RGB Video Light with 21 Lighting Effects

This is a review of the simorr Vibe P96L, with an ASIN of B09G98NRQZ. UPDATE(2022/10/04): My previous burn time value was incorrect - I think I must have accidentally changed the brightness while testing it, as I’ve now found it to be less. I’m correcting the battery section below, accordingly. I am very sorry for the mistake. END OF UPDATE I’ve been working on reviewing a similar product, and realized I kept comparing it to this, so I thought I should probably come back here and write this up to reference. Also, it’s worth noting that simorr is a sub-brand of SmallRig, and, for a bias alert, I have a bit of a corporate crush on SmallRig, but this is one of the products that’s produced that effect. In summary, if you understand the limitations of these, you’ll probably love them. I got one, used it for about a week, and promptly ordered a second one. To the best I can determine, there are a total of two negatives, but both seem due to tradeoffs on keeping these as small as they are, while doing their key functions as well as they do. * Battery - burn time is around 52 minutes at full brightness and 4700K (my usual test color temperature). * Diffuser - If your subject is within a few inches of the light, you might want a supplemental diffuser. The built in one is very decidedly biased toward output over spread. As for the positives, it’s quite the list: * Size - the listing includes the measurements (108mm x 60mm x 11mm), but, to put that in better perspective, these are smaller than any smartphone since about 2011. You will almost always be able to find a spot for one or more of these in your bag or pockets. * Build - their housing is an aluminum casting that’s then been (beautifully) precision milled in the right places. I’ve been far less kind to them than I’ve intended, and they’ve proven to be quite rugged so far. * Controls - all of the controls are quick to find with your fingers and easy to tell apart by touch. Given that simorr hasn’t buried anything important in a menu system or such, you can operate these lights rather easily without having to focus on them, if needed. Further, each control is well suited to its task. A button cycles modes. A physical slider switch (with a nice click to it) is the on-off (and settings are retained). A simple wheel adjusts the brightness. Finally, a multi-function rocker/button hybrid cycles between extra variables in each mode, if relevant, and then lets you adjust them … including hold-to-accelerate functionality. It’s all shockingly intuitive. * Firmware - it’s not only super-snappy at responding to the controls, but, *very* importantly, the system also provides battery estimates, both in terms of burn time and charge time, which err slightly on the conservative side - i.e. short for burn and long for charge, while still being close. I’ve found this to be very useful so far. Oh, it also appears to do tricks in terms of battery health maintenance, but don’t take my guess regarding that as gospel. * Display - if the light is on, so is the display (this is important, I’ve found) and you can easily read it in virtually any lighting condition. This is possibly one of the best uses of an OLED screen in an embedded context that I’ve ever seen. Also, especially with the ease of distinguishing the controls without looking, this makes it dead simple to operate in the dark. * Brightness - regrettably, I don’t have a good way to measure it, but these are the brightest lights of their general size class that I’ve gotten to play with so far, and that’s including things that’re significantly more bulky. I’ve been very positively impressed. * Price - despite all the good things I’ve listed here, these are within a small percentage of many products that don’t have even half the positives. I’m far from having comprehensively explored the product space, but, so far, these seem like the clear winner on bang for buck. Obviously, I’m calling these a solid 5-star product. I’d be really surprised if there’s anything similar that’s significantly better at an all nearby price. P.S. I’ve omitted coverage of the video effects modes - I feel I don’t know that subject well enough to comment, but I also think that’s something which is quite unlikely to be as important to most users as the points I did cover.

Works great, long battery life, bright, affordable, good color, and easy to mount. Overall great product.

The SmallRig P96L RGB Video Light is an impressive little tool that punches way above its size. It’s compact, lightweight, and perfect for anyone needing portable lighting for video shoots, photography, or even livestreaming. Despite its small footprint, it delivers bright, vibrant light with excellent color accuracy (CRI 96+), and the adjustable color temperature range from 2500K to 8000K lets you dial in the exact mood you need. The full RGB mode is easy to control via the intuitive dial and OLED display, and you get a wide range of creative effects—everything from flashing police lights to party strobes and candle flickers. These effects are a fun bonus and can add some great atmosphere to your content. Battery life is solid—about 1 hour at full brightness, and much longer at lower settings. It charges quickly via USB-C and can be used while plugged in, which is super helpful for longer shoots. The magnetic back and included mounting accessories give you lots of flexibility in how you use and position it. Overall, this is a fantastic, well-built light that’s incredibly useful for creators of all levels. Whether you're shooting at home or on the go, the P96L gives you professional-level lighting in your pocket. Highly recommended!

Perfect and versatile light, I am scare of the battery life cicle. You can use it connected, good option. Best option. I love the effects, brightness, colors, etc. I will give it a 4.49, but since I need to round. 4 it is.

Good quality construction. I just wish 1% wasn't so bright. Sometimes the lowest setting is still to bright. Other than that, easy to use and very well made. Love it overall.

These lights are impressive, both for the size and cost! I am a professional videographer, and these come in handy for either a main, hair or fill light, or even to add interest to the scene with any color in the RGB spectrum! SmallRig ROCKS!

I’m an amateur but this thing rocks! Super bright output, good range of color and temperature. And very lightweight and easy to pack/carry.

Pros: Small, well made and returns to whatever color it was set at when you turned it off. With a little paper towel over the lens (pictures) it diffuses the light nicely. You can cast a nice warm glow with this. Charges pretty fast. Physical buttons and switches. Now the bad news, which outweighs the good: Battery is TERRIBLE. I bought this light to use as an additional fill light for Zoom meetings, which sometimes last a couple of hours. Unfortunately, the battery only lasts about 30 minutes, making it far less useful than I expected. While it works when plugged in, that defeats the purpose of choosing a battery-powered option in the first place. Disappointing overall and now I tend to forget it's even there. Would return but it's past the window so I'm reviewing it poorly because it's a paperweight.

A versatile light bar that can do anything. I use this video light mostly for when i want to solder or need a spot light for fixing things. Sometimes i use it at night for when i do a little BBQ i can set the ambience of the light to a warm setting (3300k). The Construction of the camera is built very good as its encased in metal. The small information screen is very easy to read and adjusting the settings with the buttons are very simple. Pairing the light with a Joby Gorillapod makes this my go to light for anything. The Battery life I wish the battery life could be more than 1500mah as it is just doesnt last long enough at settings (6000k-8000k) @ above 45% about an 1hr of light. So i recommend keeping a small portable Batterybank keeping the light charged when using it at high settings.

Ürün jet hızıyla Almanya'dan elime ulaştı, bu yönden amazon'u ve dhl'i tebrik ederim, her zamanki gibi harikalar. Bu ülkede pek alışık değiliz bu tür şeylere. Ürüne gelirsem, gerçekten harika bir cihaz, tüm modları kusursuz çalışıyor. Portatif ve kolaylıkla taşınabilir bir cihaza ihtiyacım vardı ve bu sanırım doğru ürün. İlk izlenimlerim bu şekilde, bir süre denedikten sonra neler olur bilmiyorum, umarım bir sıkıntı yaşamam.

Muy buen producto, cumple con las expectativas, el cuerpo es de aluminio entonces es muy ligero y resistente, muy buena iluminación aunque usándolo al 100% de potencia se calienta el cuerpo y se reduce mucho el tiempo de batería, pero sí lo recomiendo como iluminación secundaria o para emergencias

Me compré un par de luces de otra marca por veinte euros cada una y me decepcionaron un montón... Construcción frágil de plástico y poco potentes. Las he tenido que vender y decidí comprar otras. Me decidí por este modelo porque parecía tener una buena construcción y tenía varios modos y una interfaz fácil de usar. Me acaban de llegar y no me arrepiento, son luces ligeras pero de una construcción sólida y fiable. Una relación peso/construcción de 10. Pero además es que son increíblemente potentes, no me esperaba tanta luz de algo de ese tamaño la verdad. Tienen una rueda para regular la intensidad y otra para regular la temperatura de color o el tono (dependiendo del modo en el que estés, que se selecciona con otro botón). Además todo eso se puede ver mientras lo seleccionas gracias a una pantalla que tienen en la parte trasera, que te proporciona información sobre la batería, modo, intensidad, tono, etc. Sin duda una de las mejores compras que he hecho. Merece muchísimo la pena pagar los cuarenta y algo que vale este modelo porque puedo asegurar que por este precio no se va a encontrar nada mejor. Entre la gama baja con marcas como Neewer o Andoer con luces por 20 euros y la gama alta, con marcas como Aputure, donde ya nos vamos a los cien euros, este modelo que está mucho más cerca de precio de la gama baja, no tiene mucho que envidiar a los modelos de mayor precio. No sé cuánto durará la batería exactamente, por el tamaño no creo que mucho, ya lo iré probando, pero a priori, podría ser una luz de bastante más precio y me lo creería, seguramente la batería sea el único aspecto que lo diferencie de un producto de mayor precio, por sus dimensiones, porque por construcción y calidad desde luego no. Si estás dudando entre una luz y quieres gastarte entre 20 y 50 euros, no lo dudes, no te vayas a precios bajos que lo barato sale caro...

Got a handful of video/photo lights, but this immediately became my favourite. Out of the box it felt well built and solid, i was surprized by how small and compact it actually is, so was blown away when i switched it on for the first time and saw its output! Its an incredibly bright light, with good adjustability in almost everyway. Brightness, Colour temp in white light mode, Hue and Saturation in RGB mode, and the various effect modes are very cool (not sure if I'll end up using them myself but still awesome). Controls are dead simple and i found it intuative to move through modes and settings easily without needing to reference the manual. With a dedicated wheel for brightness, a up/down/press sliding button, a mode button and a solid power switch. All your settings and mode are shown clearly on the screen along with a battery estimate that updates with a time left eta based on your settings and brightness. This same screen shows time to battery full when charging and the unit works great whe plugged into usb power too. If you're looking for a simple but feature packed compact light for video, photo or whatever, this is well worth it.