Neewer has produced a desktop lamp for streamers. It is a good different to what else is available on the market, and never only for streamers.
I’m not a fan of ring lights. Firstly, anybody who is aware of a bit of bit about studio pictures will understand that having a good unfold of sunshine throughout the face fired from the entrance doesn’t look that nice. Much better outcomes will be achieved by transferring the sunshine so it hits the face at any one among a large number of various angles. So, mounting a digital camera in the course of the ring will not give the perfect outcomes. Secondly, and there’s a diploma of subjectivity right here, I actually dislike that doughnut-shaped catchlight. It appears bizarre.
An Various to a Ring Gentle
Neewer despatched me their TL40 Desktop Streaming Light, and I’ve been testing it to see if I would like this to a hoop mild. With only one small flaw, it is impressed me.
Bodily Description
The Neewer TL40 Desktop Streaming mild has a single bar mild. Measuring 40 cm (15.7”) lengthy, that mild is mounted on an extending stand with an adjustable top of 30-60 cm (11.8”-23.67”). The sunshine can rotate by 360° and it’s on a tilting bracket with a 180° pitch vary. It’s barely greater than 180° as a result of there are two ¼” threads on the lamp, one on the bottom and one other on the rear, that permit the lamp to be fitted.
The bottom and stand are constructed of metallic and are sturdily constructed. It extends by loosening a thumbscrew on the again. A clip on the rear of the stand holds the USB-2 to USB-C energy cable in place.
The lamp itself has a single translucent panel alongside the entrance, behind that are 96 LEDs.
The rear of the lamp has an influence button, USB-C enter, brightness management buttons, controls to regulate the white stability and different results settings, plus an OLED show exhibiting the present settings, Bluetooth connection, and so forth.
The lamp’s varied results are managed both by means of the controls on the again of the lamp, the smartphone app utilizing Bluetooth, or the pc app whether it is plugged into the USB port.
In use
Establishing the lamp was quick. Dismantling it and packing it away into the field was straightforward, too. The sunshine is definitely adjustable by loosening the thumbscrew to lift or decrease the peak. The pinnacle tilts on the hinge on the high and stays in place if the lamp is mounted horizontally; there’s the right quantity of friction, so it holds in place.
Nonetheless, that isn’t true if the lamp is mounted within the vertical place. There’s an excessive amount of torque for the lamp to be tilted ahead greater than round 45° from the vertical place. Any greater than that and the lamp’s weight causes the hinge to show, ensuing within the lamp dropping to barely lower than horizontal.
The lamp additionally rotates firmly clockwise on its mount. Turning it clockwise is vital, or else it unscrews and turns into unfastened; turning counterclockwise is the way you dismount the lamp from the stand. Initially, that clockwise rotation appears to come back to a cease with the pinnacle at an odd angle, however as soon as the mounting screw is tight, you may proceed to rotate the lamp. There’s a honest quantity of resistance, which could trick you into considering you might be overtightening the thread, which you aren’t.
Turned to its most, the sunshine is brilliant. I used it with a webcam, and it illuminated my face with a pleasantly subtle mild. I discovered it important to position the angle of the lamp and digital camera so the sunshine wasn’t mirrored in my glasses. However, it was doable to realize nice results, similar to Rembrandt lighting.
With the ability to change the sunshine’s depth and coloration utilizing the app is helpful. It may possibly additionally color-match the ambient mild, avoiding the horrible look of combined white lights.
The sunshine robotically alters its brightness relying on the ability output of the USB port it’s plugged into. So, for those who plug it right into a USB-2 or USB-3 port, it’s going to scale back the ability consumption. Consequently, this impacts the brightness of the sunshine. That stated, even when plugged right into a USB-2 port, the sunshine was greater than brilliant sufficient. Utilizing a ten W cellphone adapter to energy the lamp, the lamp may be very brilliant.
Adjusting the brightness is feasible in three other ways. Firstly, there are the 2 buttons on the rear of the lamp. With both lengthy or brief presses, you may change the quantity of distinction every press makes; a protracted press brightens or dims the sunshine ten instances that of a brief press. There are additionally white stability management buttons that work equally.
The second technique of adjusting the sunshine is when it’s plugged right into a USB port of a PC. The NEEWER Heart app permits you to improve and reduce the brightness and white stability. You too can run the app and hyperlink it to the sunshine utilizing the NEEWER Bluetooth and wi-fi adapters. Third-party adapters don’t work.
In the meantime, the tertiary technique is utilizing the cellphone app.
All three management strategies provide you with entry to a variety of 12 particular results. These mix brightness and coloration with varied flickering results: Lightning, Paparazzi, Defective Gentle Bulb, Explosion, Welding, CCT flash, CCT Pulse, Candlelight, TV Display screen, Brightness Cycle, and Fireworks.
Utilizing the cellphone or the PC app, it’s doable to pattern ambient mild and different mild sources and to set the colour stability of the lamp.
What I Favored and What May Be Improved Subsequent Time
What I Favored
- Properly-made, strong building with IP20 weather-sealing.
- Vibrant.
- Versatile positioning of the lamp.
- Tall sufficient to mount behind and above my 24” screens.
- Good, even unfold of sunshine.
- Lengthy USB cable.
- Capacity to manage utilizing the apps that can hyperlink to different studio lights.
- Attaching the lamp to a tripod or a increase offers a variety of flexibility for positioning the lamp.
What May Be Improved Subsequent Time
- The hinged lamp mount would profit from a friction adjustment, thus permitting the lamp to take a seat at any angle when its finish attachment level is employed.
- If one may tilt the stand ahead on the base and/or midway up the column, that will add extra lighting choices. Nonetheless, it’s doable to mount the lamp on a tripod or increase, which might facilitate that. Alternatively, a spring-and-lever stand would work nicely, particularly if it have been coupled with a ball head.
- An RGB model of this mild would give extra lighting choices.
- A model with an inner rechargeable battery would make the lamp much more versatile, though I used to be capable of run it from the Neewer V-mount PS099E energy provide I reviewed recently.
In Conclusion
Once I first unboxed this lamp Neewer despatched to me to check, I questioned whether or not it will be of actual use. Nonetheless, now that I’m creating extra movies from my work desk, I’ve discovered I’m utilizing it lots. For streaming, it really works higher for me than a few of my video lights which are too large to mount on my desk.
The problem of the hinge needing to be tighter when mounting the lamp on the finish was not a serious one, as I’m unlikely to need to mount the lamp at that angle. However, a friction adjustment on that hinge could be helpful.
It’s brilliant sufficient to light up objects for photographing on my desk, so I don’t have to get my flash out. Moreover, it’s sufficiently small to stay there and use as a desk lamp. That is a superb factor, as darker days are approaching, and my work desk will not be as nicely illuminated as it’s in the summertime. Briefly, it’s a splendid little mild and a superb possibility for these in search of a desk-mounted lamp for streaming and even desktop pictures.
