Andoer LY-01 LED RGB Light Review (Useful Mini Light!)

Welcome to a review of the Andoer LY-01 LED RGB light. This is a “slightly bigger but still pocket-sized” LED light by Andoer, and it actually packs quite a brightness punch. While it may seem perfect as a lightweight lighting gadget, it may not be the best for some professional work. Read on for more!

 

THE OVERVIEW

Price About USD $23 (As at the time of writing)
Links Official Website: Link
Get from eBay: Click here
Packaging
Nothing missing – Box, light, bag, hot shoe mount, manual, charging cable.
Build Quality
Plastic, but seemingly rugged enough. Is also waterproof.
Functionality
Warm and cool lights, plus RGB. Pulsing light mode is kind of useless.
User Friendliness
Takes 5 minutes of reading the manual to get started.
Value
A fully functioning RGB light with a built-in battery – For just $23.
Overall
Excellent value-for-money portable RGB light. The only downside is a lack of Bluetooth connection and a control app.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Walkthrough Usage Experience Summary & After
The End

 

A QUICK WALKTHROUGH

All right, let us now take a quick walkthrough of the simple LED RGB light.

 

UNBOXING & FIRST IMPRESSIONS

It’s a white box with minimum design, and it works well enough to protect the gadget itself… Nothing exciting to see here, it’s not a half-eaten apple. Let’s move on.

 

 

WHAT’S INSIDE?

  • The LED light itself.
  • A drawstring bag.
  • Instruction manual (in both English and Chinese).
  • USB Type-C charging cable.
  • 1/4″ hot shoe mount.

Not bad, the packaging has all the basics and nothing is missing.

 

A SIMPLE RGB LED LIGHT

The LY-01 is but a simple pocket-sized RGB LED light. All the controls are on the right-hand side.

  • The USB charging port, Type-C.
  • Followed by 3 buttons – Brightness down, power/mode, brightness up.

That’s all. One thing to take note, this light is supposedly IP65 waterproof. Not sure how true that is, but I am most definitely not going to risk testing it.

At the bottom, we have a standard 1/4″ screw hole. This light can be easily mounted onto the camera (using the provided hot shoe mount), or onto any tripod and light stand for the matter.

 

 

At the rear, we have a “kickstand” that can flip 180 degrees. The “backplate” is also magnetic, it can stick onto any metal surface. But I doubt it will be useful unless you want to stick it onto a car, window frame, or pre-mount a metal plate onto your tripod or light stand.

Lastly, the tiny hook on the kickstand can be released too – Hook the light onto an overhead bar, or onto the camera strap to turn yourself into a walking light stand.

 

BUILD QUALITY

Nothing much to complain about the build quality. While it is mostly made of plastic, it still seems rugged enough. There are no sharp or funky edges either, there is some nice quality control.

 

USAGE EXPERIENCE

I first thought that the small Andoer LY01 is going to be pretty weak, but it turns out to be surprisingly bright. That makes it very useful as a back or fill light, or even act the main light for portraits in a crunch.

 

LIGHT MODES

The LED light is not difficult to use straight out of the box, I would say it is pretty intuitive even without the menu.

  • Press and hold the power button to switch on/off.
  • Press the power button to cycle between the modes –
    • Cool white 3200K
    • Warm & cool white 4800K
    • Warm white 6500K
    • Strobe (pulsing) red
    • Strobe (pulsing)  blue
    • Flashing white
    • Breathing RGB
    • Lock the RGB
  • Press the + and – to adjust the brightness level.

Yes, that’s all. But the pulsing/flashing light mode is kind of a huge question mark for me… Is there any use for it at all? Maybe for some kind of effect for light painting?

 

 

HICCUP – SYNC TROUBLES

The LY-01 is perfect as a “standalone” light:

  • For small product shoots, just set the warm/cool light and the brightness.
  • For portrait or bigger products, it is still good as a fill or backlight.
  • If you want to add some background colors, just cycle and lock at the RGB color you want.

But the real problem comes if you want more controls, or try to sync many of these lights together. It is literally impossible to get 2 of these to stop at the exact same hue. Also in the RGB mode, the brightness level cannot be controlled… While not a critical flaw, it can be very difficult to set the color tone you want on the LY-01.

 

BATTERY LIFE & CHARGING

The LY-01 has a built-in 4500 MAH battery and is rated to last up to 5 hours even on “bright” settings. It thankfully uses USB Type-C for charging and can technically go from “flat to 100%” in about 4 hours. There are also 4 LED lights on the side to indicate the battery level, very much just like a power bank.

But I have a confession to make, I did not “stress test” this light and do not know how long it will last exactly. But it easily took an hour-long product shoot with 3 bars of battery left… Not on full-blast settings, of course.

 

 

USEFUL BITS & AFTERTHOUGHTS

That’s all for this review, and here is a small section on some extras and links that may be useful to you.

 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

As on the manual itself:

  • Input: USB Type C, 5V 1.5A
  • Color Temperature: 3200K-4800K-6500K
  • Battery Capacity: 4500 MAH
  • Working Time: High < 5 hours, Low < 100 hours.
  • Dimensions: 85mm X 65mm X 21mm
  • Weight: 110g / 3.8oz
  • Waterproof: IP65

 

THE GOOD

  • Very affordable, excellent value for money.
  • Lightweight and portable.
  • Good enough brightness.
  • Easily charge with a power bank.

 

THE BAD

  • Difficult to cycle through RGB, and stop at the color you want.
  • Difficult and nearly impossible to sync many of these lights together.
  • Not quite as useful for professional work.

 

AFTERTHOUGHTS

Having used the Anoder LY-01 for months, this is not my “main light” but still one of my “often used lights”. Setting the RGB colors is a hassle, but it’s still good as a “secondary light” for product photography, as a focus assist light or fill light.

 

THE END

Thank you for reading, and we have come to the end of this review. Sure thing, setting the RGB color on the LY-01 is a miss. But otherwise, there is nothing to complain about. It is bright, useful, has a long battery life, and only costs $20!

For anyone into casual photography or videography, this is an extremely good buy – Highly recommended. If you have anything to share with this review, please feel free to comment below. Good luck and happy shooting!

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