Attending video conferences (or recording video in general) with poor lighting has been bugging me recently, so I thought I’d try out a lighting solution. There are many out there but I ended up with the LumeCube Air – mainly because its battery powered and portable, suitable for home use on my PC, and can be attached to my phone or tripod. I purchased the suction cup version here.
It’s early days, but here are some of the advantages and disadvantages I have found so far. I’ll update these as I go along.
Advantages:
- Lightweight & portable
- Battery powered
- Suction cup or 1/4″ tripod mountable
- Controlled by on/off button or more advanced settings in app
Disadvantages:
- The app (at least on Android) is pretty crusty – it does the job, I just think it could be better
- No control apps for PC
- No ability to automatically turn on under defined conditions
Be aware these things are bright! So bright, you won’t want to look directly at the light source unless you want to be partially blinded for a few minutes!! I’m pretty sure this is typical, its the nature of the solution. It’s important you mount it in a good location and get used to avoiding direct eye contact. It’s not as annoying as it seems, just something you should know. The LumeCube also comes with 2 diffusers if you want to soften the light source.
Here is an example of the LumeCube in use during a video conference and the mounting position I use:
Here’s the controls in the Android App:
