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Logitech launched two new equipment designed for content material creators – a brand new pro-grade Blue Sona microphone that’s designed to make you sound higher for podcast creators and voiceover artists in addition to a brand new Litra Beam sensible lighting system that may assist elevate your aesthetics as you hop in your digicam for streaming and video conferencing.
Each creative-centric equipment primarily flip your private home, house workplace, or recreation room into an expert studio with out including an excessive amount of price on to your finances, and when utilized in tandem, the Blue Sona and Litra Beam will make you look and sound your finest within the period of digital meetups and collaborations. The Blue Sona is a simple microphone that does its job with finesse and ease within the audio division, leaving the Litra Beam because the much more attention-grabbing accent to have launched throughout the international well being pandemic – we’ll focus our impressions on the Litra Bream for this assessment.
Logitech Litra Beam: Value, availability, and specs
Logitech’s Litra Beam is a key mild that is designed for streamers and video conferencing. The $99 lighting resolution comes with a light-weight beam that homes the LED beneath a custom-designed frameless diffuser the place the lighting depth might be adjusted in addition to the colour temperature.
| Coloration temperature vary | 2700K – 6500K |
| Brightness | 320 lumens |
| Mild rendering index | 93 CRI; excessive R9 worth |
| Lens | Precision optics lens |
| Diffuser | Proprietary frameless diffuser |
| Mounting | Three 1⁄4-20 mount factors |
| Dimensions (totally prolonged, with stand) | 7.07 x 17.6 x 2.4 inches (178 x 448 x 61mm) |
| Port/Energy supply | USB 3.1 gen 2 port or 5V 1.4A USB energy adapter for max brightness |
The Beam, together with Logitech’s newest Blue Sona studio high quality microphone, is offered as we speak by way of the corporate’s on-line retailer in addition to by way of main retailers. The Logitech Blue Sona retails for $349.
Logitech Litra Beam: Design
The Litra Beam is a stream mild with a modular three-piece design that’s made for optimum versatility, permitting you to connect the parts collectively and angle the sunshine in plenty of completely different positions. The parts on this modular design embrace a weighted base, a vertical stand with a pivotable head that accommodates a tripod screw, and an extended mild beam – therefore the product’s identify. All of the components are available in a matte black end, giving the Litra Beam an understated aesthetic that may mix in effectively with your private home or workplace decor, and the minimalist design makes you – relatively than the software – the main target of your expertise. I appreciated the muted design of the Litra Beam.
By way of the sunshine beam itself, the design mimics the general simplicity of the product. Within the entrance, you’ll discover a white mild lens cowl that’s designed to assist diffuse the lighting impact, which Logitech claims will result in a smooth, even mild that eliminates harsh shadows. On one finish of the beam is certainly one of three tripod mounting factors, the place you may both connect the beam to the included stand or use a tripod of your personal. The opposite two mounting factors are positioned on the the rear heart and backside heart of the beam. On the rear, there are a selection of buttons, which provides you {hardware} entry to energy on the sunshine, alter the temperature controls, handle the Litra Beam’s brightness, and in addition pair the Litra Beam to your PC or Mac for extra software program management.
The mix of {hardware} and software program management makes the Litra Beam very versatile, because the Beam may be plugged in to your desktop or laptop computer for energy – there isn’t a built-in battery, so that you’ll want an influence supply of some sort – or plug the sunshine right into a wall outlet if you happen to’re inserting the unit additional away out of your pc.
A USB-C port can also be positioned on the rear of the Beam. Logitech features a 6.5-foot USB-C to USB-A cable that’s sufficiently lengthy sufficient to attach the Beam to a close-by PC, however you’ll must spend money on an extended cable or a USB-C to USB-C cable if you happen to want to place the Beam additional at an extra distance or when you have a extra fashionable setup that lacks the ageing USB-A port.
Although all the unit is basically constructed of matte plastic, the key attachment factors are strengthened with metallic, and this could assist with long-term sturdiness. I did not thoughts the plastic construct high quality, as not like with a laptop computer, the Litra Beam is one thing that I am not grabbing or touching on a regular basis. The weighty base does give it a extra premium really feel, however I do want Logitech did extra to raise the development of the Litra Beam, like utilizing aluminum within the development.
Assembling the unit collectively is an easy, tool-free affair. A thumb-screw on the underside facet of the bottom is used to screw on the stand. The stand itself is adjustable, and might prolong if wanted. Lastly, you’ll want to swivel on the beam onto the metallic pivotable tripod mount of the stand as the ultimate piece in assembling the lighting unit.
As a result of there are three mounting factors on the Beam, you may select which one to make use of primarily based on the dimensions of your desk or workspace and the way you need the lighting impact to indicate on digicam. For example, attaching the Beam utilizing the mounting level on the top to the stand would provide you with a design that resembles Dyson’s Mild Cycle Activity Mild.
For cable administration, Logitech inbuilt clips to the rear facet of the beam and alongside the again facet of the stand to maintain issues organized, and groves on the underside of the weighted base lets you wrap the cable beneath.
My singular criticism in regards to the Litra Bream, if I’m nitpicking, is that there is no such thing as a approach to utterly fold down the sunshine beam portion onto the stand – offered that the far tripod mounting level on the Beam was used as an attachment level – to stow the unit method properly when not in use. However this actually isn’t a significant draw back as a result of I discovered that for the instances once I wasn’t utilizing the Litra Beam for its supposed objective, I used to be additionally ready to make use of it as a job lamp.
The 320 lumens of most brightness generated by the Litra Beam is greater than enough for working at evening, which illuminated my desk with ample mild for studying and writing notes. And if I turned down the brightness, the unit served as an awesome ambient mild supply whereas I’m engaged on my PC.
Logitech Litra Beam: Efficiency
For most individuals, a single Litra Beam is greater than ample to convey higher lighting to your video streams, however extra superior customers can pair two or extra Beams collectively to create much more dramatic lighting results.
{Hardware} controls on the Beam permit you 5 adjustable brightness and colour temperature settings, whereas further software program controls offers you stepless changes. In the event you choose to go along with the extra robustly customizable software program route, you’ll need to obtain Logitech’s G Hub software, which is offered for Home windows PCs and macOS techniques.
I examined the G Hub software program on my M1-powered MacBook Professional, and the method of pairing the Litra Beam to the laptop computer was seamless. As soon as the software program is downloaded, you may must activate the Bluetooth on the Beam by urgent down on the Bluetooth button. From there, you may pair the Beam to your PC, give it a reputation to assist establish the right lighting unit if you happen to’re working with multiple, and achieve granular changes to settings like brightness and colour temperature, which ranges from 2700K to 6500K, starting from heat candlelight to a brighter, bluer mild. In the event you go for the software program route, it can save you your presets so you may entry them later if you happen to want.
Primarily based on the Coloration Rendering Index (CRI) scale of 100, the Litra Beam scored a 93%, in keeping with numbers revealed by Logitech. Because of this the beam can reproduce pure colours precisely with its mild supply when put next towards daylight. The excessive CRI worth locations makes the Litra Beam aggressive towards Elgato’s Key Mild, which scored 94%, and effectively forward of Razer’s Ring Mild, which was marketed with a rating of larger than 80%.
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The corporate additionally claims that it has a excessive R9 worth for rendering good pores and skin tones.
“Pure Pores and skin Tones radiant look,” Logitech’s executives defined throughout a name with Home windows Central. “We’ve a really excessive CRI, and a giant a part of it’s there are 15 colour bands measured in CRI that render colours from white mild. The upper the quantity, the extra correct colours are rendered. Important to that’s the R9 9 band, which is pink [and] truly has a reflectance of 600 nanometers. [This] means it penetrates the pores and skin – it reveals blood circulation. Most LED bulbs would not have an excellent R9 worth; due to this fact individuals will look pale or pasty. That is one thing we actually labored on in order that we now have actually correct pores and skin tones – infinite artistic potentialities.”
In my informal check utilizing the Litra Beam for FaceTime calls on my Mac and iPhone, Zoom and Google Meet calls on my desktop, and Microsoft Groups conferences on my Samsung Galaxy S22 Extremely Android telephone, I discovered Logitech’s claims to carry true. My pores and skin tone was maintained with the sunshine on, whereas competing ring mild or key mild options might typically both over brighten my face or give it a darker, uneven tone.
And when evaluating the general design of the white diffuser cowl of the Litra Beam to different key mild options, the good half is that you do not see the unpleasant electronics or unattractive bulbs glowing beneath. Other than aesthetics, functionally, this results in a way more even lighting resolution coming from the Litra Beam, and there aren’t any drops of brightness that may solid ghostly shadows.
To realize that even lighting impact, Logitech designed the sunshine across the digital board, which the corporate known as the Mild Engine. The LED bulbs are mounted on the board, and a wide range of completely different LEDs are used.
“Some are extra amber, some are vivid white, and the mix of that’s what provides us the Kelvin vary of colour temperature vary,” the corporate defined in regards to the combination of various kinds of LED bulbs that comprise the Litra Beam.
A reflector layer is positioned on, which displays and bounces the lights in all completely different instructions. Logitech explains this as “mixing the sunshine” so that you gained’t discover any distinction in colour temperatures throughout all the Beam. The reflector layer additionally helps conceal the bulbs neatly inside, so every particular person bulb doesn’t present by way of. All the pieces is capped off with a diffuser, which helps distribute the sunshine easily and evenly throughout the floor.
Relying in your software, Logitech demonstrated that the Litra Beam can be utilized to create various kinds of lighting results and illuminations.
Entrance lighting, which may be achieved by shining the beam in entrance of your face, supplies even lighting with none shadows alongside the face, is among the many hottest model of lighting impact. Although it’s the least dramatic of the lighting methods, it’s the popular model for net calls, and the impact is just not not like having a hoop mild instantly in entrance of you.
A second model that was showcased was cut up lighting, which illuminates half the face and casts a shadow on the opposite half for a Phantom of the Opera model. This is without doubt one of the extra dramatic lighting types, and the cut up lighting brings out extra particulars and textures. Cut up lighting may be achieved by shining the sunshine on one facet of the face. To get the specified cut up lighting impact, you’ll need to mount the Litra Beam at a 90-degree angle vertically and place the sunshine so it is shining on the facet of the face.
Butterfly lighting is the third model of lighting that was popularized by Paramount studios for its movie scenes. The lighting comes from an angle above, and it’s given the identify for the reason that impact creates a butterfly-shaped shadow beneath the nostril. The lighting is helpful for glamor photographs and may be helpful for magnificence influencers to intensify the cheekbones, nostril, and lips whereas creating a nice shadow beneath the nostril and chin.
And lastly, Rembrandt lighting is achieved through two lights – you’ll want two Litra Beam items – which might be angled 45 levels from above on both facet of the face. The impact is that it creates a triangle of sunshine on the cheeks beneath the eyes, resulting in a dramatic impact.
Logitech Litra Beam: The Competitors
As a key mild, the Litra Beam has loads of competitors from square-shaped key lights utilized by professionals to light up photoshoots and scenes in a video to built-in mild bars on webcams. The previous consists of rather more costly skilled gear, like Elgato’s $199 Key Mild, which may attain a brighter 2800 lumens. Although the Elgato Key Mild is brighter, it’s bulkier dimension, extra restricted colour temperature vary, and costly value makes it much less ultimate of an possibility for informal streamers and basic video calls.
And due to magnificence influencers and YouTube creators, ring lights have change into extra in style lately. Razer’s $79 Ring Mild measures 12 inches extensive, and it might be used with a desktop or for cell streaming with the included smartphone stand. The ring mild matches the Litra Beam’s colour temperature, however a bulkier tripod signifies that the setup will occupy more room on desks. Razer additionally has a extra premium $300 Key Mild Chroma, which provides a mixture of the corporate’s RGB lighting for a Hue-like impact.
For built-in all-in-one options, Razer’s Kiyo webcam comes with a built-in ring mild across the webcam lens, and Anker’s AnkerWork B600 Video Bar comes with a digicam cowl that slides up and doubles as a key mild. In the event you want a webcam improve from the built-in digicam in your laptop computer, each these options are engaging choices with their space-saving all-in-one design.
The Litra Beam, in distinction, would require separate investments in a high quality webcam, high quality microphone for streaming – Logitech’s new Blue Sona is a wonderful possibility for professionals – and devoted audio system. In comparison with different microphones available on the market, the Blue Sona’s studio high quality is immediately noticeable. This microphone actually hones in in your voice, delivering wealthy, heat audio whereas competing microphones sound a bit hole.
As a extra skilled microphone, Blue Sona depends on an XLR interface to attach along with your PC, whereas Logitech’s different microphones join utilizing only a easy USB cable.
The largest distinction, nonetheless, between these numerous lighting options and the Litra Beam is that Logitech’s lighting product has undergone strict testing to make sure that it is protected for all-day streaming. The corporate has partnered with Underwriters Laboratories to make sure that the Beam poses no photobiological hazard for as much as 12 hours of publicity, making it one of many few lighting options that is verified protected for long-term use.
Logitech Litra Beam: Must you purchase
You should purchase if …
- You are a streamer or YouTube creator who must elevate your lighting.
- You do not need to lay our a fortune on skilled studio lighting gear.
- You do not have numerous house for bigger lighting setups.
- You want a lighting resolution that is straightforward to make use of, extremely customizable, and protected to make use of for an extended length.
You should not purchase if …
- You want a lighting unit that may fold away for simple storage or journey.
Designed for creators, streamers, and distant employees continuously in use of a webcam, Logitech’s newest Litra Beam is an reasonably priced and straightforward to make use of key mild resolution that brings studio high quality lighting into houses and residential places of work. In creating the Litra Beam, Logitech was capable of miniaturize and distill the key options from dearer and bulkier studio lighting gear into a chic bundle that may sit in your desk. One of the best half about Logitech’s resolution? It is small and understated sufficient that it could actually operate as a desktop job mild when not in use for its supposed objective.
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Logitech’s Litra Beam is a flexible lighting resolution for streamers, players, and anybody who spends time in entrance of a webcam for video calls. With a discrete model that resembles a job mild, the Litra Beam can match on any desk with out trying misplaced.
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