Opinions and Conclusions
General opinions of the lights
These are just some general observations I have found having both lights physically in front of me and using them. I think it would be best that people use the video test footage to base their own opinion about the quality of the light it produces than me providing my opinion about the quality of light in detail. These are not scientific tests but tests I have done for myself that I would like to share which I hope others may find useful.
Light Power
I am not sure about the accuracy of the specifications for the luminance of both lights but I did find the Yongnuo Yn600 Pro (4680LM) had more power than the Wansen W160 (1280LM) led light which is expected since the Yongnuo Yn600 Pro uses 600 led beads and the Wansen W160 uses 120 led beads.
Accessories
I felt both units lacked more standard accessories such as a carrying pouch or bag for both led lights and a tripod mounting bracket for the Yongnuo Yn600 Pro instead of a handle but I guess these were cost cutting measures implemented to maintain a cheaper price.
Yongnuo Yn600 Pro Led Light
Barn Doors
I found the Yongnuo Yn600 Pro metal barn doors useless as a light shaper because of the inner corrugated reflective silver lining which causes the light to form a sort of fringing/ripple effect at the edges of the light when projected. I am considering changing the barn doors with rectangular black plastic panels or reversing the current barn doors on them which are a smooth black surface. The barn doors were also rather delicate and could easily be bent out of shape and not very sturdy. There were gaps on the inner corners when the barn doors were open or closed which allowed light to bleed from the gaps.
The only use I found for the barn doors were a sort of protective cover for the led lights when you close it but the gaps in the corner still exposed some of the led beads.
Fan Noise
The noise of the fan makes these lights useless for shooting videos where silence is required from the equipment being used in a shoot. The noise can easily be picked up by a microphone especially when the scene is a quiet environment such as closed interviews or indoor filming. I originally thought that the complaints people were commenting about with the Aputure 528 Led Lights with it’s high pitch squeal noise was bad but these Yongnuo Yn600 Pro takes the cake! The fan noise is loud and irritating especially in a silent room and it came on approximately after 10 minutes of use and turned off approximately 10 minutes later. I believe that the fan comes on quicker when you have the Diffuser filters installed and it restricts the flow of air used for ventilation to maintain the cooling of the light. The front diffuser was pretty warm to hot when the fan came on.
NO light flickering issues found
I found no flickering issues in my tests at different shutter speeds and I chose shutter speeds that I am most likely going to use. I used the PAL standard 25 frame rate only for recording the video since that is the frame rate I use in general. The only flickering I found were on the digital led to display the power percentage. I still have to wait and see if there are any flickering light issues if the Yongnuo Yn600 Pro is powered by batteries instead of AC power since I heard flickering issues were usually found on led lights when the batteries are low. I may update this review later with further tests on the Yongnuo Yn600 Pro using battery power.
Size and Shape
I didn’t like the shape of the Yongnuo Yn600 Pro Led Light, I would have much preferred a more block style shape, with rounded corners and thinner similar to the Aputure 528 Led Light. The Yongnuo Yn600 Pro Led Light was pretty light but it may become heavier when you mount the batteries on the back. In the manual it states that each battery runs 300 light beads each so to run all 600 bead lights, you must have two batteries installed. The advantages of this function against other led light units such as the Aputure 528 is that it does not require both batteries to be installed for it to work which could be useful if one of your batteries fail in a set and you still need light.
Wansen W160 Led Lights
Battery Life
I found these lights tend to drain AA batteries pretty quickly. I do not think the battery level meter is accurate because it was quick to go from full level to 1 level down in a matter of minutes on a fully charged set of batteries and then stay in the middle for the longer period of the batteries life. It would have been great if it had the option for an external power supply so that it can be connected to a mains power supply. The AA batteries compartment for the light is too wide and would leave the AA batteries loose in the compartment. Even with the battery cover on, you can shake the light and the batteries can be seen moving side to side in the compartment.
Tripod mount
The tripod mount provided with this unit had quality issues. It didn’t lock into place firmly when tightened and would move easily especially when batteries were installed. You can move the light with a bit of jerk and the light could also be moved by hand with little effort.
NO light flickering issues found
I found no flickering issues in my tests with the Wansen W160 Led Light at different power settings. I used the PAL standard 25 frame rate only for recording the video since that is the frame rate I use in general.
Tungsten(3200K) Diffuser filter attachment
When observing the light in the room with the tungsten filter attached, I found the orange color of the Wansen W160 Tungsten filter to be vastly different to the Yongnuo Yn600 Pro Led Light. The Wansen W160 tungsten filter is lighter in orange color and seems to produce a much lighter orange light when attached to the W160 light. The light tends to become whiter when you set the Wansen W160 power to maximum whilst the Yongnuo Yn600 tungsten filter provided a fairly constant deeper orange light throughout its range of power. Examine the video footage to see what I mean and also check the results when both lights with tungsten filters are mixed.
Conclusion
These lights have their pros and cons and like all things, it usually boils down to what purpose you will be using these lights for and whether you can accept their cons and weaknesses. My main concern was flickering issues for the purpose I was using it for and now after receiving the Yongnuo Yn600 Pro Led Light, it is the fan noise. I also have some concerns with the mixing of both lights since they are not equal in color balance and produce some difference in color casts. I may have to do further research on possible solutions like purchasing some filters especially when I start incorporating them with my CFL lights!
Overall, the Yongnuo Yn600 Pro Led Light would be useful for certain situations like photography or for lighting music videos where audio is predominantly added in post and the concerns of the noisy fan would not be an issue.The Wansen W160 Led Light is handy and small and powerful for its size, great for some fill or hair light if used closely to the subject. I found the Wansen W160 Led Light great for portability but you begin to notice it’s lighting power deficiency when used in conjunction with a more powerful light like the Yongnuo Yn600 Pro. I had to set the Wansen W160 led light at maximum power and pretty close to the subject and the Yongnuo Yn600 Pro led light at very low power in order to get the right balance of lighting for portrait style shots.
With no flickering on both lights, these make useful light source for video and photography. Its light weight and portability is useful for changing locations but it is still cumbersome having to unpack and pack especially since it does not come in a tailored carry bag, so I leave mine in it’s original box. My thumbs up recommendation for these lights is based on their affordability as compared to other more expensive lights and if you can live with the cons and weaknesses mentioned of both these lights.
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