Harlowe is the rebranded title for Hobolite, an organization that produces probably the most trendy and crowd pleasing LEDs in the marketplace. I’ve reviewed a variety of Hobolite LEDs for Digital Digital camera World such because the Hobolite Avant Max. All the Hobolite LEDs share a trendy retro Sixties look courtesy of fake brown leather-based panels and silver metallic surfaces. Certainly because of their box-shaped design (with a lens on the finish) they’re sometimes mistaken for retro cameras (comparable to an previous Hasselblad) once I take them on a shoot. To acknowledge the re-brand I’ll now use the Harlowe as an alternative of Hobolite for the remainder of this evaluation.
The Harlowe Blade breaks the mould by being the primary tube gentle launched by Harlowe. I used to be very eager to check the Blade (which is available in two sizes – the Blade 10 and the Blade 5) as I’m a giant fan of tube lights attributable to their portability and the truth that they’re enjoyable to function in a shot in addition to illuminating it (anybody for a lightweight saber duel?).
The Blade 10 is the size of a MacBook Professional, whereas the smaller Blade 5 measures as much as the size of an iPhone 15 Professional Max (Picture credit score: George Cairns / Digital Digital camera World)
Harlowe Blade 5 & 10: Specs
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Harlowe Blade 5
Energy
5W
Output
400 Lumens
CRI
96
TCLI
96
Coloration Temperature Vary
1,700K – 10,000K
Battery operation
1 hour (at full energy)
Wi-fi Methodology
Bluetooth
Wi-fi Vary
20 metres
Weight
163 g
Dimensions
164mm x 35mm x 18mm
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Harlowe Blade 10
Energy
10W
Output
900 Lumens
CRI
96
TCLI
96
Coloration Temperature Vary
1,700K – 10,000K
Battery operation
1 hour (at full energy)
Wi-fi Methodology
Bluetooth
Wi-fi Vary
20 metres
Weight
358 g
Dimensions
360mm x 35mm x 18mm
{Product Identify}: Worth
The Harlowe Blade 5 & 10 Bi-Coloration & RGB Tube Mild Package is obtainable for $399, although you should purchase the Blade 10 as a person unit for $299, whereas the smaller Blade 5 prices $199. The LEDS have simply come on sale on November 18 2024, and will seem in shops quickly.
Harlowe Blade 5 & 10: Design & Dealing with
The Harlowe Blade 5 & 10 Bi-Coloration & RGB Tube Mild Package ships in a black cardboard field that’s embossed with footage of the 2 tube LEDs that it comprises – the 360mm (14.7 inch) Blade 10 and its little brother – the 16.4mm (6.46 inch) Blade 5. To put these sizes in context the Blade 10 is similar size as a MacBook Professional whereas the Blade 5 matches the size of an iPhone 15, so that provides you an concept of how compact and transportable each Blade tube LEDs are.
Open the field and each Blade LED lights are saved in a provided branded carry case. This sturdy case shares the look of different Harlowe LED carry instances, with a gray physique, black zip, a Harlowe branded fake leather-based badge, and a pretend leather-based deal with. The eye to design and element on the case is mirrored within the equipment’s contents. Regardless of being tube lights the 2 Blade LEDs share the brown fake leather-based panels discovered on Harlowe’s older camera-shaped LEDs. The rear of every Blade has a silver metallic floor inlaid with a small shade OLED panel which options the Harlowe brand. This panel lets you see which shade temperate or HSI setting you’ve dialed in for instance.
Each Blades within the equipment have magnetic barn doorways that clamp securely onto the edges of every LED (Picture credit score: George Cairns / Digital Digital camera World)
Each Harlowe Blade lights on this equipment are Bi-Color, so you possibly can dial in a shade temperature in levels Kelvin to enhance different gentle sources in a location. Most Bi-Color LEDs that I’ve examined have a shade temperature vary between heat candlelight (2500ºK) and funky daylight (7500ºK). Each Blades produce a a lot wider vary between a heat 1700ºK and a a lot cooler 10000ºK. I don’t imagine that I’ve encountered an LED that has a variety as extensive as this earlier than (and I’ve examined and reviewed roughly 25 LEDs up to now earlier than testing the Harlowe Blades).
In addition to being Bi-Color LEDS each Blades have an RGB function too. This lets you use a management dial to make the Blade emit 36000 colours so you possibly can change the temper of a scene in a artistic method. The Blade 10 has two management dials – one for RGB and HSI (Hue, Saturation, and Depth) and one other for brightness. The shorter Blade 5 solely has one management dial that you should lengthy press to vary between RGB and HSI modes. At both finish of the Blades are two magnets – extra on that function within the Efficiency part. There’s a 1/4” threaded gap on both finish of every Blade which lets you mount it on a stand or tripod for a hands-free shoot. There’s additionally a thread in the course of every LED to mount it horizontally.
There are 3 1/4” threads on the physique of every LED so that you just cab mount them vertically or horizontally on a tripod (when not utilizing the magnetic connectors) (Picture credit score: George Cairns / Digital Digital camera World)
Each variations of the Blade can produce 8 animated lighting results – Flash, Flame, TV Display screen Mild, Lighting, Pulse, Fireworks, Shutter, and Explosion. To entry the animated Results it’s a must to lengthy press the On/Off button on the Blade and use a dial to pick the Results menu. Should you’re not cautious you possibly can simply flip the Blade off by mistake utilizing a brief press, which is a bit annoying.
The results had been a lot simpler to pick from my iPhone utilizing the Hobolite app (which has but to be up to date to vary its title to Harlowe.) The app additionally lets you change properties comparable to Hue, Saturation, and Depth (HSI) or shade temperature by swiping and tapping the display of your smartphone – and the Bluetooth connection stretches as much as 20 meters away from the Blade LEDs. As you swipe to regulate a slider to regulate properties comparable to LED depth you get a useful haptic vibration as suggestions out of your smartphone. You may also management each the Blade 5 and the Blade 10 from the app which hurries up your shoot’s workflow. It’s additionally a lot simpler to swipe on the app’s shade wheel to decide on a selected shade than it’s to rotate a bodily dial on the LEDs. So a giant thumbs up for the Hobolite app!
In addition to the Blade 5 and Blade 10 tube lights, the carry case comprises a variety of equipment, together with two magnetic barn doorways that shortly connect to every Blade. Speaking of magnets each Blades have a magnetically attachable rounded opaque frosted dome diffuser that creates a softer gentle supply with much less harsh shadows. These equipment are important that can assist you shoot extra flattering and crowd pleasing portraits.
The larger Blade 10 lets you management properties comparable to shade temperature, depth, and HSI colours utilizing two dials (that additionally double up as buttons) (Picture credit score: George Cairns / Digital Digital camera World)
Harlowe Blade 5 & 10: Efficiency
To check the Harlowe Blade 5 & 10 Bi-Coloration & RGB Tube Mild Package I took it with me to Scotland. My brother John Cairns has a WW2 Willys jeep (‘Rusty Gold’) with seat covers signed by over 400 WW2 veterans, so he was invited to star together with his jeep in a photograph shoot at Aero Leathers (https://www.aeroleatherclothing.com/). This Galashiels-based firm created and provided classic leather-based jackets for motion pictures and TV exhibits comparable to Apple’s ‘Masters of the Air’, so that they wished to shoot John sporting their RAF: Battle of Britain jacket sitting in his jeep in entrance of their premises.
On the day of the shoot, the shaded location was very gloomy, so I slipped the Harlowe Blade 10 out of its case and used its magnets to connect the tube gentle on the within of the jeep’s metallic window on the motive force’s facet. The Blade was slim sufficient to slot in a small house above the window however robust sufficient so as to add modeling gentle to John’s face. I had tweaked the Blade’s shade temperature slider for a heat gentle supply to assist John stand out from his chilly blue-shaded environment. The Blade’s magnetically connected barn doorways enabled me to focus the output of the sunshine on John’s face and the RAF jacket.
With out the Blade 10, the ensuing pictures may have appeared very chilly and flat-lit. Whereas the magnetically connected Blade 10 was illuminating the jeep’s driver I popped the Harlowe Avant Max on a Harlowe tripod and used that so as to add a key gentle to the jeep itself. I’m assured that the presence of the 2 Harlowe LED lights elevated the standard of the pictures captured by Dominick O’Donnell from Aero Leathers. You may verify these out on the corporate’s Instagram feed – @aeroleatherclothing.
I additionally used the Harlowe Blade 10 once I shot the Jeep at sundown utilizing my iPhone 16 Professional. Regardless of solely having an output of 900 Lumens (that’s round 900 candles!) the Blade 10 kicked out sufficient gentle to carry out the colour, texture, and element on the jeep (when it will have been a silhouette with out the presence of the Blade 10). I used to be shocked but impressed with the Blade’s efficiency. I set it to a heat shade temperature to enhance the ‘Golden Hour’ colours of the setting solar. With the solar as a key gentle ,the Blade 10 made an efficient fill gentle.
The Blade 5 and 10 had been good at including artistic lighting to our ‘cop’ themed take a look at shoot. I mounted the Blade 10 on a Harlowe tripod and the lighter Blade 5 on a GorillaPod (Picture credit score: George Cairns / Digital Digital camera World)
(Picture credit score: George Cairns / Digital Digital camera World)
I completed off the Scottish leg of the Harlowe Blade 10 take a look at with a video shoot of the jeep in movement. As soon as once more I used the Blade 10’s magnets to connect it above the motive force’s entrance window. I additionally used a Second anti-glare CPL filter mounted on a Second iPhone 16 professional case to the window’s scale back reflection glare so I may see John driving extra clearly (see the Second anti-glare CPL shopping for information entry once I’ve written it!) Regardless of driving via some bumpy Scottish terrain the Blade 10 remained firmly connected to the jeep’s metallic body, which was a reduction because the sturdily constructed tube LED is comparatively heavy at 358G.
One criticism I’d wish to make is that the battery indicator initially confirmed a purple (low battery) warning once I first fired up the Blade 10 on my first shoot, regardless of the LED being charged in a single day. Luckily the icon up to date itself to a full battery icon after a couple of minutes, so my fears that the shoot could be lower brief had been put to relaxation. At full energy you must get one hour of illumination from the Blade 10, however my Scottish shoot’s length was solely half-hour and the Blade stayed shining all through.
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Right here we’re utilizing the Blade 10 to enhance the out there gentle (the setting solar). We dialed in a heat ‘golden hour’ shade temperature in levels Kelvin – round 35000ºK(Picture credit score: George Cairns / Digital Digital camera World)
Right here we’re utilizing the Blade 10 to fill within the particulars of a jeep at sundown. With out the LED the jeep and topic could be in silhouette(Picture credit score: George Cairns / Digital Digital camera World)
The magnetically connected Blade 10 provides a fill gentle to our topic whereas staying out of shot. This small footprint is among the benefits of a tube-shaped LED(Picture credit score: George Cairns / Digital Digital camera World)
Thanks to 2 magnets on both finish of the Blades they are often clamped to metallic. This gives an alternative choice to conventional tripod mounts. Right here we’ve illuminated a driver by attaching the Blade 10 to the within of the jeep’s metallic windscreen(Picture credit score: George Cairns / Digital Digital camera World)
For my second take a look at shoot, I took each Blades to London’s Barbican middle to shoot some crime style stills for potential guide covers. As I used to be utilizing each LEDs in a public location (plus a smoke machine! – evaluation to comply with) – I used to be eager to work quick.
I used the Hobolite app on my iPhone to shortly dial in a teal shade for the Blade 10 and an orange on the Blade 5 for a cinematic look. I used to be very impressed with the outcomes. In addition to including a creatively colourful key and fill lights to the topic (Insta mannequin runway.voguish) the Blades additionally pumped extra gentle right into a darkish location, leading to a greater efficiency for my iPhone 16 Professional. I had a number of setups in the course of the two-hour shoot and each Blades ran out of energy in the direction of the top of the second hour. However all in all, I used to be very impressed with their efficiency and can use them on my subsequent artistic shoot.
Harlowe Blade 5 & 10: Verdict
The Harlowe Blade 5 & 10 Bi-Coloration & RGB Tube Mild Package is compact and extremely transportable, so it ought to attraction to photographers and videographers who wish to journey gentle. It definitely meets my wants as an iPhoneographer who enjoys taking pictures on location with out cumbersome lighting gear drawing consideration to me from zealous safety guards.
The flexibility to magnetically connect each tube LEDs on this equipment is particularly helpful if you wish to shoot in autos as I did. It additionally provides you scope to connect it in areas the place a tripod might not be viable (comparable to in a shifting automobile).
Regardless of The Blade 10 having a comparatively low output of 900 Lumens I used to be impressed by the energy of the sunshine that it produced. The smaller Blade 5’s 400 Lumens was weaker than you’d anticipate, however its small dimension means it may be utilized in shot. It must also attraction to product (and toy) photographers who want so as to add completely different colours to their pictures.
The value of this equipment could put you off shopping for it, nevertheless it’s a luxurious branded merchandise. Should you’re a fab of the Harlowe vary you then’ll already know if you wish to add the Harlowe Blade 5 & 10 Bi-Coloration & RGB Tube Mild Package to your assortment. And if you should get monetary savings you should buy the Blade 5 or Blade 10 individually.
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Options
96+ CRI/TLCI for correct color rendering, extensive color temperature vary and 17 animated lighting results.
★★★★★
Design
Regardless of being tube formed it accommodates the Harlowe brand and pretend leather-based panels to match its branded siblings.
★★★★☆
Efficiency
Produces a robust multi-coloured gentle supply for as much as an hour.
★★★☆☆
Worth
Comparatively costly in comparison with different tube lights, however you’re paying for the model.
★★★★☆
(Picture credit score: George Cairns / Digital Digital camera World)
✅ Purchase it…
It is advisable to connect lights magnetically
You want potable but highly effective gentle sources
