The Lume Cube Air VC Is the Solution to Your Photography’s Horrible Lighting

As a podcaster and someone who does a lot of video conferencing, I was looking for a solution to the dreadful lighting situations when video recording while mobile and on my laptop; then I was introduced to the Lume Cube AIR VC.

The Lume Cube Air VC Is the Solution to Your Photography's Horrible Lighting

Designed to make you look brighter (not smarter), the Lume Cube AIR VC should be every photographer’s companion, and in every live streamers gadget bag. I exclusively use the Lume Cube Air VC every week when recording our live podcast on both Instagram Live, and through Zoom so not only my co-host can see me crystal clear, but anyone watching can get a crystal clear glimpse of me recording that the eyeSight camera on my MacBook continuously fails at. Before I deep dive into the Lume Cube Air VC let’s start with some specs:

LUME CUBE AIR SPECS

Size: 1.6” x 1.6” x 1.1”

Weight: 2oz

LUX: 400 @ 1M

LED Temp: 5600K Daylight

CRI: 90 +/-

Beam Angle: 60º

Waterproof: 10M / 30Ft

Manual Settings: 4 Manual Brightness Levels and Strobe

Durable Rubberized Exterior

Wireless Bluetooth Controls via Lume-X App

Battery: Internal Non-Replaceable Lith-Ion Polymer

Charge: Micro USB

Run Time: 2.5+ Hours @ 50% Brightness (30-45min @ 100%)

Mounting: Built-In Earth Magnet (rear), Tripod Mount (Base: ¼”-20)

Control: Bluetooth and Single Button Manual Operation

SUCTION CUP MOUNT

The Suction Cup Mount allows for versatile, damage free mounting to any smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop, or home hub device. The rotating head allows for a quick and easy transition between forward facing and rear facing illumination to ensure your subject is quickly in the perfect light.

DIFFUSION BULBS FOR SOFTER & WARMER LIGHT

The included warming and softening diffusers allow for ultimate adjustability to ensure you look your best in any environment. With the ability to easily warm the light output, you can now keep that healthy vibrant look no matter where you are!

The Lume Cube Air VC Is the Solution to Your Photography's Horrible Lighting

Included in the box there’s not much including the Lume Cube Air, a suction cup mount, two diffusers (one white silicone softener and a warming silicone diffuser), and a Micro USB charging cable. While I really which companies would just embrace USB Type C to charge devices, I can see why they opted for just going with Micro USB.

The Lume Cube Air VC Is the Solution to Your Photography's Horrible Lighting

What makes the Lume Cube Air so special is the fact that it’s LED comes complete with a 5700K daylight balanced color temperature which in my case comes in handy not just for self-photography as someone who’s photos come out unbalanced due to my skin tone, but helps out when I’m taking photos of products that I review here on the site. I typically take those photos with either my Pixel 3XL or my iPhone XS Max, with the latter taking less than stellar images. Since this is the case, I use the Lume Cube AIR with my iPhone more because the companion Lume-X iOS app allows you to control brightness, lighting, and strobe speeds of the Lume Cube AIR directly through its controls.

In terms of creating content, the Lume Cube AIR is the most versatile way of getting better than good quality because not only is it tripod mountable, waterproof up to 30 feet, but has a built-in magnet so if you find yourself in a situation where you can set up your Lume Cube Air on say a fridge or pole, you don’t ever have to attach it to the device. In this case, you can use the wireless Bluetooth control to control the shutter and lighting (still with the Lume-X app) to get yourself a perfect image.

“As an innovative brand in the imaging market, we are committed to delivering valuable tools to help the growing community of content creators around the world capture stunning photos and videos,” said Riley Stricklin, co-founder at Lume Cube. “When developing the Lume Cube AIR, we made listening to our customers a priority. We wanted to ensure we fully understood their needs so that we could craft a portable lighting solution that best enables them to create quality, on-the-go content, all while at an economical cost. Based on this feedback, Lume Cube AIR has been designed as small and as sleek as possible, has a built-in magnet for more versatile mounting options, and includes multiple accessories inside the box to ensure our customers have everything needed to capture professional quality content in any environment.”

Over the past two months, I’ve enjoyed using my Lume Cube and continuously have it in my gadget bag as a necessity for content creating, as well as simple photography. The two diffusers I plan on using more as it gets warmer outside, especially with things like weddings that I will attend where lighting might be hit or miss. If you’re looking for a truly smart mobile studio for taking photos or videos, or even if you sit in less than ideal office space while recording or Skyping family and friends, the Lume Cube Air will solve the first world problem of terrible lighting. For more information, you can head over to lumecube.com today.

Source: Manufacturer supplied Review Unit

What I Like: Makes Lighting for all types of recording Better & Brighter

What Needs Improvement: Nothing

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About the Author

Greg Alston
Diehard Apple fanboy, and lover of all things tech. Born and raised in Washington, DC, Greg enjoys spending time with his wife, family, and friends, live sporting events, good bourbon, Tetris, and pizza. In that order.