Light & Motion has become known for making high-end, battery-powered, water- and weatherproof LED lights. The Reflex is similar to their other constant lights, but it can also flash.
The Reflex is an extremely small battery-powered LED that can also be powered by any 100-watt USB-C power brick. It comes with a "wide" lens to focus the beam, but you can replace it with other lenses and diffusers to shape the light precisely. You can also add softboxes to it using the Chimera speed ring adapter. What makes the Reflex particularly exciting is that it can now flash. It doesn't have a flash tube, though. Instead, it simply overpowers its LED for a fraction of a second (1/200th of a second, to be precise) and creates a burst of light that can be synced with a still camera using a Godox or Elinchrom remote.
The benefit to this type of flash is that photographers no longer need to consider their shutter speed when strobing. Most cameras have a maximum sync speed of around 1/200th of a second. Once the camera is set beyond its maximum sync speed, and the shutter becomes a moving slit rather than remaining fully open, a standard flash with a quick flash duration of around 1/10,000th of a second will cast a shadow of the shutter on the sensor, creating the dreaded "black bars." But when your flash duration is slower than your shutter speed, your light will remain on during the entire exposure, creating a clean image at any shutter speed. For the first time in my career, I was able to strobe without considering my shutter speed or the losses associated with hyper-sync. Although the light looks like a flash to my eyes, it acts just like a constant light with my camera.
Although this type of flash may become the standard in the future, the Reflex isn't ready to replace your strobes just yet. At full power, the Reflex fires a comparable amount of light to a speedlight at 1/32 power, which means it won't do much good in bright daylight. Also, most speedlights today have the ability to communicate with the camera, other flashes, and meter, while the Reflex is stuck in manual mode.
The Reflex comes in two variations, the Reflex and Reflex S. The only difference is that the S can shoot up to 20 fps and the S has the ability to control flash duration down to 1/1,000th of a second. Remember though, this is not a flash, and shortening the flash duration will remove flash power in your exposure. Flashing at 1/200th of a second will be 2.5 stops brighter than flashing at 1/1,000th of a second.
I'm sure in the future, as LED technology improves, this type of technology might surpass flash tubes, but right now, the Reflex isn't bright enough to make strobes obsolete. That being said, hybrid shooters who need portable, bright, constant lighting but who also shoot stills could find a ton of value in a light like this.
It's an overpriced LED light that is too low in output for anything other than low light. No need to praise it as anything other than that. Way better options than this by Aputure or Godox that use the more popular Bowens mount. Anyone considering this light should take note of how limited the "flash" will be. Rotolight and Godox also have LED lights that claim to flash and the light is weaker than a $60 speedlite. I don't recommend those either.
Lol, yup, Rotolight called and wants their terrible idea back!
Way Over-Priced for what it does! $70.00 Speed ring? I love my Godox, and It's wireless too!
I disagree with the idea that this is an Overpriced LED. There are NO other options like this. First it's a 6000/9000 LED that is weather resistant and has the same diameter as a Godox V1 or Profoto A1. What is a comparable LED to the Reflex? Then add in the versatility of being able to be used as a flash head that can be used at any shutter speed without a reduction in light output. And the light output, mode and triggering can be controlled with a Godox remote or with a V1.
And it cost Less than a Profoto.
I purchased 2 of these to pair with my L&M CLX10'S and I used them at a wedding yesterday and they worked great as a LED for WYSIWYG but as a flash.
I am a long time Godox user but these are a Great lighting tool.
"At full power, the Reflex fires a comparable amount of light to a speedlight at 1/32 power"
Kind of trash for a light that costs $850. Yeah, the hybrid function is cool, but it's less so when it does neither job very well.
WOW. I don't know how I missed that. That's ridiculously low!
So if I'm not mistaken you got that conclusion from the video since you have Never used this light in the real world.
I own the light, I have used it on 2 paying weddings in 2 days so I have 1st hand knowledge of it.
I used my Sekonic Light Meter to measured the Godox V1, which I is my favorite flash OAT at 5ft and IS0 100 and it was f12.7, the Reflex was f5.6 using the handle battery. But keep it mind that with a100w usb-c battery the flash output is 33% greater, up to 18,000 lumens instead of 12,000 lumens when in burst mode.
BTW, f5.6 is NOT 1/32nd as much power as f12.7
In addition how is a 350 gram, 6000 to 9000 lumen continuous light that accepts Bowens, Elinchrom Quadra Ranger, Chimera and Profoto modification doing something poorly?
What light in the World that small can output 9000 continuous lumens and give enough light to shoot at f5.6 at 5ft? And if there is one does it cost less than a Profoto A1? Let me know and I will pack these lights up and buy a pair.
There are many photographers who use the Light and Motion StellaPro 5000 and 8000 lumen light with Amazing results. This is a 6000 lumen light with battery handle and a 9000 lumen light with USB-C 200w battery which means its more output than the 5000 and 8000 StellaPro lights. Please explain how that equation equals the Reflex It does neither job well.
"So if I'm not mistaken you got that conclusion from the video"
You'd be mistaken since I didn't watch the video.
The rest is a lot of words that make me wonder what stake you have in the company or product that you feel the need to defend them. Also, when there are so many qualifiers required to justify the value of a product, it really makes me wonder how worth it actually is. The fact is that for $850 you can buy both an LED light AND a separate strobe that will each do a better job at their respective function than an all-in-one package like this so my question then becomes, why get this? Generally speaking, you're either shooting with continuous light OR flash. Seems pointless to throw them together than then pay more for the end result., but that's just me. Spend your money how you like. I really don't care either way. I just don't see the value proposition here.
I don't have anything at stake. LOL.
I just find it not productive for people who have never used products, bash a product, which of course makes other people not research or try a product.
And I will ask again, do you know of a 6000 to 9000 lumen LED that is lightweight, I mean less than 1 pound. Forget the strobe function for a moment, I'm just talking 6000/9000 lumen continuous light.
Godox ML60 is only a little heavier... Is the weight an issue?
I a Godox fan, I have 3 ad200 and 2 V1's. But the ML60 is not as bright, does not strobe and it much larger former factor with batteries.
"BTW, f5.6 is NOT 1/32nd as much power as f12.7"
From the article, "Remember though, this is not a flash, and shortening the flash duration will remove flash power in your exposure. Flashing at 1/200th of a second will be 2.5 stops brighter than flashing at 1/1,000th of a second"
f/13 to f/5.6 is 2.3 stops. So basically 1/4th power minus 0.3 stop. Subtract another 2.5 stops, and you're at 1/ 16th - 0.8 stop --> which is going to be pretty close to 1/32th power. The numbers are accurate if you're using the 1/1000th flash speed. Slightly misleading, but accurate.
The stobe power does not go down. In fact how does the camera even know what the LED is doing? It does not. I measured the flash with a light meter and the output was consistent regardless of shutter. But to keep it simple, at the same distance and at full power how many stop difference is 5.6 from 12.7, that is the real world reaching the subject differences
The light that Lee is reviewing has two "strobe" settings, it can flash for 1/200th of a second, or 1/1000th of a second. If you have the non-S version, it can only strobe for 1/200th of a second. And you measured 2.3 stops below (I rounded to 1/3 stops, from f/13 to f/5.6). If he was referring to the power when the LED was on the 1/1000th of a second setting, that's an additional 2.5 stops less - making ~5 stops less light, hence 1/32nd power (1/1 to 1/32 = 5 stops). Since he was taking high speed photos of a dog splashing around, I would assume he was using the shorter flash duration.
Just for clarity, the 1/200th of a second does not effect the power or flash sync of either light. It on reduces the power when dialed Down from 1/200th on the Reflex S.
I tested my units up to 1/4000th and the stobe burst could be seen in all of them. I order a 100w D-Tap adapter to run power from my D-Tap battery to see how the 18,000 Lumens burst looks or for when I want to run this light at 9000 Lumens.
I love one thing about this light and it is the "potato masher" form factor.
The plain truth is that LEDs are still not powerful enough to credible perform as a flash in any but the most meager light and close distances and/or high ISO.
Possible a wedding venue that is quite dim might work.
They missed a trick in not enabling a 3000K mode to blend ambient tungsten with "flash".
That would be a real attraction for me in a wedding situation were I mad enough to still be shooting weddings.
The idea of putting it into a softbox or umbrella is ridiculous.
Have you ever used a 5000 or more lumens LED?
I use LED lights at ISO 800 and above so with my case use I measured the Reflex at 5 feet using the handle battery.
Reflex
6000 lumens
Bare f5.6
Dome f5.0 move 3 inch closer back to f5.6
Medium lens f18.0
55 degree head f11.0
Elinchrom 7" reflector f16.0 with dome f11
Fresnel f18
12000 Burst
Medium lens f20
Bare f6.3
Dome 6.0
Not everyone shoots at ISO 800, I usually shoot at ISO 100 and below if I can. I think the highest I ever shot was 400. Yes, I have used a 6000 lumens LED, from a small cube to a square led panel. It sucks for me. Frankly, more power to you if you can spend $850 on a 60 watt light. I cannot justify it for my line of work. In a lot of people's opinion, its too expensive for the light output. All that said, to each their own. but it does not mean others are wrong. It means you have a setup that works for your photography.