Slim body and professional build quality
NEEWER Basics RGB Video Light, 9W 2700K-7500K Portable Full RGB Colors 17 Scenes CRI97, 4000mAh Rechargeable Metal Small LED Camera Panel Lighting for DSLR Tripod Streaming Video Recording, SL90C

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

Small black metal LED light panel

PRACTICAL BUILD ASSEMBLY PHYSICAL DESIGN

SIZE IS GOOD

The light is maybe a half inch thick, or slightly smaller. It is the thinest hot / cold shoe light that I have seen, especially with a build quality that approaches truly industrial professional . Of course it is wide , but the thin profile makes it super easy to pack , or stack if you want to carry more than one.

WEIGHT IS GOOD

This light panel is dense , but it’s actually not heavy even though it feels so robust. This is mostly because it is just too small to be heavy, but if you are building a camera rig the weight still isn’t very significant.

MATERIAL QUALITY IS GOOD

This light has a metal body and it feels solid. The entire chassis is solid metal and it gives the light a professional and robust feel. The housing has no loose fittings or gaps. The workmanships feels similar to what you’d find from a legacy photo brand.

APPEARANCE STYLE DESIGN IS GOOD

The Black colored housing and all metal build look and feel professional. This light on any rig will look like a serious piece of kit

PRODUCT PURPOSE / REASON FOR ORDERING:

USABILITY| FEATURES & FUNCTIONALITY

MALE COLD SHOE ADAPTER MOUNT IS OK

Although not great, the two wheeled cold shoe mount is good for what it is. You mount it to the female threaded receiver so you can then mount the light to a female cold shoe mount. The adapter mount holds onto the light well. The problem is that wth enough jerking movement in the direction of the threads this mount will loosen, so you have to occasionally check the tightness.

EASE OF USE /USER EXPERIENCE:

THREADED MOUNTS HAVE NO REGISTRY PIN IS BAD

This piece of gear appears to cater to professionals, but it still has one quality that I think is not really excusable to omit In a truly professional rig, and that is the pins that prevent threaded mounts from spinning when the rig is moved around. Without the pins holding it in place movement in the direction of the threads will slightly loosen the mount until it begins to turn while mounted which is not a good experience.

BRIGHTNESS IS OK

This is a bright on camera light, but its output alone is good but not really impressive. What is impressive is the size of this, with the build quality, together with its output .

HARD SWITCH IS GOOD

I like that there is a hard switch to turn the light on and off. It’s simple and functional and you can always tell when the light is on or off. The physical buttons give you the ability to use muscle memory to use the light s you use the light better without looking .

KELVIN AND BRIGHTNESS CONTROL IS GOOD

The color temp and brightness control use two different physical inputs. The color temp is controlled with a kind of rocker toggle, and the brightness is below it controlled by a vertical dial and both of those are on the side chassis. This control scheme allows for touch control to enter your muscle memory quickly.

The light definitely goes from a cold blueish white light at 7500K to a warm yellow light at 2700K. The range is easy to move through thanks to the rocker switch.

COLOR MODES ARE GOOD

There is a dedicated button to change the lighting modes. There is a CCT mode; Correlated Color Temperature mode, HSI; Hue /Saturation/ Intensity mode, and FX mode for lighting Effects mode.

This like many other lights has multiple color modes. It has a HUE and SATURATION MODE where the HUE is changed by the rocker switch and the SATURATION

The FX mode is the least useful but the HSI mode is very useful for producing colored light.

VALUE IS GOOD

At 40 USD this light isn’t very expensive compared to many other lights although for a similar cost you could find brighter lights. For the cost, getting something of this build quality does seem like a good deal though, so the light is a good value.

SUMMARY / RECOMMENDED:

Overall, this is a decent light. The form factor and build are the best selling point. The light output is bright but you can get brighter output or similar output in smaller lights from Neewer. What makes this really worth buying is the slim form that can fit in small areas in a bag without adding bulk and can tolerate stacking multiple units.

STAR RATING:

I rate this 4 stars because it has mostly positive traits and little negative traits. The light isn’t expensive. It falls in line with the cost of many other cold shoe lights. It overall feels like a good product and I would recommend it to others and don’t regret ordering this myself. But I haven’t used this for very long and can’t speak to long term use. Additionally, even though the light has professional traits it lacks the registry pins that would secure it and make it feel like a professional tool.

BAD:

THREADED MOUNTS HAVE NO REGISTRY PIN

GOOD:

VALUE

COLOR MODES

KELVIN AND BRIGHTNESS CONTROL

HARD SWITCH

APPEARANCE STYLE DESIGN

MATERIAL QUALITY

SIZE & WEIGHT

NEUTRAL:

BRIGHTNESS

MALE COLD SHOE ADAPTER MOUNT