The Best Camera and Studio Lights for Photographers

To Know

You can think of this device as a lighting studio for mobile photography that fits in the palm of your hand! Though it works like a charm for continuous light use, you’ll quickly find that this device serves a much higher purpose. Where the Profoto C1 Plus Mobile Light “shines” is its off-camera flash capabilities. Light up your subject with one hand & shoot with the other.

What We Love

Perfectly Small Form Factor

Since the Profoto C1 Plus size fits in your hand, it essentially allows your arm to act as a fully-functioning gimbal for your off-sync flash. You can harness that flexibility to customize how your subjects are illuminated. From creating dramatic shadows to making certain things pop just right, photographers can capture incredible shots with the help of this gem.

Moment Lens Compatible

Moment-branded lenses tend to cover your camera’s native flash feature. Now, you can use the Moment Wide Lens or the Tele Lens and still have superb flash capabilities thanks to the off-camera flash.

Magnetic Color Gels

The Profoto C1 is compatible with Profoto-branded magnetic color gels so that you can click colors to create different lighting effects. Pair with the in-app light temperature control, and you’ve got yourself a nearly limitless list of possibilities.

The Details

Brand: Profoto

Product Type: Mobile Light

Best For: Creatives who are into mobile or smartphone photography.

To Know:

As far as studio lights are concerned, the Amaran 100d is a fantastic option. A daylight point-source LED piece, brilliantly bright, with Bluetooth app control, there’s nothing this beast (boasting 39,500 Lux at 1 meter with Hyper-Reflector) can’t illuminate. The 100d comes equipped with CRI & TLCI scores of 95+ for flawless color quality. Though this beast is powerful enough for video production, it works wonders for portrait photography as well.

What We Love:

Accessories in Mind

The Arman 100d’s Universal Bowens Mount fits a wide breadth of accessories, plus it's got a built-in umbrella holder.

Complete FX Control

The 100d features a compact lamp head with controls such as 0-100% control, built-in light effects like paparazzi, fireworks, strobe, explosion, and more.

Technologically Advanced

The light comes with Sidus Mesh technology that forms a network with other Sidus compatible lights! It allows photographers to precisely control the piece from nearly any smart device using the industry-standard Sidus Link mobile app.

The Details:

Brand: Amaran

Product Type: Studio Light

Best For: Its multipurpose function makes the Amaran 100d great for photographers who also create high-quality video content.

To Know

A Bluetooth-controlled RGB light, the Panel Pro is durable, loaded with 263 LEDs, pushes out 1500 Lux at 0.5 meters, and uses a frosted lens & a slide-on diffuser to help diffuse light. The device is powerful, also featuring an adjustable 3000 to 5700K color temperature with a >96 CRI and 360 RGB colors while only being about the size of an iPhone 11 Pro Max.

What We Love

Creator Friendly

The Lume Cube Panel Pro is easy to use so that creatives spend less time configuring and more time capturing. The back of the Panel displays a large LCD control screen and features only three functions on the side – a power button, an adjustment dial, and a USB-C charge port.

Made To Last

The Panel Pro is built for creatives on the move, with a totally aluminum body and a big, rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

Simple Mounting Options

Installed on the Lume Cube Panel Pro are three ¼” 20 threads on the top, left, and bottom sides to give photographers the option to attach the light onto their equipment vertically or horizontally.

The Details

Brand: Lume Cube

Product Type: Camera LED Light

Best For: Photographers who need a full spectrum of possibilities in one go-to lighting solution.

To Know

Another best-in-class option from Lume Cube is the Cordless Ring Light. As the name implies, this user-friendly camera light allows creators to surround themselves in 18 inches of brilliant, adjustable light that makes them the center of attention.

What We Love

Plug or Pack

The Ring Light comes with an AC power adapter for unlimited home studio lighting and two battery packs capable of powering the Ring for over 70 minutes at full power when you find yourself away from the HQ.

Creator Compatible

Whether you’re an iPhone user or a full-frame camera photographer, the Lume Cube 18” Cordless Ring Light is fully compatible with your choice of equipment – the diffuser comes built-in.

Be Your Own Muse

The tripod stand, adjustable color temperature, and adjustable brightness make the Ring Light great for elegantly capturing your complexion, expression, and story you’re telling just right.

The Details

Brand: Lume Cube

Product Type: Ring Light

Best For: Content creators who themselves the focus of their creation.

To Know:

Boasting 360 degrees of hue and 100 levels of saturation adjustment, the MC RGB LED Light - Aputure’s first to include complete HSI color control - gives you the ability to reproduce virtually any color effortlessly. Don’t just rely on Red, Green, and Blue LEDs, though, as the MC includes one additional LED balanced at tungsten and another at daylight. This relatively small light competes with industry giants.

What We Love:

The Choice is Yours

Creators can choose any color temperature in the MC’s expanded bi-color range between 3200K-6500K.

Solid Battery

The MC RGB LED Light’s built-in battery provides two whole hours at maximum output and a whopping 15 hours at minimum – and only takes about two hours to charge.

Sidus Link App

You can connect the Aputure MC RGB On-Camera LED Light to the Sidus Link App, a pro-level lighting control platform that activates things like lightning, strobe, pulsing, fire, candle, firework for more control over your lighting effects.

The Details:

Brand: Aputure

Product Type: LED Light

Best For: Photographers who require a top-notch swiss army knife of lights.

To Know:

The Profoto B10 features 250Ws, 10-Stop Power Range, and Full TTL Auto Exposure Control Plus HSS, yet it’s easy to use, easy to carry, and is relatively compact for what a powerful light it is. The color temperature controlled continuous light helps photographers easily blend it with natural light. The interface is minimal, so you can spend your time being creative instead of figuring out how all of the features work. Even the batteries are simple to swap out. If you’re into heavy-duty studio photography (or filmmaking), this light is for you.

What We Love:

Big Light in a Small Package

The B10 provides 5x the light you get from a Speedlight while delivering light that’s natural and gorgeous. All this is in a package of similar dimensions as a medium-sized camera lens.

Light Shaping Tools

The B10 has a dozen light shaping tools to choose from in their lightweight OCF range and almost 120 more in Profoto’s full range – helping you create any mood, feeling, or emotion from just the work of this light.

Custom Carrying

The light isn’t only easy to lug around due to its size. The B10 has its own custom carrying case designed by Jacob von Matern (sold separately, but still cool).

The Details:

Brand: Profoto

Product Type: Strobe Light

Best For: The Profoto B10 may not be the cheapest light for photography, but it’s one of the best - meant for photogrtaphers who notice every detail. Great for shooting in natural light.

To Know:

Vloggers rejoice! The JOBY Beamo Mini gives you pro-grade lighting regardless of the condition in an ultra-compacted, durable, and adventure-ready form. At full power, this little light of yours puts out a 1,000 Lumen LED (adjustable in five steps). It’s fully dimmable and runs for 40 minutes at 100% power or 100 minutes at 50% power - ideal for your next vlog.

What We Love:

Quite Attractive

The Joby Beamo Mini On-Camera LED Light’s magnetic backing attaches to virtually any metal surface so that you’re ready to start creating no matter where inspiration calls.

Waterproof Design

The seam-sealed body makes this JOBY completely waterproof up to 30 meters or 100 feet for Americans!

Accessorize

The Beamo Mini has unique double-cold shoe mounts to add accessories like a mic…..or a second Beamo!

The Details:

Brand: JOBY

Product Type: LED Light

Best For: Content creators who are constantly on the move and want a rugged photography light (or two) that fits nicely in a pocket.

To Know:

The HVL-F60RM2 is a powerful GN60 flash built for the sophistication of Sony's "evolved" cameras. Offering perfect light for any moment, a reliable flash at lighting-fast continuous shooting speeds, intuitive controls, and more, this light isn't like anything else on our list because it's built exclusively for power users. The lighting system's main feature is what Sony calls "Intelligent Communication" — between the flash and the camera body for stunning images, amazing speed, and smooth operability.

What We Love:

Stunning Images

The flash is linked to face detection, offers optimum lighting of any objects in focus, delivers accurate white balance, transmits flash color temperature to the camera, and produces stable, high-power output for stunning images every time.

Amazing Speed

For the first time, the Sony HVL-F60RM2 offers electronic flash sync and 50 MP at 20 fps, and an unprecedented flash speed of 1/400 sec.

Smooth Operability

Photographers can control the flash from the camera body and TTL Level Memory for manual flash recall.

Tough As Nails

The HVL-F60RM2 Wireless Radio Control External Flash delivers on Sony’s guaranteed toughness. The flash features a metal shoe foot, overheating prevention technology, and is resistant to dust & moisture.

The Details:

Brand: Sony

Product Type: External Flash

Best For: Photographers who need an external flash built as tough as they are and want to brilliantly and accurately capture memorable moments.

To Know:

The OCF Beauty Dish is the younger sibling of the Profoto Softlight Reflector. It helps create a rich, creamy light that many refer to as “beauty light,” hence the name. The reflector makes our list because of the elegant way it brings out the beauty of your subjects, self-portrait or otherwise. The OCF Beauty Dish is a must snag for portrait photographers.

What We Love:

Comes Fully Loaded

Profoto’s OCF Beauty Dish comes with a deflector plate, an optional diffuser, and a labeled soft bag for safekeeping.

Build Material

The Beauty Dish is lightweight and made with high-quality fabrics with a patent-pending design that makes it easy to snap on without messing around with cumbersome rods.

Size

Lightweight and easily collapsible, the Dish weighs about one pound.

The Details:

Brand: Profoto

Product Type: Light Reflector

Best For: On-location photography