ikan News Blog

We’ve been discussing the need to clarify the concerns some of our customers have about the build quality and servicing abilities, functionality, etc of our LED panels versus some of our competitors. Our head of product development here wanted me to post this white paper for your digestion. Have a peek.

Sidenote: im using Dirty Suds PDF embedder for this post. Leave some feedback and let me know what you think. If you are aware of better methods i would like to know them. Thanks!

also, if you’d like to download a copy of this white paper, via .pdf, click here.

For those of you who’ve been interested (or dogged us) for Kelvin rating and luminosity output for our Studio LED lights–the ID400, ID500, ID1000, Multi-K XL–and haven’t been able to get the answers you need from our product videos, I’ve updated some detailed charts for you. We recently collated our in-house testing data for your education and disclosure (in case you thought we were hiding something We also ran the gamut with our On-Camera LED lights, to make sure all bases are covered.

I share this information with you for a few specific reasons. For any confusion about flourescent-to-LED conversions in your studio or lighting kit, you should realize how LED panels need to be used to achieve maximum results–and not be disappointed by spending x cash and feeling burned. Also, based on the current technology, any company that claims numbers significantly different from these that follow, I recommend, proceed with caution. You may be surprised when you set up for your first shoot if you rely on some outstanding numbers.

Also, if you’re interested in reading or watching reviews, usage shots, etc. regarding our LED panels, our customers have been reviewing via video, flickr, or tweets with satisfied results. Start HERE.

Now, let’s get down and dirty with the deets:

For this experiment we used:

• BK Precision 615 for the lux rating (as it gives conservative, consistent results)
• Sekonic c-500 for the color temperature ratings (because we are not cheapskates when it comes to hardcore tests).

More product info on the:

• ID400
• ID500
• ID1000
• Multi-K XL

If you have any more questions, feel free to email support@ikancorp.com or leave us a comment. Also, feel free to share this information with your friends, tweet it, and link it as you feel useful or necessary.

Howdy from Texas!

For all of you attending the #GVExpo this week in Washington D.C. (can’t get in? Here’s how), we’ve got a treat for you.

For the First 5 (FIVE) users who tweet photos of our new prototype lights (the iLED 508 & ID1500) and mention @ikancorp:

• FIRST 2 (TWO) win our newest tip of the week item, the Universal Rim Light.

• NEXT 3 (3, 4, 5) win our rugged AC2 pouch, designed for that grip or gaffer on your next set.

Both items would be great gifts for Christmas, so knock one off your list–get to the ikan booth and start tweeting!

Side Note: If you participate, be sure to send us your contact info when we respond!

Happy hunting!

As we’re knocking walls down in the office, ushering growth and other positive hoopla here at ikan, I came to realize that our product news has been pretty jumbled in the last couple weeks (between new video releases, products, newsletters, etc.) so I’ve decided to re-cap and serve you an ikan snack of the day.

I’ve been doing some work on the blog, too. At the bottom right of the main page you’ll find our videos are updating from vimeo now, as well as a more functional twitter feed and a likebox to show you who of your friends likes the ikan brand. Sidenote: If you find a broken link, be sure to let me know and it’ll get fixed right away–I think I’ve covered most of those so far but we’ll see.

Shall we dance?

The T-Slate is ikan’s most recent product–designed for the people who use slates for their most used purpose–syncing audio. It’s a great companion to have on set when you run your slate data on an iPad or android slate but want the reliability of a physical clapperboard.

vimeo.com/32277568

It’s worth noting that regardless of future technologies, the form factors of tablets will stay similar, ensuring that whatever you upgrade to, the slate will always be a good companion. Also, there has been some discussion about the flaws of strictly relying on something like an iPad Slate on The Black and Blue blog with Evan Luzi. For example, “what if the battery dies?” Oh…right. Good point. There’s always the idea of having multiple ipads or some off-brand usb charger velcroed to the back of the ipad, but what are you trying to prove? The T-Slate provides a simple solution while having a quality slate to fall back on, with engraved letters and a slit to support nearly any style tablet cover.

ikan’s new Video Starter Kit is ideal for the entry DSLR enthusiast interested in shooting video on more serious terms. Young, old, interested in making the step toward being a professional or just upping the game on your personal work, the VSK offers a variety pack to really bring your camera work to lightspeed.

vimeo.com/32272629

Included in the kit is our new slim VL5 HDMI Monitor w/ battery support out of the box, our rugged and durable ikan Traveler backpack, a RECOIL camera rig, the compact & powerful iLED 120 camera light, and more. at $699 it’s a steal!

Next on the list, ikan has stepped up to the plate to bring you all the gels you need to tint your LED or flourescent lights.
With our Essentials and Creative packs, you can achieve any color temperature as well as some so-cool-its-sheisty lighting effects you don’t have to perform in post.

Also, we’ve created packs to fit our iLED 312or iLED 144 to boot–offering complete and nearly unlimited lighting options. For a complete listing of our new gel kits, new lesson about gels and lighting diffusion. If you haven’t seen their Video School videos yet, they’re pretty simple yet savvy and spice it up with some occasional wit. Definitely worth checking out.

Other videos have come out on vimeo page lately, including the ID500 3 point kit, the Multi-K XL, ID1000 3 point kit, and the New PT2500–which has an upgrade kit for you previous PT2100 and PT1000 users.

Litepanels, Ltd. and Litepanels, Inc. on August 3, 2011, filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission in Washington D.C. The complaint, entitled In Re Certain LED Photographic Lighting Devices and Components Thereof, DN 2838, seeks to prevent IKAN Corporation and fourteen other companies from the importation and sale of solid state and LED lighting devices and components, pursuant to section 337 of Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1337). Litepanels seeks a general exclusion order which, should they prevail, would allow them to prevent LED photographic lighting and other devices from entering the United States in the future, and without further hearings, review or approval from any outside group or governing body.

IKAN will oppose the complaint. Interested parties may contact the U. S. International Trade Commission and voice their concerns in this matter. For more information, please contact:
James R. Holbein, Secretary to the Commission, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.20436, telephone (202) 205-2000.

The public version of the complaint can be accessed on the Commission’s electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov, and will be available for inspection during official business hours (8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.) in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20436, telephone (202) 205-2000.

General information concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its
Internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). The public record for this investigation may be viewed on
the Commission’s electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov. Hearing-impaired persons
are advised that information on this matter can be obtained by contacting the Commission’s TDD
terminal on (202) 205-1810.

ikan

ikan is an award-winning designer, manufacturer, and distributor geared to provide total solutions for video professionals. We are a constantly evolving and ever-flexible company that prides itself on its value-conscious products including HDMI & HD/SDI camera monitors, ELEMENTS™ camera support solutions, LED and fluorescent lighting, teleprompters, productivity software, apparel and set/shooting accessories, all designed with feature-set and price in mind from their inception.

For more information, give us a call or walk into our corporate headquarters based in Houston, TX. You can also visit our official website (www.ikancorp.com) for more product information. Additionally, connect with us via our Social Media Feeds such as the ikan News Blog (ikancorp.wordpress.com), our Facebook community (facebook.com/ikanseeit), our Vimeo channel (vimeo.com/ikancorp) or follow us on Twitter @ikancorp.

We sent out our press release this last week but I wanted to make it publicly available to highlight the latest in our product lines. Note that Official Release of the VX7e was today (awesome) so if you’ve already placed your order with our sales team, you should be receiving your monitor within the coming week or so. If you’d like to purchase one, inquire >> sales@ikancorp.com. Below are further details. If you already have a VX7 and are considering upgrading, know that we’ve created a policy for cheap and easy upgrades to the newest version.

Thanks to the #AllinFilm Poker Tourney @NAB earlier this year, Beth Oslander won the first VX7e to come off the assembly line, as part of a packaged prize: our Shoulder Deluxe Complete rig (ELE-SDC), updated with the VX7e and FG Cine Kit (ELE-FGK). You can check out her work on vimeo. Her event videos are a lot of fun to watch.

We’re getting more  positive feedback on the new Traveler Backpack–it’s been redesigned and I think it’s worth noting the changes (the old one can be found here if you wanna peep it for yourself). Look closely in the media released in the coming months–you might spot one or two on some savvy camera folk. I hear our promo video should be released soon, too.

As of last Friday, our latest video release was for the iLED ONE-TK (that’s table kit, ya’ll) and the stop-motion intro to the video is a scream–take a look:
http://vimeo.com/23689158
(thanks to Kay Ennis and Daniel Contreras–if you were @NAB you might recognize them from our booth)

Also, thanks to Tercius Befete, writer for LA City College’s The Collegian. Soon he will be featuring the iLED ONE–and a giveaway–in his articles. Once I have more info i’ll link it here.