Review on 🎥 GVM 560 LED Video Light Kit - Dimmable Bi-Color, APP Control, Perfect for YouTube, Studio - 2300K to 6800K, CRI 97+ (Stand Not Included) by Trey Samuels

560AS Lightbar that when I message GVM about my review they give me a 'surprise gift' as a token of the send appreciation. I had no idea what to expect and my review was given without any bias influenced by the gift I received. That gift arrived in the mail today in the form of a pair of NP-F750/770 Li-Ion batteries and a pair of chargers, which GVM is selling at Revain for around $40. Batteries aren't capacious for their size, only a 4400mAh nominal, but that doesn't matter. They were free, so who can complain about that? With these batteries added to the overall package, the GVM-560AS LED light bar makes it an incredible value. If I could raise my rating by half a star, I would for that reason alone. However, the diffusion plate problem has not gone away and hence the product remains below what deserves a perfect 5 star rating. To their credit, a GVM customer service representative took note of my comments on the review and stated that they would take my concerns about the diffusion panel to the manufacturer, so it would be interesting to see if there were any product improvements. >>> I will leave my video review to provide more details but overall this LED panel is excellent value for money. Versatility is assured with features such as (1) stepless color temperature control over a wide range, (2) stepless output level control, (3) diffuser panel to improve light quality by significantly reducing brightness, and (4) barn doors as light modifiers to spread the beam. Build quality is excellent, especially for the price. The diffusion panel reduces light intensity significantly: with the light meter 1 meter from the panel, full power and the selected color temperature of 5600°K, the light intensity dropped by about 800 lux from around 1230 to 430 after the panel was installed. Of course, this assumes that the cheap light meter I have is accurate. The downsides I've found are mostly minor, and I'm only deducting 1 star from the overall rating for the ease of use of the diffuser plate. Portability is excellent, aided by the zippered semi-rigid case. Battery life has yet to be evaluated, but some NP-F750/770 5800mAh batteries will not provide more than an hour of power when possible. However, it's probably pretty good considering the light output. Cons: 1) No hex wrench for thumbscrews used to install/remove barn doors. A benign oversight and almost everyone would have the required Allen key, but the manufacturer shouldn't assume this and it's cheap enough to provide. The star is not deducted. 2) The barn doors fold neatly and evenly, but the inner pair closes in such a way that there is little room to easily slide a finger underneath to open them. A raised tab molded in plastic would solve this problem, but a piece of tape to create an edge tab or pull tab solves this problem. Stars are not deducted. 3) The remote control app function is good and works well, but requires a dedicated Wi-Fi connection provided by the light bar. So if the smartphone used needs to be connected to Wi-Fi for another purpose, this is not possible unless the smartphone used by the application is shared and the functionality of the application is lost. This is probably not a common problem, if the cellular connection can still provide an internet connection then no asterisk will be deducted. 4) The diffuser plate is held firmly between two channeled slots and essentially needs to be pulled out by bending outwards in the center until it releases. Once detached, it can be reattached in a bent position to make it easier to remove if necessary, but then the barndoors will not close fully. There has to be a better way to insert/remove the panel including the ease of doing so with barn doors in place. A usability issue that deserves a one-star deduction from the rating. From another video review of the 520 lightbar that I saw, the two retractable "latches" on the lightbar's frame are designed to hold the diffuser plate in place, with the large lugs protruding over the edge of what work a little easier. The 560AS has similar retractable latches, referred to as "Soft Diffusion Locking Knobs" in the user manual, but the supplied panel doesn't work with them at all, so their purpose wasn't clear to me at the time of making my video. .Overall, the price-performance ratio remains excellent despite the problems mentioned.