Have you ever wondered why the other people in your Zoom meetings look so much better than you first thing in the morning? The answer is in the lighting they use. Poor lighting makes you look older and more tired. You don’t have to spend big bucks to have good lighting attached to your computer or smartphone, but you need to invest in a system that uses daylight LEDs and a diffuser. GlowGo is the answer. GlowGo is a range of pocket-size lights from our brand that have the power to perform like a professional video lighting system but without the hassle and expense. You can use them for your conference calls, illuminating portrait subjects or set them up to light up your smile as you create video content for YouTube or TikTok.
Types of GlowGo LED Lights
There are three types of pocket LED lighting from GlowGo. The Mini GlowGo is perfect for clipping to your smartphone for brighter selfies, and it produces superb lighting for photography and videography. Just as portable but with a suction cup that sticks to your computer monitor is the standard GlowGo. The Rainbow GlowGo has the largest light source and a few tricks up its sleeve for added creative effects. All of them are daylight balanced and have a Colour Rendering Index (CRI) of 95 out of 100. "What’s CRI?", I hear you ask. It’s a measurement showing how accurately a light source reproduces the colours of the object it illuminates, and the GlowGo lights are in the ‘excellent/professional’ colour range. They are a form of LED lighting for photography that is convenient and fun. These are LED lights for beginners, but professionals will also find many uses. Which GlowGo do you need? The following information will help you choose between these three exciting options.
GlowGo (Mini)
If you need portability and versatility, then start with the GlowGo Mini. Don’t be fooled by its compact size. For a tiny light, it packs a powerful array of LEDs that will light you up like a Hollywood star. When space is limited, and you don’t want to invest in a ring light, this mini device will brighten your life. And it’s so small you can easily slip it into your handbag or pocket for parties and night photography.
Being only 30 x 45 x 55mm, this compact light is small enough to hang from the side of your smartphone on its mounting bracket. The bracket is spring-based, so you can place this light on any size, brand, and style of smartphone. If you have a DSLR or mirrorless camera, you can slip it onto the hot shoe for professional results. It can also be screwed into a tripod for off-camera lighting.
The face of the light has an opaque diffuser panel in front of the LED light source, but using the silicon cover that comes as part of the package, you soften the light even more and reduce the risk of glare on your skin. You can adjust the light intensity in five steps from 20% to 100%, depending on how much light you need. The lighting is balanced at the 5000 Kelvin range, which means it’s like daylight on your face, giving you accurate skin tones. It’s a simple solution for taking selfies with style.
Turn it on with the push of a button and set the intensity of the light by holding down this button and going through the settings. It even has a flashing strobe option for freaky videos. A cold shoe is on top of the light to hold a microphone. The designers have thought of everything for effective smartphone lighting and recording! Regardless of your experience level, as soon as you unpack your GlowGo (Mini), you can slip it onto your smartphone and start creating stylish content for social media.
GlowGo
For a slightly larger lighting option, the standard GlowGo fits all your needs for photography and videography. It’s only 30 x 60 x 75mm, so it’s still small, and at 73 grams, it can fit in your pocket when travelling to a new shooting location.
The advantage of this device is its 1% incremental brightness adjustment for fine-tuning the illumination. Spin the wheel to turn it on and to change the brightness. The LCD panel shows the settings you’ve chosen, so you can note this and match the lighting levels if you are recording a series of video tutorials. It also has a robust battery for extended filming sessions or when locked into a lengthy Zoom meeting.
The wider diffuser on the front cuts glare and makes flattering light during indoor and outdoor photography. The cold shoe slips onto a DSLR or mirrorless camera’s flash mount. Or you can use the screw mount to place it on a tripod or light stand for off-camera, creative lighting. The screw mount also fits the suction cup that is included in the package. Mount the suction cup to the back of a laptop or a desktop monitor to illuminate your face during video calls. Extra cold shoe mounting points are on the sides and top of the device, so you can add extra GlowGos to double, triple, or quadruple the area of brightness coming from this source. One of these cold shoes could also be for a microphone, so you have a versatile vlogging kit ready to go.
GlowGo (Rainbow)
The largest lighting option in the range of GlowGos is the Rainbow. Why is it called the Rainbow model? Apart from its standard daylight illumination, it also features RGB lights in the corners of the screen. Get funky with a rainbow of colours to choose from. It’s ideal for selfies and portrait photos that will get noticed. The wide diffuser spreads light evenly, and you can choose from the full spectrum of LED lighting, so you could use it in a Photo Booth for fun party pics.
Using the control wheel to cycle through its 68 white LEDs gives a variety of lighting temperatures from 3200K to 6500K. This means you can choose a soft white glow that is slightly warm or increase it to blue-white light, similar to daylight. This highest setting captures true-to-life colour tones in your photography or videography. It’s ideal for product photography.
The Rainbow GlowGo is 26 x 66 x 83mm, but only weighs 90 grams, so it will fit into your handbag or jacket pocket as easily as the others in this range. The clip at the base quickly and easily slips over the edge of any smartphone for portable recording. You can also use that mount to attach it to the top of a tablet, laptop or desktop monitor.
As with the other lights, this model includes three cold shoe mounting points for stacking more lights to create a larger source that improves range or intensity. Or use one of the cold shoes for a microphone. It also has a screw-mount for tripods or lighting stands and can be placed on a DSLR or mirrorless camera. If you are looking for an additional light source for studio photography and videography, this is the one for you. The Rainbow model has the largest diffuser of all GlowGos, is gentle on the eyes, and reduces hot spots of glare. This broader area of light spreads out evenly and wraps you (or your subject’s face) in soft, diffused, colour-accurate light. You can adjust the brightness with a spin of the control wheel until you get the perfect look.
With its 2000mHa rechargeable Lithium Ion battery, you have up to 1.5 hours of continuous lighting at full intensity. It also has a magnetic surface that can be attached to metal areas. That’s versatility!
Comparison Table
|
Type Of GlowGo |
GlowGo (Mini)  |
GlowGo (Rainbow)
|
GlowGo  |
|
Built in Battery |
Yes- built in 750mAh Lithium battery |
Yes- built in Lithium battery |
Yes- built in 1200mAh Lithium battery |
|
Power Source |
USB Type C (charging cable included) |
Type C 5v/2A (max) |
USB Type C |
|
Colour Temperature |
5000k-6000k |
3200k, 4000k, 4800k, 5600k, 6500k, RGB |
6500k |
|
LUX/watts |
800 LUX/ 0.5m |
100% illumination (LUX @ 0.5m) 650 (0.5/5600k) |
3W, 3.7V
|
|
CRI |
>95 |
>95 |
>95 |
|
Brightness Range |
5 increments (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100% plus flash mode) |
10%-100% |
0%-100% (in 1% increments) |
|
LEDS |
30 |
68 (RGB x4, Yellow x 32, white x 32) |
48 |
|
Beam Angle |
120 degrees |
|
120 degrees |
|
Cost |
$27.99 |
$32.99 |
$24.99 |
Which one is right for you?
Good lighting is essential when you are photographing or making videos. It lifts your standards towards a professional level, especially when filming indoors in low-light settings. The GlowGo range is the way to produce good lighting, create on the go, and quickly rise above your competition. In this GlowGo light comparison, we outlined three useful lights for photographers and videographers. Which one is best? The Mini GlowGo is the one for entry-level content creators. The standard GlowGo will suit vloggers and those who do a lot of video conferences and Zoom calls. And the Rainbow GlowGo is for filming YouTube and TikTok videos on a grander scale. All of these fantastic GlowGo lights are a handy, portable solution that brightens your results and makes it easier to create sensational social media content. They are a budget-friendly way to improve your selfies, and because they’ll make you look so fresh, bright and youthful, you’ll be excited about attending those early Zoom meetings again.
