Kelvin Play LED Pocket Light Announced

Pocket LED Light

by Jürgen MoorsMay 18^th, 2023

Norwegian light manufacturer Kelvin announced Play, a small and lightweight LED pocket light. It is a RGBACL panel light with a built-in battery and a power consumption of only 18W. Kelvin is providing a set of light modifiers for the Kelvin Play and a small hip pouch. Shipping is scheduled to begin in September, but you can pre-order the Kelvin Play LED pocket light for 30% off until May 31^st – $174 instead of $249. So, let’s have a closer look.

At this year’s NAB trade show, we saw several smaller lights, like the ZHIYUN MOLUS G60 and MOLUS X100 and the Aputure MC Pro Mini LED panel light. If you haven’t heard of them, Kelvin is a cinema lighting brand and is part of Rift Labs, an LED technology company near Oslo, Norway. If you want to learn more about them, please check them out here.

Kelvin Play

Kelvin Play was introduced at this year’s NAB, and Kelvin claims it is the world’s first RGBACL panel light. It has a full aluminum housing, and they present it as a professional entry-level fixture that fits in every camera bag.

The Play LED pocket light weighs only 350g/0,77 lbs and is 15,6×7,6×2,1cm/6,14×2,99x 0,82in. You can use two 1/4-20″ mounting points to attach it to your camera rig or a tripod, but the Kelvin Play is also fully magnetic and can be attached to any metal surface.

It has a color temperature of 2000 to 20000K, and the RGBACL panel features a six-color light engine named Cantastoria™. With the same technology that’s built into all the larger Kelvin fixtures, it uses Red, Green, Blue, Amber, Cyan, and Lime LEDs. The idea behind it is to integrate all Kelvin lights seamlessly together.

Power

The light panel has a power consumption of only 18W and it comes with a built-in battery that should last 3 hours at full brightness. You can also power the fixture with the USB-C input from any power bank. That is exactly the versatility you are looking for when you are on a run-and-gun shooting day and you need a small light.

Kelvin Play controls

Kelvin Play has onboard controls on the back for adjusting the color temperature and light intensity, together with a small LCD screen. There are also effects, gels, HSI, and RGB modes available, and of course, you can do all of this using your phone and the Kelvin Narrator App, which gives you full control of all the Kelvin fixtures including the Play, and is available at the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Light modifiers and a hip pouch

Kelvin is providing a full range of magnetic light modifiers that can be attached directly to the front of the light. You can purchase them as a set of 6 modifiers or you can buy them individually. They can come in handy, but they are a bit pricy in relation to the panel light.

• Light Diffuser D100
• Medium Diffuser D90
• Heavy Diffuser D75
• Honeycomb Grid 40
• Honeycomb Grid 60
• Spacer

If you want to carry your Kelvin Play fixture close to your hip, Kelvin is providing a small hip pouch, so you have your light ready when you need it.

Kelvin Play key features

• 18W full spectrum LED pocket light
• Cantastoria™ RGBACL Six-Color Light Engine
• CRI 98 | TLCI 99 | CQS 97 | SSI 86 @3200K | SSI 74 @5600K
• 2000K to 20000K CCT
• IP rating 65
• Bluetooth, Kelvin Narrator App for iOS/Android
• 2 x 1/4″-20 Female Thread Mounting
• Kelvin MagTech™ for accessory (proprietary)
• 3-Hour Runtime without charging
• USB-C
• Aluminum housing

Pricing and availability

Shipping of the Kelvin Play pocket light will start in September, but you can pre-order it for 30% off until May 31^st – $174 instead of $249. You can test the fixture with a risk-free 180-day return policy and you will get a 3-year warranty with lifetime customer support.

• Kelvin Play for $174
• Light Modifier Kit for $159
• Light Diffuser D100 for $34.49
• Medium Diffuser D90 for $34.49
• Heavy Diffuser D75 for $34.49
• Honeycomb Grid 40° for $34.49
• Honeycomb Grid 60° for $34.49
• Spacer for $34,49 for $34.49
• Hip pouch for $29

What do you think about the Kelvin Play panel light? Have you ever used a Kelvin fixture? Do you think it could come in handy for your next project, and could it have a place in your camera bag? Please leave us your thoughts in the comment section below.