I have just published the 2022 edition of “Best Flashlights for Light Painting Photography” on my website. This buying guide reviews the best flashlights, torches, cube lights, panel lights, and headlamps for light painting, night, urbex, and low level landscape lighting photography genres. Now in its 6th year, this buying guide is the most trusted source of information on flashlights for light painters, and the only buying guide that covers a wide range of light painting systems. The article will also be updated throughout 2022 when suitable new lights are released and reviewed.
Light painting use cases are very different to many other flashlight use cases (for example we like direct access to constant frequency strobes from off), so the choices may not always seem obvious. The article has also been written to appeal to a wide range of user knowledge from muggles to experts. Feedback is of course welcome!
I’ve done a very small amount of light painting and I definitely appreciate the effort you put into your photos.
The RGB Critter looks very cool, and reasonably priced. The FAQ on the product page says it has a maximum output of 170 lumens, and that’s in ‘white’ mode. Does that seem correct? One of the product videos on their YouTube channel mentioned it uses a 3W RGB emitter.
I noticed some PWM in the video, specifically during scenes with lots of fast motion or with the light shown dimming down. I’m hoping it’s not visible in person because I’d be using the light for fun as well as for photos.
I’m tempted to place a pre-order, but I might wait to hear your thoughts about it. The page says they could ship in 2-4 weeks. Do you have an ETA for your Critter?
BTW, I really like your ‘Drain Disco’ photo. I’ve done a little bit of draining and I must say that’s a really cool spot you found!
Thanks for the appreciation. I have been promised one of the first samples of the final production version of the RGB Critter, so I’m hoping that will be sent in a few weeks. I aim to complete the review within 10-14 days, but there will be a lot to review. The claim of 170 white light lumens seems realistic, but would be based on RGB emitters being all on 100%. Other RGB lights I’ve tested have been 30, 100, and 150 lumens, but the peak beam intensity is more critical as the light has to enter the light painting tool. I will post a link to the review from BLF when it is complete.
