GEAR
COOL LED s
ZHIYUN INTO THE FUTURE
Professional-level lighting from Zhiyun expands again with two funky COB lights that share a lot of technology, but could hardly be more different in appearance. The two latest lights are from the new Molus COB range, but it seems like the design teams worked in isolation when it came to agreeing on the form factor and features of these 100W and 60W lights. There’s the smaller Molus G60, which weighs 300g and is roughly the size of a Rubik’s Cube. Zhiyun even trumpets this similarity in its marketing material. Looking nothing like it at all is the Molus X100, which is about the size of a seventies Sony Walkman. Yet it has a COB LED on the front plus a fan and small screen at the back. It also comes with a lithium battery that clips to the side and works as a grip, so can be used handheld. This rechargeable battery/grip can power an X100 at full power for about 30 minutes, or you can plug in the mains adapter with the grip attached to run it and charge the battery. Or, take the grip off to make it smaller and run it off mains. The X100 also accepts PD fast charge. With a 100W output, the X100 weighs 385g, but add the battery grip and the weight is still just 439g. It has a CCT range of 2700-6500K, with 2376 lux brightness, CRI ≥95 and TLCI ≥97. The G60 has a colour CCT range of 2700-6500K, with a CRI ≥96 and TLCI ≥97. It can be run off mains or via the USB-C socket using PD technology. In terms of their shared technology, both can be controlled via Bluetooth using the free ZY Vega app. And both have a simple control set-up, using two dials to adjust colour temperature and brightness. With the app, multiple G60 and X100 lights can be set to come on
ZHIYUN IS BELIEVING The small softbox is cute (top), while the G60 controls (above) are basic. The X100 (below right) is a very different design simultaneously in Live Mode, ideal for a more controlled set-up. Both Molus lights have Zhiyun’s own small accessory mount, but you can use an optional Bowens mount adapter to fix full-size modifiers. A small softbox or lantern is ideal. Zhiyun makes a range of accessories and supplies the G60 with a mini tripod, but a larger one is also available for the X100 as an extra. Also available to buy as extras are a long handle similar to a selfie stick that you can mount the light to for handheld use. You can hold the lights themselves, but they get warm. Cooling fans prevent overheating – these are very quiet, but you can’t turn them off. The G60 costs £219/$199 for the standard kit, which includes the light, a mains-power brick, a standard reflector
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PRO MOVIEMAKER
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