Welcome to our ultimate Godox SLB60W review that we have decided to publish after covering so many entry-level, budget-friendly lights on our blog and noticing a distinct lack of reviews for the higher price point lights out there. Depending on the budget you are working with, we would guess most of our readers would class the SLB60W as a higher price point or potentially upper mid-range priced point light and decided it was a great light to review.
Now, if you have done any research on the SLB60W prior to reading this article, you probably already know that the SLB60W holds a well deserved, excellent reputation within both the photography and videography community and we only think this will continue to grow over the coming months and years. On top of this, the light is getting more and more coverage on social media pages, niche forums, and sites like YouTube too helping it grow in popularity at a quicker pace.
Anyway, we felt that we would publish our own review as our regular readers will know we are big fans of Godox and the kit they produce. We hope that this article will help any of our regular readers who are considering adding this light to their collection of camera accessories as well as anyone who finds out blog via Google or social media too.
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User Interface And Control System
Just like the previous generations of the higher end Godox lighting units, the majority of the controls of the SLB60W is done via the LCD panel on the side of the lighting unit in the image above. Thankfully, the control system is very easy to pick up while also allowing you to get the most out of your lighting unit even if you are brand new to the Godox system.
Some of the competing higher end lights have pretty confusing navigation menus that we personally feel are a nightmare. Its almost as if the manufacturers have intentionally made their menu systems confusing in an attempt to make their lighting units seem to be able to do more than they can or something. Thankfully, this is not an issue with the SLB60W and the system is very easy to use and if you are brand new to lighting units you will quickly pick it up without having to waste your time.
The backlit LCD panel is clear and easy to see even in low light conditions making it ideal to tweak your settings mid-session if you don’t want to have to turn the main lights back on in your studio. The screen also shows a constant temperature reading for the light when in use allowing you to keep an eye on how you are doing temperature wise while also allowing you to plan when the internal fan will kick in to cool the light back down but we will touch on this more later in the article.
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The actual navigation menu allows you to easily set the unit to any of the 6 groups available if you are using multiple SLB60Ws while also giving you full control over the light intensity output. On top of this, the Bowens mount on the light is well built and makes it extremely easy to put a softbox or any other accessory that you may need on the light too.
Just like all other modern lights at this price point in the market, the Godox SLB60W supports various wireless protocols allowing you to control the light via the included wireless remote or the free Godox A1 smartphone app too. The phone app has been designed very well and makes pairing your light to the app very easy while offering a very quick and easy method of tweaking the performance of the light too.
If you are doing any kind of video-based work with your SLB60W then the easy wireless control systems it offers are a total godsend. There are countless nightmare stories of some of the smartphone apps from other popular brands locking users out of their lighting units mid-session and causing problems but the A1 app has a solid reputation since Godox ironed out its initial bugs.
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Performance And Functionality
Without a doubt, our favorite part of the Godox SLB60W is the excellent performance and reliable functionality that it offers you for a fair price. Godox has built on their experience from the previous light unit models they have released as well as taken constructive feedback from the community onboard when designing the SLB60W resulting in a great little LED lighting system.
On top of this, it is also pretty versatile too as you are able to use the SLB60W as a main photography studio light, a stable light, a video light, as a source of continuous lighting, as a source of soft lighting, and in a number of other situations too. The performance of the light is also solid no matter what role you decide to use it in too. This lets you use your light in a number of situations rather than having to spend additional money to pick up specialist lights.
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The LED light has a color temperature or 5500k that is close to daylight making it great for balancing and off-camera lighting. The constant power output also results in no annoying flickering when you are using higher frame rates on your camera that can be a problem with some other lighting units.
The 60W LED Bulbs guarantee high light brightness constantly during use rather than that annoying, random dimming problem that some older generation lights had. The longer life tech in the LEDs on the SLB60W also means that they come with a listed use life of 50,000 hours but in reality, we feel that they will be able to last longer than this without issue. With a color rendering index of over 93 the light does an excellent job of authentically illuminating objects and your subject too.
The when used in battery-powered mode the lithium battery helps to provide excellent battery life with minimal overheating issues and is a popular way to power the lighting unit. That said, as you would expect, it does also support external power cables and performs just as well when jacked into a wall socket too.
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Build Quality
One of the main issues we have with LED lighting, even at this price point is a shoddy build quality as it is the easiest way for manufacturers to try and cut corners to save on costs. Thankfully though, Godox have done an excellent job of designing and putting the SLB60W together resulting in a great light that is small, lightweight, robust and actually feels expensive rather than having that cheap plastic feel.
Although most of the body of the light is made from plastics, they are high quality, lightweight, and very robust giving you peace of mind that the light will be able to take any bumps during use without breaking. The plastic casing also does a solid job of allowing any generated heat to easily dissipate from the light to keep it cool during use.
If the light does start to overheat then a warning and the core temperature of the light will be displayed on the LCD screen and smartphone app. When this happens, the internal cooling fan will kick in to help cool the light and prevent any damage. Now, this is the only negative feature that we could find with the light. The fan is a little loud and if you are planning to use your Godox SLB60W for video-based work within Ten feet of your microphone then the sound of the fan will be on your audio track.
We have seen a few people share ways that you are able to prevent the internal fan kicking in to prevent this but we would not recommend that you do this. The fan is programmed to activate at preset internal temperatures to help prevent damage to the light and there are much easier ways to limit the chance of contaminating your audio track.
If possible, you can simply keep an eye on the temperature reading on the LCD screen on the light and take a little break if it heats up too quickly. We have also seen a number of people report that cheap soundproofing boards can help totally remove the contamination of your audio track too. Finally, depending on your location, the fan may not even kick in unless you are using the lighting system for extended use as it comes with premium heatsink technology to help quickly dissipate any heat generated anyway.
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FAQs
Question – What is the light brightness range of the SLB60W?
Answer – The light offers a standard brightness range of 10%~100%.
Question – What is the standard operating temperature of the Godox SLB60W?
Answer – 50℃/122F but keep in mind that this is the internal core temperate after the efforts of both the premium heatsink technology and the cooling fan. This means the external ambient temperature of the light can be higher than this. The manual also clearly states that the SLB60W has been tested and works at 70C/158F too.
Question – How many groups and channels does the SLB60W support?
Answer – The light supports 6 groups and 16 channels.
Third Party Reports
If you are seriously considering picking up the Godox SLB60W then we feel it is worth the watch as the lighting system is pretty pricey and the video is less than Ten minutes long. That said, if you are in a rush then we have covered the majority of his points in our article.
Our Verdict
That brings our Godox SLB60W Review to an end and we feel that this is an excellent light source that clearly stands head and shoulders above the competing LED lights at this price point and will make an excellent addition to your camera accessories. Its performance and build quality are both excellent and it also has a fair price tag. As we mentioned, the only real downside of the light is the slightly loud fan but this will probably not be an issue for most of our readers.
If you are looking to add to your lighting rig then the SLB60W is definatley worth considering. It is clear why it managed to earn its excellent reputation within the community so quickly and has managed to maintain its reputation from release till this day. All in all, Godox have smashed the ball out of the park and produced an excellent bit of kit.
Click Here To Read Independent Third Party Reviews Of This Product!
