let’s talk about the features of each light, and then we’ll get into how they differ.

First, I’ll say that Genaray is a great brand. I bought some of these and some Genaray fresnels for corporate work a few years ago, and I’ve been very pleased. At the time of making this video, I have not been paid to promote or endorse the brand. I used real money to buy these lights, and I do stand behind the brand.

So the SSL-36B is the bi-color model, rangin from 3200-5600 degrees Kelvin. It’s a great choice for matching other light sources, like natural light coming in from a window or older lights like Halogen or Florescents that you some of you may be continuing to use.

The controller pack allows dimmer and color temperature adjustment with a simple turn of a dial. And I haven’t used this feature myself, but it does allow wireless control.

It includes barn doors to shape the light output, and a lollipop mount which allows you to mount the light at any angle on a standard 5/8-inch pin stand.

They’re powered by a standard AC plug or V-mount batteries, and the LED is rated for 50,000 hours.

Lastly, it comes with a hardshell case to keep them protected during travel or storage. I can really appreciate that, because it seems like hardly any equipment comes with a case these days. You typically have to buy it separately.

Now, let’s talk about a few cons of this light.

In comparison to the work light, it is more expensive. But, I will say that for the quality and features this light has, it’s still a very affordable light when considering it’s a professional photo/video light.

Being a professional light, means it’s made to be durable. So, it’s no surprise that this light is kind of heavy, weighing about 8 pounds, not including the controller pack. When I use this light on any shoot, I use it with C-stands, and if it’s mounted more than about 5 feet from the ground, I weigh the stand down with sandbags.

In other words, you’re going to need to spend money on heavy weight light stands if you’re going to use it. I recommend basic Impact brand C-stands which sell for around $120 new.

Now, let’s talk about the Real Tool Works light.

So, you can find these lights for about $25 new, or $15 on sale at Rural King. The models do change slightly from year-to-year, but the prices and basic features remain the same.

As I said earlier, these are 5000-lumen lights and they’re advertised as daylight balanced at 5000 degrees Kelvin.

When I’m using them on a shoot, they match all of my daylight-balanced lights really well, and there’s no sign the color temperature is off.

They have a simple pull chain to turn them on or off. They cannot be dimmed. Believe me, I’ve tried.

They’re made out of an aluminum casing and acrylic frosted diffuser material in front of the lights, so they are very lightweight, coming in at about 2 pounds.

The LED is rated rated for 30,000 hours of use.

Now, to make these work for video or photography purposes, you will probably want the ability to mount them on a normal light stand. So, here’s how I mounted mine.

I bought this cheese plate for $11 on Amazon. It comes with two screws, so I took a power drill and drilled two small holes through the aluminum casing and mounted the plate on the back.

Next, I bought these ball head mounts that adapt to light stands. They cost $12 and one end screws into the cheese plate, while the other end mounts onto a standard 5/8-inch baby-pin light stand mount.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1453918-REG/camvate_c1952_light_stand_mount_with.html
Now, I can mount them on any of my light stands. And, you don’t need a c-stand since it only weighs two pounds, which means you can buy cheaper stands.

So here’s the cons of this light.

If I mount it horizontally, it can be a bit flimsy. I would recommend using LocTite blue threadlocker from preventing it from moving.

The only big con I have about this light is that it’s not dimmable. I’ve tried dimming it with an electrical dimmer switch, but it doesn’t not work.

I’ve gotten around this by physically moving the light away from the subject, or turning it slightly away from the subject. I’ve also put it behind a large diffuser, but dimming would be very convenient, especially if you’re shooting in a small room.

But, then again, you can buy at 5 of these work lights for the price of one Genaray. In fact, I have four of them.

Here’s my final thoughts on both lights.

At full brightness, the quality of light is nearly identical. Now, I know a lot of gear snobs are going to point out that work lights don’t have the same CRI or color rendering index as pro lights do. And technically, that’s correct. But, the CRI argument doesn’t hold up much these days, especially if you’re buying an LED light or bulb from a major retailer or big box store. The consumer LED technology has gotten so good over the last 3-4 years, that is not a concern at all in my opinion.

To be fair, this was a concern about 6-7 years ago. The technology was still coming around at that point, and accurate CRI was a problem. I bought some LED work lights back in 2016 that I had hoped to use for video, and they had these weird yellow streaks that would beam out of them. I’ve had some others that I’ve tried over the years that appear to strobe on camera, but I’ve tested a lot of lights from basic hardware stores since 2020, and they all work great. Sylvania is the best for the price if you ask me, but I digress.

The Genaray is more convenient. At my day job work studio, I’m constantly switching applications for these lights and am often working in small spaces where the dimmer control is critical. I don’t use the wireless feature, but I could see that being really handy when using several of these lights on a large-scale shoot to control different dimmer levels and color temperatures. And, the hard case is really handy if you need to travel with it.

But, I can tell you the work lights will fit in a generic light stand case. That’s how I transport them.

At the end of the day – these lights both do the same thing. And I recommend them both, depending on your application. If you’ve got the money and need the pro features, you’ll be really happy with the Genaray lights.

If you don’t need the dimmer and you’re willing to drill a couple of holes through some thin aluminum, I would definitely recommend the work lights. I’ve used them a lot on big shoots and my clients have been very happy with the finished product. I also use them as a fill light and a chroma key light for nearly all of my Youtube videos, including this one, so don’t be afraid to try them even if they’re not technically “professional lights”.

I hope this helps you make a decision.

I’m Tyler, and this is the Sharp Shooter. Teaching you valuable skills to make better videos.