I tested the Godox RS60R RGB lights, here’s why I’m replacing all my old kit

60W might not sound like a lot of power, but actually, when you pop one of these lamps into a scene, you’ll quickly see the difference they make.

Although small, they offer so much adjustability over the colour temperature, as well as the RGB colour and even effects, all in this one small unit. The RS60R gives you an extremely powerful creative lighting tool that will be ideal for many photographers, videographers, and, in fact, any type of content creator.

The small lights offer the full RGB spectrum, plus a CCT range from 2500K all the way up to 10,000K, meaning that you can match these with almost any lighting environment.

One of the things that really stands out about these small cylinder lights is, as the marketing material states, they’re only just larger than a can of Coke (or a very large can of Coke, but you get the point). The design means they’re extremely easy to handle. When it comes to mounting options, they’re very simple. If you want to put them on a lighting stand, tripod, or other style of mount, that’s easy enough with a 1/4-inch thread on the underside and a standard lighting stand adapter that simply screws in when needed.

Then there’s the variety of different power options, including portable battery, AC power, or even more standard Sony NP-style battery, each with an adapter that clicks into the back. Depending on the kit that you buy, some of these power adapter modules or batteries will be included; if not, they’re all relatively inexpensive as additions you can buy separately.

While through the menu option directly on the lights you can adjust the colour temperature along with a variety of other settings, it also comes with a complimentary app. Once again, the lighting app is fully featured, enabling you to add the light and adjust all the colour or effect settings without too many issues. So, even if you’re new to lighting, these should be exceptionally easy to use. This makes them an ideal option for interviews, streaming, and any creative studio setup.

The RS60R lights are directly aimed at the enthusiast to professional market and will offer pretty much any level of user a powerful lighting solution that’s easy to use. When it comes to size and weight, they really are compact, measuring in at 77 x 77 x 91 mm, making them one of the smaller 60W lights on the market, and they weigh in at just 311g, exceptionally light considering what you get.

If it looks a little familiar to you, then it’s essentially based on the AD100 flash guns, which are extremely compact, lightweight, and have become a real choice for many enthusiasts and professionals due to their ease of use. Essentially, the RS60R is the constant light equivalent.

The design is also beautifully simple, with all navigation and control on the side, with a small, simple screen that shows you the settings and options you’ve selected. On the front, the standard diffuser is attached by default, but other magnetic lenses can connect directly to this, or you can unlock it, remove it, and add other light modifiers from the Godox ecosystem.

While the mounting system isn’t Bowens, it is a smaller design that works in much the same way, and there are plenty of different modifiers available, which really does expand the functionality of this lighting system.

One of the other big features is that the light gets its power through a small battery pack, which clicks into the back. But it’s not solely limited to this; you can also plug in an AC cable adapter in place of the battery, so you can plug it directly into the mains. There are other backs available, so you can connect up a Sony NP-style battery for longer and more professional use. For this review, I mainly used the very neat battery pack, but I was also really pleased to see that it has PD power. So when the battery was running low, on one occasion, I was just able to plug in a USB-C cable and run it from one of my power stations, giving me plenty of different options for how these small lights are powered.

As with most lights these days, it’s also fully compatible, so if you want more control over the light, then you can dip into the app, connect, and adjust the colour spectrum, light temperature, or effects through a few taps of the interface, far easier than navigating the menu system.

With several versions of this light available, in this review, I focus on the RS60R, and in this review, I’ll be looking at the combo set that includes two lamps and a series of accessories. The RS60R version features the full RGB colour spectrum, so if you want to change the light from red to green to blue, then that’s perfectly possible, along with a whole series of colours in between. You can adjust the colour either directly on the lamp itself or, far more easily, via the app once connected.

Of course, like the S60BI, you can also adjust the CCT value from 2500K up to 10,000K, meaning you can create cool or warm light depending on what you need and match it with all your other lighting.

The lights also boast a very high CRI/TLCI rating for colour accuracy, which should mean that when you dial in 6500 and match with other lighting, it should be 6500 within a few units.

Alongside the full RGB lighting and the colour temperature adjustment, there are also a variety of very handy effects. So, if you’re a videographer and need a small lighting solution with built-in effects, such as firelight, fireworks, flash, then this is a superb option. Because it’s got that full RGB, it goes up to the next level. If you want to recreate police siren lighting with red and blue (or just blue in the UK), that again is also perfectly possible.

One of the surprising features for a light at this price is that it features DMX control. If you step up to the KNOWLED version, it also has CRMX control, which takes it up a notch. A big difference between the KNOWLED version and the standard version is that you can do light numbering. So if you’ve got a series of lights, you can easily remember them. With the standard version, you just need to be a little more mindful of which is which.

Sometimes you get an instant feel for a product as you open up the box, and the RS60R just so happens to be one of those products. As you open the box, the two lights are beautifully set out in the semi-hard case, which features a whole range of accessories, including light modifiers and lenses.

I was also pleased to see there are plenty of optional extras, so if you do want to develop the kit into a more extensive lighting setup, that’s perfectly possible. These really are lights designed for those looking for a system that can be used in a small environment or vastly expanded to incorporate a far greater lighting setup from within the ecosystem.

Setting the lights up was quick and easy. What I really liked was the fact that I could very quickly adjust the settings using the small dials and options on the side of the unit. What was also really surprising was just how easy it was to connect to the mobile app and adjust the colour or temperature using the sliders in the application.

It doesn’t quite give you the full ease of use of a DMX board, as you have to swap in and out of each of the lights individually to adjust. Although you can couple them in groups and adjust them there, there’s a bit of setup and complexity in that process, but it is possible.

As I used the lights, the more they fitted in with my workflows. For instance I liked the mounting system and the fact that you can quickly pop on a light modifier or lens to change the effect and while the mount moght be proprietory for Godox it’s easy to adapt and there are plenty of well price modifier options.

Giving an example of a lighting set-up. When it came to setting up an interview, I have to say these lights were some of the easiest I have ever used. The small form factor allowed me to position them behind someone on a lighting stand with so little weight or bulk that it made manoeuvring exceptionally easy. It also cuts out the worry you sometimes have with suspending heavier lights above people’s heads.

In use, I was solely using Godox lights for the most part, so the colour temperatures matched. Shooting a grey card to ensure colour accuracy and setting my camera’s colour temperature to custom, everything looked superb. I was really pleased with the skin tone and general colour reproduction. When I added an additional light from another manufacturer (which I know to be correct on colour temperature), the two RS60Rs still matched exceptionally well.

One thing I will say is that after about half an hour of use, I did tune in to some slight fan noise. It gave a low hum in the background. However, it wasn’t too loud, and when I applied noise cancellation through the DJI Mic 3 I was using, that noise was essentially removed without too much issue. At least it’s low and constant, something very easy for most systems to cut out.

What I like is the small size and design. The one thing above all that really stood out was the complete versatility. For the last few years, I’ve relied on a couple of other 60W units from another manufacturer, which I’m still really impressed with. However, the additional flexibility that the RS60Rs offer now makes them a more viable option for video work. The only point I did have when comparing them to the lamps I normally use was that the build quality wasn’t quite as good. There was just a little bit of play between the battery unit and the body, and the light modifier on the front and the main body of the unit. Still, aside from that, they feel good and robust, and I’ve no doubt I’ll be grabbing the RS60Rs for interview situations and many other lighting scenarios in future.

There are few products that I feel are as refined as the Godox RS60Rs, it is a solid 60W lighting solution offering very decent bicolour lighting to match the colour temperature to match your surroundings, but also with the full RGB spectrum and lighting effects, making them a valuable tool for any videographer or for that matter photographer.

Primarily, in this review, I used them for video work, although there were one or two situations where I wanted to demonstrate a simple three-light setup for photography. These lights worked especially well alongside flashguns, just to show how lighting could be set up and the different effects it had on the subject. The ease of use, compact and relatively lightweight design, and flexible handling make them a great option.

For enthusiasts, they’re really good for both video and photography work. They’re nice and bright, offer plenty of flexibility over colour temperature, and are good and robust. For professionals, they really step up, even the standard unit offers plenty of control, including the ability to wire into a DMX port. Then you also have the app, which gives you full control, even if you have to dip in and out of the different units. It’s a really well-featured option.

Then you have the portability. Whilst I only had a two-light setup for this review, these units are so exceptionally good that I will more than likely be buying at least one, if not two, for my professional work. Their high portability and versatility make them an ideal option for studio and field use. The build quality isn’t quite as high as some of the units I currently use, but it’s still good and robust. I really like the fact that they’re backed by a very extensive ecosystem of light modifiers, lenses, and projectors, which means there’s lots of potential with these small units.

For any videographer or photographer looking for a constant lighting solution, you can now stop, as the RS60Rs are the best LED lighting solution on the market at present.