Zhiyun Molus G60 Review – Portable Professional Studio Light

The portable bag accompanying the pocket lights offers a solution to the challenges of everyday transportation and storage. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, the bag boasts an elegant design. Its outer layer is crafted from durable Oxford cloth, and a convenient zipper is incorporated on the side. The front proudly displays the distinctive Zhiyun logo, while a sturdy handle is positioned on the top for effortless carrying. Inside, the bag features cushioning sponge compartments, effectively separating various items such as pocket lights, handle batteries, mini lampshades, and power adapters, ensuring secure placement and easy organization.

The Zhiyun MOLUS G60 Pocket Light offers two power options for convenience. It can be powered either through a 120W power adapter or via a USB-C interface. The standard power adapter has an output voltage and current of 24V/5.0A, providing a total output power of 120W. However, due to its large and heavy design and the requirement of a 220V power input, the power adapter is not ideal for outdoor shooting as it lacks portability. Therefore, it is typically left behind when shooting on location.

The G60 boasts a remarkably compact design, with a volume that closely resembles that of a 330ml bottle of Coke. This site is incredibly small, almost unimaginable for a device of its capabilities. Additionally, the lightweight body of the G60 weighs less than 300 grams, making it exceptionally convenient to carry around. Its portability allows users to effortlessly take it with them wherever they go, ensuring easy access to its functionalities at all times.

Accessories

For this series of compact film and television lights, conventional lamp body accessories are not suitable, and they will feel top-heavy. Zhiyun has already considered it at the beginning of development and simultaneously launched the ZY bayonet of its own lights. The operation is simple and stable and can be realized with one hand.

Mini Softbox (ZY Mount)

Currently, there is a limited selection of light control accessories specifically designed for the Zhiyun ZY mount. As a result, many photographers and videographers rely on softboxes for their lighting needs. Softboxes for the ZY mount follow the familiar structure of traditional Bowens mounts. They include umbrella support, reflective cloth, and soft light cloth, providing various options for light control. Additionally, the outermost layer of the softbox can be customized by attaching egg trays, which further enhances light control capabilities. Moreover, the diffuser of the softbox is well-suited to the shape of the ZY mount lamp body, ensuring an optimal fit and performance.

The diffuser adopts a quick installation and quick-release structure. You only need to hold the handles on both sides and press the bayonet inward to open it. When recycling, you only need to gently turn the bayonet, and the umbrella support will naturally relax.

Dome Diffusion (Silicone softball)

Zhiyun no longer uses the traditional umbrella-style soft light ball but uses silicone material, which makes the scattering of light more obvious. It can be used to shape the ambient light in large scenes. The gaze light appears.

The storage of the soft light ball is also very simple, and the storage can be completed by making a concave inward. It should be noted that before storing the soft light ball, it needs to be removed from the lamp body, otherwise, the internal air cannot be discharged and it is inconvenient to store; In addition, the light cannot be turned on in the storage state. At this time, the diffuser is too close to the light body, and there is a risk of burning if used for a long time.

Bowens Mount Adaptor A (ZY Mount)

If you feel that there are too few light control accessories for the ZY mount, Zhiyun also provides a second rotation, that is, Bowens to ZY mount accessories, which can be used with all Bowens mount light control accessories, and the bottom is also With an umbrella hole, the user’s needs can be met to the greatest extent.

In the process of turning from the smallmouth to the big mouth, there is a structure that uses metal materials to reflect and concentrate light, so that the light can retain a high illuminance when entering the light control accessories of the Bowens bayonet.

Performance Test

As a studio light, the light quality is the most important thing. Next, we will start with the most intuitive illuminance to see how the luminous power of MOLUS G60.

Illumination Test

We put the illuminance meter at a distance of one meter from the G60, tested the illuminance of the lights at three color temperatures of 2700K, 5600K, and 6500K under the premise of full power and bare lights, and then installed the attached standard cover. Test the illuminance under these three color temperatures respectively.

Through these six sets of data, it can be concluded that at a color temperature of 6500K, the illumination of G60 is the highest, and the naked lamp can reach 2830Lux, and it can reach 15000Lux after adding a standard cover. At a distance of one meter, this illumination is enough to cope with most scenes. It can also be used as the main light in some scenes.

Heat Dissipation Capability Test

In order to ensure heat dissipation, Zhiyun G60 adopts an active heat dissipation solution, placing the silent fan on the right side of the back of the machine. Zhiyun G60 achieved high-power and lightweight design, which has a relatively large test for heat dissipation; Zhiyun uses an electronic back pressure cooling system, which can achieve strong heat dissipation; it can be simply understood that Zhiyun has put the stabilizer on the stabilizer for many years. The advanced attitude algorithm is distributed to the light cooling structure, and through the hardware attitude feedback, the effect of accurately cooling each part is achieved.

After turning on the full power of MOLUS G60 for 30 minutes, we tested their heat generation, mainly for the heat of the lamp bead part, the side, and the top.

It can be seen from the test that under full power, the heating temperature of the lamp body is well controlled, but it is still necessary to wait for the lamp bead to cool down before replacing the light control accessories during use, otherwise, it is easy to be burned by the glass in front of the lamp bead. There is no obvious hot feeling with the side.

Power Consumption/Power Test

Power consumption is an important factor for the light to strike a balance between battery life and luminous power, and it is also the battery life during outdoor shooting. We use POWER-Z to test the power supply power of MOLUS G60.

The G60 can achieve a maximum input voltage and current of 20V 3A, thereby achieving an input power of 60 watts. The value in the test is also relatively close, but it should be noted that if the power supply uses a low-power PD fast charge, the G60 will only It can achieve 92% luminous power, and can only run at full power under 100W PD fast charging.

Real Shooting Experience

The use scenarios of the MOLUS G60 are relatively rich. If they are placed in the live broadcast room, you can turn on the live broadcast room mode, then they will be turned on automatically when the power is turned on, and the parameters that were turned off last time will be retained. This design can greatly speed up the operation process of the live broadcast room! and also It can be seen that Zhiyun has made a more in-depth understanding of this scene! because after the live broadcast room is over, some lights with fixed angles (such as ceiling lights and wall background lights) are difficult to turn off individually! and can only be turned off by plugging in the power supply.

After the power is turned off, it still needs to be removed and turned on separately after the second power-on. The design of the live room mode greatly speeds up the use efficiency.

However, it should be noted that the live room mode can only be used under a DC power supply! and it is not supported under the Type-C power supply state.

MOLUS G60 is more portable when shooting outdoors. The traditional 300-watt light-carrying bag can hold the G60 light, mobile power supply, power cord, and all light control accessories. None of these lamps has a lamp bead protective cover, so a cushion protection sponge is still needed during movement.

We took it to the shooting of the cafe scene, and the G60 played a very important role in shooting some empty shots of coffee products. It can easily move the light position and choose better light and shadow effects. It can be placed easily and is bright enough to overwhelm the surrounding lighting for a pleasing light ratio.

The illumination of the cafe itself is relatively dark, and the warm-color light source that is comfortable for the human eye is relatively dark for the camera. We use the G60 as the ambient light source, which can easily brighten the entire background, thanks to the high illumination And soft light accessories, the light coming out at this time will not appear abrupt, and the aperture does not need to be opened to a large size to obtain a clear picture.

Indoor & Outdoor Test

So whether these two film and television light products can bring excellent studio light in the actual use process, we selected the shopping mall, and the technology video live broadcast room to simulate indoor, outdoor, and live broadcast shooting scenes and conduct tests respectively.

In the indoor test scene, both Zhiyun MOLUS G60 and Zhiyun MOLUS X100 can fill in the light on the model’s face to eliminate the dark side of the face. With the handheld at the bottom of the light, a two-person photography team can complete the high-quality shooting requirements during the live broadcast of the shop and indoor photography.

During the indoor environment test, we chose the Zhiyun MOLUS G60 with lower power as the test object. By adjusting the color temperature of the light to 2700K! which is close to the ambient light, and adjusting the brightness to 12%! we achieved the above effects. What needs to be added here is that Zhiyun’s two lamps can even change the color temperature of the light within the range when the brightness is at 100%. Especially when filling light at close range indoors! it is recommended to avoid turning on the lamp facing the subject as much as possible. If the brightness value of the lamp exceeds 30% before shutting down! the strong light will irritate the subject’s eyes and affect the shooting effect. Next, let us experience the changes in shooting effects brought about by using Zhiyun MOLUS G60 in indoor scenes through a set of samples.

In the top light shooting environment, we chose to fill in the light from the model’s front. As can be seen from the comparison proofs, the built-in soft light shade can bring excellent facial light effects. After the light is filled, the subject’s face in the picture is evenly illuminated! and the contours of the face retain a sense of three-dimensionality and layering.

The outdoor shooting environment is actually more dependent on the brightness of the lamps. Here we choose the Zhiyun MOLUS X100 for testing. Through actual shooting, it is found that this film and television light product has excellent performance in terms of brightness and mobility, and has a long battery life! which can help photographers calmly deal with strong light environments. In addition, the design of the battery handle allows the photographer to take care of both shooting and lighting at the same time. For personal photographers and commercial photographers! this fills light product can be used as a substitute for fill light equipment to a certain extent.

Taken together, Zhiyun MOLUS G60 and Zhiyun MOLUS X100 both perform well in terms of brightness. In addition, the adjustable color temperature can be freely adjusted according to different shooting scenes. The two fill light products not only provide fun shooting but also provide more shooting possibilities! making commercial photo shooting possible. The difference is that Zhiyun MOLUS X100 can provide stronger brightness! and can illuminate the dark area of the subject in outdoor strong light scenes, and bring rich layered picture effects.

Through continuous testing in the live test scene, we found that Zhiyun MOLUS G60 and Zhiyun MOLUS X100 both have the ability of silent heat dissipation. After the heat of the fill light increases! the cooling fan will automatically turn on, and it is difficult to detect the noise caused by the fan rotation even around the light source! which can effectively reduce the impact of the noise of the radiator on the sound reception. Thanks to Zhiyun’s electronic back pressure heat dissipation system! it can adaptively adjust the heat dissipation wind speed according to different temperatures! so that these two small-volume film and television lights can achieve high power while bringing efficient and durable heat dissipation performance.

In addition, the two products can also support APP networking and multi-light joint debugging function. In the live broadcast scene, the light can be turned on with one button, providing convenient on-site operation! and only one person can handle the professional lighting needs.

The difference is that Zhiyun MOLUS X100 has a stable output capability in the live broadcast environment scene. In terms of design, the design of the Zhiyun MOLUS X100 battery handle can bring more power supply options. Friends who do live broadcasts often encounter problems such as insufficient power interface! the unstable voltage at the live broadcast site, unstable network signal, etc. Zhiyun MOLUS X100 provides a stable power supply for a long time to deal with emergencies.

Night Scene Test

One of the locations for this shooting was in the tunnel (the traffic flow in the tunnel is heavy! The shooting time is early in the morning, and there are few vehicles! but you still need to pay attention to the traffic)! we prepared a handful of roses and red wine for the model lady As a prop! take a group of Hong Kong retro-style photos. Since the maximum power of the power bank is limited and cannot reach 60 watts, it needs to be close to the model, but in order to prevent the light from being too harsh, we stuck the softbox on the ZY bayonet to make a soft light effect. The color temperature of the G60 is adjusted to 2700k to add yellow light to the model’s skin color! making it not too dim and blending with the ambient light.

The railing next to the road is a very classic and commonly used scene when taking portraits. This time we also have railings in the tunnel. We asked the model to pose next to the railing. It happened that a motorcycle boy was also carrying a rose in front of him. I rode it and successfully captured it.

Let the model lady turn around and put her hand on the railing! use the hair of the girl who is lighting up the light as the foreground, and take a soft light effect! then let the model turn around and lean on the railing! using the lights and railings in the tunnel as a guideline, Shooting the profile of the model.

When shooting portraits, some photographers use oblique composition! but we need to pay attention to the posture and eyes of the model when shooting with oblique composition. The common method is to compose obliquely with the eyes of the model as the horizontal direction. Another situation is the background It is not so important and the subject is in person. You can try to use oblique composition, which will not affect the look and feel.

Then let the model sit on the roadside curb, and spread the roses on the ground in a messy way! hold a red wine glass, pose in a lazy state, and pose! lower the camera position, and take pictures at a low angle.

Accessories Test

The accessories that come with it or a complete set of barrels can shoot a lot of subjects. The adapter ring for Bowens mount can make use of your previous Bowens mount accessories. In short, in some respects, the Zhiyun MOLUS G60 is quite worthwhile.

The original accessories are very interesting to take pictures of small things on the desktop. The small size can be easily placed on the desktop, and the light control is more concentrated. Both the selfie stick and the small tripod can form a ceiling lighting system. Of course, if you want to use I only need to use the adapter ring for my existing Bowens mount accessories, which is also very convenient. The fill light with a maximum power of 60W can shoot many subjects. As a daily fill light, it is still very ideal.

ZY VEGA APP

A major pain point of using LED lights is that after setting up the light stand and angle! suddenly found that the brightness and color temperature need to be adjusted! and the light stand is too high to reach. In the past, the remote control was used for remote control! but the remote control of Zhiyun MOLUS G60 The solution adopts an APP, through ZY VEGA APP! Multiple G60s can be grouped to adjust the color temperature and brightness uniformly. The lamp and mobile phone are connected by Bluetooth, which has a wide control range and stable connection.

The following video was shot by me using ZY VEGA to control the brightness and color temperature of the light. In the past, I would have to stand on a stool and manually operate it. If I was not careful, the light stand would shake, or I would use keyframes to adjust it in post-production. But now using this APP allows me to sit behind the camera while monitoring the screen while operating! and it also saves time in post-production.

Conclusion

Zhiyun has revolutionized the realm of lightweight professional lighting equipment with the introduction of its latest product! the Zhiyun MOLUS G60, following the success of their previous model, the Fiveray M40. Building upon the key features of its predecessor, the MOLUS G60 maintains its lightweight construction and exceptional mobility.

In addition to these inherent qualities, the MOLUS G60 boasts a variable lampshade design! an array of accessories, impressive brightness, and stable performance! and an innovative APP function. These advancements provide the Studio light with enhanced versatility! enabling it to effortlessly adapt to various scenarios such as commercial photo shoots, and video filming! and live broadcasting. By mitigating the challenges associated with acquiring professional-level shots! this lighting equipment minimizes the need for a team, allowing a single individual to proficiently handle the professional light.

The arrival of Zhiyun’s MOLUS series has successfully addressed the longstanding issue of unwieldy outdoor shooting gear. This breakthrough alleviates the burden of physically carrying heavy equipment! freeing up the author’s energy to be fully dedicated to the art of shooting! rather than being exhausted by the logistics of equipment transportation.

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