7 Affordable LED Lighting Kits to Enhance Your Video Production (2024)

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In this buyer’s guide, I’ve curated a list of affordable LED lighting kits to enhance video production quality while keeping expenses low.

The selected lighting kits are perfect for YouTubers, upcoming filmmakers, and professional videographers who want to improve their visual storytelling with superior lighting.

The lighting kits discussed are designed for at least two lights, allowing for two-point or three-point lighting setups, which are essential lighting setups to know about for professional-looking footage.

Now, let’s look at some of the best budget-friendly LED lighting kits for video.

1. Aputure 2 H672W + 1 H672S LED Panel Video Light Kit

Aputure is a brand specializing in the production of high-quality lighting for filmmaking.

The Aputure 2 H672W + 1 H672S LED Panel Video Light Kit set is ideal for still photography and videography.

The kit consists of three daylight-balanced (5500K) LED light panels with 672 LEDs with a high color accuracy of +95 CRI.

If you want to transform the color temperature of one or several panels to a warmer tungsten look, you can do so with the included orange filters.

And if you want to soften the light, you can do so with the included white diffusers.

The difference between the two H672W panels and the single H672S panel is the light’s beam angle.

The H672W has a beam angle of 75 degrees (floodlight), and the H672S has a beam angle of 25 degrees (“spot” light).

Even though these lights are slim (only 32mm thick) and light-weight, they are bright and emit approximately 4636 lumens, which is about the same as a 400W incandescent light.

Another cool thing is that these lights can run on batteries or with a power adapter. And you can charge the batteries while the AC adapter powers the lights. The package includes six batteries and 3 AC adapters!

The kit also includes 2.4 GHz wireless remotes to control the lights from behind the camera. But you can also dim the lights on the back and see the exact brightness on the LCD screen.

The manufacturer also includes a carrying case, so you can transport your light kit in style wherever you go.

Light stands are not included in this package. I recommend the Aputure Compact mini20 3-pack light stand kit with a carrying bag for these lights.

Pros

• Inexpensive three-point lighting kit
• High color accuracy
• Can run off batteries and AC
• Light-weight
• Compact design
• Carrying case included
• Batteries included

Cons

• To adjust the color temperature, you need to use panels.
• No light stands included.
• No barndoors included
• No softbox included (though it does come with diffusers)
• Not powerful enough for corporate videos in big locations with big windows

This is a great option and a very popular kit for a small one-person video production company.

Check the current price on Amazon.

2. GVM 680RS 50W RGB Dimmable 3-pack Video Lighting Kit With App Control

The GVM 680RS video lighting system is a great choice for those who want a versatile lighting kit.

It contains everything you need to light your scene creatively and make high-quality videos.

These RGB-colored LED panels have an adjustable color temperature incrementally from daylight (5600K) to tungsten lights (3200K).

But that’s not all. They also give you complete control over the RGB spectrum, and you set the exact hue of red, green, and blue and the saturation you want.

This lets you paint your scene in any way you want. Fx, you can use one panel as the main light, another as a fill light, and then use the third as a rim light, aka hair light, or light up a dull wall in a cool color to create a perfect lighting setup.

The panels also have preprogrammed lighting effects and can simulate lighting from police cars, paparazzi, and candles.

The lights can be controlled on the back of the lights via the two knobs or the app, and you can see the results on the big LCD on the back.

The lights are small and easy to carry but give you enough power for professional results. The U-bracket lets you adjust the light angle.

The 560 LEDs have a high color accuracy of +97 CRI/TLCI (no green color cast on the skin here) and give a nice and uniform light distribution. You also get a diffusion filter for a soft light for interviews or portraits.

Another cool thing about these lights is that they can be powered with a wall plug or Sony NP-F550/NP-750/NP-F970 Li-ion batteries.

The lights are made of aluminum alloy for great durability.

The kit also contains three light stands with tripod bases, which can be adjusted according to your preferences and needs. You also get a nice carrying bag.

This is a perfect lighting kit for video production if you’re on a budget.

This kit includes 3 x lights, 3 x light stands, 3 x power adapters, 3 x barn doors, 3 x diffusers, and 1 x bag for easy transport.

We liked it very much because it contains many accessories for controlling the light while remaining budget-friendly and affordable for most videographers.

Pros

• RGB lights with lots of different colors and programs to choose from
• High color accuracy of +97 CRI
• Run on both batteries and AC
• Barndoors included
• Light stands included
• Aluminum Alloy Housing = durable design

Cons

• Not the best carrying case
• Not the most user-friendly app
• No batteries included
• No softbox included
• Not powerful enough for corporate videos in big locations with big windows

Check the current price on Amazon.

3. GVM 80W Video Lights with softboxes

If you’re looking for an affordable light kit with a decent output in terms of power, I’d recommend you buy two or three GVM 80-watt lights.

They are daylight balanced (5600K) and have a high color accuracy of +97 CRI.

You get a light stand and a 22-inch softbox with each light, so you can easily create a 2-point or 3-point lighting setup right out of the box.

The lights are small but still pack 80W of power, which is enough for small to medium-sized rooms; as long as you don’t have huge windows or direct sunlight, you need to balance out.

The softboxes help diffuse the light so the skin will look smooth. And the cool thing is that even though this is an inexpensive lighting kit, they still come with a professional Bowens mount.

Because of this, you can also attach many standard accessories from other brands, such as fresnels or bigger softboxes.

If you want even softer light and smoother skin tones, I recommend getting bigger softbox kits to go with the lights—fx the Neewer 36 Inches softbox (link to Amazon), which is cheap but compatible with the Bowens mount.

Bigger softboxes help diffuse the light and make lighting fx a green screen easier because the light spread will be more even.

It’s a small, powerful light that offers a lot of bang for the buck.

Pros

• Small (8.6×4.7×7.8 inches) and lightweight (1.9lbs)
• Powerful and portable light
• Softbox included
• Lightstand included
• High color accuracy
• Bowens mount for easy attachment of accessories

Cons

• Only daylight balanced
• The included softboxes are on the smaller side

Check the current price on Amazon.

4. Nanlite PavoTube T8-7X RGBWW LED Pixel Tube 4-light Kit

If you’re looking for a lighting kit that offers many creative possibilities, you should look at the Nanlite PavoTube lights.

These lights are a good choice for shooting interviews, music videos, and creating a moody scene in a short film or indie movie production.

They offer you the same creative options – from product and light painting photography, over being used as a studio light for portrait photography, to creating cool effects in the background in music videos.

I love my PavoTubes because they offer great lighting at an affordable price. They’re MUCH cheaper than industry-standard tube lights from companies like Astera and Quasar Science. And the build quality is still great!

The Nanlite PavoTube T8-7X has four RGBWW lights that let you create daylight, tungsten light, and all the colors in the RGB spectrum.

The PavoTubes come with many of the built-in effects you expect from RGB lights. But they have an extra trick up their sleeves because the tubes are made of different sections – and each section can show different colors.

That is a huge step from earlier fluorescent tubes that could only show one color at a time (and sometimes needed gels).

Despite the great price, the lights still have good quality LEDs with a high color accuracy of +96 CRI.

You can control the lights via the app (via Bluetooth), but if you’re on a professional set, you can buy the optional USB-C to DMX cable, which gives you full DMX control through XLR.

When fully charged, each light will last about an hour at 100% brightness and just above 3 hours at 20% brightness.

You can build these lights together, attach them to all kinds of light stands, or hold them in your hand via the built-in handgrip.

These lights are a great pick if you’re looking for lights that’ll give you a lot of creative possibilities.

Pros

• Inexpensive professional light
• Lots of creative possibilities
• Can run on the internal battery as well as an external power bank via USB-C
• Wireless control
• DMX capability

Cons

• No light stands included
• No honeycomb grid or barn doors are included for reducing light spill (but available as a separate purchase)

Check the current price on Amazon.

5. VILTROX 2 Pack VL-200T Photography & Video LED Panel Lighting Kit

If you’re looking for an affordable set that can create soft light, then the two-panel LED lighting kit from Viltrox might be ideal.

This set consists of 2 bi-colored LED video lights with a temperature of 3300K-5600K and a high color accuracy of +95 CRI. The lights are dimmable between 20%-100%.

The panels are constructed to give a soft light, which is great for portraits and interviews. You don’t need a softbox or diffuser for these types of light (unless you want to soften the light even more).

Everything from color temperature to brightness can be controlled via the included 2.4GHz wireless remote or directly on the back of the panels. What’s cool about this wireless remote is that you can see all the settings on the large display.

On the back, you also find a large LCD and a knob for easy control.

This lighting kit can be powered by either the included DC power adapter or Sony NP-F960/NP-F970 batteries (not included).

The kit includes two light stands, which are adjustable between 26″-86″, and a carrying case for easy transport.

You can quickly assemble and disassemble the kit in minutes, so it’s great for run and gun setups.

Pros

• Affordable kit
• Built-in diffusers for soft light
• Quick to setup
• Can run on AC or batteries
• Wireless remote included
• Light stands and carry bag included

Cons

• Not very powerful lights
• No batteries included

Check the current price on Amazon.

6. Dracast X Series Bi-Color LED500 3-Light Kit with Soft Case

Dracast is well-known for creating high-quality lights at affordable prices.

The Dracast X Series LED500 video lighting kit is an excellent, all-in-one, travel-friendly solution for the professional videographer.

Each LED light is a bi-colored kit with an adjustable light color temperature range of 3200K-5600K. And you can control the lights from your mobile phone via the Dracast DRX App.

The lights have a high color accuracy of +96 CRI, so you won’t get ugly skin tones with these kits.

The 4-way barndoors let you control the light spill, and the removable diffusion filters soften the light, which makes this a great kit for shooting cinematic interviews in confined spaces.

All the lights are dimmable between 0-100%. You can see the exact setting on the LCD on the back of the lights.

Another cool thing is that these lights can run on the included AC adapter and Sony NP-F style batteries (not included).

The 40-watt lights are cooled by a silent fan that makes them cool.

You also get three lightweight light stands and a carrying bag to transport all the lights easily.

Pros

• Professional grade lighting kit
• Carrying case included
• Diffusion filters included
• Barndoors included
• Light stands included
• Can be controlled via the mobile app
• Can run on both AC and batteries

Cons

• No softboxes included
• No batteries included

Check the current price on Amazon.

7. Godox SL Series SL-60W 2x Daylight LED Video Lights with Softbox, Honeycomb Grid, Color Gels, Stands, and Carrying Case included

The Godox SL-60W LED daylight video light is a popular lighting kit – for a good reason.

This is a great value lighting kit for interviews, product videos, photography pack shots, or for evenly lighting a green screen.

This kit contains two Godox SL-60W daylight balanced (5600K) LED lights with high color accuracy of 95+ CRI and 90+ TLCI.

Each light is dimmable from 10-100%.

On the back, you also find a big display where you can monitor the fixture’s temperature in Fahrenheit or Celcius, the brightness, and the channel.

The lights come with standard Bowens mounts, which is great because you can always get accessories like barndoors or reflectors.

The Godox SL-60W uses 60 Watts and a combination of fan and heatsink to keep the temperature and noise down.

The lights are powerful and have a brightness of 4100 Lux at 1m, which is the equivalent of a 300W tungsten light.

You also get a 433 MHz remote control, which lets you work with six lighting groups and 16 channels.

This lighting kit includes light stands, a honeycomb grid, barn doors, and a carrying case.

This kit’s only downside is that you don’t get a carrying bag.

This kit is great for two-point interview lighting setups or the indie short film.

Pros

• Affordable softbox lighting kit
• Industry-standard Bowens mount
• Barndoors included
• Honeycomb grids included
• Barndoors included

Cons

• No light stands included
• No carrying case included
• No RGB – you need to use the included gels to change colors

Check the current price on Amazon.

In Closing

The best lighting kit is the one that fits your needs. You need to decide what you need.

Fx, do you mostly shoot corporate interviews, a daylight-balanced kit might be enough. But if you’re shooting music videos or light painting photography, the best solution is to get an RGB kit.

Also, can you get by with a 2-point lighting setup, or do you need that third backlight?

No matter your needs, having the lighting equipment will make a huge difference to your video content creation.

I hope you found this article useful. If you’ve any questions, let me know in the comments below.

The lighting kits in this article are entry-level lights, which are great for starting and learning the basics.

For professional lighting kits, we recommend our guide Best Professional Video Lighting Kits For Any Budget, instead.