Review of the LED Lenser P7 Flash Light

Hey ya'll ! I recently purchase the LED Lenser P7 Flash Light to use with my photography for a portable easy solution as fill light in low light settings or to experiment with for some fun new lighting techniques .
I got mine off Amazon for around $45 bux , which is expensive for a flash light , but darn cheap for a photo light, so its all in how ya look at it!
The flash was designed for police as a tactical tool for blinding suspects , or just as a good strong light at night. Yes, this light it strong!
It comes packaged like an expensive flash in a little casket style box. It is small, but the size of, well, a small flash, :) so it can be very easy to fit in a pocket or camera bag (It comes with a belt case).
Here is the site for pictures and specs.
What I already love about this light is there are 2 modes, full and dimmer which you can switch with a click of the thumb.

I was hoping for a nice night to shoot outside, but every time I planned it, it either snowed or rained. I finally just decided to shoot no matter what. So grabbed my little neighbor , Cassa Marie, who has been helping me out for 10 years now !  We went out close to sunset last night and, yes, it was raining on and off. But overcast is no problem. We spotted a nice little cluster of barns and decided to pull in and scope it out. I figured if a police pulled in I could impress him with my new tactical flash light :) However no one bothered us except the pigeons that kept flying around the rafters freaking us out.

First here is a photo with no light used at all. Just natural light and I am using a canon 5D MKlll and the Canon 50 f/1.2 lens. I shot in AV mode and jpeg (I usually use M and RAW, but this was not a pro shoot and just wanted to get an idea if this Flash was going to be something I would consider using on a paid session).

I did not bring a support for the light , I just held it with my left hand while shooting with my right. I would recommend a clamp and light stand or another person to really get some better angles. But this method proved to still produce some interesting shots and definitely better than no light at all.
Please scroll down to see sample images and my final opinion on the bottom.

Here is the first shot, No light: As you can see , there is obviously a need for some light to avoid the raccoon eyes and unattractive shadow effect.

OK, so here is the Flash Light on full mode (No diffuser , yes I brought a homemade diffuser which I will explain at the end of this post , aren't you curious! :)

Now here is the light with the diffuser attached in full light mode:

One more with dimmer mode and diffuser:

Now here are two more shot outside of the barn shadow area in overcast , light rain, with the flash light aimed directly at Cassa on full mode with the first shot and dimmer mode the 2nd shot and with the diffuser attached:

My opinion? I think I will definitely be throwing this little light in my camera bag for those low light occasions when you just need a little punch to brighten the face up and remove those harsh shadows. I can also see how this light would be a great 2nd light for adding either a back light, or hair light. 

I am looking forward to playing with it some more and see how creative I can get with it!

I will warn you that this light will not be very attractive without some diffusion and here is what I used. Look in your kitchen cabinet and see if you have some Glad Wrap Press & Seal. Just cut a small piece and stick it to the front glass area. Makes a BIG difference in the light quality . Much softer and usable! You can't beat the price of that diffuser eh?

I hope this little review helped ya out if you have been considering a low cost, light weight off camera light!

Iphone Macro lens

Just received my Iphone5 Macro lens and having a blast with it! I ordered it from Amazon for $13 and it came with three lenses that fit over the top of the Iphone as a sort of 'lens hat' which means you have to remove the cover on your phone while you use the lens, which is a hassle, but unless someone creates a custom cover then this is the way it is.
My lens kit was shipped from Hong Kong , but arrived in only  a week, which is pretty impressive for free shipping!
The kit is well made of metal with red styling. So cool looking!
The macro lens is under the wide angle so this must be screwed off . There are also little rubber lens caps and I lost one of them almost immediately, so be careful with those.
I started taking pictures of random stuff around the house, such as some baby breath left over from my valentine flowers :) and this lens had me at Hello! I never knew a baby breath flower looked like this! I mean with my eyes, they look like little white clumps, but the Macro reveals a beautiful little purple blossom hiding inside! Who knew?? So , from there I went on to take pix of blueberries, a 2 dollar bill , a tiny pebble, leaf, banana , and a tiny charm on my daughters necklace. Check out the pictures and see for yourself. Keep in mind that this is a camera phone with a tiny little cheap lens and from that perspective.. I'm IMPRESSED! :)
Some tips: Try to angle the phone so you do not cast a shadow on the subject .
Hold your breath while taking the picture to decrease movement and try and find something to steady your hand against. Yes, it is hard to get a clear shot because of camera shake, but you can do it!