Thursday, May 20, 2021
Whether traveling or working from home, Lume Cube's nifty Broadcast Lighting Kit is well worth the price and convenience for frequent video calls.
If working from home for the last year taught us anything, it's our webcams, and lighting setups suck. Granted, I podcast every week, so I tend to be the exception with my Logitech BRIO 4K, HyperX QuadCast microphone, and colossal studio light.
But Lume Cube can do it all for you with its very handy Broadcast Lighting Kit, which makes you look like a pro without taking up a lot of desktop space. It's such a great addition to my kit that I'll be using it when I take road trips, but I also want to hop on a conference call, do an interview, or a podcast.
Here is what you get for $99 and why this is a serious must-have purchase if you're always on a video call and can't always rely on the sun to make you look posh.
Lume Cube Broadcast Lighting Kit
Bottom line: The Lume Cube Broadcast Lighting Kit is the perfect tool for those working from home or traveling who want a full-spectrum LED panel to brighten up web meetings when using Microsoft Teams or Zoom. The telescoping tripod and laptop mount are easy to use, and the whole kit is high quality. It's basically perfect, but it may have one flaw.
The Good
- Excellent, bright light with plenty of hue controls
- Long-lasting battery
- Nice LCD for status/settings
- Type-C charging
- Tripod and laptop mount included
The Bad
- Can overheat when set to max brightness after an hour
- No remote
$99 at Lume Cube $99 on Amazon
Lume Cube Broadcast Lighting Kit: Price and availability
The Lume Cube Broadcast Lighting Kit is available direct through Lume Cube for $99 or Amazon.com.
On Amazon, if you have a business account, the Broadcast Lighting Kit is $10 cheaper at $89. Additionally, both consumer and business accounts can also apply a $20 coupon (for now), bringing the price to $79.95/$69.95, respectively, which is an excellent deal.
Lume Cube Broadcast Lighting Kit: What's good
The Lume Cube Broadcast Lighting Kit is straightforward. You get Lume Cube's full spectrum LED Panel GO in the box, which weighs only 4.44oz (125 grams). It features an adjustable bi-color LED Light that you can "fit in your pocket" with a color temperature range from 3200K (warm) to 5600K (cool). Max brightness is modified via the side wheel in 5% increments (1%-100%), and it can reach 1,080 LUX at half a meter.
The Panel GO includes a "frosted lens" rubber diffuser, which you can slide off if not needed. The unit itself is very compact and resembles a portable power bank that packs 112 small LEDs.
The operation is simple. On the side is a blue metal button. Hold it in for a few seconds, and Panel GO turns on. On the rear is a small LCD that displays battery life as an icon and a live battery estimation based on current brightness settings. The same blue button toggles between brightness and color temperature, which is then adjusted via the side wheel. You can also see the actual kelvins the light is emitting for color temperature, letting you dial in how warm or cool you want the Panel GO to look.
Charging the Panel GO is simple, as it uses a Type-C input. While a charger is not in the box, you get a 6-foot Type-C to Type-A cable, a smaller USB-C adapter cable, a suction cup mount, and a telescoping desktop stand.
Battery life lasts from 16 hours at 1% brightness (which is still bright enough to use) to about 90 minutes at 100% brightness. You could, of course, keep it plugged into a power source and never have to worry about the battery or use it as such if you did forget to recharge. It can recharge through any laptop's Type-A or Type-C port. When charging, the LCD shows the battery percent and that it is actively charging.
The laptop mount is excellent. Panel GO has two threaded 1/4" tripod mounts letting you position Panel GO vertically or horizontally. Screw it to the laptop mount and attach it to the rear of your laptop or desktop monitor (lifting the lever creates the suction, making for easy removal). The mount lets you rotate the Panel GO or tilt it up and down to give you proper coverage.
For more permanent setups, the telescoping tripod ranges from 12" to 30" and features a 360° ball head mount to tune in positioning precisely to your requirements. The tripod itself is also very portable as the legs fold up and lock into place. It's tall enough to use with a desktop monitor and short enough to use with any laptop.
Lume Cube Broadcast Lighting Kit: What you won't like
The only complaint I have seen is the Panel GO, when set to max brightness, may shut off after an hour, which is likely due to overheating. When I used it on calls, I never set the Panel GO to max brightness, but obviously, some will want to, which is a negative.
There are some other quibbles and limitations due to the size. It's small and portable and not a replacement for larger studio lights, which still serve a purpose for more permanent setups or frequent use. In other words, this is not a "pro" device for those who are on 5 hours video calls in poorly lit rooms that need much larger setups. It's also still a small light, so you will need to be close to it for it to work.
Since there is no remote, you need to reach up and use two hands to modify the settings or view the remaining battery life.
Lume Cube Broadcast Lighting Kit: Competition
The Cyezcor Video Conference Lighting Kit is only $29 on Amazon ($24 with coupon) and is a circular/ring light style, which some may prefer. It has no battery, hence the cost difference, so you need always to have it plugged into your laptop or PC. Mounting is also not as flexible, as it uses a clip to attach to your PC's display, possibly blocking the screen on laptops with thin bezels. Some people complained the light itself does not do any favors for their appearance.
There are also similar generic ring lights from Acmezing and others on Amazon, but few have a battery built-in, which is the big differentiator with Lume Cube.
Need a good webcam? Check our best webcams for Windows PCs for our recommendations.
Lume Cube Broadcast Lighting Kit: Should you buy it?
You should buy this if ...
- You want a portable light setup for home or travel
- You hate dangling wires and things needing to be plugged in
- You want a light with adjustable brightness and color temperature
- You want flexible mounting options
You shouldn't buy this if...
- You have a very dim room and need even more powerful studio lights
- You plan to use it at max brightness for more than an hour at a time
- You don't travel and need permanent wall-mounted lights with a remote
Overall, I have enjoyed using Lume Cube's Broadcast Lighting Kit. Sure, you are mostly paying for a light plus the built-in battery, but that is what makes this kit different. Using this on your laptop (or desktop) without running power cables is worth it for some, especially when traveling. Plus, Lume Cube is based in Carlsbad, California, making it an easy way to support a US company, if that's your thing.
The Broadcast Lighting Kit's real benefit is flexibility. You can mount it on the tripod, attach it to your display, put it vertically or horizontally, or even combine the laptop mount with the tripod. When you add in the easy-to-use controls, hue settings, and, thankfully, Type-C charging, it is a superb kit.
Of course, the Broadcast Lighting Kit is not for everyone. If you need less, Lume Cube has the Panel Mini ($60), which is smaller, lighter, and has half the brightness as Panel GO. At the other end is Panel Pro, which is heavier (7oz), larger, brighter (1,500 LUX), and more expensive ($230). Finally, there are full-on wall-mounted studio lights, which only run $100 but are certainly less convenient (wall drilling, bracket mounting, cabling, etc.) and are certainly not portable.
The only downside to Panel GO is the ability to run at max brightness for more than an hour. While that may be a niche case, it is something to be aware of when buying. But speaking in favor of Panel GO, there is little competition in terms of convenience and ease of use. Without a doubt, I'll be packing it with me on business trips, making it easy to recommend.
Lume Cube Broadcast Lighting Kit
Bottom line: The Lume Cube Broadcast Lighting Kit is the perfect tool for those working from home or traveling who want a full-spectrum LED panel to brighten up web meetings when using Microsoft Teams or Zoom. The telescoping tripod and laptop mount are easy to use, and the whole kit is high quality. It's basically perfect, but it may have one flaw.
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