Neewer produces a surprisingly wide range of photographic and video production accessories, from Teleprompters to smartphone cages. They also produce a range of continuous (always on rather than emitting a burst of flash) video lights such as the Neewer CB200C COB RGB LED video light.
LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights tend to come in two ‘flavors’ - bi-colour LEDS and RGB LEDs. Bi-colour lights such as the Neewer AS600B emit light within the Kelvin scale. This enables you to dial in a color temperature between 2700K (warm candlelight) to 6500K (cooler daylight). By changing colour temperature you can complement available light sources or adjust them to create a contrasting look. RGB LEDS such as the Neewer CB200C also produce light in the Kelvin range but they also enable you to dial in a wider spectrum of creative colors to change the atmosphere of your shoot. Personally, I’d always favor an RGB LED over a bi-color-only one as it gives you more creative colors to work with.
Despite being only a bi-colour LED the Neewer AS600B has a major selling point. At 600W output power, this LED blows all the other LEDs I’ve tested 'out of the water’ in relation to the intensity of its output. For example, the previous Neweer LED I tested in the studio was the CB200C. At 200W it could produce an intensity of 23000 Lux at a range of 1 meter with its supplied reflector attached. That’s the equivalent of 23000 candles. Thanks to its 600W power the Neewer AS600B can emit a retina-blinding 99000 Lux!
Neewer AS600B: Specifications
Neewer AS600B: Design & Handling
When I opened my front door to the courier he was staggering under the weight of a rather large cardboard box. I was able to drag the box onto my porch but was struck by how heavy it was. Inside the box was the Neewer AS600B’s carry case containing the LED, a power/control box plus a collection of accessories such as a Bowens mount reflector.
The wheeled robust fabric suitcase has an extendable handle so you can slide the Neewer kit comfortably along smooth floors as you take it to your location. However, it was a bit of a struggle to carry the case upstairs to my home office. On the scales, it weighed in at just under 40 lbs (just over 18 kg!).
Sometimes I travel to a local studio by bus to test kits for my reviews. In this case, I had to lug the Neewer AS600B’s case into my car to transport it to the studio. The case was easily wheeled to the studio but for the first time during a kit review, I had to use the lift/elevator rather than carry the case up several flights of stairs! Did I say this kit is heavy?
The heaviest component of the Neewer AS600B LED kit is the light itself. This weighs 11 lbs (5 kg) and is mostly constructed from aluminum alloy. The body of the light is an attractive dark grey bordered at the front with a black unit housing the LEDs. There’s an ergonomically designed black handle at the rear that you can use to angle the lamp on its supplied Neewer branded u-shaped bracket.
Unlike the previous Neewer LED that I’d tested in the studio (the Neewer CB200C), the Neewer AS600B did not have any control buttons or displays on its rear. All the controls are found on the supplied control/power box, which you need to plug into the studio power supply and attach via cable to the LED. The control/power box also has two slots to attach 26V V mount batteries so in theory you could operate the AS600B LED on location without connecting it to a mains supply.
However, given the 5 kg weight of the LED and the fact that you’d need to lug the control/power box (plus two heavy batteries), I would prefer to use a lighter and more portable LED on location. It’s important to note that when powered on location by battery the AS600B LED is limited to 300W output (compared to the 600W when connected to a wired power supply).
Neewer AS600B: Performance
Once I’d lugged/wheeled the AS600B LED to my studio I used the kit’s mounting clamp to fix the LED onto my light stand. Due to the LED’s 5 kg weight, the metal stand wobbled worryingly, so I made sure that the legs of the light stand were spread as wide a possible to provide support to the LED.
The Neewer AS600B LED is like the Zhiyun Molus G200 in that the LED is powered and controlled by a separate box. As with the Molus G200, the AS600B’s control box has a strap/handle that enables you to carry it. I was happy to hang the Molus G200’s control box from halfway up the light stand so that I could easily adjust its buttons and dials from a standing position. However, as the heavier Neewer AS600B LED was already making my light stand wobble I didn’t want to risk hanging its large control/power box on the stand too. I popped the Neewer’s control box on the floor at the base of the light stand so I had to crouch to operate it.
Fortunately, the control panel on the power unit has a similar look to the rear control panel on the Neewer CB200C, with a colorful OLED display that enables you to easily see what mode you have selected using the control buttons and dial on the unit. You can toggle between modes such as CCT or FX using the Mode button and then adjust properties (such as choosing a particular color temperature in degrees Kelvin) by rotating the large dial. The dial also acts as a button so you can press it to jump between various properties (such as adjusting intensity instead of color temperature).
As with most LEDs, the Neewer AS600B can also be controlled via a smartphone app. Since I was lighting myself I found this was a much easier and more effective way to control the LED’s output than by crouching by the LED's control box. I could stand in the middle of the studio and tap on presets to jump to a specific color temperature for example. I was also able to use the app to cycle through the 12 animated preset lighting effects (such as Paparazzi or Candlelight) and customize each preset (such as adjusting the intensity of warm Sparks in the Candlelight preset). The app certainly makes it easier to operate the Neewer AS600B if you’re a solo operator like me.
One thing I’d not encountered before in an LED was the ability to alter the curves used to make the app control the lamp. For example, you can use a linear curve to make the light intensity change abruptly as you adjust a slider. Alternatively, you can use an s-curve to make the adjustments ease in and out in a more organic way. This level of subtle control is a mark of the level of detail demanded by professionals. Another professional requirement is to have a heat dissipation system (or fan) that won’t interfere with dialog being recorded in your studio. The AS600B’s fan was silent during my test but it can manually be set to Auto, Low, High, and Silent if required. At 50 cm the fan will only measure 37dbA which should be negligible during a shoot.
Neewer AS600B: Verdict
At a mighty 600W output the Neewer AS600B will produce far more light (99000 Lux) than most videographers will need, and this power is reflected in its relatively high price. During my studio test shoot, I kept it set to around 50% of its full intensity to avoid being blinded (and having my highlights become clipped). This output was far brighter than my studio set-up required so the Neewer AS600B will be more useful on a location shoot. However due to the kit’s weight, I wouldn’t consider using it on location unless I was working with a crew, so it’s not going to suit the needs of a solo videographer. However, if you do work as part of a filmmaking team then the Neewer AS600B will give you plenty of firepower on location!
