Personal View site logo
Sokani X21 small on camera light - much better alternative to Aputure M9
  • 27 Replies sorted by
  • Our full video review

  • Didn't know that the M9 would run off USB. That might make it usable for me as the built-in battery just won't sustain constant brightness for any length of time.

  • @Firworks

    If you leave it plugged into USB and just turn it on it will eventually run dead even while plugged in.

    Useful input, will need to add to such light tests list. They really need to slightly change controller board behavior. One of reasons can be that it requires more power for leds compared to M9.

  • One thing to note about the Sokani that has hit me while using it. It doesn't draw enough power (Appears to draw ~750mA max with several different chargers and cables) from the USB connection to maintain it's power level while it is on. If you leave it plugged into USB and just turn it on it will eventually run dead even while plugged in. I was using it for a multi-hour timelapse where I just needed a little video light and it went dead a ways in. There's also a minimum power level where it is plugged in and on but the light cannot be turned on. Once it charges some the light can be turned back on. However if you turn it on when it is already low on power, it will not run for very long before it turns off again. I've used the Aputure M9 a few times since for this and it will run continuously on USB power.

  • Thermal photos

    image

    Hottest part is board inside and OLED screen

    image

    sa4236.jpg
    638 x 474 - 29K
    sa4235.jpg
    639 x 478 - 35K
  • Sokani X21 inside

    Really nice construction with alu case, nice quality board, battery is 4.07WH and could be larger.

    image

    Board with leds

    Vent holes are quite small.

    image

    Battery - not bad, but could be slightly larger capacity

    image

    Main board

    Very nice soldering and overall quality and design.

    image

    sa4225.jpg
    800 x 428 - 59K
    sa4226.jpg
    800 x 481 - 29K
    sa4229.jpg
    800 x 603 - 93K
    sa4228.jpg
    800 x 893 - 116K
  • Sokani PWM at around 50%

    image

    PWM Frequency is 10Khz

    Sokani PWM at 100% (battery at not at full fresh charge)

    image

    You can see that controller drives leds at maximum always.

    See above that controller CAN keep output level properly.

    Sokani PWM at around 10%

    image

    sa4112.jpg
    800 x 414 - 36K
    sa4113.jpg
    800 x 359 - 25K
    sa4114.jpg
    800 x 426 - 35K
  • @eatstoomuchjam That's good news. Sounds like plenty of fine tuning ability for most situations where you may need something this size.

  • @mee - 99 or 100, I suppose. The screen on the back shows the current power as a percentage (though I haven't tried going lower than 50% so it might not go all the way to 0 - and I wouldn't be surprised if the lights showed some flicker at lower percentages).

  • nice light, especially the part about it keeping it's brightness level. How many increments are there for the brightness buttons?

  • Spectrum and CRI

    Sokani X21 (Daylight), Measurement using CV600, Russian Lab processing

    We cover spectrum, color temperature, and all modern color quality standards, including latest 2016 and 2017 years ones.

    Never select light based on just CRI number.

    Focus on TM30 and CIE 224 and look for color distortion and Rf values.

    Sokani X21 is good light with light quality suitable for videos.

    image

    Color temperature

    image

    CRI color quality

    image

    CQS color quality

    image

    TLCI 2012

    image

    TM30 color quality

    image

    TM30 details

    image

    image

    All TM30 color samples Rf values

    image

    CIE 224 2017

    image

    image

    Support us to see more info like this - https://www.patreon.com/personal_view

    sa4125.jpg
    799 x 470 - 35K
    sa4126.jpg
    800 x 405 - 56K
    sa4127.jpg
    728 x 535 - 55K
    sa4128.jpg
    716 x 454 - 55K
    sa4129.jpg
    750 x 460 - 59K
    sa4130.jpg
    800 x 325 - 46K
    sa4131.jpg
    458 x 454 - 32K
    sa4132.jpg
    800 x 279 - 68K
    sa4133.jpg
    800 x 443 - 48K
    sa4134.jpg
    509 x 504 - 48K
    sa4135.jpg
    790 x 374 - 42K
  • @CommonSimpleFilms

    Have no idea, can send us one if you like to make test :-)

    Well, having light that goes down so fast like Aputure is not good. As I said, I believe it was made intentionally to have longer life. As all good led controllers always keep up brightness until input is in defined margins.

  • Didn't know about the brightness dropoff over time. Does the GVBPL12 experience this? The Sokani is rated at only 50 mins which is shorter than both the GVB and Aputure, but I really do like that it comes with the color gels.

  • @Sph1nxster

    By idea, any led controller must be designed in such way.

  • Is that lux rating from 0.35m as well? Very nice results in consistency

  • Very good. Now that puts it ahead of the Aputure one.

  • And here is Sokani X21 - proper good behavior

    note that initial small intensity drop is not due to controller, but due to leds heating up

    image

    sa3729.jpg
    800 x 523 - 56K
  • Tried this with M9, here it is at 0.35m -

    image

    Will do with Sokani soon.

    sa3726.jpg
    800 x 407 - 48K
  • @Energy80s

    We'll add this to the tests list, thanks.

  • Does this light maintain its brightness as the battery depletes? I have an M9 and it loses about 10 lux every minute making it difficult to use for more than a couple of minutes at a time as your exposure will be off by the end of the take.

  • One bummer is that the included color gels aren't cut to a size that will fit in the carry pouch (the ones included with the other lights are). Not a big deal - I own scissors, but it would be a nice touch to have the filters fit better in the case.

    Yep, you can see it on photos above. I'll tell manufacturer.

  • I just got the couple that I ordered.

    Like the M9 and the little GVBGear, they are really bright! One bummer is that the included color gels aren't cut to a size that will fit in the carry pouch (the ones included with the other lights are). Not a big deal - I own scissors, but it would be a nice touch to have the filters fit better in the case.

    Otherwise, I haven't had much of a chance to play - but I'm excited! I think they're the brightest of the bunch so far - at least, they hurt my eyes more than the other two. :)

  • So, fast preliminary testing

    image

    • 199 LUX at 1 meter
    • CRI - 95.85
    • TLCI - 97.6
    • Color temperature - 5474

    The Sokani X21 LED Video Light is a nicely built rechargeable light than is not expensive at $50. It is machined out of metal unlike a lot of other inexpensive lights which are made out of plastic or composites. It is light weight at 100 grams and comes with 2 magnetic filters. One is a diffuser filter and the other is a 3200k diffuser filter for the 21 daylight LED’s. It also comes with 12 color gels for sandwiching in-between the magnetic filters and the unit, a universal cold shoe mount, a USB charging cable and nice carrying case.

    After charging, you turn on the light with the left side power switch by pressing in for 2 seconds. The OLED display on the back comes on and it displays the battery usage and brightness percentage. Hit the power button again on the LED’s come on. There are 2 buttons on the top to vary the brightness of the LED’s. Looking at the back, the left button is for lowering the brightness and the right one for increasing the brightness. Simple. There is a 1/4 inch thread for mounting on the cold shoe mount.

    This light feel very durable and the magnets are a nice touch for mounting filters. Also it is very small because of built-in rechargeable batteries. A really nice little video light.

    Alan's opinion

    sa3690.jpg
    800 x 554 - 45K
  • Specs

    Package Includes:

    • 1 x LED Light
    • 1 x Universal cold shoe mount
    • 1 x USB charging cable
    • 1 x Soft light diffuser
    • 1 x 3200K Diffuser
    • 1 x Carrying case
    • 12 x Color Gel
    • 1 x Product Manual