Colorview Lux Artist Studio Light - Adjustable Photography Lighting Kit 3 Color Temps, 4 Metal Barn Doors, 4160 Lumens LED - Remote Control, AC Power Supply, 6'6" Light Stand Included

AMAZON VINE REVIEW of the ACURIT COLORVIEW LUX ARTIST STUDIO LIGHTThe ACURIT COLORVIEW LUX ARTIST STUDIO LIGHT is a small flat-panel continuous light source in a plastic shell complete with BARN DOORS on four sides and infinitely adjustable color temperature and brightness ranges from 3200K to 5600K. This provides photographers, artists, content creators, and lighting designers with accurate, rheostat-controlled lighting for portraits, still life drawing, head-shot interviews, or as a modeling light for larger light arrays.This is a USEFUL device. Its PRICE does NOT reflect its value.In our studio we use it to do small and large product photography attached to a 16-foot light stand with a boom head allowing us to create classic CLAMSHELL and REMBRANDT lighting for SIMPLE portraits that are quick to setup and knock down and deliver excellent images regardless of gender, age, skin tone, or hair color. THEY JUST WORK!We used to do these shoots with three lights. Two Octa softboxes and a hair/background light to get some pop off the model’s hair. As with ANY softbox it was a continuous align, test, adjust, using the modeling light in the strobe to get the shadow-free look we want for CLAMSHELL or the RIGHT-SIDE shadows we DO want for noir-style Rembrandt lighting. It was enjoyable photography playing with the light, but Models are NOT free and doing 122 Corporate Head Shots in three hours in a paid gig needed a faster, set-piece arrangement that works EVERY TIME for every “HEAD” that sits on the stool.This continuous light, rheostat-controlled (or use the remote) flat panel on the boom gave us the control we needed to do the work efficiently, effectively, and with results that pleased the clients…our NUMBER ONE PRIORITY always.If you are wondering how this flat panel created our clamshell effect it did not work alone. We simply added a white flag held at the subject’s waist to bounce some of the reflected light up and remove the always present forehead-nose-jawline shadow from the primary light above. Simple, inexpensive, permanent. Once you add it to the environment, it is ready to work.We have this setup permanently prepped for studio work, but the flat panel is small enough to pack left attached to its light stand. The power supply fits in the light stand bag and we have a checklist for the remote because I am old and was known as “the absent-minded professor” when I was NOT old. While I can remember statistical formulas that cover three whiteboards with no problem; putting that very handy remote in the light stand bag is a whole other proposition. So, having a CHECKLIST for location shoots is ALWAYS a good idea.In ANY circumstance where you have access to AC power (the light ALSO has provision for two NPF batteries to use without AC power, but these are expensive and slow to recharge. Use AC power, if possible!) this flat panel should go on location with you. We take the octas, from 27.5 inches to 53 inches, but the CV LUX Light on its light stand adds just ONE more light stand bag to the mix and the little light’s versatility makes it worth the weight.The ACURIT COLORVIEW LUX ARTIST STUDIO LIGHT adds a lot of possibilities to photographers in and out of their studio. The color balancing and controllable brightness give it unique abilities NOT found in studio strobes, flashes and in other types of continuous light sources. It has proven to be both useful and timesaving for us. When you add the PRICE of this light to the mix it becomes a simple proposition.The ACURIT COLORVIEW LUX ARTIST STUDIO LIGHT is $74.99 at AMAZON today (May 2024).The AMAZON VINE Review of this CV LUX Studio light is FIVE STARS!Five Stars for AC power, Adjustable Color and Temp, Remote Control, Barn Doors, Light Stand and PRICE!Thanks, AMAZON.Mark in North Carolina

This is a fine light with adjustable color temperature and brightness. It has some odd choices such that I wonder a little bit about the difference between lighting for artists and lighting for video. I feel it's a bit expensive for what it is, but maybe there is a quality to the light (like high CRI) that I am ignorant to in my comparison. So keep in mind that I am evaluating it from my perspective as a photography and video user, and less that of a painter or fine artist.I have quite a bit of experience with LED panel lights for video - from bargain basement panels to mid-tier enthusiast lighting with smart controls. So this Acurit Colorview Lux studio light falls in about the middle of the price range of lights that I work with. But the construction quality has more in common with the low end lights I have used or owned. The case is plastic, all except the integrated hinges and "barn door" panels to shape the panel's light, which are metal of about the same quality as other barn doors I've used. The power adapter is a nice beefy brick-style unit, which indicates to me a better quality power supply than the generic "wall wart" style adapter. The cord could be a bit longer, and as such you might find yourself securing the brick to the light stand to keep the weight from just hanging on the light. The light also accepts two Sony external batteries that seem to be the de facto standard for battery power for photo and lighting gear. The battery power option is a nice touch for portability or use where power cords don't reach.The controls I find a little bit puzzling. The power switch I get - it's a three way switch, with an off setting in the middle, and flip one way to engage the battery power, flip the other way to use the power adapter. The lighting controls themselves are a little different than I am used to.Most lights I have used that have knobs use one knob to control color temperature from warm to cool, and another knob to control brightness. So you can dial in your color temperature (or even better if there is a display, set it to match the desired color temperature) and adjust the brightness as needed. The Acurite light has two knobs that independently control each LED array in the panel. One knob adjusts the brightness of the warm color LEDs, while the other adjusts the cool colored LEDs. By adjusting the brightness of each you can achieve light of varying temperatures at varying brightnesses, but if you need to adjust the brightness you also need to adjust the color temperature.But wait, there's a remote control. It can instantly switch from warm to cool light, and can dial up the brightness as well. It's a little strange to work differently with the remote than the light itself. But I chalk this up to something an artist may want - adjusting light by feel and eye rather than by numbers. I am used to setting a light color across different lights by aiming for a specific color temperature, say 4500K. I can match it by eye, it's just not something I'm used to doing with other lights.The panel itself has a diffuser built in, but it is limited in its diffusion. The individual LEDs are clearly visible and can each cast their own shadows, so using the barn doors can give you tricky shadows. This could also be an effect you want for some reason, so it could be a plus. You could also add diffusion or gels and use the barn doors to hold those additional filters in front of the lens.The kit also includes a tripod style light stand. It is the most basic type, sufficient to hold the light at heights up to over 6 feet. With the angle/cold shoe adapter, the light can be angled as well. It's a basic stand, sturdy enough for its intended use but not outstanding.This light does produce bright and appealing light. It is constructed well enough for studio use, though it uses a lot of plastic and doesn't feel any sturdier than some $20 lights I have. While it's not my favorite light, it does what it claims to do. For the artists out there looking at this, be aware that photo/video light panels exist that do much of the same thing, so there may be more products that you're not aware of that may also suit your needs.