Key Takeaways
For simply $32, the Newmowa Cellular Telephone LED gentle can dramatically enhance your selfies and pictures, making it a stable choice at its value level.
Straightforward to make use of with adjustable brightness and colour temperature, this compact gentle affords comfort and flexibility for creating flattering gentle.
Whereas not probably the most sturdy choice, the Newmowa gentle is a superb budget-friendly selection for enhancing your self-portraits and video high quality.
Most assume that digicam {hardware} dictates picture high quality. Whereas that is true to an extent, professionals know that usually higher lighting can have a extra speedy affect in your pictures and movies. So, when influencer Alix Earle made a $32 selfie gentle TikTok well-known, the photographer in me needed to ask: Is the Newmowa Cellular Telephone LED gentle actually that good? Or is everybody merely discovering how a lot affect somewhat gentle can have?
I swallowed my self-importance and shot some selfies with my iPhone and the Newmowa Cellular Telephone LED SL-60AI gentle to see if this $32 gentle is basically well worth the TikTok fame. Are there higher lights on the market? Certain, however for the $32 value level, this little Newmowa gentle can have a huge impact.
Finest Worth
Compact and extremely easy to make use of, this Newmowa selfie gentle could make a dramatic enchancment in your pictures. The clip design makes it simple to connect to most smartphones and tablets, whereas the three-button operation is simple. The clip does slip on thinner units like laptops or an iPhone and not using a case. Whereas it isn’t the most effective selfie gentle on the market, it is a stable choice for the value level.
Worth, specs and availability
The Newmowa Cellular Telephone LED is out there for round $32 from Amazon.
Measurement 4.1×3.0x0.5 inches
Model Newmowa
Lumination 250 lux
Design, dimension, and supplies
Compact comfort
At its most simple, the Newmowa LED gentle is a lightweight panel with two completely different mount choices. The selfie gentle is not fairly as compact as a smartphone, however it may well simply slide right into a coat pocket or purse. The panel itself is roughly 4 by three inches and half an inch thick, with the 2 completely different mount choices including somewhat to the again and backside of the accent.
If you know the way to work a chip clip, you possibly can fasten this selfie gentle to your cellphone.
The controls sit on the facet of the panel and there are simply three: an on/off toggle, and separate plus and minus buttons. The latter two management the brightness of the sunshine. You can even use the on/off button to regulate the colour of sunshine the accent produces by turning on the cooler lights, the hotter ones, or each.
Beneath these are two micro USB and USB-C charging ports. Meaning most individuals can cost the Newmowa gentle with the ability adapter that got here with their cellphone. On the again nook, a set of 4 small lights signifies remaining battery life.
I desire utilizing the clip as a result of you possibly can modify the angle of the sunshine. This can be a key characteristic for creating flattering gentle.
There are two methods to connect the Newmowa gentle. The primary is with an precise clip which works for selfies in addition to the rear-facing digicam, or perhaps a pill or laptop computer for video conferencing. The second attachment choice is a cellphone cradle the place the sunshine sits on the again of the cellphone for the rear-facing digicam solely.
I desire utilizing the clip as a result of you possibly can modify the angle of the sunshine. This can be a key characteristic for creating flattering gentle. The cradle choice additionally took up a lot of the again of my iPhone, leaving little room for the three digicam lenses or my fingers. I might get a greater grip if I merely used the clip dealing with outwards.
The design of the Newmowa clip gentle is simple. Nonetheless, it does really feel a bit plasticky. For the value, that is what I anticipated. It survived a fall off the tripod, however I am undecided how a lot of that was right down to luck.
Ease of use and expertise
Virtually so simple as a chip clip
You do not have to be a photographer to make use of the Newmowa LED gentle. Simply clip it on and ensure the clip opening affords the front-facing digicam an unblocked view. After powering on the gadget, use the plus and minus buttons to extend or lower the sunshine depth as wanted. A brief faucet quite than urgent and holding the button will modify the colour temperature; this can be utilized to raised match the prevailing gentle within the room or create hotter or cooler pores and skin tones.
One of many largest benefits to utilizing a selfie gentle just like the Newmowa is you could get nice pictures with out understanding something about gentle.
There may be one minor exception: The sunshine ought to be clipped to the highest of the cellphone and angled barely down in the direction of your face. Do not clip it to the underside of your cellphone until you wish to appear to be you’re holding a flashlight as much as your chin to inform scary tales across the campfire.
One other nice characteristic in regards to the Newmowa selfie gentle is that it may well additionally work for video calls. The clip does work somewhat higher round a thicker gadget, nonetheless. When clipped to the FaceTime digicam on my MacBook Professional, it had a bent to slide misplaced. The rubber on the entrance of the clip additionally moved because the clip slipped, and I ended up taking it off as a result of I used to be involved it’d scratch the laptop computer.
I left the sunshine on for an hour and a half at low energy, and the clip gentle’s battery indicator nonetheless confirmed as full. The battery lasts lengthy sufficient to make use of for video calls in addition to selfies.
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With out selfie gentle (left) in comparison with with (proper)
Lighting high quality evaluation, from a professional
For the value, this selfie gentle makes a dramatic distinction
Mild is vital to creating flattering portraits, self-portraits included. Dangerous gentle will wash out and desaturate pores and skin tones, create under-eye shadows like you have not slept in every week, and even boring your eye colour. To grasp what the Newmowa is able to, let me provide you with a mini-lesson in lighting. Three areas I assessed the sunshine’s impact on portraits are:
Shadow round eyes and jawline. Pores and skin texture look. Pores and skin tone — washout versus pure colours.
First, shadow placement is vital. Shadows falling below your eyes make you look drained, whereas shadows falling below your chin make a double chin much less noticeable. As a result of the chip-clip-like attachment on the Newmowa means that you can modify the angle, you possibly can absolutely gentle the eyes whereas defining the jawline with a little bit of shadow. Level one for Newmowa.
One other key to flattering lighting is to cut back the looks of texture on the pores and skin.
One other key to flattering lighting is to cut back the looks of texture on the pores and skin. When delicate textures within the pores and skin like outdated pimples scars, recent pimples, or wrinkles have a shadow, they are going to be much less noticeable. The bigger the sunshine supply is, the much less noticeable this texture is. The Newmowa selfie gentle needed to stability the dimensions of the sunshine with portability. It is a respectable stability — nonetheless sufficiently small to create some shadows below the chin, however giant sufficient to not exaggerate pores and skin texture. Nonetheless, it may well often create the looks of shiny pores and skin {that a} softer gentle supply could not.
Lastly, gentle will assist forestall pores and skin tones from washing out. Colours that fall within the shadows have a tendency to show extra grey. Lighting the eyes can also be key to serving to the colour pop. Most lights will assist with this, even small ones, so give one other level to the Newmowa clip gentle.
One of many issues this selfie gentle cannot do is overpower the solar, which is hardly shocking for a 4W finances gentle. It could possibly assist pores and skin retain its colour in outside selfies, however you continue to should not stand together with your again to a window or the background shall be washed out.
With out selfie gentle (left) vs with selfie gentle (proper)
Selecting a lightweight that is bigger than the Newmowa’s 4 inches may even assist, however the trade-off is a lower in portability for bigger LED panels.
Does the Newmowa create flattering gentle for selfies? Sure. Nonetheless, it is price noting that a number of comparable merchandise will assist enhance your selfie sport.
Ring lights have seen a resurgence in reputation for duties like make-up tutorials. The circle-shaped gentle will gentle the face from each path. That will not create the chin definition that the Newmowa does or slot in a pocket, however they’re distinctive instruments for smoothing out pores and skin texture and wrinkles by eliminating shadows on the pores and skin, plus including a circle-shaped sparkle to the eyes. Selecting a lightweight that is bigger than the Newmowa’s 4 inches may even assist, however the trade-off is a lower in portability for bigger LED panels.
Verdict: Is the Newmowa Alix Earle gentle stylish or price it?
For $32, the Newmowa selfie gentle creates a dramatic enchancment in self-portraits, in addition to vlogs. The chip-clip-style gentle makes it exceptionally simple for anybody to create nice gentle for pictures and video, even with little know-how with regards to lighting.
However is the Newmowa the most effective selfie gentle on the market? In all probability not. It is a stable gentle for the value level. Nevertheless it’s not probably the most sturdy choice — the grip that retains it from scratching your gadget began to slide off once I clipped it to my MacBook, and it’s kind of plasticky. Different high-end lights will supply extra energy together with a extra sturdy construct — at a better value level.
If you wish to enhance your selfies for below $35 with out packing an oversize gentle, the Newmowa SL-60AI is an effective selection. If you’d like one thing with extra sturdiness, you may must spend a bit extra. And if portability is not essential, a big ring gentle will actually assist to attenuate pores and skin texture and make the eyes pop.