Pitched at content creators and YouTubers, Rotolight’s Ultimate Vlogging Kit feels like great value for money. Easy to set up and straighforward in use, it certainly does what it’s designed to do – and for those occasions when you might not actually be creating any content, you could use it for reading or for casting yourself in a better light in these times of regular videoconferencing.
Pros
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All-in-one mobile vlogging kit
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Ringlight gives appealing, even lighting
Cons
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Lots of bits, and you may well not need all of them
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No supplied rechargeable batteries
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No mains power
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Lighting manufacturer Rotolight has been diversifying its product range to appeal to camera phone-centric content creators. Whether you are a vlogger, filmmaker or photographer, chances are you struggled to get decent light levels when you broadcast yourself on YouTube or joined video conferences with friends and family. Even if you were able to repurpose some of your core camera kit, perhaps it all felt a tad over-elaborate, like using the proverbial sledgehammer to crack a nut.
That has all changed now, with the very reasonably priced Ultimate Vlogging Kit. You get an LED light and all the accessories you need to illuminate your video selfies; it’s battery-powered and like your camera phone, simplicity itself to use. What’s
more, you’ll get some change from £100 or $100.
Specifications
The twin accessory bar has screw clamps for attaching the phone and light panel. (Image credit: Rotolight)
Light source: Stealth RL48-B LED
Lux (at 1 metre): 242 (1,000 lumens)
Powered by: Three AA batteries
Filters included: LED 204, 205, 216, 184
Beam angle: 140 degrees
Circumference: 13.3cm (5.24in)
Depth: 2cm (3/4 in)
Mount: Shotgun mic or RL48 stand
Pack contains: Stealth RL468-B LED light panel. Rotopod three-legged stand, Support arm and clip, Twin accessory bar, Four-piece filter set, Adjustable phone clip
(Image credit: Rotolight)
The kit is based around Rotolight’s Stealth RL48, a circular LED panel with a diameter of 13.3cm (5.25in). It’s powered by three AA batteries that are inserted on the rear panel, and which will give continuous light for four hours – far more than your cameraphone’s storage capacity for byte-hungry video footage.
A set of four drop-in filters ships with the kit; these are inserted under the transparent front cover and enable you to tailor the light’s output to suit the lighting conditions. They comprise two color temperature filters (LED 204: 3200K and 205: 4100K) and two diffusion filters (184: skin tone and 216: white diffusion). The diffusion filters can be used with the color temperature filters if necessary, and an insert that summarises when to use which filter is included in the kit.
Performance
This kit is user-friendly and can be set up in seconds. Place the support arm on the rear of the light panel and secure it by snapping the Rotolight-branded clip through the front of the panel. Then screw the three-legged stand into the accessory bar before mounting your cameraphone and light panel at either end. Use the push-button clamp to on the stand to get the desired angle and you’re ready to go. We attached a lavalier mic to our phone to capture some video game player footage, and were very pleased with the outcome – using the 184 (skin tone diffusion) filter in daylight produced an even spread of light that warmed up the scene and flattered
the faces of our subjects. Niall Hampton
Verdict
The Rotopod stand can be table-mounted or carried while filming on the go. The pushbutton-operated clamp means it’s very easy to fine-tune your angles. (Image credit: Rotolight)
Pitched at content creators and YouTubers, Rotolight’s Ultimate Vlogging Kit feels like great value for money. Easy to set up and straighforward in use, it certainly does what it’s designed to do – and for those occasions when you might not actually be creating any content, you could use it for reading or for casting yourself in a better light in these times of regular videoconferencing.
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Niall is the editor of Digital Camera Magazine, and has been shooting on interchangeable lens cameras for over 20 years, and on various point-and-shoot models for years before that.
Working alongside professional photographers for many years as a jobbing journalist gave Niall the curiosity to also start working on the other side of the lens. These days his favored shooting subjects include wildlife, travel and street photography, and he also enjoys dabbling with studio still life.
On the site you will see him writing photographer profiles, asking questions for Q&As and interviews, reporting on the latest and most noteworthy photography competitions, and sharing his knowledge on website building.
