It¡¯s very cool to be able to get a full lighting kit like this for the price this company is offering it for.
In the past it¡¯s been a pain to find and buy everything separately, getting the light, then the soft box (or umbrella), then the stand… trying to always get the best deal and make sure it all is compatible and of similar quality.
I got the version with the soft box because I like to use these lights for interviews and product photography/video. I¡¯m quite happy with it, for the price.
The light is very light weight, being made of plastic, but feels sturdy. There is a fan in the light, but the noise is comparable with other similar lights. The light output is similar to other similar models, too. The light color is a bit cooler than other similar lights, but still works well for daylight balanced scenes.
The stand is metal, with clamps that feel sturdy. It¡¯s 6¡¯ tall at fully extended.
The power brick comes with a 5¡¯ cable on one end and 6¡¯ on the other end.
I recommend hanging the power brick on the stand when extended fully so it doesn¡¯t stress the connector. I also recommend using the second diffusing fabric in the soft box to fully soften the light, just like with any other soft box.
5 out of 5
Professor H –
This review is for the GVM 80W CRI97+ 5600K LED Video Light, Continuous Output Lighting Kit with Tripod Stand, Bowens Mount, 22 inches Softbox for YouTube, Video Recording, Wedding, Outdoor Shooting
I have been needing a more pro type light to do some videos, and I found this at a good price. Some lights with a light box are just out of my price range.
Once you get the light box put together, using this light is super easy. The included tripod is highly adjustable, and the diffused light is perfect for my needs.
5 out of 5
Nathan Schmidt –
This 80W continuous output light is perfect for video recording light setups. That was what i chose it for and so far its been great. The build quality seems very good. The quality and color of the lighting is excellent. The modifier and stand that come with the light are both great as well. So far I’ve been very happy with the results of the videos and portraits that I have shot with this light. Its been a good investment in my gear for sure.
5 out of 5
Jason C. –
Very quiet and works great !! I am very happy with the product. Maybe some installation manual of the lamp cover would have been nice. It was tricky to install until I figured out how the pins are inserted. If you have any questions please ask me and I will help you figure it out. I use it in a small room, 3ft by 10ft and it lights the place up nicely. You can dim the light, there is a dimmer switch. The stand is also of good quality.
5 out of 5
Chiara –
Build quality is great and quality of light is great. Easy to use , and I recommend do use it with soft box . It works very well for the money.
5 out of 5
MediaBoxEnt –
Continuous output lighting kit! light weight , yet very sturdy! the soft box was simple and quick to set up! it come with its tripods and the excellent carrying case that we can take from one place to another! in that way making sure that the lights always stay in great shape and we are always ready to roll!
The softbox quality; great stitching, thick fabric and quick set up, very strong
Tripods, strong, quick set up and very steady!
Light quality! super bright , I get the effects that I need on my subjects!
5 out of 5
Rajan Kannan –
This is Great affordable light. As a videographer I ordered this lights for my YouTube video setup.
Cant beat the price, it’s an excellent value as we get the stand, softbox, Bowens mount and the actual light for the price.
I’m Impressed with this light quality as well.The light is soft and can get it adjusted to be quite bright if needed. The fan noise is low & can’t catch them on the videos and its does not get very hot with some continuous use.
If you are on a limited budget and need a good, reliable lighting for creating quality professional videos, I definitely recommend this kit light.
Two cons for me which i noticed but not a deal breaker for me
Remote is missing could be useful for controlling the light output remotely.
Lack of LCD screen display. Could be useful to remember to set the desired brightness for next shoots.
Big shout out to the Seller. Due to the current COVID situation the expected delivery date was 2 weeks but i got the item in 2 days only. Overall I’m really happy for the unit for the price i paid.
5 out of 5
Kevin Photo –
I bought this to use for video work and one of the best features is that it is very quiet, with a barely audible fan. I used a db meter to check the fan loudness and with the meter right next to the unit it measured an average of 27db, which is very quiet. It is not noticeable if you are further away from the light and this makes it useful for quiet interviews in a studio. The light output is also very good, comparable to other units that are actually higher wattage. The control is very simple, a single dimmer knob. I love that it also has the Bowens standard mount so I can use my existing soft boxes and modifiers. GVM also has some great accessories. The kit comes with a small soft box and basic light stand. The box is a little time consuming to set up, so I just leave it set up all the time. It then quickly attaches to the light when needed. The light stand is very basic, but should work and hold up fine for light duty use. It makes a very portable location lighting kit for indoor supplemental light or main lighting (when used with fill light). I ordered another kit so I¡¯ll have two units to take on location. Note that the light temperature (color) is fixed at 5600K which is natural daylight. If you need to match tungsten lamp lighting, you may want their more expensive model which has variable white balance and remote control too.
5 out of 5
Cyndi Lundeberg –
I have worked in TV for nearly a decade and needed some lighting for my home studio! This is great it’s a powerful light that is adjustable and super easy to set up. really glad I found this !
5 out of 5
Barjibee –
My friend and and decided to start our own side photography business..something we¡¯ve wanted to do for many years, needed something durable, And affordable for our start up, since it will be doing a lot of traveling and receiving a lot of wear and tear..
With nothing else to compare it to besides a few ring style lights, this fixture has been a dream come true!! Absolutely perfect for portrait studio settings.. we were both amazed at how quiet the fan is, this has been very helpful, while photographing infants, which otherwise, could be a disastrous situation.
My daughter has also gotten amazing results with her makeup application tutorial YouTube Channel,
She has tripled her followers in the past 2 weeks, since upgrading her lighting!!!!
Instructions are impressively clear , easy to read and user friendly!!
The tripod is durable, strong and easy to use!. The actual soft box, is A strong durable material as well… You can set up the light without the soft box if needed and it is extremely bright.!!
Overall I am very pleased, Light has already paid for itself, Amazing value!!
it has gotten tons of use. (More from my daughter), and holding up very well..
We have had nothing but positive feedback , repeat business and new business from word of mouth , All thanks to this lighting kit!
Highly recommended
5 out of 5
influence peddler –
I’m still very new to photography and started getting into it because of reviews actually. This is a gvm light, i have several other products from them and haven’t been disappointed yet. Its easy to assemble, very easy to operate, and overall performs as you would expect it to. I’ve made a video that does a pretty good job detailing assembly and shows it being used. It comes with all needed parts – except possibly directions. I say that because mine didnt come with complete directions, which I show in the video. It was pretty easy to work out assembly but I was lost for a second because I’ve never put together something like this before. The only other potential negative note I would say is the tripod is just barely capable of holding this straight when its raised high. mine started to tilt a few times, I have other tripods so not a big concern for me. It also might have just been how i had it angled or something, like I said I’m still new to all this. The light itself is very bright, I’m hoping to adventure into food photography and really wanted something that could make the colors pop. This will definitely do the job.
5 out of 5
Poc Network // Tech –
This is a wonderful studio/photography/video (whatever) light to join the collection with. We actually have a number of these GVM lights and they all get along quite well. This one is no different.
The light can get pretty bright and stand its ground within your setup. It’s not the brightest, but those cost a little more anyway, so its to be expected. This is a good mid-range light (not nearly as dim as some of the ultra-affordable options that don’t give much at all). The build of the light is pretty sturdy and operation involves one simple knob that turns it on and off and controls brightness as you continue to turn it.
Setting everything up doesn’t take much time. Tripod->light-> plugin it in! The softbox is what takes a little time to set up. At first, you might scratch your head on how it goes together, but the poles slide into the softbox enclosure with the end with the attached tip sliding through the loop and into the little black pockets toward the front of the softbox. The other end slides into the round holes of the mount. Run all of them around like this and you’ll start forming the softbox out. Then attach the two diffuser sections (this part is obvious and needs no intel to accomplish). Then the mount spins and locks into place on the light.
The tripod has good height to it, which should get you through most situations. Anything higher and you’d likely be hanging it from a bar or stick of truss. The tripod feels sturdy enough to take the weight of the light just fine.
For what you get with this kit, we found this to be a good deal for an LED solution like this. It is really user-friendly and simple to use (no apps or anything, just turn it on). All-in-all, we really liked this light.
**If you have found our review helpful, please vote it as helpful below so we know. This helps us to provide quality feedback in the future.
5 out of 5
Mikel Berry –
I really like GVM photography studio lighting products. In fact, for nearly all my indoor photo and video projects (and sometimes outdoors too) I use GVM lighting. This was my most recent acquisition, a ‘softbox’. If there’s only one lighting tool in your ‘tool kit’ this should probably be it. The soft box is used more often than any other light, because it’s the most versatile. For it’s size, it has brighter light than many panels, and can be adjusted for sharpness as well as intensity. In your studio, you will probably want to leave this one assembled and standing in the corner or somewhere out of the way. The ‘dish’ or the umbrella looking part is NOT easy to assemble and it takes a little time. Each rib must be fed through the fabric and stopped in the pocket. At first, the ribs might keep falling out of the hub (very loose fit). But, at the end, you will be straining to get them in place. The fabric is very taught and those fiberglass ribs are very stiff. The light is really bright at the high end. There are two diffuser panels. The large one that covers the entire reflective dish. And, a smaller one that just covers the lamp and still allows SOME brighter lighting from the dish. Then, using both of them together would soften the light much more. The electronics could get very warm. But, the lamp has it’s own excellent, super quiet, built in cooling fan that prevents overheating. (Very nice!) The set comes with a carrying bag that is big enough for the cords, power pack, fabrics and ribs. And, the boxes are good enough to use for storage and even carrying to a remote location. I think that a carrying bag or case big enough to carry the whole kit would have been nice. The boxes WERE NOT DESIGNED for constant use like a bag or case would be. But, over all, I’d say that GVM has yet another great product to their line up, and my studio. I’m very pleased. Five stars.
5 out of 5
Stefanie Smolski –
I think this light is fantastic. I love the size. It¡¯s small, but mighty! I used it to film a small product video commercial and it worked as needed/expected. Lightweight and well constructed. I love that it came with everything needed! The soft box, light stand and mount (especially for the price) I would definitely recommend this to anyone who needs a continuous lighting source. The temperature is great.
5 out of 5
Stefan Fulton –
Super powerful light with a reliable bowens mount and fantastic color rendition when it comes to skin tones. These lights are super lightweight, and the smaller softbox matches perfectly! I wish they were made of some sort of aluminum or other lightweight metal, but the low weight is honestly the biggest pro. GVM made another great light, totally worth it
5 out of 5
Jimmy Blanco –
This is My second purchase of this light, the first one was so good I had to get a second, they’re extremely portable and lightweight, easy to fit in your carry-on if you travel a lot for your shoots. It does not come with a remote or any way to control the light except for the knob on the back of the unit( not really a big deal). CRI is rated at 97 and the color seems to be consistent between the 2 units. it’s Brighter by about 1/3 of a stop than my Godox sl-60W and the internal fan is much quieter as well, the tightening Mechanism is plastic(the whole unit is actually) and extends out really far so depending on what soft box you’re using it might hit against the soft box but that is just a minor issue. overall I love these small form factor Bowens mount lights and i will build out my lighting kit with more lights from GVM. I hope they Make a 300w Version in the future to compete with Aputure’s 300D II. would be nice to include some effects in there as well.
(Edit.) My Light Didn’t include the colored Gels i’ll try to reach out to the seller and see if I can get some Shipped out. I’ll Update my Review if all goes well
5 out of 5
Will-Review4U –
My reports on this photography equipment ¡°focus¡± on product details or functions not listed on the product page and that can only be known from using the product. My goal is to help others who may be considering this product for their lighting or photography setups.
This light was purchased to replace my current continuous lighting which consisted of bright CFL bulbs and upgraded Corn LED cylindrical bulbs covered by white flash umbrellas. These were not as powerful and cast a light temp that would always have to be edited in post using lightroom cc.
When unboxing I realized this is my first GVM product that I have purchased that does not include the black molded zippered case for this light and stand. So I will retain the box since the white foam has been cut to place all the components in their own location.
When using this GVM light I am able to obtain color as if it were daylight making the skintones perfect. This is contributed to the light having a high CRI of 97+ which is what I was taught is required for professional video lighting.
The majority of the build is a thick black plastic which keeps both the price and weight very low. This type of housing material makes this extremely portable. I can place this light on the top of the included GVM stand at 79 inches or using another light stand that is over 96 inches high to create a backlit sunset golden hour and I only have to use a small weight bag to keep the stand with this light from tipping over.
The back of the unit is the most simple light o have in my photography equipment. A power port, power switch, and brightness adjustment knob. I will connect the 30v adapter cord to a small outlet strip with on and off switch so I can control power after setting desired brightness. I am always rationing hours of light use to extend the led life as much as possible. on the back of the unit( not really a big deal).
The light from an fan or cooling mechanism noise level is Low to practically None which means less white noise when video recording.
The lighting field starts within inches from the blinding square LED. When I attach the included Bowens mount metal reflector it focuses the light with a tighter circle. The umbrella helps soften or spread out the light to reduce the harsh shadows.
I am looking forward to purchasing additional Bowens mount compatible soft boxes or snoots for some great video or photography lighting effects.
5 out of 5
Mac –
Purchased one, now back for another. Best overall deal on a lightweight light with all the essentials you need to get started. I am a total beginner to lighting but there were some things I did not want to compromise on even for a started light. This thing is small, light, has plenty of power, and at a great price. There are other less expensive lights but this thing in my opinion is the best overall value. One of the most critical needs I wanted even for a beginner light was a bowens mount so that if I ever decide to I have the flexibility of already having a light with an industry standard mount. Other cheaper lights don’t always have this or use a different type of mount that will require some sort of adaptor. For some this may not be as important but I wanted that feature.
5 out of 5
Jada :) –
this light gives off VERY bright light, I love it!!!!! I will attach a few photos of pictures I¡¯ve taken using the light.
5 out of 5
marten gehman –
Happy with the purchase. My first COB light!! Using with a Aputure light dome mini 2 !! So far so good 😉
5 out of 5
Tonya –
Love the product
5 out of 5
Landon Petersen –
I purchased this light box to do remote and online music lessons. It was packaged very well but the instructions could be much better. There are good tutorials about how to set it up for the first time. A bit tricky but I usually keep it together, even when doing remote shoots.
The build quality is fantastic. Many other boxes in this range have flimsy legs or don¡¯t represent color well. I find that most shoots with this box require very little color grading or correction with plenty of natural contrast.
This is honestly the cheapest you can go to get an entry-level professional unit.
There are a few gripes though. The transformer is hanging off the floor when the stand is extended past about 5 feet. Not a deal breaker and expect to get a Velcro tie to secure it to the stand with some slack. Also the box can be frustrating if you decide to break it down fully and go to a different location.
That being said, the actual light fixture is of fantastic quality with no heat. There is a fan that is audible on the full setting but honestly I¡¯ve never picked it up on a recording.
Overall, highly recommended! Extremely true and rich interpretation of color and will last a long time if you take care of it!
5 out of 5
A. D. Lum –
My title was a little long, but that sums things up nicely. I have all kinds of lights. They are all LEDs, but the styles are different. I have ring lights, flat panels, high-intensity spotlights, etc. I use different ones for different situations.
The triple light sets are the most versatile, especially the ones like this one that can generate the full spectrum of color. I have a bigger set of such lights, which is one of the things I like about this set. It can do the same things, but it’s smaller and covers most of the situations that I want to shoot. Traveling lighter is always desirable.
The light stands work well and are sufficiently sturdy to instill confidence. They pack away neatly and extend to a reasonable height.
The lights themselves are not wanting for anything. The tough plastic barn doors have good resistance out of the box, but you can adjust the resistance (how easily they move) if it isn’t quite to your liking. With “click-locks” you can keep the light diffusion panels in place, or remove and change them easily.
With the ability to take two industry-standard batteries per light, the lights are very mobile. I tend to shoot near power sources, but it’s nice to know that I can easily hit the road and shoot in remote places. It’s easy to figure out the manual dials, buttons, and switches to control the functions of the light, but of course, I always read the manual just in case.
Controlling the lights is handy with the app but the one thing you can only do manually is adjust each light individually. With the app, you can control only one light with the option of having one or more of the other lights mirror the app-controlled light. It’s a nice app and gave me no problems.
The special effects are good. They look and behave as one might expect. That is to say that the lightning, emergency vehicle, and other special lighting effects could pass for the real thing.
All the checkboxes that I care about are checked. The quality of the materials, workmanship, design, and of course, function, all get a thumbs up. The case is compartmentalized well, which not only keeps things safe and neatly arranged but makes it easy to pack things away. The case is a rectangular block shape, so it stands on its own and won’t roll around in the back of your car.
I have all sorts of lights. I need the versatility. But this is the set that I will use most often because of its versatility and compactness. Your needs may be different, but if they are like mine, this is a good set to have in your cinematic arsenal.
5 out of 5
Gerald Bertram –
VM is really setting up their game with these latest light panel releases. These 850D panels are a huge upgrade over their popular 800D light panels.
The biggest upgrade here over the older 800D is in power output. GVM claims these are 3.6 times brighter. In real world use I¡¯m finding them to be actually closer to 2 times brighter. While not quite the brightness difference GVM stated it is still a very impressive increase in light power considering the actual size of the light panels hasn¡¯t really changed that much from the older 800D panels to these newer 850D panels. To realize this increase in light output GVM added 376 additional LED beads to help increase the power output. Also instead of just bare LED chips they also put little lenses over each LED bead/chip which also help to increase the light output. These lenses also help to throw the light out to a further distance.
What is interesting is that for example the GVM 880RS is rated at 60W and produces 11,200 lux at .5 meters. The 850D is rated at 40w, is even physically a bit smaller than the 880RS yet the 850D panels produce 18,000 lux at .5 meters! Roughly 7,000 more lux. This is why it¡¯s important why you shouldn¡¯t JUST look at the wattage power draw of LED light panels when determining their brightness.
The other big upgrade is how you control these light panels. It used to be you had to connect the mobile app via wifi. This was a pain for a couple reasons. The first being that because your phone/tablet is connected to the light panel¡¯s wifi meant that you couldn¡¯t do things like browse the Internet while connected to them. The other big issue was that just connecting the lights was kind of a pain. Having to go into your phone¡¯s settings and changing what wifi you were connected to then going back into the app to actually connect to the lights. It was a convoluted process that took too long. Now you connect to the lights via bluetooth. No more issues with browsing the Internet while controlling the lights. The app connects to the lights so much faster now and takes very little time. The new app, GVM II, is nicely laid out and easy to use. I haven¡¯t had the app crash on me once which isn¡¯t something I could say about the previous app.
The case is beefy and strong. I have no reservations carrying around this 3 panel set from shoot to shoot. Each light also comes in these soft fabric bags as well. Not sure how useful those are but I guess they will prevent any scratching on the lights while inside the case. I want to emphasize how great it is that GVM actually includes a real case. I have another 3 light set from Neewer and that case is just flimsy fabric. They provide very little protection and are more of a means to just carry around all the lights at once.
These lights have no fans. This is such a huge benefit when you are shooting things like interviews or talking head YouTube videos. The lack of fans means these panels produce little to no noise at all. Heat is simply dissipated through the metal bodies of the lights.
There are a couple of optional accessories you shouldn¡¯t sleep on. One is a rubberized grid that will slip over each panel providing you a much more directional light. The other is an actual softbox with a detachable grid. I¡¯ve included several pictures of those softboxes in this review. These are true softboxes not just ultra cheap fabric you fit around the lights like I have seen in some light sets from folks like Neewer. The softbox would be my recommendation over the rubberized grid because the softboxes are going to give you nice soft diffused light and if you need the light to be more directional simply attach the included grid that attaches with hook and loop. If you want just directional light and not diffused light (which will cut down the power output) just remove the diffusion fabric from the softbox and leave in the grid.
Another improvement is in the RGB mode. On the 800D panels when you set them to a very low power output, say like 1-5%, the color change would be very sudden and abrupt. You wouldn¡¯t get subtle differences in shades of color. Now with the 850D panels I am seeing those subtle changes in colors even at lower power.
A big benefit to these light panels is that there are no fans. The lights simply dissipate heat through the metal body of the lights themselves. No fans means no noise making these ideal for things like interview shoots or even talking head YouTube videos.
These panels come with a thin less opaque diffusion. These help to achieve a better throw with the light. So while it doesn¡¯t diffuse the light very well it does help get rid of those off shadows you can sometimes get with light panels like this and of course they don¡¯t greatly impact the light output either.
I love the master/slave mode function they built into these lights. Simply set one light to master and set the others to slave. Then when you make any changes to the light settings on the master panel, the other slave panels will automatically change to those settings as well. Not quite instantly, but it is very quick.
I really can only think of a few things about the set that are less than impressive. The barn doors are plastic and not metal. Certainly not a deal breaker but I just prefer metal build quality over a plastic one. The other is the light stands, and this isn¡¯t something specific to this GVM set of lights. All of these more budget priced light panel sets come with very budget light stands. So while the stands aren¡¯t very impressive they will get the job done since these panels are so lightweight. One actual benefit to these stands is that they can actually quite low. In fact about 50% lower than my Impact light stands and c-stands. Lastly, while the mobile app works well I still would like to have a physical remote control as well. When on set sometimes you just don¡¯t want to go through the process of connecting the lights to your phone and prefer the instant control with a remote control.
Lastly I want to also say that GVM customer support is amazing. Far better than other budget light manufacturers like Neewer. I recently got a light kit from them and one of the LED screens on the rear of the panel had a small crack in it. It was still usable and didn¡¯t seem to impact functionality of the light at all but it just bothered me. I sent a picture of the cracked LED screen to them and within 3 days I had a brand new light panel at my front door. It even came in it¡¯s own case as well. This was incredibly impressive to me and isn¡¯t the same level of service I have received from other companies that I previously mentioned.
In the end I am very happy with this 3 panel set of lights. GVM has put in more than a few upgrades over their previous generation of light sets. If you are in the market for a budget set of budget light panels with some great light output as well as really good color accuracy I would highly recommend these.
5 out of 5
Amazon Customer –
This is a photography lighting kit with 3 tunable lights and stands. The lights measure approximately 8¡±x8¡±. They can be powered via the power cables with wall plugs that are included, or by lithium video batteries (Sony F750/970; not included). The lights are fully tunable, with individual controls for temperature, hue, and saturation, or you can select from 8 preset scenes. The lights can be controlled individually or in master/slave configurations, or from the GVM_LED app on your phone. The lights have barn doors and diffuser panels. Included with the kit are 3 telescoping adjustable light stands and a hardshell zippered nylon case. The full kit weighs nearly 25 lbs. The GVM logo appears on the velvet drawstring storage bags for each of the pieces and in large letters on the backs of the lights.
I am very pleased with the brightness of these lights, as well as how easily they can be adjusted to just the right color and brightness. And with the app, you can save your settings, which is really useful for resetting a scene. The lights are quite easy to use and feel pretty rugged when they are set up. The carrying case does a great job of keeping the stands and lights together while provide protection for the lights. There is plenty of room inside the case to carry sets of batteries and a charger. Overall, this is a super selection for photography and videography.
5 out of 5
Erica Munoz –
I do still life photography for a board game company. When Covid hit and we went nearly 100% remote, I ordered two of these so that I could work from home. They were a great substitute for the fully lit studio at work and I set up my shoots up against a sliding glass door to get supplemental light. Building the soft box takes time, patience and a little force to put together but it is sturdy and has been withstanding my tossing them into the closet when I need the space. I accidentally broke the power cable for one, but one call to GVM got me a free replacement (Thanks, GVM!). To prevent breaking another cable, I’ll be installing some velcro straps to keep the power box more secure. Overall, these are totally worth the price and can yield professional results.
5 out of 5
Mechakoush –
I love the upgrade over the previous version, it is much brighter and has more LED for better colors and the scenes makes it usable for very creative ways, specially if you check the video there is a police car scene that you can mimic.
The build quality is okay for the price, each stand and LED panel comes with its pouch and then everything is packed with a hard case which makes it easier to move around, it is heavy keep that in mind.
The LED panels can only look straight on or tilted upwards, you can’t tilt it downwards as the side windows will not let you tilt down, the windows some of them are firm and will take time to get them loose, the panels also have a diffuser plastic that can be locked to not take it out, or to replace with gels or other things.
The app did have an update and it makes it much easier to connect, it simply detects the LED panel in the app and you just connect, you do have to select App mode to be able to connect, you can only control all the lights at once as far as I was able to, you cannot change each light by itself.
Overall, this is much more improved over the 800D with much brighter and more reliable app control.
5 out of 5
Small Biz Owner –
Disclaimer, I’m using this for shooting video. I’m an amateur and still learning about lighting.
My use case is using this in a small office for shooting fitness videos. The office is about 15×10′ and has one wall that allows some natural light through, but some days are pretty dark. The miniblinds need to be shut for privacy, so only a little light comes through.
The light and stand seem to be well made. I’d say it’s a solid value. Better than the super-cheap $60 light kits. No carry case, but you can disassemble to pack back into the padded cardboard box it was shipped in.
The softbox is a bit of a pain to assemble. It comes with a link to a video showing you how to do it, but they make it look easier than it is. The video shows the woman installing the rods into the metal center ring first, then into the fabric. I found it much easier to do it the opposite way – fabric ends first, then into the center ring.
The light is pretty bright. An 80W LED is equivalent of about 250W incandescent. I have now way to test this, but I’d say that’s about right. Now this is half of the wattage I was getting from when I was using a 500W halogen shop lamp for my lighting, but it hasn’t affected the footage as much as I thought. The camera has to adjust to lower light levels now, but I can’t visually see the degradation in video quality. (I’m using two of these 80W lamps as I was using two of the 500W halogens).
Now being able to adjust the light brightness (can’t do that with the shop lamps), I had no idea how useful this would be in helping to reduce harsh shadows. This lamp has an LED readout of the level (0 to 100%).
The included stand isn’t pro-grade sturdiness, but it’s not a flimsy piece of junk either. I was impressed at it’s quality for the price.
The power brick will dangle in the air if you extend the stand all the way up. I use some elastic hair ties and rubber bands to secure against the stand to support it and keep it from dangling. Probably some industrial velcro would work as well. The included power cord (from the brick to the outlet) is fairly long.
Not mentioned in the description but included in the box was a waffle diffuser. I don’t think I’ll need it, but a nice addition.
The fan is audible but not too loud. It has not been picked up by any of my microphones, but I’m also not standing right next to the light either. It seems that being just a couple feet away is good enough, even with an omnidirectional lavalier mic.
5 out of 5
mike m. –
Light is simple to setup and offers nice range of brightness. I had this running for a few hours and the unit never felt warm. The fan is audible, but not terrible.
My mic was picking up the fan from about 4 feet away. That’s not a deal breaker for me, but keep that in mind depending what your recording situation may be.
5 out of 5
frederick hall –
This product is good for its price, only problem is the hood that comes with it. The hood is EXTREMELY difficult to assemble and disassemble, you will 100% bend one or two of the support poles that it comes with. It’s easily the worst design for a hood I’ve ever seen. beyond that the product is great.
5 out of 5
Alex –
I bought few products from GVM
And i am always happy and satisfied!
Sturdy stand, amazing light! Perfect for my studio!
5 out of 5
VinchenzoStyle –
Wow amazing light for photographer, videographers etc…
this 3 light kit is really great. it allows you to control the brightness with several different tints and intensities. the quality of the LEDs is perfect and each luminaire with the aluminum blades allows the light to be directed to the right place and provides good lighting. value for money it is a company that I recommend to my clients and even to my photographer during our photo shoots for the magazine, because it is a growing company that offers high quality products at an affordable price. come with in case which allows the safe transport of the lights. LED lights have a very long lifespan. robust and reliable product. the application is great for managing colors and creating atmospheres
5 out of 5
Ashley Anne –
Purchased this product to enhance lighting for my product photos. After watching a few YouTube videos, this style of GVM was recommend. I chose this product because the reviews felt honest and genuine and many included extra helpful tips. Also, the type of photos I take need colour changes and being able to control this from the app has made the process faster.
Packaging was simple but effective for keeping everything safe during shipping. Instructions that were included I found extremely easy to follow and set up.
5 out of 5
Joe P. –
I purchased this 3 RGB / CCT light set for the office. I had three main goals in mind and was hoping this single setup would solve them for me.
? I needed a light set to give provide better lighting to staff doing legal updates on YouTube
? I needed a portable light system to also give proper lighting to subjects being filmed on location
? I wanted a way to project color on walls, objects, etc. for hosted events
A total bonus feature for me is the way it allows full color and intensity control via the GVM II cell phone app. I do wish we could control each light individually instead of a master/slave arrangement. So far, this setup is doing very well for what we needed it for. I did not think we would get this much functionality at this price. It does put out plenty of light (really bright for the small footprint). I highly recommend using the GVM Softboxes with these lights when filming / photographing people. It helps keep the lighting very soft without hot spots (makeup tends to be reflective). The included carrying case is pretty nice as well. The case has cushy bags to put your disassembled light set into for protection during transport. I wish the stands were a little heavier duty, but if you are careful with them, they should do the job. I was so pleased with the set at this price point, that I ordered one for home (video / photo use mainly). We have not used these lights on battery yet.
As for support, I needed to contact GVM for some usage questions and part I wanted replaced. I was surprised how smoothly it went. I got my questions answered and a new part shipped without any hassle what-so-ever. I was concerned what support I would a few years get down the road since this light set comes with a 3 year warranty, but not any more.
Personal Use – I was tasked with getting copies of photos out of photo albums with brittle and somewhat discolored plastic film. I ended up setting this light set like a photo copy table. I needed non-glaring soft light with a color temperature that kept the discolored film as clear as possible. It actually worked out very well. See photo.
Final Note – if interested in this set, make sure to check the discounts and free add-ons they tend to have around the price. I have seen $100 off, free softboxes, and free batteries. These offers are stackable. So if they offer more than one discount or free item with the set, you can click on multiple at the same time. At least it worked for me 😉
Sky –
It¡¯s very cool to be able to get a full lighting kit like this for the price this company is offering it for.
In the past it¡¯s been a pain to find and buy everything separately, getting the light, then the soft box (or umbrella), then the stand… trying to always get the best deal and make sure it all is compatible and of similar quality.
I got the version with the soft box because I like to use these lights for interviews and product photography/video. I¡¯m quite happy with it, for the price.
The light is very light weight, being made of plastic, but feels sturdy. There is a fan in the light, but the noise is comparable with other similar lights. The light output is similar to other similar models, too. The light color is a bit cooler than other similar lights, but still works well for daylight balanced scenes.
The stand is metal, with clamps that feel sturdy. It¡¯s 6¡¯ tall at fully extended.
The power brick comes with a 5¡¯ cable on one end and 6¡¯ on the other end.
I recommend hanging the power brick on the stand when extended fully so it doesn¡¯t stress the connector. I also recommend using the second diffusing fabric in the soft box to fully soften the light, just like with any other soft box.
Professor H –
This review is for the GVM 80W CRI97+ 5600K LED Video Light, Continuous Output Lighting Kit with Tripod Stand, Bowens Mount, 22 inches Softbox for YouTube, Video Recording, Wedding, Outdoor Shooting
I have been needing a more pro type light to do some videos, and I found this at a good price. Some lights with a light box are just out of my price range.
Once you get the light box put together, using this light is super easy. The included tripod is highly adjustable, and the diffused light is perfect for my needs.
Nathan Schmidt –
This 80W continuous output light is perfect for video recording light setups. That was what i chose it for and so far its been great. The build quality seems very good. The quality and color of the lighting is excellent. The modifier and stand that come with the light are both great as well. So far I’ve been very happy with the results of the videos and portraits that I have shot with this light. Its been a good investment in my gear for sure.
Jason C. –
Very quiet and works great !! I am very happy with the product. Maybe some installation manual of the lamp cover would have been nice. It was tricky to install until I figured out how the pins are inserted. If you have any questions please ask me and I will help you figure it out. I use it in a small room, 3ft by 10ft and it lights the place up nicely. You can dim the light, there is a dimmer switch. The stand is also of good quality.
Chiara –
Build quality is great and quality of light is great. Easy to use , and I recommend do use it with soft box . It works very well for the money.
MediaBoxEnt –
Continuous output lighting kit! light weight , yet very sturdy! the soft box was simple and quick to set up! it come with its tripods and the excellent carrying case that we can take from one place to another! in that way making sure that the lights always stay in great shape and we are always ready to roll!
The softbox quality; great stitching, thick fabric and quick set up, very strong
Tripods, strong, quick set up and very steady!
Light quality! super bright , I get the effects that I need on my subjects!
Rajan Kannan –
This is Great affordable light. As a videographer I ordered this lights for my YouTube video setup.
Cant beat the price, it’s an excellent value as we get the stand, softbox, Bowens mount and the actual light for the price.
I’m Impressed with this light quality as well.The light is soft and can get it adjusted to be quite bright if needed. The fan noise is low & can’t catch them on the videos and its does not get very hot with some continuous use.
If you are on a limited budget and need a good, reliable lighting for creating quality professional videos, I definitely recommend this kit light.
Two cons for me which i noticed but not a deal breaker for me
Remote is missing could be useful for controlling the light output remotely.
Lack of LCD screen display. Could be useful to remember to set the desired brightness for next shoots.
Big shout out to the Seller. Due to the current COVID situation the expected delivery date was 2 weeks but i got the item in 2 days only. Overall I’m really happy for the unit for the price i paid.
Kevin Photo –
I bought this to use for video work and one of the best features is that it is very quiet, with a barely audible fan. I used a db meter to check the fan loudness and with the meter right next to the unit it measured an average of 27db, which is very quiet. It is not noticeable if you are further away from the light and this makes it useful for quiet interviews in a studio. The light output is also very good, comparable to other units that are actually higher wattage. The control is very simple, a single dimmer knob. I love that it also has the Bowens standard mount so I can use my existing soft boxes and modifiers. GVM also has some great accessories. The kit comes with a small soft box and basic light stand. The box is a little time consuming to set up, so I just leave it set up all the time. It then quickly attaches to the light when needed. The light stand is very basic, but should work and hold up fine for light duty use. It makes a very portable location lighting kit for indoor supplemental light or main lighting (when used with fill light). I ordered another kit so I¡¯ll have two units to take on location. Note that the light temperature (color) is fixed at 5600K which is natural daylight. If you need to match tungsten lamp lighting, you may want their more expensive model which has variable white balance and remote control too.
Cyndi Lundeberg –
I have worked in TV for nearly a decade and needed some lighting for my home studio! This is great it’s a powerful light that is adjustable and super easy to set up. really glad I found this !
Barjibee –
My friend and and decided to start our own side photography business..something we¡¯ve wanted to do for many years, needed something durable, And affordable for our start up, since it will be doing a lot of traveling and receiving a lot of wear and tear..
With nothing else to compare it to besides a few ring style lights, this fixture has been a dream come true!! Absolutely perfect for portrait studio settings.. we were both amazed at how quiet the fan is, this has been very helpful, while photographing infants, which otherwise, could be a disastrous situation.
My daughter has also gotten amazing results with her makeup application tutorial YouTube Channel,
She has tripled her followers in the past 2 weeks, since upgrading her lighting!!!!
Instructions are impressively clear , easy to read and user friendly!!
The tripod is durable, strong and easy to use!. The actual soft box, is A strong durable material as well… You can set up the light without the soft box if needed and it is extremely bright.!!
Overall I am very pleased, Light has already paid for itself, Amazing value!!
it has gotten tons of use. (More from my daughter), and holding up very well..
We have had nothing but positive feedback , repeat business and new business from word of mouth , All thanks to this lighting kit!
Highly recommended
influence peddler –
I’m still very new to photography and started getting into it because of reviews actually. This is a gvm light, i have several other products from them and haven’t been disappointed yet. Its easy to assemble, very easy to operate, and overall performs as you would expect it to. I’ve made a video that does a pretty good job detailing assembly and shows it being used. It comes with all needed parts – except possibly directions. I say that because mine didnt come with complete directions, which I show in the video. It was pretty easy to work out assembly but I was lost for a second because I’ve never put together something like this before. The only other potential negative note I would say is the tripod is just barely capable of holding this straight when its raised high. mine started to tilt a few times, I have other tripods so not a big concern for me. It also might have just been how i had it angled or something, like I said I’m still new to all this. The light itself is very bright, I’m hoping to adventure into food photography and really wanted something that could make the colors pop. This will definitely do the job.
Poc Network // Tech –
This is a wonderful studio/photography/video (whatever) light to join the collection with. We actually have a number of these GVM lights and they all get along quite well. This one is no different.
The light can get pretty bright and stand its ground within your setup. It’s not the brightest, but those cost a little more anyway, so its to be expected. This is a good mid-range light (not nearly as dim as some of the ultra-affordable options that don’t give much at all). The build of the light is pretty sturdy and operation involves one simple knob that turns it on and off and controls brightness as you continue to turn it.
Setting everything up doesn’t take much time. Tripod->light-> plugin it in! The softbox is what takes a little time to set up. At first, you might scratch your head on how it goes together, but the poles slide into the softbox enclosure with the end with the attached tip sliding through the loop and into the little black pockets toward the front of the softbox. The other end slides into the round holes of the mount. Run all of them around like this and you’ll start forming the softbox out. Then attach the two diffuser sections (this part is obvious and needs no intel to accomplish). Then the mount spins and locks into place on the light.
The tripod has good height to it, which should get you through most situations. Anything higher and you’d likely be hanging it from a bar or stick of truss. The tripod feels sturdy enough to take the weight of the light just fine.
For what you get with this kit, we found this to be a good deal for an LED solution like this. It is really user-friendly and simple to use (no apps or anything, just turn it on). All-in-all, we really liked this light.
**If you have found our review helpful, please vote it as helpful below so we know. This helps us to provide quality feedback in the future.
Mikel Berry –
I really like GVM photography studio lighting products. In fact, for nearly all my indoor photo and video projects (and sometimes outdoors too) I use GVM lighting. This was my most recent acquisition, a ‘softbox’. If there’s only one lighting tool in your ‘tool kit’ this should probably be it. The soft box is used more often than any other light, because it’s the most versatile. For it’s size, it has brighter light than many panels, and can be adjusted for sharpness as well as intensity. In your studio, you will probably want to leave this one assembled and standing in the corner or somewhere out of the way. The ‘dish’ or the umbrella looking part is NOT easy to assemble and it takes a little time. Each rib must be fed through the fabric and stopped in the pocket. At first, the ribs might keep falling out of the hub (very loose fit). But, at the end, you will be straining to get them in place. The fabric is very taught and those fiberglass ribs are very stiff. The light is really bright at the high end. There are two diffuser panels. The large one that covers the entire reflective dish. And, a smaller one that just covers the lamp and still allows SOME brighter lighting from the dish. Then, using both of them together would soften the light much more. The electronics could get very warm. But, the lamp has it’s own excellent, super quiet, built in cooling fan that prevents overheating. (Very nice!) The set comes with a carrying bag that is big enough for the cords, power pack, fabrics and ribs. And, the boxes are good enough to use for storage and even carrying to a remote location. I think that a carrying bag or case big enough to carry the whole kit would have been nice. The boxes WERE NOT DESIGNED for constant use like a bag or case would be. But, over all, I’d say that GVM has yet another great product to their line up, and my studio. I’m very pleased. Five stars.
Stefanie Smolski –
I think this light is fantastic. I love the size. It¡¯s small, but mighty! I used it to film a small product video commercial and it worked as needed/expected. Lightweight and well constructed. I love that it came with everything needed! The soft box, light stand and mount (especially for the price) I would definitely recommend this to anyone who needs a continuous lighting source. The temperature is great.
Stefan Fulton –
Super powerful light with a reliable bowens mount and fantastic color rendition when it comes to skin tones. These lights are super lightweight, and the smaller softbox matches perfectly! I wish they were made of some sort of aluminum or other lightweight metal, but the low weight is honestly the biggest pro. GVM made another great light, totally worth it
Jimmy Blanco –
This is My second purchase of this light, the first one was so good I had to get a second, they’re extremely portable and lightweight, easy to fit in your carry-on if you travel a lot for your shoots. It does not come with a remote or any way to control the light except for the knob on the back of the unit( not really a big deal). CRI is rated at 97 and the color seems to be consistent between the 2 units. it’s Brighter by about 1/3 of a stop than my Godox sl-60W and the internal fan is much quieter as well, the tightening Mechanism is plastic(the whole unit is actually) and extends out really far so depending on what soft box you’re using it might hit against the soft box but that is just a minor issue. overall I love these small form factor Bowens mount lights and i will build out my lighting kit with more lights from GVM. I hope they Make a 300w Version in the future to compete with Aputure’s 300D II. would be nice to include some effects in there as well.
(Edit.) My Light Didn’t include the colored Gels i’ll try to reach out to the seller and see if I can get some Shipped out. I’ll Update my Review if all goes well
Will-Review4U –
My reports on this photography equipment ¡°focus¡± on product details or functions not listed on the product page and that can only be known from using the product. My goal is to help others who may be considering this product for their lighting or photography setups.
This light was purchased to replace my current continuous lighting which consisted of bright CFL bulbs and upgraded Corn LED cylindrical bulbs covered by white flash umbrellas. These were not as powerful and cast a light temp that would always have to be edited in post using lightroom cc.
When unboxing I realized this is my first GVM product that I have purchased that does not include the black molded zippered case for this light and stand. So I will retain the box since the white foam has been cut to place all the components in their own location.
When using this GVM light I am able to obtain color as if it were daylight making the skintones perfect. This is contributed to the light having a high CRI of 97+ which is what I was taught is required for professional video lighting.
The majority of the build is a thick black plastic which keeps both the price and weight very low. This type of housing material makes this extremely portable. I can place this light on the top of the included GVM stand at 79 inches or using another light stand that is over 96 inches high to create a backlit sunset golden hour and I only have to use a small weight bag to keep the stand with this light from tipping over.
The back of the unit is the most simple light o have in my photography equipment. A power port, power switch, and brightness adjustment knob. I will connect the 30v adapter cord to a small outlet strip with on and off switch so I can control power after setting desired brightness. I am always rationing hours of light use to extend the led life as much as possible. on the back of the unit( not really a big deal).
The light from an fan or cooling mechanism noise level is Low to practically None which means less white noise when video recording.
The lighting field starts within inches from the blinding square LED. When I attach the included Bowens mount metal reflector it focuses the light with a tighter circle. The umbrella helps soften or spread out the light to reduce the harsh shadows.
I am looking forward to purchasing additional Bowens mount compatible soft boxes or snoots for some great video or photography lighting effects.
Mac –
Purchased one, now back for another. Best overall deal on a lightweight light with all the essentials you need to get started. I am a total beginner to lighting but there were some things I did not want to compromise on even for a started light. This thing is small, light, has plenty of power, and at a great price. There are other less expensive lights but this thing in my opinion is the best overall value. One of the most critical needs I wanted even for a beginner light was a bowens mount so that if I ever decide to I have the flexibility of already having a light with an industry standard mount. Other cheaper lights don’t always have this or use a different type of mount that will require some sort of adaptor. For some this may not be as important but I wanted that feature.
Jada :) –
this light gives off VERY bright light, I love it!!!!! I will attach a few photos of pictures I¡¯ve taken using the light.
marten gehman –
Happy with the purchase. My first COB light!! Using with a Aputure light dome mini 2 !! So far so good 😉
Tonya –
Love the product
Landon Petersen –
I purchased this light box to do remote and online music lessons. It was packaged very well but the instructions could be much better. There are good tutorials about how to set it up for the first time. A bit tricky but I usually keep it together, even when doing remote shoots.
The build quality is fantastic. Many other boxes in this range have flimsy legs or don¡¯t represent color well. I find that most shoots with this box require very little color grading or correction with plenty of natural contrast.
This is honestly the cheapest you can go to get an entry-level professional unit.
There are a few gripes though. The transformer is hanging off the floor when the stand is extended past about 5 feet. Not a deal breaker and expect to get a Velcro tie to secure it to the stand with some slack. Also the box can be frustrating if you decide to break it down fully and go to a different location.
That being said, the actual light fixture is of fantastic quality with no heat. There is a fan that is audible on the full setting but honestly I¡¯ve never picked it up on a recording.
Overall, highly recommended! Extremely true and rich interpretation of color and will last a long time if you take care of it!
A. D. Lum –
My title was a little long, but that sums things up nicely. I have all kinds of lights. They are all LEDs, but the styles are different. I have ring lights, flat panels, high-intensity spotlights, etc. I use different ones for different situations.
The triple light sets are the most versatile, especially the ones like this one that can generate the full spectrum of color. I have a bigger set of such lights, which is one of the things I like about this set. It can do the same things, but it’s smaller and covers most of the situations that I want to shoot. Traveling lighter is always desirable.
The light stands work well and are sufficiently sturdy to instill confidence. They pack away neatly and extend to a reasonable height.
The lights themselves are not wanting for anything. The tough plastic barn doors have good resistance out of the box, but you can adjust the resistance (how easily they move) if it isn’t quite to your liking. With “click-locks” you can keep the light diffusion panels in place, or remove and change them easily.
With the ability to take two industry-standard batteries per light, the lights are very mobile. I tend to shoot near power sources, but it’s nice to know that I can easily hit the road and shoot in remote places. It’s easy to figure out the manual dials, buttons, and switches to control the functions of the light, but of course, I always read the manual just in case.
Controlling the lights is handy with the app but the one thing you can only do manually is adjust each light individually. With the app, you can control only one light with the option of having one or more of the other lights mirror the app-controlled light. It’s a nice app and gave me no problems.
The special effects are good. They look and behave as one might expect. That is to say that the lightning, emergency vehicle, and other special lighting effects could pass for the real thing.
All the checkboxes that I care about are checked. The quality of the materials, workmanship, design, and of course, function, all get a thumbs up. The case is compartmentalized well, which not only keeps things safe and neatly arranged but makes it easy to pack things away. The case is a rectangular block shape, so it stands on its own and won’t roll around in the back of your car.
I have all sorts of lights. I need the versatility. But this is the set that I will use most often because of its versatility and compactness. Your needs may be different, but if they are like mine, this is a good set to have in your cinematic arsenal.
Gerald Bertram –
VM is really setting up their game with these latest light panel releases. These 850D panels are a huge upgrade over their popular 800D light panels.
The biggest upgrade here over the older 800D is in power output. GVM claims these are 3.6 times brighter. In real world use I¡¯m finding them to be actually closer to 2 times brighter. While not quite the brightness difference GVM stated it is still a very impressive increase in light power considering the actual size of the light panels hasn¡¯t really changed that much from the older 800D panels to these newer 850D panels. To realize this increase in light output GVM added 376 additional LED beads to help increase the power output. Also instead of just bare LED chips they also put little lenses over each LED bead/chip which also help to increase the light output. These lenses also help to throw the light out to a further distance.
What is interesting is that for example the GVM 880RS is rated at 60W and produces 11,200 lux at .5 meters. The 850D is rated at 40w, is even physically a bit smaller than the 880RS yet the 850D panels produce 18,000 lux at .5 meters! Roughly 7,000 more lux. This is why it¡¯s important why you shouldn¡¯t JUST look at the wattage power draw of LED light panels when determining their brightness.
The other big upgrade is how you control these light panels. It used to be you had to connect the mobile app via wifi. This was a pain for a couple reasons. The first being that because your phone/tablet is connected to the light panel¡¯s wifi meant that you couldn¡¯t do things like browse the Internet while connected to them. The other big issue was that just connecting the lights was kind of a pain. Having to go into your phone¡¯s settings and changing what wifi you were connected to then going back into the app to actually connect to the lights. It was a convoluted process that took too long. Now you connect to the lights via bluetooth. No more issues with browsing the Internet while controlling the lights. The app connects to the lights so much faster now and takes very little time. The new app, GVM II, is nicely laid out and easy to use. I haven¡¯t had the app crash on me once which isn¡¯t something I could say about the previous app.
The case is beefy and strong. I have no reservations carrying around this 3 panel set from shoot to shoot. Each light also comes in these soft fabric bags as well. Not sure how useful those are but I guess they will prevent any scratching on the lights while inside the case. I want to emphasize how great it is that GVM actually includes a real case. I have another 3 light set from Neewer and that case is just flimsy fabric. They provide very little protection and are more of a means to just carry around all the lights at once.
These lights have no fans. This is such a huge benefit when you are shooting things like interviews or talking head YouTube videos. The lack of fans means these panels produce little to no noise at all. Heat is simply dissipated through the metal bodies of the lights.
There are a couple of optional accessories you shouldn¡¯t sleep on. One is a rubberized grid that will slip over each panel providing you a much more directional light. The other is an actual softbox with a detachable grid. I¡¯ve included several pictures of those softboxes in this review. These are true softboxes not just ultra cheap fabric you fit around the lights like I have seen in some light sets from folks like Neewer. The softbox would be my recommendation over the rubberized grid because the softboxes are going to give you nice soft diffused light and if you need the light to be more directional simply attach the included grid that attaches with hook and loop. If you want just directional light and not diffused light (which will cut down the power output) just remove the diffusion fabric from the softbox and leave in the grid.
Another improvement is in the RGB mode. On the 800D panels when you set them to a very low power output, say like 1-5%, the color change would be very sudden and abrupt. You wouldn¡¯t get subtle differences in shades of color. Now with the 850D panels I am seeing those subtle changes in colors even at lower power.
A big benefit to these light panels is that there are no fans. The lights simply dissipate heat through the metal body of the lights themselves. No fans means no noise making these ideal for things like interview shoots or even talking head YouTube videos.
These panels come with a thin less opaque diffusion. These help to achieve a better throw with the light. So while it doesn¡¯t diffuse the light very well it does help get rid of those off shadows you can sometimes get with light panels like this and of course they don¡¯t greatly impact the light output either.
I love the master/slave mode function they built into these lights. Simply set one light to master and set the others to slave. Then when you make any changes to the light settings on the master panel, the other slave panels will automatically change to those settings as well. Not quite instantly, but it is very quick.
I really can only think of a few things about the set that are less than impressive. The barn doors are plastic and not metal. Certainly not a deal breaker but I just prefer metal build quality over a plastic one. The other is the light stands, and this isn¡¯t something specific to this GVM set of lights. All of these more budget priced light panel sets come with very budget light stands. So while the stands aren¡¯t very impressive they will get the job done since these panels are so lightweight. One actual benefit to these stands is that they can actually quite low. In fact about 50% lower than my Impact light stands and c-stands. Lastly, while the mobile app works well I still would like to have a physical remote control as well. When on set sometimes you just don¡¯t want to go through the process of connecting the lights to your phone and prefer the instant control with a remote control.
Lastly I want to also say that GVM customer support is amazing. Far better than other budget light manufacturers like Neewer. I recently got a light kit from them and one of the LED screens on the rear of the panel had a small crack in it. It was still usable and didn¡¯t seem to impact functionality of the light at all but it just bothered me. I sent a picture of the cracked LED screen to them and within 3 days I had a brand new light panel at my front door. It even came in it¡¯s own case as well. This was incredibly impressive to me and isn¡¯t the same level of service I have received from other companies that I previously mentioned.
In the end I am very happy with this 3 panel set of lights. GVM has put in more than a few upgrades over their previous generation of light sets. If you are in the market for a budget set of budget light panels with some great light output as well as really good color accuracy I would highly recommend these.
Amazon Customer –
This is a photography lighting kit with 3 tunable lights and stands. The lights measure approximately 8¡±x8¡±. They can be powered via the power cables with wall plugs that are included, or by lithium video batteries (Sony F750/970; not included). The lights are fully tunable, with individual controls for temperature, hue, and saturation, or you can select from 8 preset scenes. The lights can be controlled individually or in master/slave configurations, or from the GVM_LED app on your phone. The lights have barn doors and diffuser panels. Included with the kit are 3 telescoping adjustable light stands and a hardshell zippered nylon case. The full kit weighs nearly 25 lbs. The GVM logo appears on the velvet drawstring storage bags for each of the pieces and in large letters on the backs of the lights.
I am very pleased with the brightness of these lights, as well as how easily they can be adjusted to just the right color and brightness. And with the app, you can save your settings, which is really useful for resetting a scene. The lights are quite easy to use and feel pretty rugged when they are set up. The carrying case does a great job of keeping the stands and lights together while provide protection for the lights. There is plenty of room inside the case to carry sets of batteries and a charger. Overall, this is a super selection for photography and videography.
Erica Munoz –
I do still life photography for a board game company. When Covid hit and we went nearly 100% remote, I ordered two of these so that I could work from home. They were a great substitute for the fully lit studio at work and I set up my shoots up against a sliding glass door to get supplemental light. Building the soft box takes time, patience and a little force to put together but it is sturdy and has been withstanding my tossing them into the closet when I need the space. I accidentally broke the power cable for one, but one call to GVM got me a free replacement (Thanks, GVM!). To prevent breaking another cable, I’ll be installing some velcro straps to keep the power box more secure. Overall, these are totally worth the price and can yield professional results.
Mechakoush –
I love the upgrade over the previous version, it is much brighter and has more LED for better colors and the scenes makes it usable for very creative ways, specially if you check the video there is a police car scene that you can mimic.
The build quality is okay for the price, each stand and LED panel comes with its pouch and then everything is packed with a hard case which makes it easier to move around, it is heavy keep that in mind.
The LED panels can only look straight on or tilted upwards, you can’t tilt it downwards as the side windows will not let you tilt down, the windows some of them are firm and will take time to get them loose, the panels also have a diffuser plastic that can be locked to not take it out, or to replace with gels or other things.
The app did have an update and it makes it much easier to connect, it simply detects the LED panel in the app and you just connect, you do have to select App mode to be able to connect, you can only control all the lights at once as far as I was able to, you cannot change each light by itself.
Overall, this is much more improved over the 800D with much brighter and more reliable app control.
Small Biz Owner –
Disclaimer, I’m using this for shooting video. I’m an amateur and still learning about lighting.
My use case is using this in a small office for shooting fitness videos. The office is about 15×10′ and has one wall that allows some natural light through, but some days are pretty dark. The miniblinds need to be shut for privacy, so only a little light comes through.
The light and stand seem to be well made. I’d say it’s a solid value. Better than the super-cheap $60 light kits. No carry case, but you can disassemble to pack back into the padded cardboard box it was shipped in.
The softbox is a bit of a pain to assemble. It comes with a link to a video showing you how to do it, but they make it look easier than it is. The video shows the woman installing the rods into the metal center ring first, then into the fabric. I found it much easier to do it the opposite way – fabric ends first, then into the center ring.
The light is pretty bright. An 80W LED is equivalent of about 250W incandescent. I have now way to test this, but I’d say that’s about right. Now this is half of the wattage I was getting from when I was using a 500W halogen shop lamp for my lighting, but it hasn’t affected the footage as much as I thought. The camera has to adjust to lower light levels now, but I can’t visually see the degradation in video quality. (I’m using two of these 80W lamps as I was using two of the 500W halogens).
Now being able to adjust the light brightness (can’t do that with the shop lamps), I had no idea how useful this would be in helping to reduce harsh shadows. This lamp has an LED readout of the level (0 to 100%).
The included stand isn’t pro-grade sturdiness, but it’s not a flimsy piece of junk either. I was impressed at it’s quality for the price.
The power brick will dangle in the air if you extend the stand all the way up. I use some elastic hair ties and rubber bands to secure against the stand to support it and keep it from dangling. Probably some industrial velcro would work as well. The included power cord (from the brick to the outlet) is fairly long.
Not mentioned in the description but included in the box was a waffle diffuser. I don’t think I’ll need it, but a nice addition.
The fan is audible but not too loud. It has not been picked up by any of my microphones, but I’m also not standing right next to the light either. It seems that being just a couple feet away is good enough, even with an omnidirectional lavalier mic.
mike m. –
Light is simple to setup and offers nice range of brightness. I had this running for a few hours and the unit never felt warm. The fan is audible, but not terrible.
My mic was picking up the fan from about 4 feet away. That’s not a deal breaker for me, but keep that in mind depending what your recording situation may be.
frederick hall –
This product is good for its price, only problem is the hood that comes with it. The hood is EXTREMELY difficult to assemble and disassemble, you will 100% bend one or two of the support poles that it comes with. It’s easily the worst design for a hood I’ve ever seen. beyond that the product is great.
Alex –
I bought few products from GVM
And i am always happy and satisfied!
Sturdy stand, amazing light! Perfect for my studio!
VinchenzoStyle –
Wow amazing light for photographer, videographers etc…
this 3 light kit is really great. it allows you to control the brightness with several different tints and intensities. the quality of the LEDs is perfect and each luminaire with the aluminum blades allows the light to be directed to the right place and provides good lighting. value for money it is a company that I recommend to my clients and even to my photographer during our photo shoots for the magazine, because it is a growing company that offers high quality products at an affordable price. come with in case which allows the safe transport of the lights. LED lights have a very long lifespan. robust and reliable product. the application is great for managing colors and creating atmospheres
Ashley Anne –
Purchased this product to enhance lighting for my product photos. After watching a few YouTube videos, this style of GVM was recommend. I chose this product because the reviews felt honest and genuine and many included extra helpful tips. Also, the type of photos I take need colour changes and being able to control this from the app has made the process faster.
Packaging was simple but effective for keeping everything safe during shipping. Instructions that were included I found extremely easy to follow and set up.
Joe P. –
I purchased this 3 RGB / CCT light set for the office. I had three main goals in mind and was hoping this single setup would solve them for me.
? I needed a light set to give provide better lighting to staff doing legal updates on YouTube
? I needed a portable light system to also give proper lighting to subjects being filmed on location
? I wanted a way to project color on walls, objects, etc. for hosted events
A total bonus feature for me is the way it allows full color and intensity control via the GVM II cell phone app. I do wish we could control each light individually instead of a master/slave arrangement. So far, this setup is doing very well for what we needed it for. I did not think we would get this much functionality at this price. It does put out plenty of light (really bright for the small footprint). I highly recommend using the GVM Softboxes with these lights when filming / photographing people. It helps keep the lighting very soft without hot spots (makeup tends to be reflective). The included carrying case is pretty nice as well. The case has cushy bags to put your disassembled light set into for protection during transport. I wish the stands were a little heavier duty, but if you are careful with them, they should do the job. I was so pleased with the set at this price point, that I ordered one for home (video / photo use mainly). We have not used these lights on battery yet.
As for support, I needed to contact GVM for some usage questions and part I wanted replaced. I was surprised how smoothly it went. I got my questions answered and a new part shipped without any hassle what-so-ever. I was concerned what support I would a few years get down the road since this light set comes with a 3 year warranty, but not any more.
Personal Use – I was tasked with getting copies of photos out of photo albums with brittle and somewhat discolored plastic film. I ended up setting this light set like a photo copy table. I needed non-glaring soft light with a color temperature that kept the discolored film as clear as possible. It actually worked out very well. See photo.
Final Note – if interested in this set, make sure to check the discounts and free add-ons they tend to have around the price. I have seen $100 off, free softboxes, and free batteries. These offers are stackable. So if they offer more than one discount or free item with the set, you can click on multiple at the same time. At least it worked for me 😉