Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-07-04)

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Recommended

THEREaretimeswhenitcanbeagoodideatocarrya

small,portableLEDlightinyourkitbagtohelppickouta

subjectinlow-lightorlightenanyshadowedareas.JOBY’s

Beamoisdesignedforphotographersandvloggerswho’d

findthistypeoflightusefulanditpresentsabenefitover

Manfrotto’sLumimuserangeofcompactLEDlightsinthat

ithasarobustaluminiumshellthat’swaterprooftoadepth

of30m(100ft).AtfullpowertheBeamooffers 1500

lumensofbrightnesswithaconstantcolourtemperature

of5100K.Iffullpowerisalittleoverpoweringyoucan

choosefromfourreducedpowersettingsandthelightis

intelligentenoughtorememberyourlastchosen

settingsoyoudon’thavetospendtimeadjusting

thebrightnessnexttimeyouturniton.The

spreadoflightisimpressiveforaspotlightsosmall

andwhenyou’dliketosoftentheintensity,suchas

whenshootingportraitsorstilllife,youcanuse

thesupplieddiffuserthatpushesoverthefront.

OnthebaseoftheBeamoyougeta^1 ⁄ 4 inx 20

threadthatcanbeusedtoattachittovarious

mounts,plusithastwocoldshoemounts,which

withthesuppliedcoldshoeadapterletsyoumountit

directlytoyourcamera’shotshoe.AtfullbrightnessI

foundthebatterylastsfor 40 minutesbeforea

rechargeisrequired,whereasyou’llgetaround 100

minutesofuseat50%brightness.

Chargingthedevicecouldn’tbesimpler.Open

thecatchattheside,removetheweatherproof

sealandpluginandchargeusingthesupplied

USB-Ccable.Alternatively,usersmaywishto

takeadvantageofwirelesschargingusinga

compatiblewirelesshub.Downloadingthe

myJOBYapp(availableforiOSandAndroid)and

connectingtheBeamotomysmartphonevia

Bluetoothrevealedthatfunctionalityextends

further.Fromtheappyouhavetheoptiontoset

thebrightnesspreciselybyapercentagelevel,you

cancontroluptofourBeamosatonce,save

settingsforfutureuseandturnitintoaflashora

strobe.Thepairingwasmadeinstantlywithno

discerniblelagwhensettingswereadjustedand

ablueLEDconfirmsasuccessfulconnection.

Verdict
TheBeamoisareallyintuitiveLEDlightto
use.It’spowerfulforitssize,maintainsa
natural white colour temperature across its
brightness range and will stand up to serious
abuse, whether it’s used above or below water. It
gets very hot when it’s used at high power for
long durations and I’d have liked the diffuser to
clip on to provide a bit more reassurance that
itwon’t fall off. Overall though, it’s a well priced,
ALL PRICES ARE APPROXIMATE STREET PRICESportable LED light that offers great durability.

JOBY Beamo

MichaelTophamtestsasmalland

powerfulLEDlightwithBluetooth

●£80●www.joby.com/uk-en/

Charging

It’spossibletousethe

Beamowhileit’sbeing

chargedviaUSB.

Brightness

Fivemodesofbrightness

canbeselectedviathe

buttons.Precisebrightness

controlcanbemadevia

theapp.

Batterylevel

ThemyJOBYappdisplays

batterystatusandprompts

youtorechargethebattery

whenit’srunninglow.

Diffuser

A softrubberdiffuser

is includedin theboxtosoften

thelight.It simplypusheson

atthefront.

JOBYmakesa smallerversionoftheBeamo

called the Beamo Mini (£60). It has a robust

and waterproof design like the larger Beamo,

but has thinner dimensions (51x51x39mm)

and a lower brightness output (1000 lumens)

at maximum power. Another difference is

found at the rear where it has a magnetic

backing, allowing it to be attached to a

fence, pole or any other magnetic surface.

ALSO IN THE RANGE

Testbench ACCESSORIES

The interface of the app

is concise and lets you

control up to four JOBY

Beamos at once

At a glance

● Colour temperature: 5100K

● LED lux: 750 lux @ 1m

● Dimensions: 51x51x47mm

● Weight: 125g