I’ve researched a few LED panels, Dracast, ikan and others. I have very little in the way of video type lighting, loads of speedlites and monolights though. I had to weigh my budget against ultimately limited use, so settled towards some of the popular budget. So I started looking at brands like Aputure, GVM and Neewer. I’m familiar with Neewer products – or at least was a few years back.
First the good.
Lights
These are bright, and if that’s your need, you should be pretty happy with these lights. Of course, they’re only really bright with both yellow and white at full blast. There are basically 2 sets of alternating lights, yellow and white.
With both on, the color temperature appears about where I’d want it. My light meter doesn’t measure color temperature, but measuring in Lightroom off of a white/gray/black panel it appears to be around 3800-4200 taking into account the ambient light, which is perfect.
Fit/Finish/Build
The build quality is very good. The body is made of aluminum, not plastic like a few brands. Not that the plastic is bad, but typically, they’ll be vented and depending on configuration. Rounded top and bottom and capped on the sides, these are sleek and handsome. The battery housing/control is a plastic housing extended beyond the panel itself and about as thick, typical in these type of metal bodied lights. The housing has space for 2 batteries, the on/off switch, AC adapter port and controls, which I’ll touch on shortly. The metal housing is finished in a matte black, but tends to show fingerprints easily.
The diffusion panel is held in place with some not-so-well designed plastic tabs that raise and lower. This seems to be something waiting to break, although they seem robust. If you anticipate swapping the panel a lot, this might be something to check. I’m not too concerned, I don’t see doing a lot of swapping. The lights are far brighter without them, but I prefer the softening effect for my use.
The barn doors are the real budget blaster here. They are professionally textured metal doors that operate smoothly, held in place with a sturdy round aluminum frame. The doors are easily removed, held by knurled flat head screws. Once loosened, they seem to hand-tighten for tool-less application, otherwise you’ll need a screwdriver. The doors fold flat and are not in the way – in fact act as protection for the light during transportation. Very nice. While there’s some light leakage behind the doors, it’s minimal and should be of little concern. The competitive units, if they include barn doors, are plastic. I’d need to spend twice as much on a GVM with a similar barn door. Downside, it adds quite a bit of weight to the overall package.
The light bracket and wing nuts are all metal, which is another great feature. I was expecting plastic for the wing nuts, so nothing is going to be breaking on these! The included AC adapter seems to be of high quality, it’s a decent power cord and the separate brick/cable seems to be of good quality. So, nothing remarkable here. Should last the life of the unit. One thing worth noting - the brick cable is quite long, allowing the brick to rest on the floor on an extended lightstand, unlike many other units.
Controls
This is where I ding a full star, possibly 2. The biggest drawback to this light is the fact there is no separate setting for color temperature and brightness. There's basically 2 rheostats, one for the white lights, one for the yellow. What this means is, if you want a certain color temperature and a certain brightness, you need to turn both dials to approximately the same position. There's no detent on the knobs, or even numbers, so you just kind of try find the same angle/position. Disappointing, and way too fussy. I’m sure that budget came into play here, but even my cheap on-camera lights have had a color temp knob and a brightness knob.
If you plan to operate at a single setting in something like a studio environment, you probably won’t have an issue. But, if you’re going to need to adjust brightness (like 90% of us) this is going to be an issue. This is enough that it might be a deal killer for me. Yes, it does mention this “feature” in the company description. But honestly, I glazed over this because stone age; plus everybody I’ve considered with bi-color lights has independent controls. I was thinking on purchase I was trading off not having an LED readout of brightness/color.
Even something as simple as detent on the knobs would be huge. Heck, if it was just 5 settings the knobs would snap to, I’d be happy. But I’ve noticed in the short time I’ve been playing with these, just looking at the knobs sideways and they move, so this will be an ongoing concern.
The other issue is the lights flicker when you adjust the rheostats, so the electronics here are not the best. Chances are this is just an annoyance, but it can also be an indicator of something that could be a failure down the road. It doesn’t matter how bulletproof the exterior of the light is if the inside is what fails.
The advantage of GVM and some others here is they not only have independent brightness and color temperature controls, but smart phone apps to control the units, or stand-alone remote control. I can’t say if I’d have the same issue with say, flickering, but I’m thinking the tradeoff they made was in external construction in favor of superior settings and controls.
Stands
These are solid and sturdy once open and in place. I did see reviews complaing about the stands tipping. I've used lights and stands for decades. If you fully extend most stands they will be top heavy, even with just a speedlite. That's why they sell sand bags! For the cost of the entire kit the stands are as good as I could have hoped, and perhaps a bit better. They are spring loaded rather than air cushioned, and not particularly smooth when extending. But spring loaded is better than nothing. They are somewhat heavy, and of solid and thick gauge steel. On extending the first time, I had a wing nut come right off, and I don’t think I particularly over-loosened, it was just enough to release the tube. The clamp popped open, and it was a bit fussy to get back together.
My assessment is that if you are taking these out for shoots, you’re going to have problems after a short period of time. I just don’t see them holding up on the road. But, if you’re setting them in a studio setting, they’ll probably be serviceable for months if not years. Considering they’re basically a free addition, I think they’re fine to get started with. I’ve had problems with my Manfrotto’s, so nothing is perfect.
Cases
The cases are nice if a bit snug. There's white poly foam with cutouts to accommodate the AC adapter, and hold the light snugly. The foam would need to be removed to allow additional items such as batteries (or, swap out the adapter). The cases have a bit of padding on the inside, and what feels like cardboard or a thin plastic on the outside. It's sufficient for storage, and probably fine for gentle transportation. If you’re on the road with stands, lights, cables etc, you might want to consider a single padded case. Neewer makes lots of quality cases that are sturdy and inexpensive. I’ve had 2 I’ve used for years just for lights and tripods/stands.
Pros:
- Metal housing
- Metal barn doors
- Metal light bracket
- Metal adjustment knobs
- Bright!
- Bicolor, no swapping color filter
Cons:
- No independent color temp/brightness knob
- No back panel readout indicating color temp/brightness
- Fussy to impossible to get color setting/brightness without a color temperature meter
- No remote control or phone app
- No detent on dials
- So-so light stands
So, there you have it. A light with 2 strong pros. Robust quality of physical construction and materials, and class leading bright. 3 strong con, no independent brightness/color temp controls, no indication of these (LED back panel) and no external control (phone app or remote control). It seems obvious that Neewer favored rugged construction over controls in their budgeting. GVM and some others favored light controls over potential physical durability.
Ultimately, the Neewer is really designed for those who want to set and forget the light, or will *always* be using full brightness. They’re perfect for studio settings, where you’ll never touch anything but the on/off switch. If that’s the case, what good is the robust construction?
When I take my lights on the road, I’ll be wanting to be able to make adjustments quickly as far as brightness. This isn’t going to happen with the Neewer. It’s far too fussy. Sadly, the lights with at the minimum a proper control set and LED readout either don’t include barn doors, are of plastic construction, or include plastic barn doors. They’re also nowhere near as bright as the Neewer.
So, what I’m faced with is do I stick with the fabulous construction and poor controls? Or do I swap these out for a slightly dimmer and somewhat flimsier light with proper controls? I can have the best of both worlds, but I will need to spend about 3x the cost of these 2 lights. In the end, I’m disappointed because simply adding controls that even a budget $35 light has would change these to a 5 star product. Yes, the price is a bit too good to believe, and this is why. For you, they might be perfect, and a 5 star product all day and night. But if you, like me, are concerned with being able to adjust something as simple as the brightness without affecting the color balance, then you might look elsewhere.
For my purposes, I can only give this 3 stars (just OK). I want to love them, and the excellent quality of the build makes this that much more frustrating. Hope this helps you in your decision.
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Product Description
NEEWER 2 Pieces Bi-color 660 LED Video Light and Stand Kit Includes:(2)3200-5600K CRI 96+ Dimmable Light with U Bracket and Barndoor
This LED lighting kit is designed for filmmaking, photography, advertising, and more.
Specifications
Number of LEDs: 660 (330 warm white + 330 cool white)
Power: 40W
Color Temperature: 3200K–5600K
Maximum Illuminance: 3300 lux/1m
Power Source: Power adapter (included) or NP-F550/NP-F970 Li-ion battery (not included)
Voltage: DC 12V
Input Voltage: 100V–240V
Battery Output: DC 14.8V
Light Panel Dimensions: 9.1" x 7.9" x 1.9" / 23.2cm x 20cm x 4.8cm
Package Contents
2 x 660 Bi-Color LED Video Light；2 x Light Stand；2 x Power Adapter；2 x Power Cable；2 x Carrying Bag
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Dimmable Bi-Color LED LightFeatures 330 warm white and 330 cool white LEDs, ideal for filmmaking, portraits, product photography, YouTube videos, gaming and more. |
Dual Power OptionsUse the AC adapter (included) or an NP-F550 / NP-F970 lithium battery (not included) to power the light. |
Aluminum Alloy MaterialMade of high-quality aluminum alloy material. With good heat dissipation, it's suitable for long-term use. |
360°Angle AdjustmentMeeting the shooting needs of different angles. Note: 360°rotation is not supported when using the barndoor. |
From the brand
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NEEWER - A passionate team that is dedicated to bringing you new and cool photographic equipment. We have a common understanding of the fine details and practicality of quality products and always support every product we make. Given the trend of social media, NEEWER aims to provide cost-effective video and audio enhancement equipment for all customers, allowing people to create specialized studios with less money.
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I take pictures of my kittens and this set works well for me. I use a boom stick light overhead and a ring light to get the effect I want but I'm pleased with my purchase. The lights freed up a lot of room in my small space and I look forward to getting rid of my bulky soft box lights.
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