100W Camera Photographic Pocket COB LED Video Fill Light 2700K-6500K APP Control for Vlog Live Streaming Video Recording S100 (White)

As a long time career professional photographer and cinematographer I deem this accessory to be of professional grade but with some significant limitations. This analysis will explain why.WHAT YOU GETThe kit contains the main body of the light, one non-foldable silvery reflector, one soft silicone diffuser and one USB-C power cable. And an instruction sheet written entirely in Chinese.WHAT IT IS USED FORI am not on the same page as the manufacturer in trying to target this to the exploding social media vlogging market as a video light. Yes it can be that with some limitations but a fill light is just as important to a still photographer for whom this may be a bit more useful. I am both a still and video photographer but let’s be real, with today’s gopro styled cameras or the myriad of other vlogging video cameras traveling lean and light is the goal, the less gear the better and very seldom do video content creators need a fill light. That’s not to say that this one would be a bad investment, in fact the opposite, I would definitely suggest considering owning one of these. It is the still photographer who more likely would use a fill light and traditionally remote strobe lights have been used but they require a significant amount of knowledge about lighting and even then the photographer isn’t 100% sure of the results until after the photo is taken. A fill light that is constantly on with a precision variable brightness control, and as a bonus a precision variable color temperature control is almost a must-have accessory. With it the photographer can light a subject, whether it be people, architectural, product photos or anything with a minimum of setup, wires, touchy wireless transmitters and drawing attention to themselves. This could a must have for wedding photographers though.HOW WELL IS IT MADEThe design, materials and versatility are what make this a professional accessory, all are near perfect and the price is very reasonable as well, it’s half of what the almost identical name brand costs, but to be fair that one includes an array of useful mounting accessories. It can be used instantly handheld, laying on a shelf or table, on a variety of mounts (none included) or even on the camera with the proper mount. The only extra part is a well designed reflector with diffuser that snaps on in a couple of seconds. Personally I would probably use the reflector most of the time for stills and optionally for video, but each photographer made that decision for themselves. The materials are sturdy with rounded corners and real buttons and no showy flashing lights, just a discreet informational displays on the back. It is designed for photographers that realize time is money.WHAT ADVANTAGES DOES IT HAVEThe advantage is that this is a powerful light with a far more professional method of adjusting brightness and color temperature than an incandescent, florescent or quartz light and the entire thing, as they claim, can fit in the pocket of a photographer’s vest or jacket. The light output can fill a room with light, for example if you were to bounce it from the ceiling (but exercise caution not to lay the fixture on its back, which would block the necessary built-in cooling fan).HERE ARE THE DISADVANTAGESThere are a few things to know about, note though that I do not consider most of these as a reason not to buy this product, they are presented here just to know some important details. I understand that this company is new to selling in the Americas, but I don’t know how long they have been in business. Before defining any issues the first is on me. When I read the product page I assumed (incorrectly) that this had a built-in rechargeable battery. It would be such an awesome device if it did, and tremendously more useful to the vlogger who is out and about and often traveling around the globe. Whether you view this as a disadvantage or not, there is no battery (unless you devise a separate battery pack). This comes with a too-short USB-C cable that must be plugged in to a wall transformer which is not included and because of the very high power draw it won’t work with most cell phone charge transformers. That means you are one your own sourcing and buying one that has adequate capabilities to run this light safely and effectively. And with the included cable being only about six-feet long the tiny size of the light will soon be offset by the need to bring a longer AC extension cable.The first issue was that their very small instruction manual is written entirely in Chinese. Often, as in this case, when I company is providing evaluation units they are testing the waters and don’t go to the expense of configuring everything for the worldwide market. For some products that may not be a concern but this one needed some instructions. It came with only a relatively short USB-C cable. However as is true with so many companies they don’t include the power transformer. I tried plugging it in to one that I use to charge my phone and I got a message on the small display panel that basically said the charger won’t work. This this probably needs a lot of power so I found my most powerful USB-C charger and it does work with that. Incidentally, their product page says this requires 200-240V to operate. I don’t know how that’s possible but it is indicative of how premature this company is in rushing something to market before they are ready to sell it properly.Next on the list is the controls aren’t what you may be used to, turning them isn’t linear, in other words they don’t act like a volume control or home light dimmer in that the light intensity (or color temperature) changes in proportion to how much you turn it. The knobs are continuous and as you keep on turning it the light intensity (or color temperature) changes but it takes a couple of seconds for it to think about it then finally catch up. That makes it difficult to tweak a knob hack a little to a previous setting if you made the scene too bright or too warm. Fortunately you don’t have to be too concerned because there is a very useful display on back of the case that tells you in words and numbers exactly what your setting is, which is a far more precise way of going back to a favorite setting.Then there is something that I am not comfortable with. There are no mounting accessories or hardware at all. There are tripod-mount sized screw-holes on three sides but you are on your own as far as attaching it to anything, and it does not have a stand of its own.Because of the heat such a high wattage light generates it has a built-in automatic fan to dissipate the heat. The fan is almost as large as the entire unit and very effective and while there is no such thing as a totally silent fan, this one is barely audible from a foot or two away, BUT if you are using it in a situation where any noise might be a problem those who are near the light might hear the fan as a very low breeze. As far as I can tell the fan can’t be shut off.Next there is one thing that should be obvious but I’ll say it anyway – when you don’t have the reflector attached to the front it is extremely easy to be looking at it when you press the power button. DON’T. This tiny light can get extremely bright, in fact it rivals the high-powered LED street lights in front of our house. I suspect it could make someone go blind. And they don’t have any warning or safety features on the unit. Because the front and back look very similar, it is very easy to accidentally look right into the LED array.Lastly is one more sign that they rushed this to market – the video they use in their ad shows this being remotely controlled by a smartphone app but with instructions written in Chinese only and no buttons on the fixture to pair it with a phone I have no idea where to get the app or how to use it, so I can’t say anything about how well it works. It sounds like a minor convenience to be able to control it with an app but I assume such a small fill light will be within a couple of feet from me in use and during the frantic pace of some photo sessions I can’t see wasting the time to play around with an app.YES NO MAYBEWhile this is half the cost of the similar name brand mini light that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of other small and powerful LED photo/video fill lights and while they may not fit in your pocket they may be more versatile than this one. That pocket-size attribute excited me at first until I learned that I couldn’t use this on location without plugging it in, which requires a cable, power transformer, AC extension cord and light stand, which goes back to way I started this – this is a product with some limitations and I hope this has cleared them up for you. I don’t usually recommend a product in my reviews because everyone’s needs are different, I only point out the pros and cons and whether I like it or not, which is the way the rating system is supposed to work. Yes I do like it as something nice but not mandatory to have which to me when I work, is the definition of a photographic accessory.