Best LED Light for Video Shooting: Neewer Bi-Color 660 LED Video Light with Softbox Review

If you want to make awesome videos for your YouTube channel or do professional-looking studio photography, lighting is vitally important.

Manufacturers at the budget end of the photo and video market have been able to produce bright high-quality LED light panels that any photographer or videographer can afford.

LED light panels are easy to transport, they’re quick to set up (literally in seconds), and usually can be powered either from an AC outlet or rechargeable batteries. The best LED light for video shooting on a budget must be the Neewer bi-color LED video light. So, let’s get started:

Neewer Bi-Color 660 LED Video Light with Softbox

Last update on 2024-02-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

What’s in the box

Overview

This Neewer 2-piece LED Video Light with Softbox Kit is the perfect and best LED light for video production for YouTube Creators looking for affordable lights.

Each light panel has a total of 660 LED long-lasting beads; 330 white, and 330 yellow. Each set of LEDs is controlled by a dimmer knob, allowing you to adjust the brightness and color temperature. Just using the yellow LEDs will give you a warmer color temperature of 3200K, equivalent to tungsten lighting. Meanwhile, the white LEDs used on their own will produce a cooler daylight white of 5600K. By mixing the two sets of LEDs you can vary the color temperature between 3200 and 5600K, as well as the overall brightness.

The upper control knob is for the yellow LEDs and the lower control knob is for the white LEDs. These power/dimmer knobs allow you to match the ambient color temperature or get creative with color and brightness in your YouTube video production.

Construction and size

The Neewer bi-color LED video light is constructed from an aluminum alloy, making it durable but at the same time light-weight. The metal construction also gives a more professional appearance. Each panel measures about 9-inch (23.2cm) by 8-inches (20cm) and 2-inches (4.8cm) deep.

The light panels are mounted in an aluminum U-bracket, allowing them to be tilted and directed towards your subject. Tightening the knob on each side holds the light panel at the selected angle. The bottom of the U-bracket has a light stand mounting socket, but you can also use the U-bracket as a support if you want to have it sit directly on the ground or on a desk.

Power source 

The Neewer bi-color LED light panels are rated 40W and 12V. They can be powered by inexpensive Sony NP-F550 or NP-F970 lithium-ion batteries that attach to the rear of the panels. Although a pair of batteries can be attached, a single battery can be used to power each LED light panel.

Although batteries are particularly useful if you are filming outdoors, this kit only includes AC power adapters. They can take an input voltage of 100-240 volts.  

Barn doors and softboxes

The lights include four detachable barn doors to help limit the spread of the light, although they are of limited use. More useful is the included white diffuser that will help soften the light. But the collapsible softboxes do a much better job of turning these LED light panels into soft light sources.  

Also included in the kit are two carry cases. These are just for the LED light panels and not also for the light stands that come with the kit.

Light stands included

Talking of light stands, they are adjustable between a height of 26 inches (66cm) to 75 inches (190cm). The top of the stand has a ¼ inch spigot. Although lightweight they certainly do the job. However, I always like to place a sandbag over one of the feet of each light stand for safety’s sake.

How powerful are the lights?

The light output is 3360Lux/m, so the pair of lights will be bright enough for up to a two-person interview. If you need to light a larger area you will need more of these LED lights.

When I shoot a talking-head video against a pure white backdrop, I use a pair of LED lights to illuminate the backdrop and another two lights on the subject. However, you could light the subject with just one light or even three lights. 

Excellent Color Rendering

The LEDs on these Neewer light panels are high quality and will render colors very well. Their Color Rendering Index (CRI) of these Neewer light panels is 96+. That’s excellent since a CRI of 90+ is considered good. It’s also better than the Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs you’ll get in most softbox or umbrella light kits that you’ll find online.

Since the Neewer LED video lights use LEDs with a remarkably high CRI value of 96+ you’ll get authentic results in the way they render colors. If you’re taking product shots, they’ll look good. If your subject is a person, skin tones will appear natural.

These Neewer lights get a big thumbs up on color rendering. I would happily use them for recording interviews, clients piece-to-camera videos, or even YouTube vlogs.

Collapsible softboxes

But LED light panels are just part of the story when you want decent quality lighting for your videos or digital images. By quality, I’m talking about soft lighting that evenly illuminates your subject and helps to smooth the shadows.

The use of light modifiers will improve the quality of your lighting. Among the most popular light modifiers are photographer’s umbrellas and softboxes.

The purchase of a softbox lighting kit is always a promising idea if you want to get the best results. As the name suggests, a softbox ‘softens’ the light. But unlike an umbrella, a softbox also helps you control where you direct the light.

Fortunately, the Neewer bi-color LED light kit comes with a pair of collapsible softboxes.

The softboxes spring open and magnetic pillars keep the front and rear of the softbox apart. You then use velcro strips to attach the softbox to the front of the LED panel.

Last update on 2024-02-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

The pros and cons

What we like…	What we don’t like…
Very effective and full-featured lighting kit	The light stands are lightweight but perfectly serviceable
Perfect for YouTubers and studio photography
Good color rendering with a very high CRI of 96+
Comparatively lightweight
Quick to set up
Affordable price
The quality of the light is excellent
It comes with a white diffuser and a softbox
Low power consumption of only 40-Watts
Battery or AC power
Uses Sony NP-F550 or NP-F970 lithium-ion batteries

Summary

The Neewer bi-color LED lighting panels produce plenty of light that will help you step up your video production values. Meanwhile, the addition of the high CRI value and the collapsible softboxes will help improve the quality of the light, visibly boosting the look of your videos or stills.

The Neewer lights may only be semi-pro but you get value for money and your viewers won’t notice any difference between these lights and ones costing thousands of dollars.

For that reason, these are the best-LED lights for video production or photography at this price point. If you really want to get the best out of them buy two sets to make sure your backdrop is as well-lit as your subject, then you will have the best lighting for video recording in a home video studio.

Last update on 2024-02-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Readers also asked…

What is Color Rendering Index?

The Color Rendering Index (CRI) is a measure of how well colors are rendered by the light. A CRI of 100 would mean the colors look identical to how they look under tungsten light. The lower the CRI the less true to life the colors appear, especially skin tones. Some fluorescent tube lights have a CRI of around 70, resulting in skin tones that appear dull and even a little greenish. A light with a CRI of 90+ is considered good, really good lights are 96+.

How do you light yourself for a video?

The easiest way to light yourself for a video is to use window light. For even light across your face stand face-on to the window. To slightly accentuate your features, you can cast a pleasant soft shadow across your face by turning slightly away from the window but keeping your camera directly in front of you. If using video lights, the easiest setup is to have one 120cm umbrella softbox in front of you. Slightly more complex, but still easy, is to move the umbrella off to one side by about 45° to be your key light. On the opposite side use a large white foam board. It effectively becomes a fill light by bouncing light into the shadows caused by the key light.