GEAR MINI TESTS
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WORDS ADAM DUCKWORTH
ZHIYUN MOLUS G200 £369/$379 zhiyun-tech.com
When you look at the fast-growing range of Zhiyun LED lights, you get the impression that its design teams work in separate buildings and don’t talk to each other, even if they work on the same range. Take the Molus lights, for example. The small Molus G60 weighs 300g and is roughly the same size and shape as a Rubik’s Cube. Looking nothing like it at all is the Molus X100, which is a single flat panel with a COB LED on the front, a fan and small screen at the back and a lithium battery that clips onto the side and works as a grip so it can be handheld – or take the grip off to make it even smaller and run it off mains. Both use a new, small accessory mount. Now comes the G200, which is totally different again. This is a split unit, with a square, flat head unit that takes full-size Bowens S accessories, yet still fits neatly into the palm of your hand. The head is connected by a power cable to a separate mains power pack and fan-cooled controller, with no internal batteries. About the only thing that really brings them together is that they can all be controlled via Bluetooth using the free ZY Vega app, and they have a very simple control set-up where you use two dials to adjust colour temperature and brightness. Of course, the bicolour G200 is the most powerful with a nominal 200W rating, but that can be boosted to a frankly insane 300W using the Max Extreme mode at the push of a button. The separate controller is equipped with two interactive buttons and a display screen making it quick to set the lighting functions and effects, plus five preset dimming levels. But it’s
just as easy to turn the adjuster knob around. The colour temperature ranges from 2700-6500K. When it’s set at peak brightness, the G200 offers 9460 lux without a reflector and 61,500 lux with Zhiyun’s standard reflector at 1m. In Max Extreme mode, it offers 13,800 lux and 85,800 lux respectively, which is just ridiculous for such a small unit as this one. In Max mode, the fan is slightly louder, but it’s not a nuisance as the fan is very quiet anyway. And in Max mode, the colour temperature is set at 4300K, but there is no maximum runtime. In ambient temperatures over 30 ° C, Max mode is disabled. The G200 comes with a stand that features a 180° adjustable arm along with a universal lighting umbrella slot. And the whole lot comes in a fitted, padded case.
MOD RULES Zhiyun’s new 90cm parabolic softbox is the ideal compact companion
TIGHT FIT The Molus G200 slots
neatly inside a carrying case
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