SmallRig has announced four new COB LED Lights: RC 450D, RC 450B, RC 350D and RC 350B. These new lights are utilizing the company’s new AstralTech Optical System and join the 220 (RC 220B, RC 220D) and the 120 (RC 120B, RC120D) series in their COB LED light portfolio. Earlier this year we have reviewed the RC120B Bi-Color light and ended up with very positive impressions overall and now similarly impressed with the new RC450D which is the subject of this review and the company's most powerful light to date.
Disclaimer: SmallRig sent us the RC 450D Video Light for our honest review with no pre-conditions. They haven't seen the review before it is published and no money was exchanged. This review is my unbiased opinion as SmallRig did not modify, influence, or give input about the article before its publication.
SmallRig 450D Key Features
- For Content Creators and Vloggers
- 172,000 Lux at 3.3' and 5600K
- Color Temperature: 5600K
- AC Power
- On-Board and Bluetooth App Control
- CRI/TLCI: 96+/97+
- Fan-Cooled
- Bowens-S Mount
-
The market is flooded with COB LED lights that are rated betwen 60-200watts but there are not so many options on the higher power classes so these new released show how serious SmallRig is to expand their lighting products to more professional segments of the filmmaking/ videography industry. For comparison, SmallRig claims that at 1m / 3.3ft with a 55° hyper reflector, the RC 450D delivers 172,000 Lux which is more than 3x of the RC120B that we have reviewed earlier that is putting out 52800 Lux.
This amount of light opens some new opportunities especially shooting outdoor under strong sunlight conditions which the lesser lights can not handle.
The RC 450D is the 'Daylight' version of the light and the color temperature is fixed to 5600K. if you prefer a model with adjustable color temperature, the RC 450B 'Bi-Color' model lets you choose a value between 2700-5600K but the downside is that the max power is limited to 121,000 lux at 3.3" when used with included 55° reflector, significantly lower than the RC 450D's 172,000 lux.
What's in the box?
RC450D and all the accessories comes in a large protective carry bag. Total weight of the system with the bag, light and the included accessories is around 8.5kg/ 18.7lbs. The AC unit is a standalone unit which keeps the light head smaller and lighter but adds an extra part to deal with.
- SmallRig RC 450D COB Daylight LED Video Light
- 55° Hyper Reflector
- AC Adapter
- Power Cable
- Protection Cover
- Carry Bag
- Limited 1-Year Warranty
Controls
There are three way to control the RC450D:
- Knobs and buttons on the light
- SmallGoGo App available for Android and iOS
- Optional Panel 3980 Wired controller (compatible with RC 450D, RC 450B, RC 350D, RC 450B)
Panel 3980 Wired Controller
SmallRig sent us the optional Control Panel 3980 with the 450D so we had the chance to review too. Depending on the way the light is set on the light stand, it may be very difficult or even impossible to reach the knobs on the light during a shoot so any kind of remote controls comes very handy and speeds up the process. SmallRig offers the SmallGoGo app control in all its lights but the new 350 and 450 series offers an optional control panel that comes with a mount system to remotely control the light although still needs to be wired to the light body. The controls are very similar to the main controls lay out and easy to use. The screen on the controller matches the screen on the body.
SmallRig includes an arm that holds the control panel magnetically and can easily be attached to light stands.
The panel sells for $79 which is reasonable but I wish SmallRig would offer a simple wireless remote option too.
Body and Build Quality
The RC 450D is a well built product and I had no concern about its robustness during my review. There are some plastic parts in addition to aluminum parts but these are high quality plastic parts which helps to keep the weight and costs down. The light is not weather proof/resistant so you got to be careful during outdoor use.
Heavy duty parts are used where it matters such as the mount adapter and the tilt handle. The tilting motion of the head is dampened to avoid the falling of the light head which is nice however this slows down the tilting motion and requires to apply more power during adjustment. Better be safe than sorry so no complaints here. The light features an arca-swiss type mount which lets you take off the light easily in order to put another arca-swiss type light or accessory. With the same token, you can mount the 450D to any tool with an arca-swiss type head such as tripod ball heads without the need of astand head.
I like the design language that SmallRig implemented, you can tell that they put some thought on the design instead making a rectangular box with no esthetic concerns.
There is a hole for attaching umbrellas if needed although not many people use them these days I guess, still a nice touch.
Bowens Mount
The 450D has the Bowens mount which is compatible with a large number of accessories from many manufacturers.
Fan Noise
This is a high power light so need to move lot of heat which is inevitable. The fan is always on and there is no way to adjust the fan operation but produces only 32dB sound within 1 meter, so not really distracting. I don't think the fan noise would become a problem unless you place your microphone very close to the light.
Operation
In case of the 450D, the only adjustments are the brightness, effects selection and effects frequency.
Brightness/intensity can be adjusted in steps of 1% which offers enough precision to adjust the light as desired.
There are 9 different effects which may be useful for some but I personally never use them in my shooting situations.
The RC 450D has a manufacturer provided CRI rating of 96+ and TLCI of 97+, anything over 95 is good enough for majority of the scenarios and we didn't encounter any problems with the consistency of the light. We also haven't witnessed any flickering under various frame rates that we have been shooting at.
App Control
The RC 450D can be controlled via the SmallGoGO app which is available for Android and iOS devices. This app can control multiple SmallRig lights individually and you can also create groups of lights for your different setups.
Conclusion
SmallRig continues to impress us with each new offering and the RC 450D doesn't disappoint. And now that they have a bigger and versatile selection with their 120, 220,350 and 450 series that covers most situations, the user can build a very versatile lighting system without getting out of the SmallRIg ecosystem. The advantage that comes with this consistency is to be able to use the same app to control all the lights in your setup.
What we Like About the SmallRig RC 120B
- Standard Bowens S-mount is compatible with widely available modifiers
- Arca-Swiss type mount for quick switch between heads/stands
- Dampened tilting head
- Optional control panel for easy access to adjustments
- Included high quality padded storage/carrying bag
- Low-noise Fan
- SmallGoGo App control via bluetooth is seamless
- TLCI 97+, CRI 96+
- Stepless Dimming down to 1%
- Competitive price for the features
What can be improved?
- It would be good to have a wireless remote control option
Price and Availability
The RC 450D is available for $999 at Amazon and B&H Photo. The prices for the other lights in the 350 and 450 series are:
Official Video