LED Video Light, SOKANI X21 Pocket-Sized Daylight OLED Screen Build-in 1600mAh Battery Lighting Video LED for Camera DSLR Sony, Nikon, Canon, iPhone, 21 Bulbs Great for Video Vlogging Selfies

Let me start out with the good.* It is surprisingly bright for its size* It is very small, basically like a cellphone in your pocket equivalent size* It charges from micro usb* Included cold shoe mount (though for photo it is better to just hold it an arms length to the side or above)* The diffuser attaches and detaches quickly with magnets in the corners. Pretty slick.* Adjustable brightness, though it is small enough 100% is the most common settingThe bad:* The battery life indicator is worthless. I bought this for night hiking photos and video in costa rica. First hike I check the battery level and it is full, I hadn't used it after charging it a few days before, so I throw it in my pocket and head out the door. Then it doesn't turn on. Cursing I use my headlamp and get band effects (headlights pulse light). After throwing it on a charger that night after the hike it works fine again.* The diffuser should be farther from the leds to diffuse more evenly. Looking at it you can still see a grid of hotspots rather than a nice even wall of light if they had moved it a few mm farther out. It's not that bad, but it could be perfect.* Battery isn't removable or replaceable. In a few years when the battery wears out that's it, throw the light away. For longer sessions you can't hot swap batteries.* No color temperature adjustment. This really is forgivable for the size and the price, but worth mentioning that is one of the things more money and size get you. If this is your only light source than who cares, adjust it in post. But if you have other light sources it is nice to be able to match them.Overall if the battery indicator worked and the battery were removable I'd be thrilled. As it is well, it is OK for the money.

I would have loved this light if it was well made. Unfortunately the welding of the circuitry is terrible and the charge port collapsesinto the unit after a few charges. (I returned the original two that I bought and the replacement two did the same thing). Yes you read that right, four lights all ceased the ability to charge because the charge port is terrible quality. Aside from the charge port.. the buttons that power it on and control brightness also have quality issues. After minimal use the buttons collapse into the light just like the charger port. My advice is to stay away and invest in a small aperture light instead like the m9.

When I received the light I was impressed with its apparent build quality, accessories, and convenient carrying case. I charged it on Thanksgiving Day and got ready to shoot the festivities. After 3 hours of charging it did not power on. I tried charging it more and found the same result. It looks like I received a defective unit. It is rather disappointing as the light is the right size and seems solid. If it had worked I could see it fitting in well with my Sony a6000 camera and gear.

Needed a small and bright light that had an internal battery, it was obvious the two choices were this Sokani and the Aputure M9, the deciding factor for me was the ease of use with the magnetic diffuser and cto clips and included gels. I also was never a fan of how the M9 had the clip on mount, this light having the 1/4 20's built-in is also another plus. I've used it on a few shoots and the thing is a trooper, can be easily hidden and the output is just right for most scenarios. The real downfall is battery life, it only lasts for about 45 minutes of continuous use, not a problem if you remember to turn it off between setups, but if you forget this thing will die before you can turn around. The silver lining would be the USB charging, probably the easiest way to charge something on set means you can get it back up and running in no time, but it would've been nice if it had an IR remote control but for $45 dollars that's asking a lot. You honestly cannot go wrong with this light, there are lights in this price range that are bigger and brighter but they have big removable batteries, if you want something low profile you can hide and put anywhere those lights won't cut it. This is the top dog credit card light.

When charged to 100% and switched off, the Sokani x21 loses its charge in 2 or 3 days just sitting in my backpack. When it happened 1st time I decided I made a mistake and didn't switched it off. So I carefully switched off next time, put it in my bag and when tried to use it 3 days later it was dead again. Apparently it uses electricity even when switched off, which is outright poor build quality. I gave it 3 stars because when charged it functions well, gives bright enough light and is compact and solid. But this problem is very annoying.

I am just starting to up my lighting game. I wanted a small powerful light to help me get better video and pictures. For the money it seems great and look forward to using. Plenty of gels included and a handy carrying pouch. I will be buying some more when I get the chance. Highly recommended.

The light output for such a small device is fantastic. The all-metal construction gives a very premium feel and the buttons have very positive action. Add to that the all-metal hot shoe mount and practical (if not quite up to the standard of the light and mount) carry pouch and you have a product that is exceptional value for money. If you're in the market for a small, budget-friendly light to use as a hair light or backlight then this is one to consider.

The product is good, but my power button failed after 6-7 months and Sokani would not respond to a warranty claim, so I can't recommend any products by Sokani. If its outside of the 30 day return window and it breaks then you are out of luck

There are two types of light in this form factor that seem to be popular on Amazon at the moment, and the biggest decision you will probably make is between the ones with variable white balance, and the ones that come with gels.I have recently tested both; the Moman (search amazon for B07LBV73HH) and the product on this page.The problem I had with the Moman and others like it is that they have two sets of LEDs; a warm set and a cold set, and the variable white balance is achieved by slowly switching between the two. This means that only one set are at full power at either end of the colour scale, and consequently you never get the maximum available brightness.I figured something like the Sokani X21 would have a greater maximum brightness. It doesn’t; both types have the same maximum brightness.So the choice between the two falls between whether you prefer gels that allow you to choose completely different colours, or a white balance scale that lets you choose between a much smaller colour range (off white yellow to off white blue, with a pure white in the middle).The former allows you to chose colour creatively, whereas the latter lets you match the LED light to the normal range of ambient light. So other things equal, that would allow you to chose which type you select, as they cost around the same.There is one problem though; a potential build flaw.I’ve seen a fair few reviews of the Sokani X21 that suggest that the electronics are apt to fail. Mine has already started to fail to come on at times.The device has a two stage process to turn the LEDs on; long press to get the OLED at the back turned on, then you set your power and finally a quick press to turn the LEDs on/off.For me, the back OLED always comes on, but when I try to turn the LEDs on, it occasionally fails, and it requires a shake or two to get it working again. This suggests weak connection between the main control motherboard and the LED unit is the problem.The great thing about being a product reviewer is that you don't just return items when this happens; your responsibility is then to give value to others by carrying on the review to see what the issue really is, so...I opened mine to see what the problem is, and sure enough, it is how it is soldered together.There are two boards in the device; the one that you see at the front with the LEDs attached to it, and a motherboard attached to the flip-side of it it that contains the OLED display and other control electronics. The trouble is that the terminals that should connect the two are soldered *directly together* rather than via short flying leads or mounting pins. This makes the Sokani very compact, but solder used in this way can easily crack or simply disconnect from one surface if the solder was not hot enough at application (aka a dry solder).The battery *is* connected via flying leads, but the solder there looks a bit dull, again suggesting some of these may have dry solder here. That might cause you battery problems, but I don't have that.This is a shame because the overall build quality is very good if you don’t get hit by this issue. The build quality of each individual component looks to be good, its just that the final soldering looks a bit off.Not as bad as it sounds; if it works well when you get it then it will probably always work well, but be prepared to have to send one back if it starts to do weird things in the first week.So a very good LED light, but has a potential build flaw that may bite you.Unfortunately, it looks like mine is of the 'may bite you' batch!