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The Tree Frog is an IP67 rated waterproof mini RGBWW LED light

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Waterproofing (or at least really good weather sealing) seems to have become quite popular with photo and video gear lately, especially when it comes to lights. And particularly small lights that one might occasionally choose to use with their smartphones – given that many new smartphones now are also somewhat waterproof.

Lighting and gimbal accessories manufacturer DigitalFoto has already released one waterproof light tube recently, and now they’ve announced another. Their new Tree Frog RGBWW Pocket LED is an IP67 rated update to their previous pocket-sized RGB LED lights, and offers a couple of other neat extras besides.

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Digitalfoto’s new RGB LED tube lights are IP68 rated for use underwater

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Digitalofoto has just announced their new P7RGBPRO and P120 RGB tube LED lights. These bicolour RGB lights offer 36,000 possible RGB colours, with a white balance temperature of 3,000K to 5,700K with a claimed CRI of over 95. And like many other new lights today, you can control a bunch of them at once from an app on your smartphone.

But what makes them special is that they’re IP68 rated. This means that they’re resistant to dirt and dust, but you can also use them underwater to depths down to 1.5 metres for up to half an hour.

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The BIGSOFTI is yet another small LED light to help you shoot better smartphone photos

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Small lights just seem to be popping up more and more lately. We’ve got Lumiee, Litra, Lumecube and a whole bunch of others beginning with “L”, not to mention all the cheap small lights that double as USB power banks over the last year or so. But now we have another one. The BIGSOFTI which, despite its name, isn’t that big at all.

It’s a small light, much like a lot of the others that are on the market, but it comes with a bunch of accessories that let you mount it to a bunch of different devices from your phone or laptop, to a camera’s hotshoe or a 1/4-20″ mount. It’s currently up on Kickstarter, with pledges starting at around $60, but it’s already beaten its goal more than six times over.

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Nanlite’s new PavoTube II 6C is a small RGBWW battery-powered tube light

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Nanlite has announced its newest addition to the PavoTube family; The PavoTube II 6C. It’s a rather modest 25cm long T12 (3.8cm) diameter RGBWW tube light weighing in at only 260g. Behind that modesty, though, is a pretty impressive set of features.

The PavoTube II 6C boasts a CRI of 95 and TLCI of 97, with a variable colour temperature from 2700-7500K and green and magenta adjustments in CCT mode. In HSL mode, you get access to 36,000 possible colours from across the RGB spectrum. The LEDs sit behind a diffusion cover to help create a soft even glow and smoother edged shadows.

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The Maxima 7 flicker-free LED light is a 1200 PAR HMI equivalent with 700 Watts of power

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LED lighting technology has come very far over the last decade. It’s replaced the more traditional incandescent “hot lights” we used to see in video, movie and photography studios. The Maxima 7 is a new 5600K Chip-on-board (COB) LED light that’s the equivalent of a 1.2K HMI that lets you pretty much recreate the sun on your set.

It’s being developed by a company in Italy, and while there are other 1.2K equivalent LED lights out there on the market, this one wants to separate itself by form factor, light output and versatility. It even has a Bowens mount to let you use softboxes and other modifiers.

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The tiny light that can; an INSSTRO C1 RGB LED review

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Light – the most important thing in photography.  Without it, we have nothing but darkness.  Some of us like to capture and bend the natural light to our needs. While others love to craft a scene with artificial lights.

If you love adding in your own light then its a nice time to be a photographer.  Lights are getting smaller, more complex and often include their own power.   Freeing us from wires and bringing more creative freedom.

My second RGB capable LED was the INSSTRO C1, and this is what I’ll talk about today.

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Relio² 2020 Edition comes with more portability, practicality and accessories

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Relio first launched in 2015 via Kickstarter. It was one of the first tiny lights on the market and came in a variety of preset white balances with a moderately high CRI plus various colour options. In 2018, it was updated to Relio², with higher CRI and more configuration options for working with multiple lights. Now, they’ve taken it a step further with Relio² 2020 Edition.

Once again, Relio has taken to Kickstarter to fund the project, and it’s over 1,150% funded. It doesn’t have long left to go, though, only a few hours, if you wanted to jump in on it yourself. They promise more portability, practicality and accessories – albeit 3D printed. Which is a little disappointing given the price they’re asking.

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Godox vs Godox – How the FV150 LED flash compares to regular speedlights and strobes

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LED flash has had a bit of a bumpy start the last couple of years. A number of products have come out, but they’ve not been very good. At IBC in September, Godox showed off their new FV150 LED light which features a built-in LED flash function. Rob Hall has had his hands on one and while this isn’t really a review, it’s an interesting discussion on the topic of LED flash and how they compare to more traditional strobes or speedlights.

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Using Lumiee LEDs for light painting

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I guess it’s a sign of the times, but I get sent far more LED lights to test than any other light…. even though I never personally use LEDs.

When I say I don’t use LED lights, it’s not because I have a dislike for them, but for me, they have limitations that I struggle to deal with when I shoot what I shoot. If you’re after some affordable continuous light for video work that looks natural and emulates everyday lighting, then LEDs are your first and smartest choice. But for what I do, which is often very controlled and saturated colour work that is anything but natural, I’m going to stick to the control and power of flash for now.

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Rosco’s MIXBOOK is the “world’s first” digital gel swatchbook

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Gel and lighting manufacturer Rosco has released the MIXBOOK. They say that it is the “world’s first digital swatchbook”. If you don’t know what swatchbooks are, the physical Rosco gel swatchbooks are essentially sample books of the different gels and materials that Rosco makes.

But as LED lighting has become more popular, and particularly coloured LEDs, demands have changed. Rosco’s MIXBOOK digital swatchbook is essentially the digital LED equivalent of the original gel swatchbooks. It’s a handheld LED unit (although it has a 1/4-20″ socket, too) that can create just about any colour of light you can imagine.

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