Someplace between an motion gentle and a studio gentle, there’s a want for a selected gentle. For all intent and functions, we’ll name that gentle a mini LED panel. The studio mini panels are brighter than common motion lights however they slot in your bag and operates on batteries.
We rallied two of our favourite panels – Litra Studio ($399) and Lupo Kickasspanel ($298). However which panel got here out on prime? Did the sturdy weather-sealed app-controlled Litra take it? Or did the versatile inexpensive and high-quality LEDs of the Lupo take the cake? For this reason we needed to pit these two in opposition to one another to seek out out.
Kind issue
Each lights share an identical kind issue. Not fairly as huge as a LED-1000, however far more punch than you may get out of any motion gentle just like the Litra Torch or the Lume Cube (which we compared here). They nonetheless match inside a daily photograph bag taking no extra space than a regular lens. Weight-wise they differ, the Lupo is significantly extra cumbersome, and the litra is bulkier however we’ll go over why later within the put up.
Construct high quality
The construct high quality of the Lupo is admittedly nothing to jot down dwelling about, it is rather “plasticky” and it has large vent holes. Surprisingly the buttons really really feel very tactile. You get an enormous shiny blue LED display screen to show all the information on the display screen.
The litra is constructed like a tank. It even has a number of certifications like “mil-grade” and weatherproofing. It’s most likely drop-proof and crushproof to an affordable diploma. The aluminum chassis homes the interior battery. On the one hand, it’s a proprietary battery, however then again doubles as an influence financial institution. the Litra has an OLED panel to show its info. My solely actual gripe with the Litra is that it’s fairly dim and type of small. Whereas the Gentle is constructed with aluminum to dissipate warmth, it does undergo from getting fairly scorching, particularly in the event you’re working at full blast.
Climate sealing
Clearly, with such huge vent holes, the Lupo suffers on this class. You might be mainly restricted to managed environments with no results of climate.
The litra is totally climate sealed. This gentle can go mainly anyplace, even underwater. Having the ability to take this gentle in any situation positively offers the sunshine an edge by way of use circumstances, whether or not you might be capturing within the rain or possibly in a pool or the ocean.
Gentle high quality
The standard of sunshine for the Lupo is as you’ll count on from a high-end gentle. It has an amazing CRI rating which suggests the accuracy of the colour is superb. Whereas the sunshine underperformed in comparison with the Litra within the CCT settings, the RGB LEDs managed to outperform the Litra.
The Litra additionally boasts a excessive CRI. The CCT values have been significantly greater than the Lupo, giving us nearly a full cease of sunshine greater than the Lupo. 
Beam angle
It is extremely fascinating to me to see that each lights have significantly totally different approaches in terms of beam angle. You possibly can see within the video that the Lupo has a a lot narrower beam of sunshine with a hotspot on the center. The Litra has it very widespread and even throughout. Neither are “good” or “unhealthy”, it depends upon your wants and magnificence. So, it’s one thing to contemplate if what you’re going to be utilizing it for. Personally, for a light-weight like this, I feel I would like a wider unfold.
Interface
This one is a tricky name with the Lupo for me. I beloved the tactile and button structure of the Lupo. The issue I had with it was navigating the interface. It actually does take some getting used to, so whereas the display screen is larger and the buttons are simpler to make use of, the menu system has a studying curve.
The Litra just about goes the alternative method. The menu system is impeccable, it is rather apparent how you can navigate the menus. Nevertheless, I discovered myself continuously misclicking. Both the dials would click on or the rotations weren’t registering on the nipple type dials. I additionally suppose the buttons might have been a little bit extra tactile.
Energy
The Lupo works off a regular Sony NPF battery, which you may get third-party batteries for subsequent to nothing. They’re additionally readily available in shops and, in the event you’re like me, you most likely already personal a couple of anyway. Along with the battery choice, the Lupo additionally has a USB-C socket, and DC jack.
I completely perceive that the compromise right here for a proprietary battery might be as a result of climate sealing. It’s a trade-off it’s important to be keen to make if climate sealing is a precedence for you. The proprietary battery can be fairly pricey, coming in at $100. It additionally has the choice to be powered by USB-C with the included 65w charger (despite the fact that it solely wants 45w). I’m personally not an enormous fan of USB-C-powered gadgets that want greater than your customary 5v 2a. I a lot choose a DC lockable cable just like the Lupo.
Value
The Lupo is available in at simply $300 USD, while the Litra is available in at $650 USD… properly, earlier than the worth discount which has been occurring for some time. In case you’re trying to purchase a Litra Studio in the present day, they value $400 USD. The value has been like this for fairly some time. MAybe because of the Logitech acquisition.
Conclusion
Each lights have their pluses and minuses. It actually is difficult to decide on between the 2. the definition of higher gentle depends upon your wants. Each lights have an amazing output. They’re additionally each extremely correct and very versatile of their RGBWW capabilities. My winner for in the present day goes to be the Litra merely due to the construct high quality. However I do depart myself questioning if I’ll miss the Lupo one in every of as of late that I take the Litra studio to a shoot.
