FIVERAY F100 Review

Constant lighting has come a long way in a short time, and the ZHIYUN FIVERAY F100 is the second iteration of the FIVERAY light stick. The lamp’s design, with its bright temperature adjustable illumination and full RGB option, offers plenty of flexibility in how you light your subjects.

The F100 comes hot on the heels of the FR100C and, for all intents and purposes, looks and operates in much the same way. However, with a price difference of £100/$100, there are a few changes, although how major you consider these will be down to how you use the lamp.

The major specifications remain the same, but those small differences make a difference in a professional environment. The first big change is that, for your additional £100, you get all the lighting modifiers in a handy carry case. This in itself almost completely justifies the price difference. In addition to the modifiers, the new lamp also features slightly fewer clicks on the control dial, which means you can fly through the settings a little quicker; then, double-clicking the power will change the brightness from 0% to 50% to 100%.

When it comes to the temperature-controlled light, this remains at 100W; however, the RGB illumination goes from 16W to 30W, which is quite a difference in use. The F100 will also appeal to videographers who can take advantage of the new lighting effects such as SOS, Fire, and TV.

When the lamps are in use side by side, both function exceptionally well, with the battery lasting around the same length of time using the same lighting settings. However, when it comes to charging, the F100 can charge through 100W rather than the far slower charge of the F100C at 28W; in real terms, that’s a big difference. Other than those few differences, the two lamps are essentially the same.

On the surface, the performance of the ZHIYUN F100 is identical to that of the FR100C, with the powerful 100W light helping to illuminate whatever subject you want. What separates the two is the inclusion of light modifiers. Once these are clipped into place, the effect on the spread and intensity of the light is immediate. With the barn doors attached, the ability to cut off and direct the light provides far greater control, and with two of these used for product photography, they offer plenty of flexibility and control. Pop over the diffuser; again, the effect is instantaneous and dramatic, enabling you to increase the brightness of the light without the harshness, making it ideal for portraiture.

Switching to RGB and the additional power makes a noticeable difference. While the RGB on the FR100C is good, the additional impact on product or portraiture is apparent with a greater intensity of the colours made possible by the additional power.

The F100 generally works well; however, the new less-click dial is slightly more resistant to rotating. While the dial on the FR100C can easily be rotated with your thumb, on the F100, the rotation stiffness means that you need to be more careful when rotating as it’s easy to click the dial rather than rotate. Doing this will take you to one of the other options, which can be annoying.

Overall, the F100 at £100/$100 might seem like a big leap in price, but when you consider the additional use and inclusion of the modifiers and case, it does start to add up and make sense. Either way, the ZHIYUN F100 still has outstanding value.

The small electronic updates to the FIVERAY F100 over the FR100C make a big difference to the performance; the main one for me is the 100W charging which enabled the light to recharge in just over two and a half hours fully but could do this over PD which means that the SmallRig V-Mount battery could be attached through USB Type-C to keep the lamp topped up while in use even at full power. While this was possible with the FR100C, if used at full power, the light would top up but often not at the speed that the light was draining the internal battery.

Handling, for the most part, was excellent; the grip itself is not ergonomically designed, so while the edges are rounded, it’s not as comfortable to handle as the likes of the YC Onion Energy Tube; however, it still easy enough to handle and this isn’t too much of an issue.

The one issue I did have was with the settings wheel; I often found when I wanted to adjust the brightness, it would click and take me to options I didn’t want. The dial on the F100C is far better.

Otherwise, the major boost here with the F100 is the light modifiers, which make a major difference in the use of light. Considering you get all three and the case plus the boosted performance for an additional £100/$100, it seems easy to go for this new version.