You might have assumed that LED light panels would only be suitable for videographers – but this isn’t the case. While they’re definitely more commonly associated with video, the best LED panels can be hugely useful for photography, giving you an instant, real-time preview of how your light looks. I often find myself recommending them to photographers, hybrid shooters, and those working in video.
In this guide, I’ve distilled the best of the best – all the finest LED light panels the DCW team has tested. This includes a broad range, from heavy-duty cinematography lights to pocketable panels that clip onto a smartphone. Whatever your setup, whatever you shoot, I think there will be a great LED light here to suit you.
As the name suggests, an LED light panel is a flat array of dozens – or hundreds – of individual LEDs that combine to create a larger overall light source and more powerful output. They are distinct from LED video lights, which use a single or small cluster of high-power LEDs, or LED light sticks or wands, which have an arrangement of LEDs in a narrow tube, or ring lights, which have the donut-shaped array of lights favored by vloggers. We also have guides to the best flashguns and the best studio lighting kits. See our separate buying guides for any of those.
But if you're looking for a circular or rectangular panel of LEDs, you're in the right place. So if you need more light in your life, let’s get started!
George has been freelancing as a photo-fixing and creative tutorial writer since 2002. A lighting expert, he's always looking for innovative ways to make his images more creative. Here, he brings his expertise to recommending the best LED panels for photography and videography.
The best LED light panels
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Best LED panel for studios
I’ve been using studio-based video lights since the late 1980s, and the younger me would be very impressed with 21st-century LEDs such as the flat-panel Neewer PL60C. Older lamps required the bulb to be changed on a regular basis – especially as they were prone to explode if you carried the light to a new position while the bulb was turned on! If I wanted to change the color temperature of an old light or add a creative color hue, then I’d need to manually clip a sheet of gel onto the barn door clips. The gels would often start to smoke thanks to the heat from the lamp!
The Neewer PL60C is an affordable mains-powered LED flat-panel studio light that offers RGB color adjustment options, adjustable color temperatures, and a cooler running temperature compared to vintage lamps. It is lightweight, portable, and provides a powerful 60W output.
Being an RGB LED, the Neewer PL60C enables me to summon dozens of industry-standard gels at the twiddle of a plastic knob or via the swipe of a finger using the Neewer smartphone app. A wide range of Kelvin temperatures are also available, so I can easily get the PL60C to complement or contrast with other light sources in the scene. The PL60C also runs much cooler than a classic studio light, though it does have a built-in fan if its aluminum alloy body gets too hot. I didn’t notice the fan noise during my test shoot, but you can mute it if required during a particular take.
I found the PL60C easy to carry, courtesy of its relatively light weight and supplied carry case. If you need an affordable mains-powered studio flat panel with a powerful 60W output, then the Neewer PL60C will meet your needs – as well as blowing the mind of my younger incarnation.
Read our full Neewer PL60C review
Best portable video light for brightness
The Zhiyun Fiveray M60 Ultra is a remarkably powerful RGB panel that’s small enough to slip into a coat pocket. Despite its smartphone-sized footprint, it can deliver up to 60W of output, making it unusually capable for such a compact light.
Its versatility is a major strength. The CCT range spans an impressive 2,500K to 10,000K, while HSI and RGB modes give you access to millions of colors for creative lighting. There’s also a useful selection of animated effects, including police vehicle lights, fire, fireworks, and a flickering bulb, which could prove handy for enhancing your creative filmmaking.
The built-in 4,500mAh battery makes the M60 Ultra very portable, with Zhiyun claiming around 160 minutes of runtime at 20% brightness and over 30 minutes at full power. It can also be powered while in use via USB-C, which is useful for longer shoots.
Despite its high output, cooling is handled well. The built-in fan only activates when needed and is impressively quiet, while magnetic modifiers make it quick to attach the supplied diffuser and honeycomb grid. Controls are handled via two rear dials and a small color screen, although there is a slight learning curve to master the UI.
For photographers and videographers who need serious output without carrying a bulky lighting kit, the M60 Ultra is an excellent option. It combines strong output, full-color control, and genuinely useful battery life in a package that’s far smaller than most 60W lights.
Read our full Zhiyun Fiveray M60 Ultra review
Best high-output RGB panel
The Nanlite PavoSlim 120C is a powerful RGBWW LED panel aimed squarely at professional photographers and videographers. Despite its large illuminated area, the panel itself is impressively slim at just 18.6mm [0.73 in] thick, while its metal construction feels reassuringly sturdy and acts as a heat sink, so there’s no need for a potentially noisy cooling fan.
A key feature is its output. At 5,600K, the PavoSlim 120C can produce an impressive 12,830 lux at 1m [3.3 ft], giving it enough power to illuminate sizeable studio spaces. In my tests, I often found myself reducing the intensity to around 60%. The supplied softbox and diffuser tame that power into a flattering soft key light, while removing them produces a much harder, more dramatic light source.
As an RGBWW light, the PavoSlim 120C offers far more creative control than a conventional bi-color panel. Its wide 2,700K–7,500K CCT range makes it easy to match anything from warm tungsten lighting to daylight, while HSI and Gel modes provide a huge choice of creative colors. Videographers will also enjoy a collection of animated effects including Storm, Paparazzi, Candle/Fire, and the obligatory Police Car effect.
Control is handled by a chunky external control unit with a clear display and two satisfyingly tactile rotary dials. You can also adjust every mode remotely using Nanlite's free Nanlink smartphone app, which is particularly useful for solo operators filming themselves. Power comes from the mains or an optional V-mount battery if you need to shoot outside of the studio.
If you need to shoot in external locations, then this may not be the flat panel for you. Although the panel itself weighs a manageable 1.76kg [3.88 lb], the chunky control unit and extensive collection of accessories make the complete kit fairly heavy to transport. However, for studio shooters who need plenty of power output, excellent color control, and a large, soft source, the PavoSlim 120C is an exceptionally versatile professional lighting tool.
Read our full Nanlite PavoSlim 120C review
Best home studio LED panel
The Amaran Verge and Verge Max are flat-panel, bi-color LED lights designed for home studios where space is at a premium. They provide the soft, flattering illumination typically associated with bulky studio softboxes, but in a form factor just over an inch thick.
The Amaran Verge is a smaller, iPad-sized rectangular panel (11.5") that produces 2,347 lumens and is ideal as a fill light or a key light for small setups. The Amaran Verge Max is a much larger circular panel (24") producing a powerful 6,455 lumens that provides a massive spread of diffuse light. Both have a CRI of 96+, ensuring accurate skin tones.
On-board controls are simple: two knobs adjust color temperature (2700K–6500K) and brightness. While the Verge Max includes a small display for precise settings, the standard Verge does not. An accompanying Amaran App unlocks more advanced features, including specific Kelvin dialing and animated effects like lightning or fire flickers.
Read our full Amaran Verge and Verge Max review
Best RGB full-color panel
The SmallRig RM120 RGB Video Light is a palm-sized LED panel that punches well above its weight. Despite measuring little more than a smartphone, its 120 LED beads can produce up to 1,580 lux, making it bright enough to work as a close-range key or fill light for portraits, products, or video.
Its biggest strength is versatility. In CCT mode, you can adjust the color temperature to match different light sources, while HSI and RGBW modes let you dial in a huge range of creative colors without having to mess around with physical gels. Videographers also get an FX mode with animated lighting effects including candlelight and the usual emergency vehicle flashes.
The RM120 is particularly useful on location because it’s small enough to live permanently in a camera bag. During my tests, I used it for spontaneous portraits in dark London tunnels, where its compact size meant it could be positioned very close to a subject without getting into the shot. It also proved useful for product photography, adding shape and detail when the available light was dull or flat.
Build quality is reassuringly solid, with a metal body and a removable rubber diffuser for softening the output. A rear color LCD makes it easy to see exactly which mode, color temperature, or RGB setting you’re using, while dedicated controls make adjustments quick and intuitive.
There are more powerful panels available, and the RM120 works best when placed relatively close to your subject, but for photographers and videographers who want a compact, colorful, and genuinely useful light that can be carried anywhere, it’s an excellent little performer.
Read our full SmallRig RM120 RGB Video Light review
Best MagSafe-compatible panel
While there are plenty of lights on this list that are suited to smartphones, I want to single out the Harlowe Sol 5 Spectra Creator Kit for one particular reason – it's MagSafe compatible. This means you can mount it to your iPhone via the same magnetic attachment you use for wireless charging. If you already shoot all your photos or videos on your iPhone anyway, it'll slot right into your setup with ease.
It's a great light too, as I reported in my full review. While it produces a comparatively low light output of 220 lm, that's plenty for the relatively up-close shooting most people do with phones, and being able to use the circular touch-sensitive panel to quickly dial in the desired color temperature is intuitive and easy.
Also, the Harlowe light doesn't necessarily have to be attached directly to a phone – it also performed well in a more conventional tripod-based setup, even if it was a little top-heavy and unbalanced at points.
Read our full Harlowe Sol 5 Spectra Creator Kit review
Best LED panel for effect presets
Designed (and priced) for pros, the Rotolight Aeos 2 Pro is a powerful, hugely versatile, yet lightweight portable LED lighting panel. Like the older Aeos 2 it replaces, the Pro edition uses RGBWW LEDs to deliver 16.7 million colors, as well as 2,500 digital filters, and can be used for both continuous lighting and high-speed-sync flash.
The Pro edition also turns up the power, with Rotolight claiming up to 25% greater continuous-light output than the previous Aeos 2. It also expands its creative potential with more than 100 built-in special effects, gels, and HSI presets created in collaboration with professional photographers and filmmakers. Another useful addition is True Aperture Dimming, which can calculate and display the required light output as an f-stop according to your ISO, shutter speed, and subject distance.
The excellent full-color touchscreen remains, making the huge range of lighting options surprisingly quick and intuitive to access. Wireless flash compatibility has also been improved significantly over the older Aeos 2, with built-in receivers supporting Godox, Profoto, Elinchrom, Neewer, and Pixapro systems.
Despite its considerable output, the Aeos 2 Pro remains impressively slim and portable, and can run from mains power or a V-lock battery for location shooting. It's certainly a big investment, but its combination of powerful continuous lighting, full-color control, and flash functionality makes it an exceptionally capable all-in-one flat-panel light for professional photographers and filmmakers.
Read our full Rotolight Aeos 2 Pro review
Best for filmmakers
Rotolight has packed the technology and features of its award-winning Titan X2 RGBWW LED light panel into the new Titan X1, which is a lot more portable and cheaper to buy – though both panels are expensive compared to regular photographic lights, reflecting the fact that they're aimed at the high-end cinematography market. This is in a different league to some of the little smartphone-mounted panels I've included elsewhere in this guide.
You can set any color you like, including white, dial in electronically adjustable diffusion, use special effects for filmmaking, and even use it as a high-speed flash. As we concluded in our review, this is a great tool for hybrid stills photographers and filmmakers.
Read our full Rotolight Titan X1 review
How to choose the best LED panels
Modern LED panels let you precisely vary the intensity and color temperature of your light, making it straightforward to achieve precisely the look and feel you want in the shot.
The big difference between LED panels and flashguns is that LED panels emit light continuously, not just at the moment of capture, meaning you can see what your shot is going to look like before you capture it. Obviously essential in video, this can also be useful in stills photography.
LED panels come in a few different varieties, all of which we've covered in this guide. Hotshoe LED panels are the most straightforward; as the name implies, they can literally mount into a camera's hotshoe, and provide you with a point-and-shoot light source. Like a flashgun, they can also be mounted to a stand if you prefer. They're a great choice, and are often quite affordable.
At the other end of the scale, there are full-size panels. Designed to be mounted on stands for professional studio use, they're less portable, but can deliver incredible lighting power.
How we test LED panels
At DCW, we test a huge variety of photo and video equipment, including cameras, lenses and accessories such as LED panels. Our process involves both real-world and lab testing – for LED panels, we measure brightness output and compare it to the manufacturer's claims to see how well the product stacks up. We also look at portability, color temperature range, lighting modes and other factors to assess how useful the LED panel will be to working photographers and videographers. Learn more about how we test and review on Digital Camera World.
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