Your cart is empty.
Your cart is empty.M. Carter
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2024
I struggled with 3 vs. 4 stars for this light. I've been a working videographer/photographer for 20+ years (30+ for stills, film era), so this isn't an "amazing light for youtube and TikTok!!!" take. So far I've used this on a corporate location shoot for stills, and a video interview shoot.The pro's are many - it's TINY. You could get three of these in a 15-series Pelican case. It's easy to control (don't have the app yet). You'll get very second nature with temp vs. output, and click vs. turn, right away. It's definitely in the output range of my other 60 watt LEDs, and the little reflector makes the most out of the LED (though how often you just want a blazing hard light is up to you - this is not going to be an optimum keylight with a softbox unless you don't need a lot of power). It has an integrated v-mount connector (but with some cons to that), so no separate clamp needed. It doesn't use a proprietary power connector (I only use V-mounts, they're life-changing, haven't tried the adapter at all). The fan is near-silent - imagine someone just breathing out, a low-intensity "ahhhhhhhhh" that's barely audible and well-away from human voice tonal range. It's metal and not plastic.The cons - first off, the total-crap of an umbrella-mount vs. some kind of spud or yoke. You have to take care to tighten the daylights out of the thing. Eventually the rubber pad is gonna fail. It might make sense to just permanently screw the stud in with thread-locker, but it's... janky. And while the v-mount clip is nice to have, you're not sticking a 190 on this thing, the weight will really encourage the mount to loosen.The v-mount clip? When you install a battery, the battery blocks the accessory lock. So if you want to swap out a reflector or a softbox, you have to remove the battery. This is a big design oversight - that nobody noticed this is pretty weird, since the lock could go in two other places easily. Not a huge deal, but pretty silly. But in most use-cases, you'll want a v-mount clamp on the stand (many batteries will be larger/heavier than the light itself), especially if you fly this out on a boom. Without a battery attached, it would be a really nice overhead due to its size/weight. And the standard power input means you could use any-old v-mount or barrel extension cable for flying this way up.My strobes are all Speedotron, but I did have a 7" Bowens grid reflector lying around. It didn't fit the accessory mount, and I had to grind the three mounting points down to get it to fit. Maybe my reflector is oddball, I'll be getting a popup softbox. But - the 7" with a 30° grid is **really** sweet with this light, and a cool trick is putting mylar behind the grid, to get a soft yet directional light. I'd say another potential con is: where are the small reflector accessories? No grid I can find, and no mounting contour for one. Another big oversight, since the mini reflector would be a nice little ecosystem. Would be cool to have one case with 2 or 3 of these and accessories and batteries.The styrofoam case is kinda weird - I can't imagine this holding up long, but I think most of us will be packing these in larger cases.But for two hundred bucks? It's a lot of light in a tiny package, with a lot of versatility. Will I get another? Hmmm, not sure...
shausen
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2024
I liked that it puts out enough light for interviews. I got the mini softbox to go along with it and that was the perfect size. I like that there are multiple power options and that everything fits together and is easy to use. The unit is well put together and feels much sturdier than the Zhiyun's that I've used. A little bulkier maybe but balances nicely on a stand. I've only used a few times on interviews, so I don't know what the long term will be like, but at this point, I feel like it was a bargain at the price. It's bright enough that I wasn't at full and since I tend to be in smaller room, I'm trying not to blind people. Also, travel friendly, so I really like that since I've used it internationally.
Gabriela Lima
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2024
The media could not be loaded.
Recommended Products