Hobolite Iris is a tiny retro LED light for content creators
May 15, 2024
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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Hobolite has announced the new Hobolite Iris. This small, continuous 5W LED light features a retro design with a range of optical modifiers and coloured gel filters. It’s a bicolour LED with a range from 2700-6500K and a CRI and TLCI of 96+.
It’s an interesting design, packed into an IP54-rated aluminium body. This makes it suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. You’re not going to be able to dunk it underwater, but it should handle most weather conditions.
Hobolite Iris – Tiny but versatile
The Hobolite Iris is a 5-watt LED light, which isn’t terribly powerful. No, you’re not going to be lighting up whole sets with this. But for content creators who need to get a little light in up close, it can be very handy.
The unit itself is IP54 rated, meaning it can handle some pretty severe weather, although it’s not waterproof. So don’t go dropping it in any puddles. If you do drop it, though, it has a rugged aluminium body wrapped in “vegan leatherette”.
It comes in two kits, the standard kit and the creator kit. The standard kit contains the light itself, with an adjustable lens, frosted dome, USB-C charging cable and a pouch to keep it all in.
Hobolite Iris Creator Kit
The Hobolite Iris Creator Kit includes several other items that are also available separately. So, if you choose to get the standard kit and want to buy the extra bits later. Those extra bits are are the Hobolite Iris Coloured Gel Filters Essentials Pack and the Optical Modifier Kit.
Inside the Hobolite Iris Coloured Gel Filters Essentials Pack, there are four different gels. There’s one each of Golden Hour, Blue Hour, Spring Pastel and Aurora Gel Filters, along with a pouch to store them in.
The Hobolite Irix Optical Modifier Kit contains a Magic Lens, Aperture Ring, 28mm Fresnel lens and, once again, a pouch to keep them all in. With the Hobolite Iris Creator Kit, you get all of these bundled in.
Hobolite is a new company, having launched its first LED lights just last year. Lights aren’t all the company’s making, either. They also released the Hobolite Litedock handle with a built-in battery last year. While designed as an accessory for the company’s own lights, it can be used for other USB-powered devices, like smartphones and action cameras.
Price and Availability
The Hobolite Iris is available to pre-order now from the Hobolite website. The Standard and Creator kits are $99 and $199, respectively. The Coloured Gel Filters Essentials Pack is $59, and the Optical Modifier Kit is $99. Items are expected to begin shipping on May 24th.
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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2 responses to “Hobolite Iris is a tiny retro LED light for content creators”
LED’s aren’t retro. The look might be retro but the LED is not.
I don’t need it but… It’s soooo pretty! :D