Product Review: Lume Cube Broadcast Lighting Kit [u]

[Updated April 15, 2021, with technical specs from Lume Cube on the two lights.]

“I really like the look of your new light,” said my son after a recent video conference. I recently purchased the Lume Cube Broadcast Lighting kit and Video Conference light for my own work. This was the first chance my son had to see them in action.

NOTE: Lume Cube has now combined these two units into the “Work From Home Bundle.”

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The “Work From Home Bundle,” combines a tripod-based LED light panel along with a slightly smaller unit mounted via a suction cup.

The Broadcast Lighting Kit features a telescoping tripod (12″ to 30″ height) with a ball head mount that supports both horizontal and vertical positioning, adjustable LED panel with two diffusion filters and USB-C charging. Everything is portable – rechargeable batteries are built into each light.

The Video Conference light is a smaller LED panel – equally adjustable – along with a suction mount to attach the light to the back of a monitor or any other flat, non-porous surface.

Manufacturing quality is outstanding, light cases are made from aluminum, while the quality of the light is clean and smooth and the built-in rechargeable batteries support hours of use. (The total duration depends upon how bright you set the light – more about this in my review.)

These lights may not be bright enough to light an entire set, but they are more than bright enough to light a small interview, video conference guest, or all kinds of playful lighting for still image shoots. I like these portable lights a lot.

Manufacturer: Lume Cube
Products: Broadcast Lighting Kit & Video Conference Light
Warranty: 12 months
Website: https://LumeCube.com/products/work-from-home-combo-bundle
Price: $149.95 (US)

ABOUT THE KITS

The Broadcast Lighting Kit includes:

• Lume Cube Panel Go
• Telescoping tripod
• Vacuum mount
• USB-C charging cable
• USB-C to USB-A converter cable
• Very simple user guide

The Video Conference light kit includes:

• Lume Cube Panel Mini1
• Vacuum mount
• USB-C charging cable
• USB-C to USB-A converter cable
• Very simple user guide

ABOUT THE LIGHTS

Making changes to temperature or intensity settings is as easy as pressing the power switch then rotating the knob. The readout clearly shows the precise setting.

The Lume Cube Panel Go specs:

• 112 LEDs in a 4.75″ diagonal surface
• Color Rendering Index: >96
• 9 watts
• Internal, rechargeable Lithium Ion battery
• Charged via USB-C cable (included)
• Color temperature: Adjustable from 3200K to 5600K in 100K increments
• Intensity: Variable from 1% to 100% in 5% increments
• Battery: 2470 mAh Lithium Ion rechargeable battery
• Battery life: About 90 minutes at 100% to 6 hours at 15% (estimated)
• Charging time: About 2.5 hours
• The readout on the back indicates battery status, intensity, and color temperature.
• Includes removable soft diffusion cover

The Lume Cube Panel Mini 1 specs:

• 48 LEDs in a 3.75″ diagonal surface
• Color Rendering Index: >96
• 5 watts
• Internal, rechargeable Lithium Ion battery
• Charged via USB-C cable (included)
• Color temperature: Adjustable from 3200K to 5600K in 100K increments
• Intensity: Variable from 1% to 100% in 5% increments
• Battery: 1200 mAh Lithium Ion rechargeable battery
• Battery life: About 75 minutes at 100% to 5 hours at 15% (estimated)
• Charging time: About 1.8 hours
• The readout on the back indicates battery status, intensity, and color temperature.
• Includes removable soft diffusion cover

While lights can be operated with the USB-C cable connected, they are designed to be fully portable and cord free.

The side panel holds:

• Power switch (press for 3 seconds to turn on / off)
• Rotary knob to set intensity and color temperature

UPDATE: TECHNICAL SPECS ON THE TWO LIGHTS

Finding technical information on these two lights on the Lume Cube website is really difficult. So, I contacted Lume Cube for more information. Here’s what I was told.

Larry: What is the light output of the two lights at 100% in lumens?

An intelligent LCD on the rear of the Panel GO displays the color temperature, brightness level, remaining runtime, and battery level.

• The maximum brightness output (100%) of the Lume Cube Panel Go is 1080 lux, when measured at 0.5 m.
• The maximum brightness output (100%) of the Lume Cube Panel Mini 1 is 550 lux, when measured at 0.5 m.

Larry: Is the light regulated or does light output diminish as the battery declines? For example, if I am recording a 30 minute interview with the light at 50%, is the amount of light ( in lumens) the same at the start of the recording as it is in the end, or does it start to fade immediately as the battery drains?

The Panel Mini typically delivers battery life at least equivalent to what’s stated on the spec sheets:

• At 100% power, you can expect to get 1 hour and 20 minutes runtime at both 3200K and 5600K color temperatures.
• At 50% power, you can expect to get 2.3 hours run time for both 3200K and 5600K.
• At 1% power, you can expect a run time of 16 hours.
• Recharging the Panel Mini can take around under two hours using the USB port on a desktop computer.

NOTE: I re-contacted Lume Cube to see if light output or color drops as the battery drains. I’ll update this review when I learn more.

Larry add: Both lights are rated with a CRI of 96+, as a color rendering index. However I was not able to get an answer if color output changes as the battery drains.

ABOUT THE MOUNTS

The first thing that struck me about these units was how well made they are. Light cases are aluminum. Tripods are a combination of steel (pole) and substantial plastic (legs and mount). The vacuum mount is substantial plastic. All three feel like they can handle regular use without breaking. I especially like the feel of the telescoping tripod shaft. I extended it to its full height with the light on top several days ago and it has not moved since.

Lights can be mounted five different ways:

• On the tripod, which extends from 12″ to 30″
• On the tripod base, which extends about 6″
• On the vacuum mount
• On the tripod, but replacing the legs with the vacuum mount
• On the tripod, as a monopod, without legs or vacuum mount

It is not obvious, nor covered in the very brief setup instructions, but the bottom of the tripod has a ring that twists to lock the legs in place. This took me a call to tech support to discover.

PUTTING THE LIGHTS TO USE

I bought both lights to give me some lighting flexibility for some shoots I have coming up. But, for now, I’m only using them for video conferencing.

There are many things I like about these lights:

• I’m using the light as a key, at 20% intensity, from a distance from my face of 4 feet. It provides a soft, even key without harsh shadows. It was this light that made my son comment on how good it looks.
• My office is lit with daylight from an off-camera window. I like dialing the lights to about 4800K to provide warmth to my face, yet still stay within the general color range of daylight.
• Running at 20% intensity provides about 4.5 hours of light on the Lume Cube Panel light (the bigger of the two).
• The second diffuser, which is removable, creates a soft, glowing light. Made of silicon, I think, this cover is easy to remove. Taking it off will increase the intensity of the light and create sharper shadows. I would also remove this when using this as a backlight.
• The lights are easy to adjust for color temp and intensity.
• As long as the lights are kept out of the direct eyeline of talent, they are easy to work with on-camera.
• The smaller light is best used for close-up work, like video conferencing or lighting a small table-top.
• The bigger light is strong enough to light an interview, or serve as fill against daylight – though not direct sun. It also makes a good backlight because of its size and mounting options.
• This is not my use case, but these would also be very useful in lighting a car interior or other small space providing a very bright, easily adjusted light.

SUMMARY

The Lume Cube panels are solidly built, easily adjustable, and come with flexible mounting options for different situations. They provide a soft, even light ideal for video in small spaces or lighting larger areas for still photography.

I’m looking forward to seeing what all they can do. I recommend them.

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