Using the Reflex S, it is possible to get over 15,000 full power strobes on a single battery charge, or up to ten hours of continuous light. This is performance that no other brand of lights I have tested so far have been able to do. While the light may not be as bright (on its own) as some other systems on the market, it is wildly impressive in its consistency in burst fire. To test this, I left the Reflex in strobe mode and started firing in high-speed burst for about 70 frames with my Nikon Z6 (see gif above) and not once did the Reflex miss a shot. The system is capable of firing continuously without any dips in power even in high-speed sync, which ensures that during action moments, you’ll never miss the shot. PerformanceĪs mentioned above, the StellaPro Reflex and Reflex S can hit speeds of 10 and 20 frames per second respectively. If there is any change either warmer or cooler, it’s to such a minor degree that it doesn’t affect real-world use. Gratefully, I did not notice the color temperature of the light change with variations in power. That is a good point to make: the light’s color temperature is not adjustable. Especially when paired with gels to recreate daylight temperatures or certain mood colors for the theme of a video. The light (when used as a continuous source) can be dimmed all the way down to 100 lumens making it useful for controlled ambient light sources in the video as well. The instructions do not explicitly say to do this, so in my first tests with the beauty dish I left the magnifier off and the light output was surprisingly low.Īs a monolight, the Reflex S can output about 86,000 lux at a one-meter distance while using the spot optic with a color temperature of approximately 5,600 Kelvin. The lens is critically important when it comes to overall light power, so it’s a must. One thing to keep in mind is no matter what setup you plan to use, ensure the magnifier (fresnel) accessory is placed back on the light once you’ve attached whatever modifier you plan to use. In my testing, I found that mounting and adapting these accessories was very fast and easy perform. For this review, I simply used the light bare-bulbed or with a Chimera Beauty Dish that was provided by Light and Motion. The Reflex and Reflex S are designed to be used with a variety of modifiers and accessories and are capable of working with nearly any shooting scenario. The light has exposed grates for a fan and cooling, and while my initial thought is to hide these lights from anything weather-related because of them, Light and Motion’s promise of weatherproofing has me wondering if the way they work is akin to air conditioners, which have external fans that sit in the weather without issue despite all the electronics. This is something I was unable to test, but it does have me wondering how accurate this is and I’d love to see some actual footage from people using it in wet scenes. The company also states that the lights are IP65 rated for weatherproofing, meaning you could potentially use these lights in a heavy rain or snow situation. Ensuring the battery is securely mounted to the light stand isn’t exactly fast, so if you have to make quick changes, this will pull you out of your zone for a moment - especially since the screw can be easily dropped and lost. My issue isn’t the stability or security, but with the workflow. You have to put the system together and then screw it on using a supplied hex tool. And while I had fears of collapse, none ever presented themselves in real-world use cases.Īnother element that I was less of a fan of in the product design is the way the adapter works for mounting the light onto a light stand. While I did not want to personally test this feature, it is a bit reassuring to know that if there ever was an issue it would likely survive the fall in most situations. That said, the company promises that the light is incredibly durable, capable of withstanding drops of up to one meter without incident. Especially with heavier modifiers attached to the system, it feels as though the system is a bit precarious and could come tumbling down. While this keeps the weight of the product down, the mounts require a perfect fit to ensure it has “clicked” and is locked in, and in more extreme temperatures (hot or cold), this could prove to be problematic. It works well, but the only thing that concerns me with the design of the mounts is largely plastic.
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