LED light wands, or light sticks, provide an effective (and relatively affordable) alternative to a photographer’s flashgun or a videomaker’s stand-mounted lamp. You don’t need to sync a light wand with your camera’s shutter button as a wand emits a continuous light source.
Thanks to a light wand’s internal battery, creatives are free to shoot in a variety of locations without being tethered to a mains power supply. Plus, of course, light wands are lightweight compared to traditional video lighting kits.
The models in our guide range in cost due to their size, the strength of the light emitted, and other factors (such as Bluetooth connectivity). Some will suit portrait photography while others are more suited to providing special lighting effects for video sequences. There’s even a wearable mini LED that switches from a stick to a bracelet, which is perfect for creatively enhancing a sports or fashion shoot.
The Quick List
In our tests, we loved this light stick's combination of power and portability when it came to lighting subjects for photo or video shoots. It's easily one of the best light wands around.
If you’re a smartphone videographer who wants to travel light then this mini LED is well worth considering. At 1.48 feet long it's super-easy to pop into a kit bag.
This curved light source is more effective at lighting close-up portrait or product shots rather than more distant subjects. It has two 1/4 inch threads, so you can mount it on a tripod (not provided).
Despite its relatively low cost, this wand has advanced features including animated pixel effects like ‘Driving’, which mimics the effect of passing street lights illuminating your subject’s face.
This four-foot-long wand provides a very bright light source and color-accurate key lighting in a photography studio or helps a video presenter stand out from a background when you're on location.
Want a light source you can wear, for the ultimate ease of use? This kit comes with two mini LED light wands that transform from a rigid light stick shape to a bracelet in a snap.
The best light sticks for photography
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Best light wand overall
The Zhiyun Fiveray F100 is an upgraded model from the Fiveray FR100C, so it boasts more LED chips (324) compared to its predecessor’s 256. The newer model also sports a set of barn doors so that you can control the spread of light more easily. You can dial in a range of color temperatures or adjust Hue, Saturation and Lightness for a more creatively colorful output.
The F100 also has a collection of six animated lighting effects which video makers can use to enhance their creative projects. It has a 1/4in threaded hole at the base for tripod mounting (though you’ll need to supply your own tripod).
In our tests, we loved the stick's combination of power and portability when it came to lighting subjects for photo or video shoots, and it's easily one of the best video lights despite its size. For more, read our Zhiyun Fiveray F100 review.
Best light wand for travel
As its name suggests, the Godox LC500R Mini is one of the most compact LED wands that I’ve tested for Digital Camera World, so if you’re a smartphone videographer who wants to travel light then this mini LED is well worth considering. At 1.48 feet long it’s much easier to pop into a kit bag than the four foot long Nanlite Pavo Tube II 30C that we also feature in this guide. However as a mini LED with an input of 20W it lacks the power of its rivals, emitting 1580 lux compared to the 20708 lux from the 100W Zhiyun Fiveray F100.
Despite its weaker light emission it still does an impressive job in low light locations. I tested the Godox LC500R Mini in a cave and it filled the entire location with light. In fact I needed to dial down the intensity to avoid my face becoming over-exposed, even at a distance. In brighter sunlight the 20W LED struggled to make a difference when I used it as fill light for a portrait, but it’s a winner in low light!
What I particularly enjoyed about using the Godox LC500R Mini was triggering various modes via the free smartphone Godox Light app. The app enables you to control every property of the light, from intensity to colour temperature to choosing a coloured gel with a tap. As you’ll see from my supporting video I had fun using the app to trigger a wide range of animated fx presets - from a flickering fire to flashes of lighting. Like many RGBWW light sticks you can also summon the lights of a police car which is perfect for enhancing a crime drama. This should make the Godox LC500R Mini a useful tool for drama or stock video cinematographers. For more details, read our full Godox LC500R Mini review.
Best light wand for product shots
The Sirui Dragon B25R is marketed as the world’s first ‘bendable’ LED (though we also feature the bendable the KYU 6 Light Bracelet in this guide). The Dragon enables you to create a curved field of light thanks to a series of 9 hinged LED panels.
This curved light source is more effective at lighting close-up portrait or product shots rather than more distant subjects. It has two 1/4 inch threads (at the base and the back) so you can mount it on a tripod (not supplied).
As well as the ability to change color temperature and hue, you can trigger a generous 16 different lighting effects via a well-designed Bluetooth-connected smartphone app, making this what we think is a particularly desirable light stick for creative videographers. For more, read our full Sirui Dragon B25R review.
Best light wand for budget effects
Nanlite produces a collection of PavoTube LED light wands that differ greatly in price. Despite its relatively low cost, the PavoTube T8-7X boasts features found in more expensive LED wands such as the PavoTube II X-Series.
These features include animated pixel effects such as ‘Driving’, which mimics the effect of passing street lights illuminating your subject’s face. You can trigger these animated effects via the Nanlink smartphone app, as well as performing the usual LED wand adjustments to color hue and temperature.
At under $100 / £100 it won’t break your budget. We love that you can get your subject to wield the T8-7X light (light saber style) for creative in-shot light streaks, or mount it on a tripod to add fill light to portraits. For more details, read our full Nanlite PavoTube T8-7X review.
Best light wand for power
As Nanlite are a prolific maker of LED wands it's no surprise to see another PavoTube gracing this guide. The four foot long PavoTube II 30C is the upgraded version of the Nanlite PavoTube 30C that we have previously reviewed.
The MK II version is 20% more powerful than its predecessor so gives you a brighter light source and more color-accurate key lighting in a photography studio or help a video presenter stand out from a background on location.
The older model lacked Bluetooth connectivity, but we are very pleased the PavoTube II 30C now has this essential feature, enabling wireless control of the LED wand’s colors and effects via the Nanlink smartphone app.
The newer model also boasts 15 special lighting effects compared to Mark 1’s miserly 5. A supplied clip enables you to mount the PavoTube II 30C on a tripod. For more details, read our full Nanlite PavoTube 30C review.
Best wearable light wand
This kit comes with two mini LED light wands that transform from a rigid light stick shape to a wearable bracelet in a snap. In bracelet form they are perfect for adding light streaks to slow shutter photography or pools of color to portrait shoots. The two light wands in the kit have slightly different features.
The RGB light bracelet has a creative color scheme that can emit primary colors. It also has a collection of animated lighting sequences such as a flickering fire or flashing red and blue cop car. The kit’s Bi-Color bracelet can emit light across the Kelvin scale (from a daylight 600K to a tungsten 2700K) so is able to match other light sources.
It has a different collection of animated effects including Stroboscopic and Explosion. You can buy either of the light bracelets individually to save money or go for a six-pack for more complex lighting scenarios using the KYU-6 Filmmakers Pro Kit.
Best magnetic light wand
The Harlowe Blade 5 & 10 Bi-Color & RGB Tube Light Kit’s key components are two LED tube lights. The Blade 10 is the largest and brightest, with a length of 360mm and an output of 900 Lumens (approximately 900 candles). It’s designed to be the same length as a MacBook Pro so it's nice and portable. The smaller Blade 5 is the same length as an iPhone 15 (164mm), and it emits 400 Lumens. Both LEDs have the distinctive look found in all Harlowe (formerly Hobolite) LEDs with a brown faux leather panel on the sides and a metallic silver frame. They also feel reassuringly heavy which gives the sense of a quality build (which contrasts with the plastic bodies of most of the other tube and wand LEDs in this guide. Both Bi-colour lights emit light between 1700K - 10000K in the Kelvin range - a much wider range than most other LEDS can stretch to. The Blades have an RGB pedigree too so they can produce 36000 different colors which is perfect for creative portrait photography. As with most LED tubes, they also have a collection of animated effects for filmmakers to utilize - Flash, Flame, TV Screen Light, Lighting, Pulse, Fireworks, Shutter, and Explosion. Disappointingly the almost ubiquitous ‘cop car’ effect is absent.
The two Blades (and Blade is a much cooler name than a tube!) are shipped in a robust Harlowe branded carry case which also contains a collection of accessories such as a magnetically attachable frosted dome that diffuses the light to create less harsh shadows. Talking of magnets both Blades will magnetically clamp to anything metal which is handy when filming in vehicles where I tripod may not be so useful. There’s also a set of magnetically attachable barn doors for each Blade so that you can control their spread of light. The Harlowe Blade 5 & 10 Bi-Color & RGB Tube Light Kit is relatively expensive but you can buy the Blades separately to suit your shooting needs and budget.
Read more: Harlowe Blade 5 & 10 review
Best LED kit for syncing light wands
The Godox TL60 RGB tube light can work alone just like the other wands in this guide. However, some photographers and videographers may require a larger LED set-up where multiple light wands can work independently or be synced together to emit identical light effects.
The four TL60 light tubes in this kit can be physically linked together via supplied cables. You can then set one light as the master and the others as slaves. The three slaves will then follow any lighting presets that you set on the master tube light. You can control the wands via the Godox app, though this kit also comes with a handy dedicated remote control unit.
Each TL60 RGB wand can emit a range of HSI colors and has a color temperature range of 2700-6500K, plus a collection of 14 animated presets (including the ubiquitous Police Car effect). There are also 40 digital gels that you can apply to change color. The four-wand kit is expensive but you can also buy the TL60 RGB tube individually.
FAQs
What is a light wand?
A light wand, also known as a light stick or light tube, is a portable hand-held device that produces bright illumination along its length. It typically consists of a transparent or translucent plastic tube that contains light-emitting elements, such as LEDs (light-emitting diodes) or electroluminescent wires.
How do light wands work?
Like LED light panels, light wands are packed with dozens of light-emitting diodes. However, unlike LED panels they are arranged in a more narrow ‘light sabre’ style column. Each diode can change color, often independently from the other diodes in the wand. This is the key to providing a range of creative and practical lighting scenarios for photographers and videographers.
How do photographers use light wands?
The continuous light source emitted by an LED (light emitting diode) wand can bring out the shape and form of your subject, change the mood of the scene using multiple colors and even add special animated lighting effects to video footage.
Many of the light wands in our list can be controlled remotely via Bluetooth and a smartphone app. So you can trigger animated lighting presets with a single tap (such as a flashing police car's light), or dial in a specific color temperature to complement your location’s other light sources. You can also change the hue, saturation and brightness of most of the featured light wands more quickly than the traditional method of clipping colored gels to a lamp’s barn doors.
How to choose the best light wand
When selecting a light wand for photography, prioritize brightness and color accuracy. Look for models with adjustable intensity and color temperature settings to suit different shooting scenarios. Consider the wand's length, ensuring it provides adequate coverage for your subject area. Seek durable, lightweight, and portable options with long battery life. Explore features like wireless control, dimming, and specialeffects modes. And of course, ensure compatibility with your camera gear and stick to reputable brands for reliable quality.
How we test the best light wands
When we test light wands, we assess key performance factors like brightness, battery life, and durability through hands-on trials. We evaluate ease of use, ergonomics, and additional features across various scenarios, from outdoor activities to event lighting. We measure lumen output and color accuracy, and also consider factors like charging time, weight and build quality.
