A Lightsaber for Those Who Fear Flash
Review by Fernando Santos
If you need artificial light but don’t enjoy flash, the Godox LC500 Light Stick may interest you. Let me tell you more about it.
The LC500 is a two-sided LED light source that reminds me of a lightsaber. It weighs roughly 1.7 lbs (760g), and it’s 22.2″ (565mm) long. Depending on the side you use, the color temperature will be 3300K or 5500K.
The announced 516 LEDs are, in fact, just 258 LEDs for each color temperature. You can’t turn on both sides simultaneously, but you probably wouldn’t want that anyway. The unit will remember your previous settings when you turn it on, but you can easily adjust power between 10–100% with 1% steps (10% if you press the button longer). You can also adjust the light beam using the included barn doors. Opening and closing them is easy, but it may take a little longer to figure out how to remove them or how to move them from one side to the other: I recommend that you read the documentation. Each end on the light stick has a 1/4″ female thread that you can use to attach the unit to a light stand, tripod head, or magic arm.
The LC500 is easy to operate: You have a turn on/off button, a plus/minus button to increase/decrease brightness, and a button to change mode between 3300K and 5500K. There’s one other button that allows you to change channel and group assignment. What? Yes, you can operate the unit remotely if you buy the optional remote control.
Inside the box, you’ll find a nice transport/storage bag, and the power charger. The battery takes about 2.5 hours to charge fully, and that will give you a similar amount of usage time. You can also run the Godox LC500 LED Light Stick while charging it.
