Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had recently bought a NEEWER 160 LED light that I gave away, and found this light with the same number of LEDs at an even lower price. The price wasn't my concern, and I had hoped for a little better mounting bracket this time around. The differences between these two lights is almost negligible, but I discovered that the Chromo light seems to put out the same brightness that the NEEWER light does. It has the same number of LEDs. Instead of having the dimmer on the side, it has it on the back. The button to check for battery life does the same job as the one on the NEEWER light, except that on the Chromo light the light has to be "on" first to test the battery. No problem. There are the same selection of colored gels like the NEEWER light, except that you don't get the plastic sleeve to put them in. Small issue. The light is a bit bulky, mostly because of its dual battery design / Sony or AA batteries. I would recommend not using AA batteries since you need six of them, and it makes the light much heavier and is more expensive to be using disposable AA's than one NP-550. Of course, if you wish to use rechargeable AAs that's another choice, but using just the one Sony battery is a lot easier in my opinion. The Chromo doesn't come with a battery, but NP-550's aren't expensive and neither are the chargers for them. The mount for the Chromo, in my opinion, was a lot better than the NEEWER mount. The light itself has a threaded hole on the bottom, so you could screw in your own mount if you like -- something that the NEEWER light can't do since its mount uses four tiny screws into the light's frame. The hot shoe mount that comes with the Chromo light is much like others I've seen that come with other brands of LED camera lights. It is a screw-in swivel with a thumbscrew to set the angle you wish to hold the light. It's cheap, but seems to be effective -- a combination of metal and plastic parts -- not just plastic. Mine actually had some rust on the ball joint, something that I was able to easily scrape off and spray with some parts cleaner. These products from China remind me of the old days when we'd get the same type of quality from Japan. However, in general, I'm giving this light 4 stars since so far it seems like it will do the job and is a lot of light for the money. It's also less stressful on the job if this light breaks or gets dropped rather than having spent a lot of money on it like products from LightPanels, that make an obviously superior product but overcharge for what you're getting. We just did a shoot in the Mohave with the NEEWER light. It got rolled in the dust accidentally, but never stopped working and after a bit of cleanup, it still worked fine. These lights are great to use to fill in shadows even in daylight, but you have to get in close. At night, they are amazingly bright. Good also for lighting car interiors and for a quick emergency light when you have to get the shot. With the Chromo, you'll just have to find a place in your bag for the extra gels. Not a big deal.