Aputure COB300DII: Refined, Powerful, Versatile Video Light

Aputure updated their COB 300D LED single point light in some substantial ways with the COB 300D II. This new light puts out even more than the first generation COB 300D, adds a new more refined control box, removes the separate AC adapter, and adds an extremely convenient light stand quick release system. The color quality is very good for a daylight balanced LED light and the Bowens mount makes this light especially versatile. With various modifiers you can make hard or soft light with Aputure’s Light Dome, Light Dome Mini, Fresnel 2X, Barn Doors, Lantern, and soon to arrive Spotlight. Let’s take a closer look.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F8 and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Gear used and mentioned in this episode:

Aputure COB 300D II with V-Mount Battery Plates - B&H

Aputure COB 300D II with V-Mount Battery Plates - Amazon

Aputure COB 300D II with Anton Bauer Gold Mount Battery Plates - B&H

Aputure COB 120D II - Amazon

Aputure Light Dome II - Amazon

Aputure Light Dome II - B&H

Aputure Light Dome Mini II - Amazon

Aputure Light Dome Mini II - B&H:

Aputure Lantern - B&H

Aputure Barn Doors - B&H

Aputure Fresnel 2X - B&H

Aputure Fresnel 2X - Amazon

Aputure Spotlight - B&H

Sound Devices Scorpio - B&H

DPA 4017b Shotgun Microphone - B&H

Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - B&H

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - Amazon

Get a free trial of the best music for your videos at Musicbed

Copyright 2019 by Curtis Judd

Ethics statement: Some of the links above are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, or other affiliate links.

Aputure COB300d - Updated Color Filter Review

If you already own the COB300d and have not yet received the replacement color filter, fill out this form.

We reviewed the Aputure COB300d LED light for video and photography a few months ago and found it to be a very good, big light with lots of light output and *good* but not stellar color quality. Aputure received feedback on the green color fringe and color quality issues and have come up with a nice solution. For those who have purchased a COB300d, they are offering a free replacement color filter that addresses both of those problems.

My original COB 300d review:

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:

Aputure COB 300d LED Light

Aputure COB120d Light

Aputure Light Dome Soft Box - I use this for almost every interview/talking head shot

Aputure Fresnel Lens - when you need to focus the light beam and throw the light farther

Photo Basics Barn Doors - nice way to cut the light for dramatic light and shadow

Sennheiser MKH 8050 Super-cardioid Condenser Microphone

Sound Devices 633 Audio Recorder/Mixer

Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera

Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 OS ART Lens

Music licensed from Artlist: Call on Me by Kick Lee. Artlist provides high quality music tracks for your film and video projects. You can receive two months off an Artlist account by using our link.

Copyright 2018 by Curtis Judd

Aputure COB300d First Look at NAB 2017

Aputure keeps cranking out high quality, reasonably priced lighting gear and their latest announcement is for the impressive COB300d - an LED light that is roughly equivalent to a 2k tungsten. That’s a lot of light output. This one is daylight balanced (6000K) and a tungsten version will follow. All the same accessories that fit their smaller COB120 lights also fit this including the soft box, fresnel lens and other bowens mount accessories available on the market like barn doors and beauty dishes. The color quality is rated at a TLCI of 98 which is very high.

Can’t wait to get our hands on one of these for review!

When might you use a light this powerful? The first two scenarios that come to mind are though a window to simulate daylight (so you can shoot a daytime scene at night or just when you want to make it look like a different time of day) or when you want to bring the ambient light levels up in a larger space. Aiming this as the ceiling could do an impressive job lifting that ambience.

Apologies for the wild camera work. I had the clever idea to go super light without a tripod at NAB this year. Lesson learned. My brother Cary Judd was kind enough to suffer through shooting. Thanks bro!

Our Vlogging setup:
Panasonic Lumix GH5 Camera - the in-body stabilization saved us because I had the "clever" idea to travel light and not bring a tripod this year. That was a mistake but the IBIS in the GH5 did a pretty nice job!

RODE Reporter Microphone - great at managing handling noise. I didn't hear any in this recording.

RODE iXLR Audio Adapter for iPhone - Yes, recorded this audio to my iPhone. Pretty good for a phone recording on a noisy show floor.

Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm f/2.8 Lens - This is the original version of this lens. The new version is a bit pricier but evidently works even better with the GH5 to smooth out camera motion.

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Versatile Video Light: Aputure Light Storm COB 120d Daylight LED Light

In this episode, we take a look at the Aputure Light Storm COB 120d, an incredibly versatile daylight balanced LED light for video and film. Aputure has a history of finding a very nice balance between affordable pricing and quality products. The COB 120d is a perfect example of that. This is a single LED light with a Bowens S mount. This means that with some additional accessories attached to the mount, the light can be a soft light (with a softbox, scrim, or bounce board), a hard light (with a fresnel and/or barn doors attachment), or a flood light with the included reflector. Color quality is a high priority for me because I don’t have time to invest in a lot of post color correction. Fortunately, the COB 120d delivers on that front as well in our color chart tests compared to tungsten lighting (the best color rendering light source second only to the sun).

Aputure plans to begin shipping the Light Storm COB 120d in the first part of 2017