The Ulanzi 40W LED COB is an Affordable, Portable Video Light
The LT028 by Ulanzi Group is a 40 Watt portable COB LED Video Light that was designed to be a lightweight and versatile lighting solution for content creators, photographers, videographers, and even streamers who need an affordable lighting solution that can be repositioned with incredible ease.
The Ulanzi LT028 LED video light has a rather unique value position as it promises users an unrivaled combination of power, portability, and convenience. Unlike other professional-grade lighting equipment on the market, since the $99 Ulanzi LED light has a built-in 3,400mAh battery, it eliminates the need for an external power source during shoots and gives users up to 70-75 minutes of consistent lighting with next to no noise at full power (up to five hours life at its minimum brightness).
Furthermore, its compact size and design make it extremely portable and easy to carry in any gear bag, ensuring that professional lighting is always within reach for photographers and videographers, no matter where they are shooting. This blend of high-performance lighting and portable design makes the Ulanzi 40W LED Light an unmatched tool for on-the-go professional shooting.
Features, Design, and Build Quality
The travel-sized 40W COB LED video light from Ulanzi weights just 460 grams and ships in a simple and minimalistic design box that includes the cube-shaped light itself, a reflector with mini bowens-esque style mount, a silicone light dome that attaches to the reflector for diffusion, and a power/charging cable.
The silicone dome can be easily packed in pretty much any pocket/container with ease and snaps back into form quickly once taken out. It features a small groove that clips over the outer edge of the included reflector to provide some simple diffusion when shooting in the wild.
The main body of the light is built with a lightweight plastic that features a metal quarter-inch mount on the bottom for connecting it to a tripod, light stand, or even multi-use arms/accessory mounts so it can be attached to things like gimbals or practically any other sort of connection you can find that accommodates the connection type.
While the reflector can be removed rather easily, the light doesn’t ship with a protective cover for the LED itself, so when traveling, it might be in your best interest to leave the metal reflector connected to the light with the silicone dome tucked into it, just to be sure no harm comes to the device while in transit.
The light features a ton of ventilation and heat dissipation plates to ensure it doesn’t run too hot, and even after running the light on full power for over 30 to 40 minutes, there was next to no noise at all coming from the cooling systems. I literally had to put the light directly up to my ear to be sure the fans were even running it was that quiet.
The rear of the light is where you’ll find a simple set of manual-only controls that include the power switch, the “CCT” color temperature dial, and the “DIM” dial for 1% to 100% power intensity. On the very bottom left corner of the back plate, you’ll find the DC plug where the power/charging cable connects. In addition to these controls, if users click the CCT dial a new menu will pop up on the LED screen that gives access to a set of eight different special effects “scenes” that include Lightning, TV, Candle, Faulty Light Bulb, Stobe, Paparazzi, Emergency Lights, and an H/L beam.
The LED screen itself intuitively “dims” itself after a few seconds of not being adjusted to conserve battery life and prevent any potential distractions while in use. The information displayed on the screen is rather simple and to the point, in the SFX modes it displays the SFX scene you’re in with an intensity level, and the CCT mode shows the color temperature and intensity (power) level. Both menus show a battery life indicator in the top right corner of the screen so you can easily keep tabs on how much life is left on the charge so you know when to plug it back in.
The light features an adjustable color temperature range of 2,500 to 6,500 Kelvin with a CRI of 95 to 96 TLCI and a maximum brightness of about 13,000 Lux at full power with a temp of 6500K and the reflector attached. The battery itself takes about three hours to charge to full from empty, the good news is though, the light can be used while it’s plugged in and charging without any negative effects on the battery.
Who is It For?
The LT028 LED video light from Ulanzi sits in an interesting position for both beginning/amateur creatives and working professionals by offering its users a surprisingly affordable way to create affordable and creative light setups in both indoor and outdoor scenarios.
Its small size and “universal” mount connection means you can place it anywhere from a tripod or light stand, to a small multi-arm/clamp, or even a suction-cup mount system letting you light multiple shooting scenarios while battery-operated or connected to direct power. While it’s not strong enough to compete against direct sunlight, it can be used as a nice fill light in even some of the most complicated and difficult lighting situations.
Why This is Cool?
With so many different LED lights on the market, the Ulanzi 40W LED Video Light gives its users a unique creative position by offering a compact and travel-friendly system that is actually impressively bright color-temperature adjustable light that can be run with direct power, power packs, or by leveraging a built-in battery. If you compare it to some competing lights like the ZHIYUN Molus G60 ($199) Aputure Amaran 60D ($169) Godox ML60Bi ($299) Nanlite Forza 60b ($319), the Ulanzi gets professional lighting effect and long-lasting use experience at 1/3-1/4 of the price of its competitors, giving them much more bang for their buck.
Because of its low cost and tiny footprint, users can place these lights in permanent positions to light an at-home/studio setup and still have money for extras to bring with them for on-location setups.
Sample Images
Where Can You Get It?
The Ulanzi LT028 40W Portable LED Video Light is available to order now for $99.95.
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