4:36 those "gradiation filters" are called scrims in the industry. They are used to cut down the light intensity (on non-dimmable lights) without changing the color temperature. They are referred to as "singles" or "doubles" in case anyone reading this winds up on a set one day.

My miniclamps on the barn doors popped off when I opened them up =P. Also, my kit came with soft boxes. They works fine for three point interview setup though I will say I tend to use these for background accents and hair light.

You had a thorough review. I will probably buy one with accessories. Thanks

I need a tiny spotlight! Nice

For context I just wanted to point out that the S30 is essentially a cheap clone of the classic Dedolight fixtures which themselves are quite unique. There are a couple really cool things that set Dedolights (and now the S30) apart from other types of fixtures that make them advantageous in certain situations. The most fundamental difference is the use of aspherical optics in the fixture (not the projector, but the fixture itself). This has several advantages over other focusable hard light sources like Fresnels and pars. The Dedolight DLH4 Has a focusnf range of 48 degrees at full flood to a staggering 4.5 degrees in full spot. No other type of fixture has that type of range. On top of that, the optics are just way more efficient than a Fresnel or par, which means it can use a much smaller and lower powered bulb and still get a massive amount of output. The next closest fixture to a Dedolight would be a theatrical ellipsoidal fixture like a Source4 Leko and the modern LED versions like Aputure's Spotlight mount that you mentioned. The combination of a very small and lightweight form factor combined with a very high level of optical precision and beam control (through use of the projector, shutters, and Iris) make dedos/S30 exceptionally useful for adding pools of light in the background or highlighting a specific small area, especially when you're filming in "real" locations that don't have the ample space that a sound stage would. They're also easy to hide in frame behind objects. Luke Seerveld (Meet the Gaffer YT channel) uses these kinds of fixtures extensively for this purpose. Andrew Locke (Gaffer and Gear YT channel) has a wonderfully detailed video comparing the S30 to the newer bicolored DLED7 from Dedolight and the conclusion he came to was essentially that the Godox keeps Pace with the Dedolight in most applications. This is pretty significant because the DLED7 Is more than $3,000. Even the older tungsten dedos sell for almost $1,000 each. So any way you slice it, the Godox units are an incredible value for your money.

If you don't like the Gobo holder you can use the Dadolight DPGH square holder which does not require a screw fitment to hold the Gobo. You just rotate the whole light to alter the angle of the Gobo.

Great thorough review Tommy ! The increase in quality is no surprise, the Chinese government has been preaching quality over quantity to the business world here.

I was curious as to how you used the Gobos, but you made it clear> Thanks

Amazing review, Tommy! Thanks for the flicker analysis.

I can see some uses for that thing! Nice work!

That "kind of unique little mounting system" for the barn doors is modeled after what you've found on Arri lights since time immemorial. ;)

I love to see that with a haze machine ... also be nice to see the shutter gobo with it slightly soft so it can emulate light coming through a window to give a shot more interest.

If you like these projection lights you might want to check out the Dedo LED lineup, they have the worst online presence in the world but make great professional lighting gear, I’m planing on making a video about those in the future but in German obviously

Great to see all the attachments in action! Thanks for the video! Quick question: are the power options included with the light itself or are they sold separately?

Echo what Haberstock Dominik said about dedolight.. expensive, but with extremely sharp edges & no color fringing; they have daylight/tungsten/bicolor LED focusing lights in 40W, 45W, 90W, 120W, (& 245W?) that have as much as 1:20 spot-to-flood ratio; the lights have "parallel-beam" attachments to collimate the light even more; they can take wide angle attachments, a projection attachment that takes different lenses, & also an iris diaphragm/4 framing shutters/gobos/scrims/gels..

"these gradation filters" ...you mean... scrims? :D Haha... but your thorough and honest review is appreciated, thanks!!

Thanks 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Hey Tommy, thanks for the vid, it gives me loads of ideas for some creative still photography :)

Great reviews as always

I'm not sure if you tested it, but did the power level drop off with the NPF adapter as well? Also would be interested in run times on say a NPF-970. Great review as always!

Wow wow wow very very nice I love it Merry Christmas 🎄🎄

looks impressive

Thank you

Hi Tommy, I wanted to do a shoot in a theatre with a single spot light. Do you think the S30 would be powerful enough for this?

What about the small lens that fit on the end of the 135 or 185 mm lens!

Speaking of Godox I just found out Neewer is now making a knockoff budget version of Godox's already budget priced SL-60W. $20 cheaper. Might be interesting if you pick one up and compare it to the Godox! Battle of the budget LED lights

Very helpful. Thank you! I purchased the gobo set and am basically pleased. Did your metal slugs come come covered in a plastic film? I find it rather irritating to remove the film, if indeed we are supposed to. Thanks!

What’s up Brother? I’m having difficulty with the spot light when shooting. Any pointers? Having issues seeing the spot light after I take the photo.

thank you so much for great explanation what's what.

The only time Ive used a gobo was when faking moonlight though window blinds using a Dedo light, it worked out pretty well. I really wish this came with a gobo like that. Some of those gobos look very specific in their use case. Some fake textures that look like tree branches would be better. I am interested in the light in general though.

So..that npf battery adapter just dangles by the wire? Edit: Towards end shows it mounts to yoke. Battery op reduces operatic,g power though

No flicker and 97 cri and tlci 👍🏽

Cool review

hey thanks for this review - would you comment on what ISO might be needed as I know my dated canon 700d gets noisy from 400 ISO onwards

Good day Tommy & thank you for this. Have you ever used the Falcon Eyes P-5TD? I was wondering if it’s attachment mount is the same as the Godox S30. Also, are they all modeled after Dedolight DLED Turbo 7’s mount?

thanks so much for this review amazing video work and thoughts - Im a speedlite shooter and ive been stuck on the fence for some while wanting a hollywood style light setup for portrait shots and been mulling over the aperture mini 20's and boltzen 30w fresnels - seems the boltzen is the only silent fanless with its 30w - but after your review whilst these look even more versatile I remembered that there is the "LightBlaster" from Spiffy gear that with a lens added gives some gobo and image background effects which combined with other speedlight adaptors like barn doors and snoots etc potentially could be a better route with more power from speedlights and indeed less cost just using what already have with a few more accessories - if you and your followers might have any thoghts around this would be helpful!

Me midway thru the video: man I'm gonna buy this light Me towards the end: never mind, I'll stick to the Sl60 Thanks for the video 🙏🏼

Barn-doors have a "unique mounting system". ARRI, the most popular brand in Hollywood, has the exact same system.

How many filters added

Thanks, been wanting to find out more info about this! Two questions - what color meter are you using in this video? Also any idea how you could go about making gobos for this? Wondering if it's as easy as cutting a pattern into some blackwrap - if so, I think I'm sold on this :P

you should do amazon links for UK & Europe too.. its a big world out there

Thx for an awesome review! How long can an npf 970 battery power the light at 100%? Thanks again!

Very nice! But I think your video could have used some haze

Is there an umbrella mount hole that we can use shoot-through umbrellas with it?

Hello, is it able to have same power when using maybe another USB? (better, stronger or smth like that)

Which light model could be good for very soft fill light, also for outside in daylight?

i would not reccomend powering off USB. Is it really drawing 30 watts? Edit: Okay i checked the specs online - it maxes out at 10 Watts when being powered by battery or USB.

Hi, Iris Diaphragm (SA-06) please tell me it's outer-diameter, I'm trying to see if it will work with my Strobepro Optical Snoot

Will the S30 fixture turn on automatically after a power failure? (IE If powered on and then the cable is unplugged, will it turn on when reconnected?) If not, Does anyone have a recommendation for a fixture similar (focusable, lens, lightweight, reasonable cost, build quality) ?

It's compatible with dedolight lenses?

There’s no gel frame?

Does Sa-P have a Bowen mount adapter?

What is the diameter of the gobos?

Argh! I want one, but... which package? The Amazon listing for the projection/accessory packages is utterly useless! Which lenses come with which package? A bunch of the stuff you're showing here is apparently sold separately. Like the iris (to be fair, Aputure sells their iris separately too), the gobos, and they also show some blade-style cutters like those built into the Aputure spotlight attachment. I hope they get this stuff straightened out. This light would be a nice miniature complement to the Aputure for stylistic effects.

don't twist your fingers, twist the holder. that's the easier way to get the gobos out.

Hi, do you have full 30w output on np-f battery?

The Gobos are kinda meh. The should have made a tree branch shape.

for 400 i will go for projector haha

grab a Youngnuo 300 or a 600 flag it and it will blow the doors off this thing.