Best Lighting – under $500

Designed with the familiar monolight form factor, intuitive design, and solid core features, the 100d LED Light from Amaran is a 100W light source with 5600K color and a CRI/TLCI rating of 95/96 to indicate advanced accuracy in color rendering.

The light is dimmable from 0 to 100%, and while you can make light intensity adjustments locally on the fixture, you can also make them via Bluetooth with your smartphone and a free app. The 100d has eight built-in customizable effects, an umbrella mount, and a Bowens reflector mount for access to Amaran light shapers and also those many other manufacturers that use this popular mount. The 100d is ready for worldwide use via its built-in 100-240V power supply, but it will also run on optional batteries when AC power is unavailable.

Designed with the familiar monolight form factor, intuitive design, and solid core features, the 100x Bi-Color LED Light from Amaran is a 100W light source with variable color from 2700 to 6500K and a CRI/TLCI rating of 95/96 to indicate advanced accuracy in color rendering.

The light is dimmable from 0 to 100%, and while you can make these adjustments locally on the fixture, you can also make them via Bluetooth with your smartphone and a free app. The 100x has eight built-in customizable effects, an umbrella mount, and a Bowens reflector mount for access to Amaran light shapers as well as those from other manufacturers that use this popular mount. The 100x is ready for worldwide use via its built-in 100-240V power supply, but it will also run on optional batteries when AC power is unavailable.

The amaran line, with the 150c, is getting better and better. So much better that we wonder whether it might take a bit of the sheen away from comparable Aputure products.

We're ready for a few new hard light releases from Aputure that feature color to complement the excellent Light Storm 600C. We hope amaran engineers stick with this design for the buttons and the lamp head exterior and handles.

If you are primarily looking at cost saving and don’t need color in your shots, then you might be best served by previous Bi-Color amaran products like the amaran 200X S. On the other hand, the 150c is a more versatile light that will serve you well as your career progresses, particularly as physical color gels become increasingly scarce.

We didn’t know we needed the HydraPanel. We tend to use smaller fixtures as eye-lights or to highlight existing elements of the production design and through consultation with the production design team, we always were able to get there using other fixtures.

After a few weeks, it was clear that the HydraPanel would find a solid home in our kit and our overall workflow. It’s built like a tank, easy to manually control or control over CRMX and it’s small enough to keep on hand for a variety of uses or for use as a travel light.

Without a doubt, our favorite lights to review are the ones that we weren't expecting and that surprised us during the course of working with them. The HydraPanel was a pleasant surprise all around. It’s just so darn flexible. Two thumbs up.

Light your scene with a compact LED light that has a variety of color options with the Kickasspanel Full-Color RGBW LED AC/DC Panel from Lupo.

The Kickasspanel brings professional performance to a compact on-camera design with a bright 2150 lux at a 3.3' distance, the equivalent of many much larger lights. Its wide variety of functions include variable color temperature of 3200 to 5600K, 0 to 100% brightness dimming, saturation and hue settings, RGBW mode, color gel mode, and special effects mode for endless creativity. With a color accuracy at a high 96 CRI and 98 TLCI, this light can effectively be used as an on-camera as well as a studio solution.

Able to function as either a continuous light or a flash, the round NEO 2 LED Light from Rotolight breaks new ground with functions designed to satisfy the demands of both video shooters and still photographers.

The most significant feature in this fixture is the inclusion of a built-in, 2.4 GHz Elinchrom Skyport Receiver, enabling support for high-speed sync and remote triggering of the unit from up to 656' away when using an optional Skyport Transmitter. Also, it features Accu-Colour Technology to ensure optimal color rendering, proven by the rated CRI of 96 and TLCI of 91. Output has been significantly improved as well, with an increase of 85% over its predecessor, and a flash mode that can boost output by 500% for stills and will help freeze action. At max power, this results in an output of 2000 lux at 3' for continuous lighting and a setting of f/8 at ISO 200 for flash.

Aladdin's A-LITE Bi-Color Dimmable Light Fixture is a powerful light fixture that can help bring the cinematic look to your shots.

It can be mounted on your camera or mounted to an adjustable arm. It comes with a diffuser to soften the light. The color temperature of the output is adjustable from daylight (6000K) to tungsten (300K) and features a high CRI and TLCI rating for excellent color rendition. In addition, it can be dimmed from 100 to 5% brightness.

Building on the popular, compact MiniPlus LED Light, the Litepanels Brick LED Light features the same rectangular form factor but offers 4x the brightness, tungsten-to-daylight variable color-temperature, and IP65 weatherproof rating, all ideal for on-the-go shooters in varying weather conditions.

It is designed with tightly-binned surface-mount LEDs paired with fine-tuned, custom-designed TIR optics. This results in improved color reproduction and increased brightness that provides a longer throw. The Brick delivers a 100W tungsten equivalent output at a 36° beam angle and is flicker-free at any frame rate or shutter angle.

The VL150 LED Video Light from Godox is a lightweight and compact LED monolite-style light source suitable for portrait, still life, and location photography, and also for video-based applications.

The daylight-balanced COB LED features a CRI rating of 96 and TLCI rating of 95, producing highly accurate color renditions and rendering extremely realistic flesh tones. The VL150 light body is operated and powered from an external controller, keeping it compact and lightweight. It features a whisper-quiet fan and an integrated Bowens-style reflector mount, making it compatible with a wide array of light modifiers.

Adopting the same popular, easy-to-use form factor as the 60, NanLite has upped its performance with the introduction of the Forza 60B Bi-Color LED Monolight.

The 60B has color temperature that's variable from a warm 2700K to a cool 6500K to deal with ambient light conditions, match other fixtures, or just for creative expression. The fixture's high CRI/TLCI rating of 96/98 attests to its advanced accuracy in color rendering. Some FX patterns are available, too.

The Westcott Ice Light 2 LED light is an enhanced version of its predecessor built on the wish lists of photographers in the field.

As their first order of business, Westcott made the light 50% brighter while maintaining its 21.6 x 7.5" form factor and rendering color-accurate output with a very high CRI of 96. Ten-step dimming is accessed via the unit's handle, which has a built-in digital display. The light also has a USB port and built-in Bluetooth technology for future wireless control. For videographers, Westcott has doubled its efforts to produce a truly flicker-free fixture.

Aputure’s INFINIBAR series is an impressive design swing for a brand that’s taking more and more big swings these days after building quality “staple” fixtures such as the Light Storm Aputure 1200D Pro or 600C Pro, or the Aputure Nova.

The INFINIBAR’S main draw is the “blending design,” and that’s the significant benefit of this fixture series. If you have already invested heavily in another tube light or the amaran T4C, T2C, or have the upcoming amaran PT4c on pre-order, ask yourself if you need that seamless look of the INFINIBAR. It might be a rental-only item for you.

On the other hand, rental houses, stages, LED volume spaces, or turn-key studios would be well served by having an in-house plethora of INFINIBAR options that filmmakers can use on an a la carte basis. We see these fixtures as being very popular in that capacity, and if the majority of your work is in the music or event space, then the INFINIBAR may also make solid purchase sense for you.