http://www.digitalcameraworld.com OCTOBER 2019 DIGITAL CAMERA^123
his lightweight 470g LED
constant light is designed
to slot into your camera’s
hotshoe, via the supplied
mini ball head. The ball head and the
lamp itself can also be mounted on a
regular tripod head for off-camera use.
The kit is based on a rectangular
panel that measures 26x4x15cm and
contains 48 high-intensity LEDs. The
version on test is the more expensive
Bi-Color edition, which contains
a mix of daylight and tungsten
colour temperature LEDs.
Performance
The panel has a beam angle of 50
degrees and is rated at 1500 Lux at
one metre. In our tests, this equated
to a power range that enabled
apertures of f/1.2 to f/3.5 at 1/60 sec,
using a sensitivity setting of ISO 100.
osting nearly three times
more than the Manfrotto
Lykos, the AEOS is more
powerful and has a few
extra tricks up its sleeve. However, the
kit only includes the circular LED panel,
a mains power supply, a heavy-duty
ball head and a filter pack. An optional
carrying case costs £150/$165, and
a V-mount battery costs £275/$300
(without charger) for up to four hours’
mains-free use. Good for stills, the
AEOS really excels for video capture,
with customisable fade up/down
and a range of special effects.Performance
The bi-colour LEDs have a 100,000
hour lifespan and, as with the
Manfrotto, enable completely flicker-
free output, this time with a colour
range of 3,150-6,300 Kelvin.TC
Manfrotto
Lykos Bi-Color
£330/$320
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Rotolight
AEOS
£899/$995
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Controls
(^1) The power and colour
temperature knobs work well
with the illuminated display.
Prices for an optional L-series
battery start at £40/$50.
Controls
(^1) The control panel is less
than intuitive until you get to
know the menu system.^2
An illuminated display shows
the power setting and the split
between the bi-colour LEDs.
Digital Camera verdict Digital Camera verdict
4.0 Excellent 4.5 Outstanding
4.0
Features Features
4.0
Performance Performance
4.0
Value Value
4.0
Build &
handling
Build &
handling
Small and light, the
Manfrotto Lykos works
well but its portability
is limited by the need
for mains electricity.
It’s more useful
if you add the
optional battery pack.
It’s a pricey LED lamp,
but more powerful than
the Manfrotto and with
a better-quality CRI 96
rating. Additional
modes are mostly
suited to video capture
rather than stills.
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4.5 5.0 4.5 4.0
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LED PANELS
Power output
LED constant lights are
nowhere near as powerful as
a flash head. The CRI (Colour
Rendition Index) of 93+
is good rather than great.
Power output
The required aperture in our
one-metre test equated to
f/4.5, 2/3 stop narrower than
with the Manfrotto. It drops
to f/4 using one colour of LED.