Photographers and videographers are always looking for new ways to get light exactly where they want it. Lighting small spaces has always been a challenge. I’ve used everything from flash lights to very expensive fibre optics and dedicated strobe units. The choices for video lighting have been very limited. The other problem with most small light sources is the quality of light has been awful and hard to control. Halogen bulbs are warm and can flicker and cheap LEDs have horrible colour shifts.
SPEKULAR has created a new set of LED light wands that can answer almost all of the problems with lighting small spaces. KYU-6 is the latest in flexible and mountable lighting for video and stills! KYU-6 is flexible, functional and provides great light quality with control over the light output. It allows photographers and videographers to put light where they want it and adjust that light to meet their needs.
KYU-6 is a flexible light wand that can wrap around almost anything. There are two versions – bi-colour and RGB. A true CRI of 95 provides accurate, repeatable colour rendition, which reduces your time “fixing” light in post-production. KYU-6 is even water resistant! Charge time via the micro-USB port is only 1 hour and it can run for up to 8 hours! Output is 300lux at 0.3m and 30lux at 1.0m – this really is meant for small spaces!
The Bi-Colour KYU-6 has incremental colour temperature controls between 2,700K and 6,500K while the RGB version allows for 5 different colour mixes per channel. Each KYU-6 has 5 brightness levels and they also feature five pre-programmed lighting effects.
Enough about what KYU-6 is … what can it do? KYU-6 lets you put great quality light almost anywhere you need good light. KYU-6 is only 42grams and it’s flexible. You can wrap it around your phone as a selfie or meeting light. Instead of relying on regular light bulbs in table lamps on set, you can wrap a KYU-6 around the light bulb inside and get great light from that lamp.
KYU-6 has two magnets inside (one in each end) to stick to almost any metal surface. It’s light enough that a couple of Velcro tabs will hold it in place anywhere else on set. Do you need to light a car interior? KYU-6 is perfect for mounting anywhere inside the car. Plus it’s small enough that you can fit it in places where light panels are too large and might be seen.
There is also a hotshoe and light stand adapter available, plus a mounting bracket that holds three lights so you can use KYU-6 as on-camera or on-stand lighting.
KYU-6 is also ideal for light painting, especially with the pre-programmed lighting effects. I’ve also been using KYU-6 as a flashlight so I can dig through my camera bag at night and I’ve also used it as a safety light while walking at night.
KYU-6 is one of those cool and interesting products that turns out to be very useful. I’ll be putting it to more use as the sun sets earlier and I’ll be doing more work outside at night. Starting at only $70, it’s an inexpensive and very useful addition to your camera bag.
About the Author – Will Prentice (www.capturaphoto.ca) is a professional photographer based out of Whitby, Ontario and Brand Specialist – Lighting for Amplis.
Great article Mr. Prentice! I’ve been using the Lume Cube for sometime now but find that it always has to be charged just prior to use, and the battery doesn’t last all that long. However, the light can easily be controlled and it’s very powerful, but I have to plan usage. This sounds like a great alternative.
Thanks, George. Lume Cubes are a really cool little light and more powerful than this. KYU-6 works better in smaller spaces, especially where Lume Cube is too bright.