Review: NEEWER CN-126 LED Video Light

Name a time you've had to dash off to a last minute video or photo shoot in perfectly-ideal lighting conditions.  We know you couldn't.  That's why it's nice to carry a little lightning in your camera case.

The CN-126 LED Light from Neewer is just such a bolt of lightning you can take with you wherever you need it.  There are other LED video lights out there, but this one is the best I've used at a price point of less than $35.  It's portable, versatile and flexible, and a social media pro shooting video or photo needs one.

Unlike the other LEDs on the market, this one packs a whopping 126 LEDs.  (There is also a model for a little extra that packs 160 LEDs, but this one packs quite a punch!)  That's enough light to lightly illuminate a completely darkened room, or to throw light on your subject when conditions are less than perfect.  It's great to brighten up a subject when there's a strong backlight.  You can also use it to suppliment existing light in a three-point lighting scheme.

It's not just bright.  It's versatile.  It has a dimmer dial allowing you to throw as much or as little light as you need.  If you wanted to be really fancy on a shoestring, you could pack in three of these lights and do the whole three-point lighting setup on your own.  Just set one bright, set one dimmer for some fill, and then use the other behind for backlighting.  These lights feature a mount with a lockable tilt pivot, and they fit on your standard-size camera hotshoe.  If you don't have a hotshoe, you can utilize a cheap "L" bracket with hotshoe mounts.  Adding to the flexible design is a standard tripod thread, allowing you to mount this light to any standard tripod like a makeshift "C-stand."

Having grown up with Sony electronics that always seemed to need proprietary batteries and memory cards, I find myself gravitating to tools that allow a lot of flexibility.  The CN-126 light not only accepts six "AA" alkaline batteries, but also a number of camcorder batteries you may already have kicking around your camera bag.  It accepts both Sony NP-series Lithium-Ion batteries and Panasonic D16 batteries via an included adapter.  One note: there are no AC power inputs on this light, so if you're inclined to go the "AA" route, you may want to invest in some rechargables.  Also handy is the included "test" button and four LEDs on the back of the unit that tell you how much juice you have left.  It's nice to know, though it appears that the readout just after you use the light goes down one mark so it may have some "recovery time" before it gives you a truly accurate measurement of remaining power.

The CN-126, like most LED lights, comes at a mid-range 5400K color temperature.  Fortunately, the manufacturer includes a handy "sleeve" packed with three durable, rigid "gels" that can adjust your temperature to a more pleasing tone.  The light has holders built-in that allow these gels to slide and snap securely onto the light, so they won't slide out during use.  There's a warmer 3200K gel, a more "magenta" one that's more of a "daylight" temperature, as well as a clear frosted "diffuser" to take the harshness off the LED light.

If you're a social media pro charged with doing videos or photos, the CN-126 is a must-have addition to your gear bag.  It's compact but powerful, and gives you a lot of options for shoots on the fly.  Priced at less than $35, it's a real bargain.  Whether you use it on your camcorder as a video light or your DSLR still camera as an affordable alternative to a speedlight, the CN-126 is a great tool to put in your toolkit.