LATEST LEDS
POCKET MONSTER The palm-sized Zhiyun Fiveray M40 LED fill light packs in lots of power despite its small size – thanks to heat-dispersion technology pioneered on the firm’s range of gimbals. Where many small lights like this offer around 13W of maximum power, the £104/$99 M40 puts out around 40W, as it’s fan-cooled like the F100 tube light. Yet it weighs just 320g/0.7lb, and genuinely fits into your pocket as it measures 13.7x7.8x2.9cm/5.37x3.06x1.1in. It houses 176 LED chips in a very compact design, and can pump out illuminance of 1050 lux at 1m/3.3ft at the peak 4300K setting, where it can run for an hour on a single charge of its internal 2600mAh battery. The unit is powered via USB-C PD fast charge, and so can continue to output maximum power while plugged in. We found that the light works for close to two hours at 25% power. It can be recharged in around one hour 50 minutes, with four LED indicator lights showing how much power is left. The M40 is a bicolour light with a temperature range of 2700-6200K. All adjustments are made via a pair of small dials on the body. One is for
POWER TOOL The light may be small, but packs in 40W
intensity and the other for colour temperature. Dials are marked with intensity percentage on one and the actual colour temperature on the other, which is vital as there’s no LCD screen to see what you have set. Fidelity for both photography and videography is excellent, with CRI reaching 96+ and TLCI reaching 97+. Right up to the maximum 40W power, there was no strobing and the light source was consistent. The light has a 360° rotational bracket with a pair of 1/4in-20
threaded holes. This allows various ways of mounting it to the top of a camera, a small stand or even just swinging the bracket round and using it as a lean-style stand. Of course, you won’t be using this as a key light – unless you are doing macro work and shooting something very small! But as a fill light, hair light or on-camera ‘get-you-out-of-jail’ light for emergencies, it’s just fine. As it’s bicolour, it can be used to match interior scenes in order to fill areas of darkness. Or get the unit up close as a fill light for head shots, with a larger light panel as a main light. For not a lot of money, it’s a great addition to any kitbag and takes up virtually no room. Yet the 40W output is enough to make a difference, putting catchlights in a subject’s eyes that really add a professional edge to your films. zhiyun-tech.com “For not a lot of money, it’s a great addition to any kitbag and takes up virtually no room”
SIMPLY PUT Ideal for on-axis fill (above). Control dials are obvious (right)
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