Softbox vs. LED for YouTube videos.

[Kenni]

Hello there,
Happy New Year.

I'm looking to step up my YouTube videos, and their overall quality, and so far my lighting hasn't been getting much attention...
From my search I've come across Softbox and LED lighting, but I'm not sure what to go for...?

Softbox lighting use bulbs, which is just on/off with no adjustability, where LED lighting offers a good range of adjustments, etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[ClickClack]

Sorry, no help but following as I need better light. Posted about using a ring light but no one has answered yet. It’s so confusing and expensive! Hope someone can help us!

 

[JayZippo]

Here is the biggest difference.

- Soft box you will get great general lighting with little to no shadows when done right.
- LED is going to give you harsh shadows unless you back fill.

I would love to use my boxes for my recordings, but I split my livingroom in two and I did not want huge boxes on tripods sitting in the living room portion. So I use LED's. I put them on full blast, and point them to the ceiling, helps disperse the direct light. Then I have a ring light pointed directly at my green screen to diffuse any shadows and regulate the contrast on my backdrop.

- Green screen (@200)
- LED lights (@30)
- Ring Light (@30)

Having a good camera always helps, it can adjust for wonky lighting. I use a Canon M6 Mark II, but that is a little pricey.

Hope I helped, any questions let me know.

 

[OntheWrist]

I use two small LEDs which each have a diffuser. I make wrist watch review videos, so most of my videos only show a small area directly in front of me making the LEDs ideal. The LEDs are great on space, both lamps fit on my desk even when mounted to the tripods they came with. If you're filming your entire body, a soft box might be better if you have a lot of space to work with and won't need to frequently tear down your setup. LEDs are a good cheap and space efficient option though.