LED lights for photography and videography have come a very long way in their relatively short lifetime, with this Neewer HB80C head somewhat embodying all that progress in a single entity. Not only does it cost dramatically less than a similar light would have just five years ago, but it offers us an immense range of colours via its red, green and blue little diodes that can be mixed with the effect of an almost endless number of gels at the press of a button and a tune of a dial. Designed to be used in the studio or out on location, the ‘80W’ it draws can be provided either directly from the wall, from its own internal battery or from an external power pack. It’s small too, and it looks quite nice – much in the style of Neewer’s Q4 flash unit we also reviewed.

　　Neewer HB80C at a glance: $229 / £250 80W RGBWW LED light Built-in battery Bowens mount Plenty of external power options Nicely made uk.neewer.com Neewer HB80C Features The Neewer HB80C is a 72W LED light that uses an RGBWW diode array to offer a wide range of colour temperatures and colour mixes for lighting in still or moving photography. In its bi-colour CCT (Correlated Colour Temperature) mode for emulating daylight and tungsten-type lighting with Kelvin measurements, the light can cover temperatures from a warm 2500K to a remarkably chilly 7500K. Unusually for a light in this price range, we also get green/magenta tuning of -50 to +50.

　　In addition, as you’d expect for an RGBWW light, we also have the chance to control colours in HSI (Hue, Saturation, Intensity) mode or to select the exact mix of red/green/blue/cool white/warm white the HB80C is putting out. The head allows colour selection using XY coordinates with an intensity scale for accurate repeatability and multi-head matching, and we have a comprehensive collection of numbered settings that emulate the Lee and Rosco coloured gel sets. No one will be able to complain there isn’t enough choice.

　　Neewer HB80C Key Points

　　Massive colour range: a total of eight modes are on board for controlling colour and Kelvin temperatures between 2500K and 7500K Built-in ‘gels’: colour effects that emulate the colours produced by numbered Lee and Rosco gels App control: wireless control via the Neewer app brings a nicer interface as well as the ability to colour-match objects and other lights A total of 18 special effects are available that include the usual lightning effects, police lights, explosions, flash flashes, fireworks and a mode that emulates the look of the light coming from a TV screen.

　　A pretty significant feature of this light is that it has an internal battery that can power the light when you are on location. With a capacity of 5000mAh this internal power source isn’t going to keep the fires burning all day, but Neewer says we should get 70 minutes with the light running at full power or 95 minutes in the ‘mute’ mode in which the power drops slightly so the fan can run silently. When the built-in battery runs out we can run the light from an external source via the USB-C port. A powerful phone charger will do the job, as will a PB power bank or V-Lock battery. This is also how we charge the internal battery – a process that takes about two hours with a 65W power supply.

　　Usefully the light, in common with most lower cost lights and flashes these days, has a Bowens S mount for accessories such as softboxes and dishes. The head comes with a standard 7in reflector, the inside of which is marked with raised shiny facets that are designed to maximise the intensity of light leaving the dish. Neewer says we should expect to measure 10,400lux at a distance of 1m with this reflector in place and with the colour temperature set to 4400K.

　　The head comes with 2.4GHz wireless control so it can be controlled via the Neewer app but also so the light can be grouped with other similar lights via a 0-99 channel system.

　　Quite compact and with an unusual upright design, the Neewer HB80C measures approximately 130x130x110mm and weighs 1215g without the reflector.

　　Neewer HB80C In use The Neewer HB80C feels quite solid and somewhat better made than many other lower-cost lighting heads. Despite being full of fan vents the casing seems robust and protective, and as though it will survive years of regular handling and knocks. For mounting we get a single 1/4in 20 screw hole that has a pair of anti-rotation dimples either side that correspond to the pins on the supplied mini-tripod/handle. Supplied in the kit is a second mounting accessory in the form of a light stand adapter that features a hinge, for angling the head, and an umbrella slot.

　　There are vents on every face of the body other than the front, and further vents about the housing for the diffuser that screws into the front of the light. This diffuser helps the light avoid the multiple shadows we often see from LED lights, and is designed to make the coverage more even and attractive.

　　All the control tools the light offers are clustered on the rear panel. We have four buttons to open the menu, switch between modes, check the temperature and adjust the fan speed. The mode button will certainly be the busier as the other three have only one or two jobs compared to its eight options.

　　To navigate we have a rolling dial that helps us scroll through options and which presses in so we can make selections. As is sometimes the case, a slow turn of the roller gives us small incremental changes while a quick spin lets us jump some. In some modes too, a press will give us pre-defined leaps – from daylight to tungsten balances for example. There is quite a lot of clicking and scrolling involved when we shift from one way of working to the next, but not so much that it becomes a drag.

　　All of these changes can be tracked on the HB80C’s rear screen. It’s a colour screen and is designed as a disc to match the shape of the rear fan vents. It is quite small but does the job as well as we need, and displays its information clearly whether we are indoors or out.

　　Neewer HB80C Wireless control It’s almost essential to have an app for your LED light these days, as they add remote control, as well as very often a much better interface than the light itself. Neewer has a bit of a magic app that covers a wide range of its products, so you only need the one app for your lights, slider, tubes, teleprompter etc. When connected to the HB80C we can control all the regular settings in the light via our phone using a nice clear design on a screen as bright, large and clear as your phone or tablet processes.

　　Additional features the app brings to the HB80C include the ability to sample the colour of another light source so the HB80C can match it, and the ability to read colours from objects and match those too. The app can remember colours so we can save favourites, and by linking multiple units we can control sets of lights very easily. A favourite feature is the ability to make the light pulse in time with music – handy should you find yourself working in a disco.

　　Neewer HB80C Performance This isn’t a dramatically powerful light, and while it is convenient to use outside because of its battery, don’t expect to be able to overpower the sun with it. On the brightest setting it will be good for filling shadows on a sunny day, and on a cloudy day for creating some highlights. Indoors you’ll get more impact from it, and if you are happy to shoot wide open or with a high ISO setting, it can be used very happily as a main light.

　　In my tests, I got f/4 at 1/125sec and ISO 400 with the light set to 5200K and positioned 2m from the lightmeter, with the supplied reflector dish and the diffuser fitted. With the light at 1m that reading goes up to f/8 – which is more than useable, even with a softbox knocking off a stop or so. Removing the screw-on diffuser will add about a stop to the intensity, which is useful when bouncing the light, or when working with a softbox or beauty dish.

　　If you are on a tripod you can use a longer shutter to push the aperture or bring down the ISO. Shooting with the 3200K setting will cost just 2/10th of a stop, and using the pure colour modes will drop the power by no more than half a stop. It’s nice that the power doesn’t fall off dramatically when the RGB diodes are doing the work, as is sometimes the case.

　　Neewer HB80C Our Verdict I have to say I’m rather enamoured by the recent surge of RGB LED lights, as so many offer something we couldn’t easily afford only a few years ago. While some are not especially well featured or especially well made, this Neewer HB80C falls firmly into a different category. It offers a great range of modes and options and is built to a more-than-adequate standard. I like that there’s a battery inside, although a little more capacity would mean we didn’t need back-up power for shoots of more than an hour. But we should remember this is a light that costs much less than we have a right to expect for what we get in return. Even if there were no battery involved this would be a very well-priced light, and one that studio shooters will be very happy with.

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