B&H Photo News Roundup: Week of June 11, 2023

Lights, stands, and a silver Leica round out a week filled with the latest hands-on reviews.

Week of June 11, 2023

In terms of news, this week was relatively uneventful, but that doesn't mean there weren't any announcements of significance. Lowel is back with a larger TOTA LED XL Flood Light, Impact has some neat Link Air-Cushioned Light Stands that'll stack up nicely, and Leica announced a special silver version of the SL2.

If you still haven't gotten a Father's Day Gift for your dad yet, there is still time to place an order or head to the store early on Sunday―or just plan on a belated celebration.

Lowel grows LED line with TOTA LED XL Flood Light

For those of you who haven't seen them before, the Lowel Tota-Light was always a ubiquitous tungsten fixture. Its size, relative affordability, effectiveness, and rugged simplicity made it an easy choice for many filmmakers. I even used some during my years at school. The brand has brought this light into the 21st century with the Tota LED version, which, unsurprisingly, took the same concept and loaded it with LEDs. Now, we can get similar lighting effectiveness with even more output, thanks to the TOTA LED XL.

Normally, when you set up these lights, you would pop open the doors and often, there would be silver reflectors to direct and boost your output. The TOTA LED XL maxes out that concept by providing more LEDs on those swing-out panels.

The combination of three LED panels in a design that packs away tidily will allow you to produce 11,200 lux at 3', which is great output for a flood light. It's completely silent, thanks to passive cooling, and has full control over the dimming range. If you want to tweak the intensity of the light, there are three diffusers included.

Powering it up is easy because you can plug it into AC power or use a standard V-mount battery pack. Plus, this light feels as though it will hold up to years of real-world use.

Looks like a fun light and something worth checking out.

Impact Link stands make storage and transport easy

I understand that it's weird to spend time talking about light stands, but hear me out. The Impact Link Light Stands are different from the usual fare. These stands fold flat and have a mechanism that allows you to connect and link multiple stands together in a stack. They will lock together, too, for added security.

Setting up and breaking down light stands (tripods and generally any other support system) can sometimes constitute a gear-wrestling match. Anything that makes working with them easier is a huge benefit. The Link stands let you carry a few at once, easily—even with one hand. The flat design also takes up less space when not in use. We all could use more space.

Impact Link Light Stands

As for the general stand functions, they are fairly standard. Air-cushioning prevents any accidental unlocks and the stands are available in four heights: 7', 7.9', 9', and 12'. One thing to note is that the 7' and 7.9' stands are a bit lighter duty, with a load capacity of 8.8 lb, while the 9' and 12' stands will hold up to 22 lb. Choose your stands accordingly.

Leica shows off silver edition SL2 mirrorless camera

While additional colors aren't the biggest news ever, it is hard for us to ignore any new camera releases—especially ones that look as good as the Silver Edition Leica SL2. This release gives the modern mirrorless system a classic feel and, if you want one, you should make haste because they are only releasing 1,000 of these cameras.

The new camera hasn't changed. It's a well-spec'd system:

47.3MP full-frame CMOS sensor
5K and DCI 4K video with HDR and 10-bit formats
In-body image stabilization
Up to 20 fps continuous shooting
ISO range of 100-50000
5.76m-dot 0.78x OLED EVF and 3.2" 2.1m-dot touchscreen
Dual SD card slots
A 187MP multi-shot mode
And more...

It's a handsome camera that, to some people, might now look even better. Leica even created a couple of lens bundles that fit well with the new silver anodized look:

If you are looking at Leica, this might be a solid place to start.

In other news...

... lots of reviews!

Samsung's Odyssey OLED G9 is out for preorder (with a bonus $250 B&H gift card to sweeten the deal) and we have posted a hands-on video review.

Looking for a mount for an ultrawide monitor? Perhaps for the Samsung you might have just ordered? Well, the Ergotron HX might just be the best. Read about our reviewer's thoughts here.
The LiveU Solo Pro is a wireless encoder that will help you get your stream running from practically anywhere. Check out our video review.

There are a few other items worth mentioning from this week: