As a beginner filmmaker, this light has truly elevated my projects. It’s incredibly easy to set up and is highly portable, plus the battery lasts a long time. The magnetic feature is a game-changer—during a scene I shot under "moonlight," it stayed securely attached to a curtain rod throughout the entire shoot. And the app to change the colors? It’s amazing! I’m really impressed with the Ace.

This Amaran Ace 25x is such a well thought out system! First off the kit version comes with a few small accessories that really help elevate the usefulness of this light. Included with the light are: a mini tripod that mounts magnetically to the light, a coldshoe mount that also magnetically connects to the light, a diffusion dome and a grid that both attach to the front of the light using magnets. Everything tucks away nicely into the provided Amaran pouch that is both sturdy and has reconfigurable velcro dividers.The light itself is made mostly of plastic but feels really dense and solid. The LCD and circular dial on the back of the light allows you to switch between the different light effects (flash, firework, tv, etc), color temperatures, as well as enable the bluetooth connectivity for using the Amaran smartphone app. There is also an option in the menus to reassign the back button to do other options on hold or double press (I have hold set to enable boost mode allowing the light to max out providing even more brightness than the 100% mode, and double press is set to CCT mode allowing me to quickly get to the color temperature adjustment menu).Additionally there is also a large magnetic strip on the back of the light that is covered with a layer of rubber that allows you to directly stick the light to any metal surface. The light offers a few different ways of mounting, one using the magnetic strip on back, one using the magnetic quick release attachment point on the bottom of the light that allows mounting to the included accessories, and finally a 1/4 20 thread on top of the light that allows you to mount this to traditional light stands and tripods.This is such a powerful light for it's size and charges using a usb c cable allowing you to potentially run it indefinitely using a power brick and cable. The fan on the back is quiet and barely noticeable even in boost mode and can manually be turned off via the menu or put into "smart" mode which is the light's default.At $95 for the kit (at time of review) this isn't a cheap budget LED panel but I would say that it is definitely worth it as a piece of professional video making equipment. Everything about this set screams quality and intentionality. Amaran makes amazing professional studio lights and this little Ace 25x is no exception simply more portable. The silver black color way looks super luxurious and industrial. The silver makes this unit look as if it is made of aluminum (which it is not) and in combination with the black this light has a more "retro" type of feel. The fan is also shrouded with a carbon fiber style grill (unsure if actually carbon fiber or just a pattern) which I have not seen on the other color ways. All of the accessories seem to be the same regardless of the colored housing that you choose and I do wish that the tripod would at least be colored the same way as the light itself but that's just a minor gripe. I highly recommend this light for a portable videography kit.

For context, I'm a professional videographer and filmmaker who owns thousands of dollars worth of Amaran and Aperture lighting gear (Amaran is Aperture's downmarket brand).Likes:- Charges very quickly with a PD fast charger.- Quite bright for the size.- Has all the same effects and controls as my big boy lights. I have not tried using it with Sidus Link yet (Bluetooth mobile app for orchestrating Aperture lights), but this light has that option in the menu so I presume it works. Being able to control all lights from a single app is very important to me.- Includes a stacking grid and diffusor (but won't really work well together, see note below).- Cooling fan is quiet and does not affect audio recording.- Well-designed and quality-made case that's specific to this product. It's thick and padded and all the accessories are smartly placed. This is one of the things I've always appreciated from Aperture.- Includes a mini-tripod (further discussed below in the "neutral" section) and a cold-shoe adapter. Aperture has always also been great at including useful and well-made accessories with their lights, whereas other manufacturers often cut corners in this department.Dislikes:- Internal battery. I understand the benefits of using an internal battery: faster charging, smaller footprint, etc. However, there are some serious downsides, mostly: not being able to quickly swap batteries during a long shoot and planned obsolescence. I would have strongly preferred a V-mount or Sony NP (this product is aimed at "creators" not professionals like myself and I understand the design trade-offs, but this product is going to have to be tossed in the trash in a few years once the internal lithium cell dies).- There's a plastic diffuser and a grid that cleverly attach with magnets to the front of the light. However, very oddly, this system was designed backwards. The grid should attach to the light *after* the diffusion, not before it. Otherwise the grid doesn't really do much.- "Boost" mode barely increases light output. I don't know why this feature was even included?Neutral:- It includes a custom-designed tripod that attaches with a proprietary magnetic clasp. The tripod is made of metal and quite solid but I'm rather "meh" about the functionality and would have preferred a standard 1/4-20 tripod for compatibility reasons (though the light itself does have a 1/4-20 female thread on the other side, so it can be used with standard grip stuff).- Build quality is good, but not great. Though to be honest, this one of the biggest differences between the Amaran and Aperture brands. Build quality is better than most no-name brands available on Amazon.- It's a bit of an odd duck. It's too small to be used as either a key or fill for interviews (both due to output and size of light source) but is quite large/heavy for an on-camera light. It's not as unobtrusive or easily mountable as a Aperture MC light, so I won't be using it as a replacement for my MC kit. But, with the included grid, I think it could be a great kicker or hair light if you're space-constrained. Being able to dial this in from behind the camera with Sidus Link could be very useful.===Bottom line: My experience with Amaran lights has always been positive and I feel they delivered on their reputation with this product. There are both more expensive and cheaper options out there but Amaran consistently provides great dollar-for-dollar value. This isn't a "do everything well" light but if you're shopping for a LED panel of this size, this is a great option. Especially if you're already in the Sidus Link ecosystem.