Like many photographers and videographers, I’ve found that there have been times when I really could have used a small, highly portable, adjustable light source. This most often occurred when I shooting close-up still images or video clips of industrial machinery where I couldn’t get my regular studio lighting to fit into cramped quarters. I began looking for a solution and came upon the Genaray LED-7100T On-Camera Light.
Specifications
Light
Light source: 156 Tungsten and 156 Daylight LEDs
Brightness: 1400 lux @ 3 feet (91.4 cm)
Colour Temperature: 3200K to 5600K
Voltage: 7.4 – 14.8 V
Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.5 x 1.75 inches (19 x 11.4 x 4.4 cm)
Weight: 0.76 lb. (340 grams)
Battery
Chemistry: Lithium-ion
Voltage: 7.4 V
Capacity: 2200 mAh
AC Adapter
Input: AC 100-240 V, 50/60 Hz, 0.5A max
Output: 12 V, 1.0A
Dual Battery Charger
Input: AC adapter: AC 100-240 V, 50/60 Hz, 0.5A max
DC charger: 12 V DC, 0.9A (max)
Output: DC 4.2 / 8.4 V, 500mA / 900mA
The Genaray LED-7100T light is reasonably compact, measuring 7.5 x 4.5 x 1.75 inches (19 x 11.4 x 4.4 cm) and weighs 0.76 lb (340 grams). It features 312 LED lights, 156 of which are tungsten and 156 are daylight. Maximum brightness is 1400 lux @ 3 feet (91.4 cm). The effective range of this light is about 3 to 5 feet (91.4 to 152.4 cm).
The ball head mount that comes in the kit features mainly metal construction and allows for a good range of adjustment with 360-degree swivel movement and 180-degree tilt. The shoe mount on the bottom of the ball head can be removed, revealing a ¼”-20 tripod thread mount.
The ball head does a respectable job supporting the light when mounted on the shoe of a DSLR and is best suited for use with a DSLR mounted on a tripod and head. Some ‘run-n-gun’ video shooting would be possible with this ball head, but you would need to ensure your connection was very secure, and I’d recommend periodic checks on tightness.
I tried mounting this light on my Nikon 1 V2 using the Nikon AS-N1000 cold-shoe mount adapter and found the connection to be a bit sloppy due to the size and weight of the LED-7100-T and the somewhat poor design of the Nikon AS-N1000 shoe adapter. Nikon 1 users are likely better served by using a smaller, lighter-weight unit rather than the LED-7100T.
The underside of the Genaray LED-7100T light has a ¼”-20 tripod thread connection to which I often mount a Manfrotto or Arca-type quick connect fitting.
This allows me to mount the light to small tripods like the Oben TT-300 table top tripod (see my review here), creating a very versatile, mini studio light. In fact, I used this single light set-up to take all of the indoor images for my recent review of the Oben CC-2491 Tripod Kit.
On the left hand side of the back panel you’ll find a dial with which you can adjust colour temperature output from a cool 5600K to a warm 3200K.
As the colour temperature dial is turned it engages either the Tungsten or Daylight LEDs, or a combination of both. I have not noticed any problems with flickering with the LED-7100T light even when making temperature or intensity adjustments.
Light intensity is controlled by another dial found on the right hand side of the rear panel and can be adjusted from 10-100%. The light turns on at 10% intensity and nothing much happens for the first 25-degrees of dial rotation. After that the control dial works quite well. Both temperature and intensity dials rotate without any steps to allow for more precise adjustment.
To help soften light intensity the kit comes with a diffuser panel that snaps into place using magnetic corners. Due to the brightness of the LED lights I found the diffuser to be only partially effective and users wanting more softness may choose to drape an additional diffuser sock over the unit.
Packed inside the carrying case you’ll find an AC adapter that can be used to power the light directly on a continuous basis, or it can be plugged into the supplied battery charger.
A car adapter is also included in the kit and has the same dual function as the AC adapter.
Two NP-F550 batteries are included and the light will work with either one or two batteries installed. I did not notice any difference in light intensity when only one battery was installed, but operation time is obviously reduced when only one battery is used. Although I did not try to use any with the 7100T, Sony L-series batteries are said to be compatible with the 7100T light.
The batteries can be removed from the LED-7100T by pushing down on the red release buttons.
The back of the LED-7100T has four green lights that indicate the amount of remaining power in a single battery, or the pair of batteries if both are used simultaneously. To test the battery power level all you need to do is depress the raised area inside the encircled ‘T’ graphic.
The battery charger has four red lights per side which measure the charge level of each battery independently.
The kit elements are protected by a supplied, padded and zippered case which has an integrated soft carrying handle.
Summary
The Genaray LED-7100T kit is a small, portable light that many photographers and videographers will find to be a very flexible and practical addition to their equipment list. Even though it is quite compact, it throws a good level of light, albeit only for a relatively short distance. It can be used both on-camera or mounted on a tripod.
While the supplied ball head is adequate when mounted to the shoe of a camera on a tripod, it seems a bit undersized for extended ‘run-n-gun’ video use and a more robust ball head would make this light kit even better.
While I originally thought I would be using the LED-7100T mainly for video work, I have found myself using it a lot more than I anticipated for still photography, especially in situations where I want to travel without a lot of gear and I’m taking images of fairly small subjects. When I am at my studio I almost always have the LED-7100T mounted on my Oben TT-300 desk top tripod and readily available to provide some fill-in light, or for an easy-to-use single light for small subjects.
Article and all images Copyright 2014, Thomas Stirr. All rights reserved. No use, reproduction or duplication including electronic is allowed without written consent.
Genaray LED-7100T On-Camera Light
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Photography Life Overall Rating
any sample of portrait photos?
Hi John,
I don’t do any portrait or wedding work with my photography business so I do not have any samples using this light for portraits….sorry.
My other studio lights are multi-bulb heads…using either 3 or 9 28w daylight balanced compact fluorescents which throw a more gentle type of light. I find LEDs tend to be brighter and harsher so they are likely a bit trickier to use for portrait work.
Tom
Very cool! Great review! I recieved this in my email right before a link to thinkgeek.com and found a realy cool off camera phone flash. What do you guys think?
www.thinkgeek.com/product/1f42/
Dave
Hi Dave,
I don’t have any direct experience with the product in your link…and I have never used my phone to take pictures…so I’m not the right person to ask for an opinion on the product…sorry about that. :-)
There are likely some reviews on the internet about this product specifically and likely written by people with some expertise using their phones for photography.
Tom
Hi,
I have a similar light pack, it’s from an unknown brand but essentially does the same. I tried it a few times and I found that it really irritates the subject I am photographing. My pack gives me a good exposure from around 4 feet, 125/s, 1600 ISO, F4. From this distance the subject looks like they state at the sun, it is really bright. It give really good hard edge “retro” look but the subject has to look somewhere else. The only advantage this light has on regular flash light -that I can think of,and it’s a small one- is that you can see how the shadows fall and how the photo will look like. However, I can do the same with s few clicks and adjustments with a regular speed light and the subject’s eyes do not suffer.
This video-light “trend” came out a couple of years ago and I read a few ‘oohs and aahs’ from some “known” photographer bloggers but I honestly think these “rave” reviews came as “look-at-me-I-am-trendy-too” and not because they had such success with it.
Or, maybe I just don’t know how to use it…
I bought mine for $40 on ebay and wanted to give it away to a colleague. No one wanted it :-). I now use it in my back yard shed. It’s doing a great job there :-)
Just to clarify Thomas, I am not suggesting that you are trying to be trendy :-). Your article sticks to facts not adjectives. However, if you do have some examples, I would love to see a few.
Hi Motti,
My business is industrial photography so I have only used mine for machinery and product-type shots…for example all of the indoor images I took for my Oben 2491 tripod review were taken with this single light. You can see some sample images here:
photographylife.com/revie…tripod-kit
I used the light mounted on the Oben TT-300 table top tripod and I found it to be a very effective tool to use for small product-type photos and/or video clips. I think this light is well suited for that application.
I find this style of light to be quite bright and somewhat harsh, even with the diffuser mounted on it, so I can understand how it would pose a challenge when working with people. I think it would likely be best positioned on a tripod at a 45-degree angle to the subject’s face so they don’t have to stare directly into it. I think this would work fine for an on-camera interview-style of shot or video clip where the subject may be sitting at a desk or something like that. Having a pair of these lights, at opposing 45-degree angles to the subject may work quite well…especially if the intensity is adjusted for some creative side lighting. Using two lights would also allow for less light intensity which would also help….as would draping a couple of additional diffuser socks over the light(s). Of course, bouncing the light off a reflector of some type would really help to soften it as well.
Another option would be to mount this type of LED light on a camera bracket so it can be raised up a bit higher and pointed down on the subject, or mounted off to the side and angled in on the subject…so they don’t have to stare directly into the light which is a real problem as noted in your posting.
I have been testing it out a little bit to see how I could use it for some of my YouTube videos where I film myself on camera with my Nikon 1 V2 and a wireless remote…I’m still working on finding the right distance, angle, and exposure settings for that application….but I think it will work.
Folks that do ‘run-n-gun’ video work are likely more used to using this style of light…and I would think most of them would not mount this light on the shoe of their camera…but rather on a camera bracket so it can be offset from their camera and angled towards their subject so it is not pointed directly in their eyes.
I don’t think this style of light is going to replace soft boxes, flashes and other forms of lighting especially for portraiture work where lighting needs to be much more subtle. I do think it is a very handy and useful light that is quite effective when used for small sized product shots or for video work where space is cramped and getting some light in a difficult, dark scene is the objective…even if that light ends up being a bit harsh.
Tom
Thank you Thomas, I think you are right mentioning small size products.
As I am reading your reply I am realizing that this light can be great for some macro or close-up photography. Your close-ups images of various items show a very even light, Having the light on the item will show me in real time how the image will look.
I am going to get it from my shed tomorrow and give it a try :-) I Have a wedding tomorrow afternoon, hope I can experiment a bit. Cheers
Hi Josh,
I did not find any colour cast problems with the light. All of the indoor shots for my review of the Oben 2491 tripod kit were taken with the Genaray LED-7100T light. Here is a link to the review so you can have a look at the shots:
photographylife.com/revie…tripod-kit
Tom
I have the same thing that I got from by expo 2 years ago with a brand of fotosiox. Same case, light battery, battery charger, adaptor to camera and cig lighter adaptor. Are this led light are all made from China and get rebranded when they get here in the USA? Smh?????
Hi Jun,
I have no way of knowing if rebranding occurs and if the contents in the various kits that may be available are identical in appearance only or if they differ ‘on the inside’ in terms of componentry.
All I can report on is the kit that I have and its functionality. As I mentioned in the review, I’ve found that I use this light more than I anticipated that I would, especially when doing still photography of small subjects where I only need a small, single light source.
Tom
typo correction… i got it from nyc expo 2 years ago and the brand is fotodiox.
How did you find the color rendering to be using this light? I’m looking for something for a small constant light for portraiture and the LED light I currently use renders colors super green.