Sirui’s Dragon Series B25R
Image courtesy: Sirui

Sirui’s Dragon Series B25R bendable RGB panel light is now available. The company announced the new light a few months ago.

Bendable LED Light

Sirui claims the B25R is the world’s first bendable LED light and it’s certainly unlike anything you have seen before. The new light is a long thin panel measuring 23 inches (583 mm) in length, 3.4 inches (85 mm) wide and 1.3 inches (32.3 mm) deep. However, the B25R is actually comprised of nine articulated panels so that it can be bent inwards or outwards. This means that you can shape the light to get lighting effects that simply couldn’t be achieved with a flat panel.

Quick release design

Sirui’s Dragon Series B25R bended
Image courtesy: Sirui

The Sirui B25R bendable panel light also has a quick-release design at each end. This means that you can join several lights together to create a longer, brighter light source. In addition, it also allows you to create more complex light shapes such as a ring light with all of the light emitters on the inside. This means you can wrap the light around your subject in interesting and innovative ways. The B25R has three 1/4-inch threads for mounting.

Color accuracy

The panel light has a CRI rating of 96 and a TLCI of 98. Put simply, this means that the light will ensure that the colors in your scene will be rendered very accurately on camera. The B25R has a maximum output of 2000 lux at 1.5 feet (0.5 meters). In addition, in CCT mode, the light has a wide color temperature range from 2,700K to 8,500K. There’s also a G/M adjustment to balance the color shift from green to magenta. This is great for matching the light to other fixtures you have on set.

Full RGB color

The Sirui B25R panel has a full RGB mode where you can individually adjust red, green and blue to produce just about any color you want. There is also an FX mode that gives you access to 16 built-in lighting effects. These include police car, fire, broken bulb, TV, candle, lightning and blast for an explosion effect. In addition, you can store 10 user-programmable presets to have your preferred looks at the ready.

Other features

You can power the B25R panel via the included AC adaptor. The light also has a built-in battery plate so you can run it from an NP-F970 battery when you are out on location. You can control the B25R via the onboard buttons and small display screen. However, you can get more comprehensive control of the panel’s functions through the smartphone app. The B25R has a max power draw of 25w and weighs 2.2 pounds (960g).

What we think

The Sirui Dragon Series B25R bendable RGB panel light is an interesting fixture. It isn’t really powerful enough to be used as a key light. However, due to the small size of the light you can bend it to fit awkward spaces where other lights just wouldn’t work. It’s also great to provide a wrap-around fill light and works as a shapeable light for product photography. In addition, it’s not expensive, so it may be a fun addition to your lighting kit without breaking the bank. It’s the sort of light you probably will find more and more uses for the longer you work with it.

Availability

The Sirui Dragon Series B25R bendable RGB panel light retails at $199 for a single light and $399 for a two-light kit. The two-light kit also comes with a specially designed connector. With the connector attached, you can mount two lights on one stand for wider illumination while taking up less space on set. Sirui is offering a discounted price of $179 for the single light and $359 for the two-light kit.


Pete Tomkies is a freelance cinematographer and camera operator from Manchester, UK. He also produces and directs short films as Duck66 Films. Pete's latest short Once Bitten... won 15 awards and was selected for 105 film festivals around the world.