GVM 800D RGB LED Kit - Review
Introduction
In the video above, I take a close look at the product, give it a quick test, then review based on my experience describing what I like and what I would change.
This accompanying post is for those of you who just want a quick overview of the specs of the 800D and a bullet list of the pros and cons. This is written a few weeks after filming and therefore may contain additional pros and cons as I discover them that aren't mentioned in the video.
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GVM 800D Rear Panel
Ethics Note
This lighting kit was provided to me free of charge for testing. I have not been paid to write this post or produce the video and all opinions are entirely my own. No content is scripted by third parties. This is not an advert.
GVM 800 RGB Lighting Kit
The GVM 800D (which is apparently an acronym for the somewhat tacky sounding 'Great Video Maker' brand) is a budget RGB LED panel lighting kit containing everything you need to get started with lighting.
1 x Rugged Carry Case
2 x RGB LED Panels
2 x Light Stands
2 x Power Adapters
2 x C7 Mains Leads
2 x Diffuser Panels
Specifications
360 Degree Hue Adjustment (HSI mode)
0-100% Saturation Adjustment (HSI mode)
3200K to 5600K CCT Adjustment (CCT mode)
168 x CCT LED
84 x RGB LED
100,000 hour Life Expectancy
AC or NPF Battery
Bluetooth App Control
Metal & Plastic Construction
CRI 97+
GVM 800D Lighting Kit
The Good
Great value lighting kit at roughly £200. Contains everything you need to get started with lighting or can act as great additional lights for fill or to throw colour onto a scene.
Good quality CCT LEDs producing decent skin tones and accurate colour (apparently CRI of 97+ but I am not able to test that) and colours look good on camera.
Reasonable construction with a mix of aluminium and plastic. All the parts that need something more sturdy or heat protection use aluminium.
Excellent battery life. I use these mostly on low brightness levels (fill lighting only) and they last hours and hours.
They use Sony NPF batteries.
Individual brightness control with 1% increments (I believe the app also allows 1-degree hue adjustments but I could not test it).
If you use the CCT LEDs at a max colour temperature of 5600K, there is no mixing and you get a great quality 5600K light which is very usable in any studio.
GVM 800D RGB and HSI Mode
The Bad
Light stands are the most basic you can buy and not of great quality and have no air cushioning.
Make sure you get the Bluetooth version of these lights. I received an old Wi-Fi variant and it does not connect to the phone. As a result, I was completely unable to test the app.
The HSI adjustments are awful. They are non-linear making it impossible to select some colours entirely. The video covers this problem in detail because it really is bad.
Batteries are not hot-swappable. Despite having two batteries, when one is removed, the lights turn off.
The light doesn't go very dim. I would like to see the bottom 10-20% per cent of the brightness allowing much lower levels of light.
CCT mode has a limited range. It would be nice to see this drop to 2700K.
Conclusion
If you need to dial in very specific colours, forget it. It seems that whatever software or hardware GVM are using to drive these allegedly good quality LEDs, they don't seem to be able to drive them at low levels. This is only my speculation but it might explain why the lights can't go very dim (CCT & HSI mode) and also why the transition between the red, green and blue components is terrible (HSI mode). For example, creating a lovely warm orange light is impossible with these lights. The red LED will produce a nice red but then the green LED comes on so brightly that you are already way past orange and into a lime green colour. No use at all.
That said, there's no doubt that these are good value for money. They do a decent job and are perfect for beginners as main lights or just as a spare couple of lights to add colour or fill where needed. If you just want a compact, lightweight 5600K light, these are perfect. If you want colour but aren't too fussy about precise colour, the 800D kit is great.
They're so convenient and easy to use that I've found me using them all over the place because they're very simple to move around and the battery life is good.
In summary, they're worth the money but don't expect perfection at this level.