Lighting Diagram and Suggestions
Good lighting is the key to great images. Use multiple Rotolights to quickly
create the perfect lighting solution for your location or studio needs.
The Rotolight RL48-B LED Ring Light gives you the possibility of having
a front-facing, camera mounted ‘keylight’ on your subject, and, then using a second Rotolight with perhaps a creative Colour FX lter, mounted
on a spare tripod as a kicker/backlight/sidelight or toplight. This is called
‘2-point lighting’ and will considerably improve the dramatic impact, separation and presence for your subject.
The sample image on the right was lit with the Rotolight Interview Kit using
a 216 Diuser on the Keylight (set to 5600K) and a second (tripod mounted)
Rotolight was used with a 712 Bedford Blue lter as a side ll.
(See diagram for suggested light positions)
Add-On Colour FX Filter Kit Guide
Rotolight ‘Add-on Colour FX Filter Kit’ features 10 of the most popular LEE Lighting colour lter gels,
comprising eight Colour FX lters for sidelight, backlight, kicker or top light and two cosmetic lters for
skin tone enhancement.
The Rotolight Add-On Colour FX Filter gels have been created by some of the World’s leading lighting
designers working in Stage, Screen, Cinema and Television to capture specic moods or colour eects,
and the result is a superb collection designed to compliment most common lighting conditions.
184 - Cosmetic Peach
A warm cosmetic highlight or front
light, complimentary for most light
skin tones and key lighting.
063 - Pale Blue
A ‘Cool’ light blue wash, ideal for
sidell or backlight
020 - Medium Amber
Good for afternoon sunlight and candlelight. Also great for side lighting.
765 - LEE / Sunlight Yellow
Looks like natural strong sunlight
eect. Good for sidell / toplight
052 - Light Lavender
Good ‘pink’ sidell or Great backlight
791 - Moroccan Frost
A warm cosmetic highlight or front
light, complimentary for dark skin
tones and key lighting
712 - Bedford Blue
A smoky warm blue. dramatic
sidell for skin , hair, or hardware
182 - Light Red
Good for theatre and television effect lighting as well as cycloramas.
730 - Liberty Green
A good light green backll for
creating mystery and suspense.
128 - Bright Pink
Excellent backlighting and side
lighting. Great on hair or skin.
QUICK START GUIDE
Thank you for choosing a Rotolight kit.
Thank you for buying the world’s most portable, professional, colour calibrated LED HD lighting kit. In
order to take full advantage of the Rotolight RL48-B ‘Stealth Edition’ features and ensure maximum perfomance and longevity please read this manual carefully before using this kit. A full user guide is available at www.rotolight.com.
Opening the Rotolight RL48-B
1) To open the Rotolight, remove the lter holder, then hold the Rotolight in your left hand face down.
Hold the back of the Rotolight with your right hand, then rotate the back, counter clockwise one
eighth of a turn to open the body of the light.
2) When the Rotolight is open you can change the batteries (3 x AA), read the calibration chart, and ac-
cess the lters stored in the back of the light.
Specications:
Model: Rotolight RL48-B
Size: 130OD/38ID(mm)
Weight: 6oz/170grams
Power: 3 x AA Batteries
Battery Life: 4 Hours (Li-Ion)
RotolightTM is a trademark (001740705-0001) of Rotolight Inc. Rotolight RL48 / RL48-A / RL48-B (001740705) and Rotolight Stand
(001740713) are a registered design. All rights reserved. © 2011 Rotolight Inc.
quickstart_guide.indd 1 11/08/2011 18:19
Hot Light Equivalent: 80W
Colour Temperature: 6300K, 5600K, 4300K, 3200K
ND/Dif Filters: 298, 209, 216
Beam Angle: 140 Degrees
Mounting: Mic Foam, hotshoe or 1/4”-20
Batteries :
Use 3 x Energizer Lithium L91 AA batteries for best performance and 4 hours continuous use, or standard alkaline AA batteries for 3 hours use. If you intend to use rechargeable batteries, use Lithium Hydride models
for superior performance. Normal rechargeable batteries are not recommended as they have a lower voltage
output so Rotolight will be less bright.
Using the lter holder
To t the lter holder, simply hold it in your left hand with the open side facing upwards and push the
Rotolight (face down) into the centre of the lter holder. To remove it, place your thumb in the middle of
the front face of the Rotolight (near the ON switch) and use your other ngers to lift the outer edge of the
lterholder away from the face of the Rotolight.
Filters, Colour Temperature
and ‘White Balance’
Colour temperature is a standard method of describing colours for use in a
range of situations and with dierent
equipment.
Colour temperatures are normally expressed in units called ‘degrees’ Kelvin
(K). This scale is used to describe a visible light colour , and was based on heating a black object up until it glowed at
a precise colour, hence ‘degrees’ Kelvin.
To turn the unit on, simply press the switch in the front of the Rotolight RL48-B.
How to mount Rotolight on your Shotgun Mic
Align the centre hole of your Rotolight over the foam windshield of your Camcorder Microphone and
carefully slide the Rotolight over the foam windshield.
To remove Rotolight, pinch the back of the microphone foam windshield with your left hand and with
your right hand carefully slide the Rotolight o the mic to the front.
How to mount Rotolight using the Rotolight Stand
Fit the accessory shoe to 1/4” thread adapter to the accessory or ‘hot’ shoe on your camera. Tighten the
lower thread of the shoe adapter down onto the shoe. Attach the support arm to the shoe adapter and
secure it facing forward by tightening the upper thread tensioner of the accessory shoe. Put the Red Boss
assembly through the centrehole of the RL48-B and clip the legs into the holes of the support arm.
Modern digital photographic and video
cameras can adjust the ‘white balance’of
their image capture system mimicking
the way that the Human eye perceives
colour. This process allows the camera
to accurately capture the colours as the
eye sees them.
Most common lighting conditions produce light in the temperature range from around 2,000K to 8,000K.
In practical terms this usually means selecting lights, gels and lters which are most appropriate to the
prevailing light or to create a particular colour eect.
For example, a camera operator will select a “3200K lter” to use for an interior shot when the prevailing ambient light is from tungsten bulbs. Ideally you want all the elements in your image illuminated at
roughly the same colour temperature, otherwise dierent parts of the picture may have a blue or orange
tint.
The human eye can detect a colour dierence of 50 Kelvin, so you’ll be pleased to know that Rotolight is
‘Studio Accurate’ (i.e. to within +/- 50 kelvin of its calibrated colour temperatures)
Using the Colour Correction and Calibration lters
Rotolight RL48-B ships with 6 special ringlight calibration lters (by LEE Lighting) which are stored inside
the Rotolight and t into the Filter Holder. These are used for colour correction, dimming and diusion,
which allow you to accurately match Rotolight to the ambient light colour
temperature. Please refer to the Calibration Chart inside the Rotolight
RL48-B for more information on which lters to use for desired eect.
Included Colour Correction, Dimming and Diusion
Filters :
5600 - 1/16th CTO (Indirect Daylight)
3200 - 15/16ths CTO (Tungsten)
To release, gently squeeze the legs together at the rear of the support arm whilst holding the Rotolight
and Logo boss assembly (take care not to let the Logo Boss pop out of the front hole).
Rotolight Stand can also mount onto tripods, suction mounts, 360° Swivels, Lighting Stands, etc.
quickstart_guide.indd 2 11/08/2011 18:19
Lee 205 - 1/2 CTO
Lee 216 - Diusion Filter
Lee 209 - Neutral Density (Reduces light 1 stop)
Lee 298 - Neutral Density (Reduces light 1/2 stop)