Tube lights have become a ubiquitous part of the modern video lighting kit. Handy as a fill, hair, rim, or accent light, LED tubes have a small form factor, solid output, and are highly modular, meaning you can combine them in nearly countless ways. Drawing on all these strengths, Nanlite has a new PavoTube II 6XR 8-Light kit consisting of eight 10” tubes, a custom charging case, grids, clips, baby pins, iron plates, and more. Can it cover all your tube lighting needs, or are there missing pieces you’ll need in the field? Let’s dive in.
The PavoTubes
The 10” PavoTube II 6XR lights are the known quantity here, having come out earlier in the year. The tubes are lightweight, easy to control via onboard buttons or wireless options, and have a host of RGB color modes that make them extremely versatile. The XR in the name signals their support for LumenRadio CRMX, and the RGB functionality results in an expanded CCT range of 2700-12,000K, as well as +/- 150 Green/Magenta adjustment. I like that on-board controls are mapped to hard buttons instead of finicky dials, but the menus on the tubes feel a bit tedious to navigate, often requiring a lot of button presses. Unless you’re only using the basic CCT mode, I’d recommend controlling them via Nanlite’s smartphone app or CRMX/DMX.
The ¼”-20 mounting points on both ends are handy, but I found the built-in magnets on the 6XRs weaker than on some other tube lights. The battery life is okay, not spectacular, especially when using them at higher brightnesses, and the tubes don’t hold a charge particularly well over time. After charging them up and putting them aside for a few weeks, I returned to all eight tubes at nearly 0%. Topping up lights before each shoot is always a good idea, but with specialized items that might not be regularly utilized, I would like a little more peace of mind. Overall, the PavoTube II 6XRs are extremely capable fixtures, with some room for improvement.
The Charging Case
Similar to the tubes, the custom GUTEK T-230 rugged charging case gets all the basics right. There are magnetic attachment points for the lights themselves, well-cut out slots for all the accessories, a handy Battery Indicator button that causes all the tubes to colorfully flash their charge level, and the feeling that this case could really take a beating. Being able to charge all eight fixtures at once via AC, USB-C PD, or D-Tap is extremely handy, and the case even has a few extra USB-A outputs for powering additional accessories. I wish there were a way to charge the case while it’s shut, but understand that would make the construction and durability more complex.
The weight of the case is nicely manageable, and its standard size makes it easy to throw on carts, trucks, and other forms of transport. The elongated shape and breakable nature of tube lights have always made them a difficult item to pack alongside other equipment, so having them in a dedicated case with a panoply of charging options built-in is extremely handy. The internal and external branding is useful for quick identification, and the locking clasps feel secure, ready to stand up to years of wear and tear. Overall, the charging case is a fantastic value proposal, and definitely sets a new bar for tube light kits.
The Accessories and Audience
The eight-light kit does a good job at giving you necessary accessories without overloading the case with superfluous additions. The AC and D-Tap cables are nicely thick and well-made, the 5/8" baby pins are solidly constructed and well-textured, the iron plates are handy to help mount the tubes onto non-metallic/non-magnetic surfaces, and the fabric grids fold up nicely—though I wish they did have some sort of Velcro or hook and loop element instead of just elastic bands holding them to the tubes. The polycarbonate clips give you extra ¼”-20 mounting points, but the material does feel a bit weak and the fit around the tubes isn’t as snug as I’d like.
The PavoTube II kit is an interesting value proposition, built for folks doing lighting set-ups complicated enough to warrant eight tubes, but also simple enough for all those tubes to be 10”. I’d love to see a variation that maybe includes some shorter and longer lengths as well. Sure, you can attach multiple 10” tubes together, but the illumination will dip at the connection points and you’ll have to be more careful with angles and mounting support. The case is the big selling point here, and it is extremely handy for quickly charging and checking power levels on all the lights at once. If tube lights are next up on your shopping list, this set is certainly worth a look. For more information about the Nanlite PavoTube II 6XR 8-Light Kit, including features, specs, and highlights, be sure to check out the detailed product page.
