Godox LC500R Mini Light Stick review: affordable go-anywhere lighting

Godox is a company with an established reputation for producing a wide range of lights, from always-on LED wands such as the Godox LC500R Mini to traditional strobe flash units that sync with your DSLR’s shutter. As a videographer I enjoy using an ‘always on’ LED for my 'talking to camera’ pieces, plus I find a light wand can be useful for adding a little fill light to portraits when snapping stills. 

Godox has released two new LED light wands - the LCR500 Mini and the LCR500R Mini. The version with the extra R is the one we tested. They are very similar devices but the LCR500R Mini version boasts 15 animated light effects compared to the 11 in the LCR500 Mini. 

LED (light emitting diode) lights come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, from light wands to classic studio lights to panels. Light wands such as the Godox LC500R Mini fall into the cheaper end of the LED price range yet they can still provide enough light to illuminate a pitch-black location (as you’ll see from my supporting video). For more information on light wands check out our Best Light Sticks and Light Wands buying guide here.

As its name suggests, the Godox LC500R Mini is one of the lightest and most compact LED wands that I’ve tested for Digital Camera World and its small stature has its pros and cons as I’ll explain in due course.

Godox LCR500R Mini: What’s changed?

The Godox LCR500R Mini and the LCR500 Mini are a newer version of the Godox LCR500 light wand. Despite being lighter and smaller than its predecessor the Mini packs more punch. The LCR500R Mini’s output is 1580 lux, outperforming the older LCR500’s 1200 lux. As an RGBWW LED the Mini can produce a wide range of creative colors, whereas its predecessor could only change color temperature in CCT mode.

Godox LCR500R Mini: Specifications

Godox LCR500R Mini: Price

At the time of writing the Godox LC500R Mini costs $159 / £125 directly from Godox, though it's worth shopping around on Amazon or other retailers for regular discounts and vouchers. 

Godox LCR500R Mini: Design & Handling

The main body (or shaft) of the Godox LCR500R Mini is made of metal to help it dissipate heat. A fan kicks in when things get hot but we didn’t notice any fan noise on our outdoor test shoot. The plastic circular control dial on the rear of the wand enables you to turn the fan off manually, though this then limits brightness to 50%. 

The base of the light wand is constructed of plastic and it has a nice tactile surface to prevent your hand slipping. The base contains a built-in battery that you can charge via a USB-C cable. A welcome design feature is the ability to twist off the battery handle and replace it with another fully charged one. This doubles the duration of the Godox LCR500R Mini’s performance (though you’ll need to buy an additional battery handle grip as a separate purchase.) 

Going back to the control dial it’s very nicely designed too. As well as rotating the dial to adjust brightness you can press it at the 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, and nine o’clock locations to activate buttons. The 6 o’clock button enables you to toggle between modes such as HSI. Here you can use the dial to change the colours of the LED for a more creative Hue. The FN (Function) button at the centre of the mode dial lets you jump between the HSI attributes so you can adjust Saturation and Intensity with ease. I found the Godox LCR500R Mini’s mode button really easy and intuitive to use (whereas with the ZHIYUN Fiveray F100, I still find myself twiddling its dial and pressing buttons at random in an attempt to find the mode I require).

To help you focus the output of the Godox LCR500R Mini is a set of plastic barn doors. These can be easily clipped to the wand and adjusted to create a wider or narrower beam that enables you to sculpt your subject with light. 

Godox LCR500R Mini: Performance

To test the Godox LCR500R Mini I took it to a cave-like tunnel (or a tunnel-like cave!) in the Scottish Borders. With the LED turned off the location was almost completely dark, but even at 60% of full power the light emitted was strong enough to illuminate the farthest recesses of the cave. It also has 1/4 threads at both ends of the wand so you can mount it on a mini tripod which leaves you free to perform to camera as a hands-free vlogger.

If you’re a videographer who is a solo operator then the Godox LCR500R Mini’s Bluetooth connectivity is really useful. By connecting it to your smartphone’s free Godox Light app you can control every property of the light, from intensity to color temperature to choosing a colored gel with a tap.

As you’ll see from my supporting video I had fun using the app to trigger a wide range of 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 ads perfect for enhancing a crime drama (or a piece of police stock footage). Thanks to the app it's very easy to dial in a police car to represent specific countries (as some flash blue and white while others produce an alternating red-blue and white flash). 

The Godox LCR500R Mini’s 1580 Lux output was highly effective in a low-light location. However once in bright sunlight I needed to get the LED very close to my face to add some fill light that counteracted the harsh shadows produced by the sun. While shooting outdoors with the light wand mounted on a mini tripod I found that the wind would treat the barn doors like a sail, causing the wand to topple over. My conclusion is that the Godox LCR500R Mini is better suited to studio work or in sheltered urban locations (such as gloomy walkways) that might benefit from the presence of a versatile LED wand such as the Godox LCR500R Mini.

Godox LCR500R Mini: Verdict

As I like to travel light using my iPhone 15 Pro Max as my main camera, the Godox LC500R Mini is small and light enough - at 0.5 kg -  to accompany me on a shoot, plus it has its own handy carry case. Despite its small size, I was surprised at how powerful its output was - especially in complete darkness as my supporting video demonstrates. I’d recommend it for videographers in particular, though in bright sunlight it can struggle to work as an effective fill light in portrait photography unless it gets close to the subject’s face. 

Alternatives

If you need a more powerful LED light wand to work with in bright daylight then the Zhiyun Fiveray F100 is well worth considering. Its 100W input is far more powerful than the 20W of the Godox LC500R Mini, which gives you 20708 lux compared with the Godox LC500 Mini’s punier 1580 lux. However, you do get what you pay for and the Zhiyun Fiveray F100 costs more than twice the price of the Godox LC500R Mini.

Godox LC500 Mini is the little brother to the Godox LC500R Mini. The specifications of both light sticks are mostly the same but the LCR500R Mini version boasts 15 animated light effects compared to the 11 in the LCR500 Mini. One of those extra effects is Music, which causes the LED to flash in time to an audio source. But if you don’t need these extra effects then the LCR500R Mini will save you some money as it costs $135 / £107 compared to the R version’s $159 / £125 price tag.