COLBOR delivers a blast of light for video shoots

After a frustrating couple of years trying to light my indoor video scenes with underpowered LCD lights or clip-on work lights from the hardware store, I finally decided to get my hands on a good pro-level studio light. 

I picked the COLBOR CL60. It's a lightweight and affordably-priced LCD light that delivers far more illumination than the cheap alternatives I was trying or the low-wattage ring lights I've seen pitched to YouTubers.  

The lamp in the CL60 can produce a color temperature raging from 2700K to 6500K with variable brightness. That was all the I needed to shoot a couple of product videos in an indoor setting.  The primary job of the CL60 is to be the key light, the main lighting source for the star of the show, whether it's a person or a product. Let's say your star is a cook positioned behind a kitchen island, ready to demonstrate a recipe. A single CL60 would provide adequate lighting for that type of video. 

The light comes with a horn-shaped reflector which is good for directing light on a specific spot. I tried the light for a scene that involved several people in my living room. The COLBOR light focused on people in the center of the group, leaving those on the margins in the shade. 

The shot would likely have come out better if I had used a diffuser attachment in place of the reflector. Making that switch would have been easy as the CL60 comes with a Bowens mount adapter to hold the reflector. The mount is a ring that lets you snap in a variety of other attachments including diffusers and other light-shaping tools. 

Judging by the photos on the sales page for the CL60, you might think that the light is a portable unit with it's own power supply. It's not. The light needs a external power source, either the USB-C charger that comes wit the gear or your own charging brick. 

The light comes with a nicely-designed carrying case. The only item I had to purchase was a metal screw adapter that I needed to mount the light on a tripod. Overall, the COLBOR CL60 turned out to be just what I was looking for: a versatile and affordable first step into pro-level video lighting. 

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Written by Ric Manning

Follow me on Twitter @ricmanning and read my technology columns at My Well Being.