Performance
Being able to tune the colour temperature and brightness, and even the power on/off from your desk is awesome. If you’re live streaming, you don’t want to be getting up to dial in settings. I can sit at my desk, look at my output on the video stream and adjust the lighting of the scene set up as it should be. The brightness is something to behold too, and at 2500 Lumens, you’ll not be left wanting for more. Sure, you can use more than one though. If you’re using greenscreen, two Key Lights would help give you a shadowless backdrop that easy to key out in software. That would also give you a greater luminance overall, although you can dial the lighting power down a bit if you’re using two anyway.
Software Setup
You need the new Elgato Control Center before you can install the light. If you’re using a Stream Deck, you’ll also want to ensure you have the latest version which supports the new lighting features. My PC runs on LAN, so I had to use a USB WiFi adapter to get it to pair with the Key Light. However, you can use your phone/tablet to connect directly to the light, then configure it by using pointing your browser at the lights IP address. It’s not hard to do and only took me a few moments to run through.
Once installed, you can take full control of the Key Light from the taskbar. This popup allows you to tweak the colour temperature, as well as the overall brightness. It’s a light, so it’s hardly rocket science with a million settings. Just dial it in, and you’re good to go.
Of course, if you have a Stream Deck, you can create all kinds of profiles and settings and set them to the buttons. I’ve gone ahead and created a simple one. However, with the macro features, you can have a single button press do things like, dim the lights, play a sound effect, then brighten the lights again; if you so desired.
Elgato Key Light Mini: What you’ll like
Source: Windows CentralIlluminating the corner of my son’s bedroom in the dark with the Key Light Mini. (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)
From the very second you prize this thing from its box you’ll see it’s a quality product. I’ve been using a couple of LED light panels the same size for a while to illuminate my office a little, but the difference in hardware quality is night and day.
The Key Light Mini is a chunky old hector but it’s so solid. It also has a built-in diffuser like the other Key Light products, something my much cheaper LED panels do not. And you need a diffuser lest ye be blinded all day. And blinded you would be because the Key Light Mini, despite its size, gets seriously bright. With a max output of 800 lumens across a color range of 2900-7000K, a couple of these in your setup will make a massive difference.
Unlike on the bigger Key Light, all the necessary controls and ports are on the side, including for this more portable model, a built-in brightness dial. It’s not quite so necessary on something that will live clamped to your desk, but on this, it’s an essential and extremely useful feature.
Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)
That’s because IRL streamers and videographers will very much be able to use a Key Light Mini with their camera gear. The bottom of the unit houses a standard tripod thread mount, so you can easily attach it to a cold shoe on your camera. It charges over USB-C, so it’s compatible with your existing battery packs and cables, but the built-in battery will last up to four hours depending on how bright you use it. And that’s not too shabby at all.
Of course, you can also run it in «studio mode,» which is just a fancy term for saying you can run it off AC power.
The party piece of the Key Light Mini, though, remains its smarts. Like the other Key Light products, the Mini offers wireless control either through a smartphone or from your PC, and full integration with Elgato’s . The PC app is small and unobtrusive and just sits in the system tray until you need it.
Elgato Key Light
Are you’re into streaming your games, creating content for Twitch, YouTube or any other format that requires you filming yourself at your desk? Well, you’ll no doubt have realised just how deep the studio equipment rabbit hole goes. From cameras, lens, tripods, microphones. It seems you can drop endless cash on every little aspect. One of the most important factors, however, is lighting. A well-lit scene can drastically improve video quality. Trying to film yourself in a darkened room is going to look awful for your viewers, and no doubt require a higher ISO on your camera, generating video noise in the process.
Since Elgato also makes the Stream Deck, the key light launches with updates to the Stream Deck (mini and regular) that allow for lighting controls from the Stream Deck. The fact they’re unifying this ecosystem is brilliant for content creators!
Elgato Key Light Mini: What you won’t like
Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)
There truly isn’t much to dislike about the Key Light Mini, but there are a couple of pointers that do bring the whole experience down a touch. The first is the price, just as has been a score against every other Key Light from Elgato.
It’s expensive.
It is the most affordable Key Light, but the difference to the Key Light Air isn’t perhaps quite as much as you might have hoped. Then again, this does have a 4,000mAh battery inside, so you can understand where some of that comes back. But if you’re a PC-based streamer you’ll still really want two of these, which is a significant investment.
There’s also no stand in the box at all. With the bigger Key Lights, while quite expensive, you get one of Elgato’s Multi Mount arms or the table stand thrown into the bargain. Such a thing would be impractical with the Key Light Mini, but would it really have been too much to toss in a mini-tripod? Especially when it costs $100 as it does.
But no included stand is surprisingly inconvenient. I have a spare mini tripod I could use with it, but to use this in any kind of studio environment you’re going to have to invest in additional gear.
Or, as I plan to do, you could just slap some Command strips on the back and stick it to the wall.
Качество сборки
Обод плотный. При осмотре и на ощупь — добротный. Не люфтит, не скрипит, не прогибается. Рассеиватель плафона матовый, что обеспечивает более мягкое и равномерное свечение.
Собран плотно и без зазоров. Означает, что внутри не станут накапливаться ни грязь, ни привлеченные ярким светом насекомые.
Дизайн — стильный, практичный, универсальный
Стильный тонкий светильник круглой формы подходит для жилых помещений:
- Спальни — основной сценарий размещения Arwen 450S.
- Кухни.
- Прихожей.
- Детской комнаты.
- Рабочего кабинета.
Белый цвет нейтрален. Уместен практически в любом интерьере. Равно подходит и для жилой комнаты и для строгой обстановки домашнего офиса. Сливается с белым потолком. Компактен, диаметр 455 миллиметров, а толщина менее десяти сантиметров.
Arwen 450S — прежде всего основной источник света в комнате, а не элемент декора. Речь о корпусе. Подчеркнуть интерьерные решение и создать желаемую атмосферу позволяет функционал. Визуальный эффект освещения меняется в зависимости от настроения пользователя, времени суток, типа помещения и сценария применения.
Подготовка к работе и настройка приложения
Суть действий: подключение Arwen 450S к домашней беспроводной сети через маршрутизатор Wi-Fi. В дальнейшем возможно управление освещением через интернет на любом расстоянии.
Общие рекомендации:
- Убедитесь, что ваш телефон работает под управлением поддерживаемой ОС.
- Убедитесь в том, что маршрутизатор исправлен и работает корректно.
- В процессе настройки максимально сблизьте смартфон, светильник и роутер (или точку доступа).
Загрузите из магазина приложений Play Market (Android) и App Store (iOS) мобильное приложение Yeelight.
Создайте учетную запись. Затем добавьте гаджет. Первая настройка — автоматически или вручную.
Приложение подсказывает пользователю правильную последовательность действий.
После подключения Arwen 450S к домашней сети приложение предложит выбрать один из предустановленных режимов работы светильника. Хороший вариант для пользователей, которые предпочитают не заботиться о тонких настройках. Но не единственный.
В режиме «Солнце» перед вами открывается не только возможность управлять цветовой температурой, но и ее яркостью. Соответственно и возможность подбора оптимального освещения в соответствии со своими вкусами и задачами.
Настройка основного и атмосферного освещения через телефон
Привязка светильника к смартфону заняла менее минуты. В приложении предусмотрены готовые сцены освещения.
- Режим просмотра кино оставляет только подсветку потолка. Основное яркое освещение выключено. Создаем соответствующую фильму атмосферу. При этом свет направлен вверх и не влияет на цвета экрана ТВ или компьютерного монитора.
- Режим ночного света — своего рода потолочный ночник. Уютное желтое освещение романтично. Подобно полной Луне, но комнатного формата. Свет мягкий и приглушенный. Не мешает ни сну, ни чтению электронных книг. Позволяет не остаться в полной темноте.
- Имитация мерцания свечи хороша для романтического ужина.
- Самое яркое освещение в режиме чтения. Достаточное, чтобы с удовольствием и без напряжения для глаз читать бумажную книгу.
Помимо готовых предустановок есть и ручные настройки.
- Переходим на вкладку «Солнце», где устанавливаем яркость и оттенок. Вечером желателен более теплый уютный оттенок основного освещения. Днем — более прохладные тона, которые ближе к естественному солнечному освещению.
- Переходим на вкладку «Луна». Здесь определяем яркость ночного освещения.
- Выбираем цветовую температуру: 2700К, 3500К, 4000К, 5500К или 6500К. Чем меньше значение, тем теплее тон.
- Если планируем читать до засыпания, устанавливаем таймер на 1 час. Через заданное время освещение в спальне будет отключено автоматически.
Атмосферная декоративная подсветка может использоваться как дополнение к основному освещению. Для вечеринок и праздников основной свет может вообще не использоваться. Только RGB-подсветка потолка.
Пульт дистанционного управления
Модель YLYK01YL, напряжение — 3 В. Сопряжение между пультом и светильником — по Bluetooth.
Пульт ДУ лаконичный и стильный со скругленными углами. Функционал кнопок двойной. От длительности нажатия зависит, управляем основным или декоративным освещением. Коротким нажатием — основной, а длинным — декоративную подсветку потолка.
Кнопки «+» и «—» предназначены для добавления и убавления яркости. Кнопка со схематическим изображением Солнца позволяет регулировать цветовую температуру. Кнопками «ON» и «OFF» включают и выключают свет. «M» предназначена для переключения между дневным и ночным освещением.
You shouldn’t buy this if …
- You’re on a budget
- You have a larger studio
The Key Light Mini is arguably the most attractive of all Elgato’s Key Light products. It’s no longer just for in-studio content creation, with the addition of a battery and a smaller size making it something that any type of content creator can use.
It is, alas, still going to cost you quite a bit, but you cannot deny the quality you’re getting. Besides now being portable, the Key Light Mini performs every bit as good as its larger siblings. It’s incredibly bright if you need it to be, and just as hands-free as the others.
And while I lament the lack of any included stand or tripod, the Key Light Mini is at least small enough to get a bit more creative with your mounting solutions. My old mini-LED panels are now in the trash, the Key Light Mini is far superior in every way.
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Elgato Key Light Mini
Bottom line: The most appealing Key Light to date, thought it does still come at a premium. But it’s worth it in the long run.
Overview
The Key Light is a fantastic solution for any content creators lighting problems. Older lighting tech required a huge amount of space, and big tripods, reflectors and more. Not only that, but the old setups were power hungry, put out a lot of heat and more. While they’re fine in a big studio, they’re often counterproductive in a gaming setup. Most people have their desks against a wall, or in a smaller room than a typical photo studio would be. Admittedly, LED lighting for studios is nothing new, we used them ourselves. However, they’re often battery operated, quite chunky, a little harshly lit, required slide in front filters for lighting colour control and more. The Key Light is much sleeker than all of that.
A Closer Look
The light its self looks fantastic and features a very clean looking Opal front diffuser. Overall, the light is 30 x 350 x 250mm. Pretty compact, but still more than big enough to be useful. It’s also very slim at just 30mm, meaning it can be placed behind your desk, pretty much against a wall if required.
There’s plenty of ventilation around the whole unit, although I doubt it’ll get that hot anyway being LED. There’s also a standard 1/4″ thread mount in the middle of all four sides. Of course, you can use the included tripod, but also any other 1/4″ mount on any rig you want will do the job.
The main light is only half the thickness of the whole unit, the 30mm is mostly located at the central power unit.
It takes a simple power jack, as the whole thing is controlled over Wi-Fi to reduce cable clutter. There’s a power switch, “I” for on, “O” for off, and “II” is for reset.
The tripod is pretty robust, with a durable metal clamp for your desk on the bottom.
It’s a simple enough design and features thick foam on the clamp so that it doesn’t scratch up the surface.
On the other end, two telescopic extensions with locking nuts.
There’s also a ball joint 1/4″ mount so you can find that perfect angle with ease.
BRIGHT!
At maximum brightness, the Key Light will rip your freaking eyes out. OK, not really, but 2500 lumens is no joke, that is properly bright and should easily light a fairly big area quite nicely. Of course, if you have a bigger space and need even lighting for greenscreen, you can run another key light to kill those shadow demons.
It’ll drop down to 3% should you need a minimal light for whatever reason, and of course, you can run it up in 1% increments from there till you find the perfect setting for you.
While most will use the light around 5000K, a more neutral natural light, you can set it up to a cool white 7000K, or drop it to a very warm 2900K. Here’s a low, medium and max brightness shot of the 2900K. Keep in mind, my camera will adjust its ISO in relation to the increased brightness.
Сценарии применения
Режим лунного света хорошо подходит для семейных вечеров и просмотра любимых фильмов перед сном.
Естественный свет настраивает на работу и учебу. Яркости Arwen 450S достаточно для комфортного чтения бумажных книг.
Еще интереснее смарт-функционал. Включение или выключение свет может быть сопоставлено с определенным событием.
Простые примеры. Свет погаснет по сигналу с умных часов о том, что пользователь заснул. Или включится, когда сенсор сообщит светильнику об открытии двери.
В ритме Солнца
Arwen 450S способен регулировать освещение в комнате в зависимости от времени суток. Речь не просто о расписании, а о комплексной автоматической подстройке параметров — от яркости до цветовой температуры.
Умному прибору известно, когда заходит и восходит Солнце в вашем городе. Причем для каждой даты.
Elgato Key Light Mini: Competition
Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)
The most obvious alternative is the excellent , which is brighter at 1,000 lumens (versus 800 of the Elgato Key Light Mini) but with less color range (3200 to 5600K vs. 2900-7000K). The Lume Cube Panel GO battery is just 2,470 mAh versus the larger 4,000 mAh in the Elgato Key Light Mini, although battery life is 90 minutes at 100%, versus 120 minutes for the (dimmer) Elgato Key Light Mini.
However, the most significant advantage with the Lume Cube Panel GO is getting more for $99. You get two threaded 1/4″ tripod mounts in the box, including a 12″ to 30″ telescoping tripod and a suction-cup-based laptop mount. For the Elgato Key Light Mini, all you get is the light.
There is also Key Light Mini’s siblings, the and Key Light Air.
The Key Light and Key Light Air are both much larger and designed for a studio environment. If you never plan to create content away from your setup then they may still be a more viable option, but the flexibility the Mini offers while maintaining similar performance, well it’s hard to ignore.
