If you're looking for a powerful continuous light source that's small, portable, very bright and can be used for video the Hedler C12 Silent may be the answer.

Product Overview

Overall rating:

88%
Overall score:88%

Pros:

  • Portability, light output, silent fan option

Cons:

  • Noisy with the fan on, gets hot 
(unavoidable with tungsten)

Product:

Hedler C12 Silent

Price as reviewed:

£290.00

If you’re looking for a powerful continuous light source that’s small, portable, very bright and can be used for video the Hedler C12 Silent may be the answer. It claims to be the smallest fan-cooled light on the market, and it’s certainly small enough to fit comfortably into the Vanguard shoulder bag along with our video camera (a Canon EOS 7D), a couple of lenses and mics etc – minus the stand, obviously. The tungsten-balanced illumination comes courtesy of a halogen bulb up to 1250W, so it can kick out a lot of light. This can be modelled via a four-way barn door on the front, or can be swapped for a range of reflectors and softboxes via the Speedring C attachment, and you can also attach colour balancing gels via clips on the doors. There’s a hole, too, for an umbrella in the stand bracket. Inevitably the C12 gets hot so it’s fan cooled to reduce this to a safe level. The trouble is, if you’re shooting video the fan sounds like a harrier jump jet taking off, so the C12 has a ‘silent’ switch which turns the fan down to a quieter setting. It’s still not quite silent but it’s quiet enough not to be picked up by the radio mics we use for our video recording. 

www.flaghead.co.uk

Verdict

The C12 offers build quality you expect from the Germans, and although you couldn't call it cheap it offers one of the best light output to size ratios you'll find anywhere.