Next up the price ladder, the Masters Kit doubles up on lamps and diffusion domes while also adding light stands and a padded soft case, but this time batteries aren’t included.
The Explorer Kit adds a battery and charger, plus a padded soft case. The AEOS 2 is available in several kit configurations: the cheapest 'Basic' kit only includes a mains power adaptor and no battery, although the light does come complete with a good-quality diffuser dome. The interface is also completely overhauled, with the addition of a color touchscreen that makes it quick and easy to access a huge range of lighting options, digital filters and special effects. And that goes for both constant lighting and flash, the latter with a high-speed sync option. It gives you 16.7 million colors of light to play with, instead of just various degrees of white.
This powerful, hugely versatile yet lightweight portable LED lighting panel is a radical redesign compared with the original AEOS. Many are also designed specifically to clip onto a smartphone, so will slot in perfectly to your light, portable setup. Phone shooters shouldn't neglect their lighting either! Just because you're using a small, handheld device, that doesn't mean you can't benefit from a small, portable LED light to give you a little extra illumination when you need it. While the Manfrotto Croma2 is still available, it has experienced some stock fluctuations lately – especially outside of the US – so it can be worth keeping an eye out and being ready to pounce when you see one available. Power can come from the mains, or through two battery options. Despite a quoted 50º beam angle seeming slightly narrow, real-world use demonstrates a decent light spread. With both sets of blue and yellow LEDs active at 4,550K, brightness peaks at 1060 lux. We recorded light power figures of 750 lux at 3,300k and 900 lux at 5,600K. Both temperature and power are adjusted with simple dials with no scale markings, so repeating the same settings from shoot to shoot is difficult without a light meter. The Manfrotto Croma2 offers adjustable colour temperature, which can fluidly transition from 3,300 to 5,600K.
Read more: Rotolight NEO 3 full review (opens in new tab) In which case, simply scroll down to the NEO 2 below! The only drawback is that, right now, the NEO 3 is still being rolled out to retailers and may not be widely available. Maximum flash output is disappointing compared to a ‘proper’ flashgun but, even so, the NEO 3 is a brilliant solution for anyone who needs to shed a little extra light on both stills and video capture. It delivers a full color range in both constant and flash modes, with a huge range of electronic color filters and special effects, all available via a simple and intuitive color touchscreen menu. Small but powerful and extremely versatile as a constant LED light, the NEO 3 is a quantum leap forward from the NEO 2. Both models deliver flash output as well as constant lighting, but the NEO 3 delivers a full range of color in both modes, with full RGBWW options. It comes in various configurations and kits and accessories will vary according to which you choose. For mounting in plaster or other hard ceiling, see Mounting Kits.The Rotolight NEO 3 builds on the success of the preceding NEO 2 (below), adding a raft of impressive new features. ▪ Standard mounting options include recessed mounting in grid ceilings, or suspended mounting using attached hanging brackets.
▪ Standard earthquake clips provide secure installation in grid ceilings. ▪ Easy installation in new construction or retrofit. ▪ Acrylic lens with light guide panels for optimal light distribution and efficiency. ▪ 0-10vdc dimming capability is standard. ▪ Universal 120-277 AC voltage (50-60Hz) is standard.
▪ Uniform illumination with no visible LED pixelation. ▪ LEDPNL2X2-20W provides 2,730 luminaire lumens (124 lumens per watt, LPW) at 3000k 2,754 luminaire lumens (125 LPW) at both 3500k 2,769 luminaire lumens (126 LPW) at 4000k, and 2,799 luminaire lumens (127 LPW) at 5000k.* ▪ Long-life LEDs provide 199,000 hours of operation with at least 70% of initial lumen output (L70).** ▪ Available in 3000k (warm white), 3500k (warm/neutral white) 4000k (neutral white) & 5000k (cool white) color temperatures.*