SmallRig RC 60B LED Light Review

The SmallRig RC 60B is a small, compact-sized LED fixture with an in-built battery and a decent amount of output. It is a Bi-color fixture with a CCT range of 2700-6500K and it features a Mini Bowens mount.

It was first shown as a prototype at IBC 2023 in September. You can see our interview with SmallRig from the show above.

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Concept

The concept behind the RC 60B was fairly similar to that of a lot of other lighting manufacturers. They wanted to come up with a compact and affordable COB LED light that could be used by Vloggers, content creators, or anyone else who needed a reasonably lightweight and portable fixture.

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We have started to see a few box-style lighting fixtures hit the market recently, including the Ulanzi LT028 and the ZHIYUN MOLUS 200 which I recently reviewed. The RC 60B certainly has a similar form factor to both of those lights.

Build Quality

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The build quality of the SmallRig RC 60B is reasonably good for a light at this price. The casing of the fixture is made out of some type of hard material, although it is not aluminum or steel. I am not sure how it would go if you accidentally dropped it.

The mini Bowens mount is nice and solid and well made.

The dimming and CCT adjustment dials are not overly tactile, but they get the job done.

I also noticed that the INT/FX and CCT/FRQ labels below the adjustment dials were not straight. This may be a small, minor cosmetic issue that no-one will probably care about, but I did notice it.

Weight & Size

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I independently weighed the RC 60B fixture and it tipped the scales at 675g / 1.48 lb, which makes it slightly heavier than the Ulanzi LT028 which weighs 460g / 1.01 lb. 675g / 1.48 lb is reasonably heavy for a light of this size, but a lot of that weight has to do with the inbuilt battery. The RC 60B has physical dimensions of 4.5 x 3.3 x 3.3″ / 11.5 x 8.5 x 8.5cm which makes it roughly around the same size as the Ulanzi LT028 (4.1 x 3.3 x 3.3″ / 10.5 x 8.5 x 8.5 cm).

This small size and relatively low weight make it an appealing light for anyone who doesn’t like carrying around a lot of gear.

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The light does come in a pretty decent hard/soft carrying case wth all of its accessories. If you wanted to further reduce the size, you could simply take everything out and put it in another bag.

So how does this weight compare to some other lights with a similar power draw that could be considered competition? Well, this is a hard one to answer because there are only a handful of 60W COB lights on the market.

The amaran COB 60x S Bi-Color LED Monolight weighs 1.19kg / 2.63 lb, while the Nanlite FS-60B Bi-Color Studio Spotlight weighs 848 g / 1.87 lb. The Ulanzi LT028 that I previously mentioned weighs 1.01 lb / 460g.

Mini Bowens Mount

The light doesn’t feature a full-size Bowens mount, instead, it utilizes a Mini Bowens mount.

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This isn’t a massive problem as there are numerous companies that make affordable Mini Bowens to Bowens-S mount adapters. With one of these adapters, you can run a much wider array of affordable lighting modifiers.

Bear in mind that this is a small, lightweight fixture and if you tried to run any type of lighting modifier that was too big or heavy it could potentially break the mount.

Power Draw & Internal Battery

The RC 60B draws a maximum of 63W, which. The competing Ulanzi LT028 draws 40W, the amaran COB 60x draws 65W and the Nanlite FS-60B draws 70W.

The fixture features an in-built, rechargeable Lithium-ion battery, but it can also be powered via a DC power adapter. SmallRig claims that when using the built-in battery, it can be run continuously at 100% output for up to 45 minutes. It also supports charging while in use. You can get around 75 minutes of use if you use the light in the ECO mode.

The battery takes around 3 hours to fully charge. Now, if you are charging the internal battery, the caveat is that the fan will stay on. While it isn’t overly loud, if you are charging it in a quiet hotel room at night, you may be able to hear it.

You can also run the light via mains power or through a USB-C input. This is handy as you can power the light from readily available and affordable USB-C power banks that can output at least 60W PD. SmallRig recommends using their 100W USB PD charger.

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SmallRig also has a small bracket on the back of the fixture where you can attach a V-mount battery and then run a USB-C cable from it to the light.

Now, this battery bracket isn’t that great. I tried it with a couple of mini-V-lock batteries that I had and it doesn’t hold the battery very securely. The batteries would wobble around. I have a feeling it was designed specifically for use with SmallRig’s own mini V-mount batteries.

The caveat is that if you want to use a small sized V-lock battery, then that battery needs to have USB-C PD power output on it to be able to do this.

While there is nothing wrong with being able to run it via a V-lock battery, I would have preferred to have also seen some sort of detachable Sony NP-F battery plate as people looking at small-sized and affordable lights are arguably not going to own V-mount batteries.

You can also use this same set-up to charge the internal battery. The internal battery will charge at the same time as running the light which is very handy.

Below are the charging protocols supported by the RC 60B;

• PD 3.0: 5V / 3A, 9V/ 3A, 12V / 3A, 15V /3A, 20V / 3A
• QC2.0 / AVC / FCP: 5V / 3A, 9V / 3A, 12V / 3A
• APPLE-2.5A: 5V / 2.4A
• BC12: 5V / 1.5A

The biggest issue with having a light that features an internal battery is that its lifespan is going to be limited as eventually the battery won’t be able to hold a charge anymore. This is something you need to consider carefully when buying a light, however, because it can be run via other power sources it won’t be the end of the world when the internal battery dies.

How does it stay cool?

COB LED lights generate a lot of heat, and they need to be cooled to operate correctly. The RC 60 COB features a built-in cooling fan to prevent overheating.

Despite having a fan, there are no controls to adjust the fan. However, you can use the ECO mode, to reduce the fan noise, with the caveat being a reduction in output.

The RC 60 COB also feature a built-in overheating protection function. How this works is that if the internal temperature of the battery reaches 62 C then the output will be reduced to 80%. If it reaches 63 The output gets reduced to 65%. If it hits 64 C then the output gets limited to 50%. If the battery temperature goes above 65 C then the light will automatically shut off. If the temperature of the light reaches 100 C it will also automatically shut off.

The fan is reasonably quiet even when operating at 100% output for long periods of time, however, because it has a limited amount of output you are going to have to place it closer to the talent so this could be an issue if you are recording audio in a quiet location.

What I liked is that the fan noise remains constant and it doesn’t ramp up or ramp down. I much prefer a constant level than a varying one, because at least you know what to expect when it is constant.

Beam Angle

The native beam angle of the RC 60B when used open face is 105 degrees. This is reasonably wide and handy for a lot of situations where you want to create a broad spread of light.

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You can alter that beam angle by using the included reflector. The beam angle with the reflector is 55 degrees.

Mounting

The light features a single 1/4-20″ mounting hole.

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It also comes with a Grip Handle, and a Light Stand Adaptor. Both of these work reasonably well and it is nice to have options

Controls & Menu System

The control interface that is located on the side of the light is pretty basic, but it gets the job done.

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There is a reasonably sized color display screen and two dials for adjusting INT/FX and CCT/FRQ. You can adjust the CCT from 2700-6500K, as well as the intensity. The CCT adjustment can only be changed in 100K increments. If you press the CCT/FRQ button then it will cycle through CCT presets of 3200K, 4300K and 5600K. The intensity can be changed in increments of 1% and it will stay on all the way down to 1%.

To access the effects mode you simply press the MODE button.

SmallRig has its free SmallGoGo app, but you can’t use it to control the RC 60B.

Operating Modes

The light has two operating modes:

• CCT
• Effects Mode

Correlated Color Temperature (CCT)

In the CCT Mode, you have full access to making CCT adjustments between 2700-6500K. This isn’t a massive adjustment range, but it will suit most people’s needs.

The fixture doesn’t feature any continuous variable (full minus green to full plus green) correction, but I wouldn’t expect a light that retails for under $200 USD to have it.

Effects Mode

In the effects mode you can choose from the following effects:

• Lightning
• TV
• Candle
• Faulty Bulb
• Strobe
• Paparazzi
• Emergency
• H/L Beam

You can not only adjust the intensity of the effects., but also the intensity and frequency.

Photometrics

So now let’s get to the photometric results. I always test lights in this way so that I get a reference to how they compare to other fixtures. Results only tell part of the story and should never be used alone to judge a light. I have found from extensive testing over the years that certain lights that have good photometric results don’t always look good, and lights that have worse photometric scores can sometimes look better than their results indicate.

You can’t judge a light from one set of photometric results. SSI, while great, doesn’t provide you with all of the information you need. You have to look at all of the different results to be able to come to a conclusion. Judging alight on one set of results is like reading one chapter in a book and thinking you know the whole story.

Different lights can also look different depending on what camera you happen to be using.

It doesn’t matter whether a light costs $8,000 USD or $80 USD, it will still undergo the same thorough testing that I do with any fixture.

Output & Color Temperature Accuracy

According to SmallRig, the RC 60B is capable of outputting 2,670 lux at 1m / 3.3′ when used open face, and 11,200 lux with its included hyper reflector.

I tested the RC 60B at a variety of CCT settings with a Sekonic C-800 Spectrometer to find out how much output the light had and how accurate the CCT reproduction was. All readings are taken at a distance of 1m (3.28ft) in a controlled environment. The readings were all taken directly from the lighting source. In the case of using the light with a Reflector or any attachment, the readings were taken from the end of those attachments. This is how I test all lights.

So just how much output does it have? Well, let’s find out.

SmallRig RC 60B 5600K (open face)

Above you can see the RC 60B recorded an output of 2610 lx (243fc) when set at 5600K and used open face. This is a decent amount of output for a light of this size and power draw.

As a comparison, the slightly higher power draw (65W) amaran COB 60x puts out 2940 lx at the same distance when used open face.

The light recorded a CCT reading of 5530K which was pretty good.

SmallRig RC 60B 3200K (open face)

Above you can see the light’s output when it was set at 3200K in the open face configuration was 2300 lx (213 fc), which was 11.87% less than it produced at 5600K.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded a reading of 3253K, which was again pretty good.

SmallRig RC 60B 5600K Reflector

Now, that we have seen some results when it was used open face, what happens if we use it with the included reflector?

Above you can see the light’s output when it was set at 5600K with its reflector was 9150 lx (850 fc), which was 323.6% more than it put out when used open face.

As a comparison, the slightly higher power draw (65W) amaran COB 60x puts out 32,000 lx at the same distance when used with its reflector. Although, the reflector for the amaran is a very tight 15 degrees as opposed to the 55 degrees of the SmallRig.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded a reading of 5446K, which wasn’t as good as the 5530K it recorded when used open face. This clearly tells me that the reflector alters the CCT.

SmallRig RC 60B 3200K Reflector

Above you can see the light’s output when it was set at 3200K using its reflector was 8010lx (744 fc), which was 248.2% more than it produced when used open face.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded a reading of 3195K which was almost a perfect result.

The reflector doesn’t alter the CCT too much when used at 3200K and the light is a lot more CCT accurate when used at 3200K than it is at 5600K.

So, how does the output of the SmallRig RC 60B compare to the competition? Well, below you can see.

OPEN FACE

	3200K	5600K
SmallRig RC 60B	2300 lx	2610 lx
amaran COB 60x	2580 lx	2940 lx
Nanlite FS-60B	2630 lx*	2799 lx*
Ulanzi LT028	835 lx	987 lx

*Manufacturers claims. Not independently tested

As you can see, the SmallRig, Nanlite, and amaran all have a fairly similar output when used open face.

REFLECTOR

	3200K	5600K
SmallRig RC 60B	8010 lx	9150 lx
amaran COB 60x	26,700 lx	32,000 lx
Nanlite FS-60B	12,370 lx*	13,360 lx*
Ulanzi LT028	1780 lx	2080 lx

*Manufacturers claims. Not independently tested.

What you need to remember is that these lights all have slightly different power draws, but most importantly, the Nanlite and amaran reflectors have a much tighter beam angle.

How does it perform at various CCT Settings?

Summary of results (Open Face)

SETTING	OUTPUT	CCT READING
2700K	2060 lx	2766K
3200K	2300 lx	3253K
4500K	2600 lx	4487K
5600K	2610 lx	5530K
6500K	2580 lx	6345K

These results show me that the light’s output varies by 21% depending on what CCT temperature you are using between 2700-6500K.

The CCT accuracy across the range is generally very good. Although, at 6500K it was 155K off. These readings tell me the light has very good CCT consistency across its range when used open face.

Summary of results (Reflector)

SETTING	OUTPUT	CCT READING
2700K	7340 lx	2718K
3200K	8010 lx	3195K
4500K	8850 lx	4409K
5600K	9150 lx	5446K
6500K	8790 lx	6310K

These results show me that the light’s output varies by 19.78% depending on what CCT temperature you are using between 2700-6500K.

The CCT accuracy across the range was very good at 2700K and 3200K, but it wasn’t as good at 4500k, 5600K and 6500K. At 6500K it was 290K off being correct.

Output & CCT in ECO Mode

As I mentioned earlier in the review, the light does have an ECO mode. This is mainly for use when you are running the fixture via its internal battery and you want the battery to last longer. In the ECO mode, SmallRig claims that the output is reduced to 60%.

SmallRig RC 60B 5600K ECO Mode (open face)

Above you can see the RC 60B recorded an output of 1630 lx (132 fc) when set at 5600K and used open face in its ECO mode. This was 37.5% less output than when run in its normal mode.

The light recorded a CCT reading of 5539K which was only 9K different from when it was run its its normal operating mode

SmallRig RC 60B 5600K ECO Mode (Reflector)

Above you can see the light’s output when it was set at 5600K in its ECO mode using the reflector was 5780 lx (537 fc), which was 36.83% less than it produced in its normal operating mode.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded a reading of 5780K, which was 5746K in recorded in the normal operating mode.

Output & CCT Accuracy when using the optional RA-D30 mini Parabolic Softbox

SmallRig RC 60B 5600K RA-D30 mini Parabolic Softbox

Above you can see the light’s output when it was set at 5600K and using the optional RA-D30 mini Parabolic Softbox was 1150 lx (107 fc), which was 55.93% less than it produced when used open face.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded a reading of 5372K. This tells me that the softbox is slightly altering the CCT.

CCT consistency & linear output when dimming the light

Now, what you should always do when testing lights is to see if the CCT remains consistent when dimming the light. Just because you set a light at say 5600K, that doesn’t mean that the CCT will remain stable as you start dimming the fixture down. I also wanted to see how linear the dimming curve was.

I decided to do a series of tests at 100%/75%/50%/25%10% to see if the CCT being recorded changed. This was done at a distance of 1m using a Sekonic C-800. These tests were done at 5600K using the light open face.

CCT READING	OUTPUT	INTENSITY %
5530K	2610 lx	100
5524K	2040 lx	75
5532K	1450 lx	50
5504K	836 lx	25
5416K	451 lx	10

The SmallRig RC 60B’s CCT consistency was pretty good. My testing showed that the CCT readings varied by 116K.

As far as how linear the output is when you start dimming the light, at 50% output it had 44.44% less output than when used at 100%. At 25% it had 67.96% less output than when used at 100%. At 10% output, it had 82.72% less output than when used at 100%. This shows me that the light’s dimming curve is not overly linear.

Color Rendering

So now that we have seen how much output the SmallRig RC 60B produces, how does it perform when it comes to replicating accurate colors?

SmallRig RC 60B 5600K (Reflector)

Above you can see that when the light was set at 5600K and used with its reflector, recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 98.2 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 97.62. For replicating accurate skin tones it recorded 97.8 for R9 (red), 99.3 for R13 (closest to caucasian skin tones), and 99.4 for R15 (closest to Asian skin tones). These were outstanding results, and some of the best I have seen from any light.

As a comparison, the amaran COB 60x when used at 5600K had an extended CRI of 95.90.

The SmallRig RC 60B when set at 5600K recorded a TLCI score of 99. This was an excellent result.

SmallRig RC 60B 3200K (Reflector)

Above you can see the scores for when the light was used at 3200K. It recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 98.3 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 97.29. For replicating accurate skin tones it recorded 90.4 for R9 (red), 99.0 for R13 (closest to caucasian skin tones), and 98.6 for R15 (closest to Asian skin tones). Just like at 5600K, these were outstanding results.

As a comparison, the amaran COB 60x when used at 3200K had an extended CRI of 97.04.

The SmallRig RC 60B, when set at 3200K recorded a TLCI score of 98.

SmallRig RC 60B 5600K (Open Face)

Above you can see that when the light was set at 5600K and used open face recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 98.2 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 97.63. For replicating accurate skin tones it recorded 97.5 for R9 (Red), 99.7 for R13 (closest to caucasian skin tones), and 99.7 for R15 (closest to Asian skin tones). These were outstanding results, and again some of the best I have seen from any LED light I have tested.

SmallRig RC 60B 3200K (Open Face)

Above you can see that when the light was set at 3200K and used open face it recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 98.4 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 97.44. For replicating accurate skin tones it recorded 91.8 for R9 (red), 98.9 for R13 (closest to caucasian skin tones), and 98.8 for R15 (closest to Asian skin tones). Not a single result was below 90.

The Extended CRI figures for this light were some of he highest I have ver seen. This was very impressive given the low cost of the fixture.

CC Index & ⊿uv

The CC Index displays the CC correction value and whether any magenta or green need to be added or subtracted. 1 CC corresponds to 035 Kodak CC values or 1/8 Rosco filter values. Any reading less than +1.00 or -1.00 and you’re probably not going to need to make any kind of adjustment. The ⊿uv is the value to show how much this light is away from being an ideal light source (black body radiation = incandescent lamp). As with the CC Index you want this number to theoretically be zero. Kelvin is not a linear value, so we need to convert from Kelvin to MK-1 to compare the values of color temperature. To calculate from Kelvin to Mired is MK-1= 1*1000000/Kelvin. While this may sound confusing, it is the only way of measuring if the Kelvin shift is significant enough to warrant having to use a filter for correction. Below are the results for the SmallRig RC 60B :

SmallRig RC 60B Kelvin Vs MK-1 (open face)

	Kelvin	Difference in K	MK-1	Difference in MK-1
SET VALUE	2700K	0	370.37	0
ACTUAL READING	2766K	66	361.53	8.84 MK-1
SET VALUE	3200K	0	312.5	0
ACTUAL READING	3253K	53	307.40	5.1 MK-1
SET VALUE	4500K	0	222.22	0
ACTUAL READING	4487K	13	222.86	-0.64 MK-1
SET VALUE	5600K	0	178.57	0
ACTUAL READING	5530K	70	180.83	-2.26 MK-1
SET VALUE	6500K	0	153.84	0
ACTUAL READING	6345K	155	157.60	-3.76

These figures might look confusing, but what they tell me is that the light is reasonably CCT accurate across its 2700-6500K range. At 3200K, 4500K, 5600K, and 6500K it performed well. Any MK-1 score that is under -9/9 means you wouldn’t have to use any color correction gels. Any MK-1 score that is under -6/6 is a very good result.

Okay, now let’s look at the CC INDEX & ⊿uv.

SmallRig RC 60B CC INDEX & ⊿uv

	CC INDEX	⊿uv
2700K	0.8M	0.0062
3200K	0.2M	0.0008
4500K	0.0	-0.0005
5600K	0.1M	0.0022
6500K	0.2M	0.0047

These were decent results. The light certainly does lean green at 2700K. At 3200-6500K it was very neutral with no big color shifts.

TM-30

TM-30 is a relatively new color rendering standard that was developed to deal with the limitations of CRI. TM-30 looks at 99 individual colors. These 99 colors are categorized into seven groups: nature, skin color, textiles, paints, plastics, printed material, and color systems.

TM-30 scores go from 0 – 100. The higher the score, the more accurate a light is at producing colors. Any TM-30 Rf score in the ’90s is considered to be good. What is interesting and something that you need to be very aware of is that two separate light sources with the exact same CRI scores can render colors very differently. A light with a high CRI rating could have a low TM-30 score. Conversely, a light with a good TM-30 score could have a bad CRI score.

Now, there are two measurements associated with TM-30, Rf and Rg.

Rf (Color Fidelity)
Rg (Color Gamut)

With Rf value, ideally, you want a score in the 90’s.

With Rg value, a score below 100 indicates that the light source renders colors with less saturation than the reference source. So ideally you want this score to be 100.

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Above you can see the scores for the RC 60B at various CCT settings. Below I have listed the figures as well.

Here are the results:

	Rf	Rg
2700K	94	95
3200K	97	100
4500K	97	102
5600K	97	102
6500K	97	100

The TM-30 scores were very good, except when the light was used at 2700K.

SSI

SSI (Spectral Similarity Index) was developed by the Sci-Tech Council of the Academy. SSI gives me the ability to set any light as a standard, or use predefined standards (such as CIE D55), and then give other lights an SSI score based on how well they will match standards such as CIE D55. This way I can measure spectral response and compare it directly against an ideal light source. This is actually a much better test than recording CRI scores, however, just like any individual test it doesn’t tell you the full story.

SmallRig RC 60B 3200K (Open Face)

In this graph, the red bars indicate a perfect Planck 3200K source. The gold bars indicate a perfect 3200K Tungsten source. This lets us compare how close to a perfect 3200K lighting source the SmallRig RC 60B is. Any SSI score in the high 70’s, low ’80s is very good for a 3200K LED light. The results for the SmallRig were excellent when used at 3200K. As you can see, LED lights have a hard time replicating colors below about 450nm.

SmallRig RC 60B 5600K (Open Face)

In the graph above the gold bars indicate a perfect CIE D55 source. The red bars indicate a perfect CIE D 5600K source. This lets us compare how close to a perfect 5600K lighting source the SmallRig RC 60B is. A score in the low 70’s is typical for a 5600K LED source. The scores for the Rc 60B were outstanding.

The main reason we want to record SSI scores is so we can see how well they match with other lights. As an example, I wanted to see how well the SmallRig RC 60B matched the Prolycht Orion 675 FS and the ARRI Orbiter. Below you can see the results.

As you can see both lights were not a great match to the SmallRig RC 60B. Any score in the high ’80s and low 90s would be enough to get a decent enough match.

As another test, I thought I would compare those same lights against the SmallRig RC 60B at 3200K. Below you can see the results.

As you can see, the SmallRig RC 60B was a decent enough match to both the ARRI Orbiter and Prolycht Orion 675 FS at 3200K. Very few lights from different manufacturers are ever going to be an exact match.

Ok, so let’s do some more comparisons. This time I wanted to see how well the SmallRig RC 60B when used with its reflector matched the light when it was used open face and with its softbox.

As you can see, with a score of 99 the light was almost a perfect match to itself when using the reflector or open faced. It was interesting to see that the light only had a score of 90 when comparing it against the softbox.

SSI tests are a great way of telling you what lights you own or use will work well together.

Spectral Distribution

SmallRig RC 60B 5600K

Above you can see the spectral distribution of the SmallRig RC 60B when it is set at 5600K. The spectral distribution is nice and full for a Bi-color LED light.

If you want to see what a really good spectral response looks like for an LED light at 5600K, above is the result for the Maxima 3.

SmallRig RC 60B 3200K

Above you can see the spectral distribution of the SmallRig RC 60B when it is set at 3200K. The spectral distribution is nice and even.

As a comparison, above you can see the spectral distribution of the Aputure 600c Pro when it is set at 3200K.

Real-World Performance & Quality of Light

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As I always say, photometric scores only tell you part of the story. So let’s find out if the scores from the SmallRig RC 60B translate into good real-world performance.

The photometric results can only give me scientific data and it is much more important for me to see how the light looks and performs. Contrary to popular belief, if you are in the business of making lights you don’t want to try and achieve perfect scores because perfect scientific scores don’t equate to a light looking good. A good light should look good to a camera because, after all, that is what is capturing the image. Cameras and our eyes see differently and ideally, you want to use a light that looks good to your camera. There’s a bit of alchemy in knowing what to prioritize in order to render colors that appear accurate, natural, and pleasing. It’s not just about hitting certain numbers.

Lighting really comes down to how you use the light and having a great light isn’t suddenly going to produce better results for you unless you know what you are doing.

The light has a decent amount of output when used with its reflector or open faced.

When you use the light with its optional softbox, the output gets reduced quite a lot so you really need to have the light very close to your subject for it to do much. It is also still a fairly small-sized source so you shouldn’t expect that it will be able to mimic larger light sources.

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Above you can see a couple of quick example frames I did when using the light with its optional RA-D30 mini Parabolic Softbox. No other lights are being used and this is in a small room.

If you are going to make a COB light that is primarily designed to light up people you need to think about how to diffuse that light and how people are going to use it. I know companies like to list max output figures on their websites, but if the light is going to have to be primarily used with diffusion then you should also list what that output is. If you don’t the user may well get a shock when they realize the light isn’t nearly as bright as they thought it would be.

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The shadows the light produces vary depending on whether or not you are using it open faced or with its reflector.

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Above you can see the beam spread when using the light open faced, with its reflector, and with the optional RA-D30 mini Parabolic Softbox. The light was placed 3m / 9.9′ from the wall.

If you use the light open face you get a decent beam spread, however, if you use the included reflector there is a slight hotspot and you can see how quickly the light intensity starts to fall away. In saying that, this is only really obvious when you place the light very close to something. I found that at normal operating distances, the beam angle is still reasonably wide when using the reflector.

With a small-sized, low-power draw light, it certainly won’t be capable of lighting up a reasonable-sized room, however, it will add some nice ambient fill.

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Above you can see an example of it being punched through a sheer curtain from outside when used with its reflector and used open face. I have kept the camera settings the same for all the shots.

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Above you can see a comparison of the output difference between the light used with its reflector and used open-faced. The light is being punched directly into the ceiling. I have kept the same camera settings for all the shots.

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Above you can see what the light looks like being used with its reflector, open face, and with its optional RA-D30 mini Parabolic Softbox being aimed down onto the table.

What I also liked is that because the light is so small and it doesn’t weigh much, you could easily put it out on a boom arm. This is handy if you want to light up a table or even to use it as a backlight.

You could use the power supply as a counterweight, but because the light has an in-built battery and doesn’t weigh much you can get away with not having to do that.

Price & Availability

The SmallRig RC 60B retails for $169.15 USD. The optional RA-D30 mini Parabolic Softbox retails for $39.02 USD.

As a comparison, the more powerful (65W) amaran COB 60x S Bi-Color LED Monolight retails for $199 USD.

The Nanlite FS-60B Bi-Color Studio Spotlight is $179 USD.

The Ulanzi LT028 retails for $99 USD.

Conclusion

The SmallRig RC 60B is very color accurate and it offers a decent amount of output. It provides excellent value for money if you are on a tight budget.

The tiny footprint of the SmallRig RC 60B means you could create a very small lightweight lighting kit using 2-4 of these fixtures. Everything could easily fit inside a small-sized backpack or Pelican case. As they feature internal batteries you also don’t need to carry around additional batteries separately to power it remotely on location when there is no mains power available. However, in saying that, if you are running the light at 100% output you are not going to get a ton of run time and you clearly need to keep that in mind.

It is nice that SmallRig gives you multiple options for powering the light as it increases its versatility. I personally didn’t like the battery mount, because it doesn’t hold batteries very well and as I mentioned earlier, as it seems to have been designed around SmallRig’s own batteries. I would go as far as saying that the battery mount is dangerous to use, especially with certain batteries. I tried picking up the light on a lightstand and the battery I was using just ended up falling to the ground. If you are going to use a battery that isn’t made by SmallRig, I would highly reccomend that you use a bungee strap or something similar to keep it in place.

Having a Mini Bowens Mount attachment has its pros and cons. As it doesn’t feature a full-sized Bowens mount, you don’t have access to nearly as many affordable lighting modifiers. However, in saying that, there are plenty of mini Bowens to full-sized Bowens mount adapters available.

The build quality is ok for a light at this price, and it is nice that SmallRig gives you a lightstand mount and a handheld mount in the kit.

As I mentioned earlier, the light has a decent amount of output, but if you want soft light and you use it with the optional softbox, the output gets massively reduced. This does somewhat limit what it can effectively be used for. COB lights are not good options for shining directly on talent with no diffusion, as they are not only uncomfortable to look at but also dangerous for your eyes.

The SSI scores were very good for this light, and it certainly punches well above its weight when it comes to color accuracy.

It is my job as a reviewer to give you the cold hard facts and to test the light in a way that is comprehensive so you know exactly what to expect.

What you do have to factor in, is that this is a sub $200 USD light and you shouldn’t for one second think it is going to perform as well as lights that cost considerably more money. In saying that, it offers excellent value or money, despite some of the caveats. For its intended target audience, the SmallRig RC 60B is a very decent option that ticks a lot of boxes.