If you have ever thought about jumping into the world of content creation, while it is great to have good tech, many people forget the lighting. All the best equipment in the world cannot mask a badly lit room, or one that hides all the effort you put into a production. Thankfully, there are plenty of new LED lights now on the market, and we at CGMagazine decided to dive in and see how one of these sets stacks up in a production environment.
We jumped in with the Pixel K80 two-pack lighting setup. This feels like a great starting point for new creators, offering two lights, adapters, stands and AC Adapters to get things started. This setup was also interesting as the Pixel K80 RGB Lights sync with each other, include a diffusion gel for each light, and they allow for the use of a NP-F750/970 battery while feeling solid enough to take a bit of use without breaking under the pressure.
Opening things up, and the overall package felt good, with everything coming in a handy carrying case. When first taking the lights out, Pixel K80 has separated everything to make it easy to set up and get rolling with the lights. The Pixel RGB Lights were easy to get up and running, with the full unboxing and initial setup process taking under 10 minutes. I was impressed with how everything felt, especially for a package that costs under $500.
The construction of the lights, while not professional studio quality, felt great. The metal casing and barn doors all felt easy to use, with enough give to make them easy to adjust, while never feeling cheap, or flimsy. Size wise, they felt big enough for most smaller creators shooting area, while never feeling cumbersome or overly bulky.
“The Pixel RGB Lights were easy to get up and running, with the full unboxing and initial setup process taking under 10 minutes.”
Unlike standard studio lights of old, limited to the colour temperature of the bulbs you have on hand, the Pixel K80 RGB Lights have an array of LED’s ready to adjust to your needs. The Pixel RGB Lights offer 552 lamp beads, that you can adjust between 2600K-10000K colour temperatures. They also allow you to change the colours should you want RGB modes for a specific shoot, giving a wide range of creativity to anything you want to do with lighting.
The adjustments are, for the most part, fairly easy to do from the lights (although a remote can be purchased if you want to go down that road). The Pixel K80 RGB Lights sync up, making it easy to keep everything looking the same, even when on a bigger set, or just having to hit the exact look that can be tedious, especially when on a deadline. The controls on the back work as expected. With the button swapping between the modes and settings, with the dial adjusting the setting as needed.
“Unlike standard studio lights of old, limited to the colour temperature of the bulbs you have on hand, the Pixel RGB Lights have an array of LED’s ready to adjust to your needs.”
As with any modern LED based light, you will also find a series of nine preset settings, to give more dramatic looks to scenes, and these can be interesting to try, it also has settings to jump between brightness levels and overall looks. While most people will find the look that suits their setup and needs, it is great to see Pixel giving options, especially for people just starting out in content creation. The overall brightness that ranges from @0.5M 5500Lux to @1M 2050Lux means you should have more than enough light for most starting projects.
Starting out in content creation, it can be hard to see what you will eventually need, but thankfully the Pixel RGB lights are a fantastic starting point. They offer enough features to keep your shoots looking professional and feel solid enough for most uses. While there are plenty of options that are more expensive, Pixel has found a great middle ground, making lighting affordable, without feeling like you are missing out in the process.
If you are a new creator, looking for an upgrade or just need some lighting, Pixel has a great package on offer. With all the accessories and overall build quality at some of the best at the price point, it is hard not to recommend the Pixel K80 RGB Lights. For more advanced creators, or ones looking for full studio great equipment, these may not hit all the checkboxes. For everyone else, give the Pixel K80 RGB Lights a look.
