Pocket RGB LED panel lights have improved immensely in the last few years, with manufacturers regularly leapfrogging each other when it comes to brightness. At the time of writing, the amaran Ace 25c is the brightest pocket RGB panel light. amaran (all lower case apparently) is a more budget priced, consumer orientated subsidiary of Aputure.
Disclaimer
The amaran Ace 25c was purchased from my own funds. The product links are non-affiliate links.
Design and Construction
The amaran Ace 25c is a Red, Green, Blue, White, Warm White (RGBWW) LED panel light in the "pocket" size category, though you might need large pockets. The specifications are as follows:
Dimensions: 118 x 77 x 33mm / 4.65 x 3.03 x 1.30in
Weight: 325.5g
Battery Runtime (Boost Mode): 50mins
Battery Capacity: 4500mAh / 33.3Wh
Battery Voltage: 7.4V (2 cylindrical Li-ion batteries in series).
USB Charging: USB-C input PD/QC 41W max.
Power-bank functionality: USB-C 5V/2A.
Charge Time: 0-100% - 90mins
Cooling: Active/Fan max 32dBA
IP rating: none
Control: On-board, amaran App, Sidus Link (Bluetooth)
Max Power Output: 32W
Max output: 1500 lux/1m (Boost), 1163 lux/1m (Standard) - more in Beam, Output, and Runtime section.
CCT: 2300K to 10000K
TLCI: 95; SSI: 8; CRI 95+.
The US$99 standard package includes the amaran Ace 25c, Ace Lock to Cold Shoe Adapter, Ace Dome Diffuser, and USB-C 50cm charging cable. The slightly more expensive US$125 package (reviewed) also includes a Carrying Case, Ace Lock Mini Tripod, and 30 degree Light Control Grid. The light is available in a range of colours including Charcoal (reviewed), Green, Silver, Pink, and White. The light appears to be aimed at "content creators", rather than the "professional" market that the Aputure MC Pro is aimed at.
The Ace Lock system uses magnets to quickly lock the cold shoe or tripod to the light. A quick press of the release button, releases the light. This is much faster than using 1/4-20" thread and a base plate, but is also proprietary. The Ace Lock only mounts in one direction, with the release button at the rear of the light. The Ace 25c has just one integrated 1/4"-20 tripod thread, and as with the Ace Lock, only allows for landscape orientation. However, the Cold Shoe to Ace Lock adapter also has a 1/4"-20 tripod thread in the base. The metallic mini tripod works via friction only, and is much more stable than most mini tripods. It can also be used as a grip.
The 30 degree Light Control Grid and Dome Diffuser attach via 4 magnets, 2 on each side of the optics.
The amaran Ace 25C has some similarities with the smaller, professional quality, Aputure MC Pro. The Ace 25c has much higher brightness, which requires a thicker body for the addition of a fan/active cooling (and thus no IPX rating) and battery pack (which appears to be 2x18650 Li-ion in series). The Ace 25c is considerably cheaper than the MC Pro, and this is noticeable in the less solid, but still acceptable build quality. The Ace 25c has magnets at the back of the battery compartment for attaching to suitable surfaces. These are not as strong as the magnets on the back of the MC Pro, but appear to adequate for most use cases.
A bi-color Ace25x is also available, with no RGB, a more limited white light Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) range of range 2700K to 6500K, a small increase in brightness, and a slightly lower price.
User Interface
The amaran Ace 25c has three control options, On-board, amaran App, Sidus Link (Bluetooth).
The On-board controls use a clickable jog wheel, back button, and on/off slider switch, with a small status display. The light turns on in approximately 1 second, which is faster than most LED panel lights. The user interface is easy to use. It includes CCT mode (with intensity, CCT, and Green/Magenta tint adjustment), RGB mode, Hue, Saturation, and Intensity (HSI) mode, FX (Fireworks, Faulty Bulb, Lightning, TV, Pulsing, Strobe, Explosion, Fire, Paparazzi, Welding, Cop Car, Party Lights), and various settings modes. Unlike the Aputure MC Pro. there are disappointingly no on-board Gel or Source modes. There is also no RGB colour fade FX mode.
For Boost mode, there is a specific setting that allows it to be enabled. Despite the manual showing Boost mode photometrics for all CCTs., it is only available in the user interface for 4000K to 5000K. This limitation needs to be corrected in the manual and product information. Boost mode increases power from 25W to 35W and is only recommended for use in ambient temperatures below 40C. Due to the CCT range limitations, which exclude include Tungsten 3200K or Daylight 5600K in it's range, I see Boost mode as more of a marketing gimmick.
There are two Fan modes - Silent and Smart. Silent will of course be silent, but limit output to 6.5W. Smart will adjust fan speed based on the light's temperature. Even when running hard, the fan was not excessively noisy.
There are two Bluetooth app control options - amaran App and Sidus Link.
Sidus Link had similar functionality to on-board control for most modes. Gel modes are limited to up to Full CTO or Full CTB. The Source modes are also limited. There is a colour picker mode. I couldn't find any method of enabling Boost mode from Sidus Link.
amaran app had issues initially with pairing. Once I eventually managed to pair, it was again similar in functionality to the on-board control for most modes. There were no CTO/CTB Gel modes, and Source modes were limited. There are some sort of Gel modes in the Colors section (Natural and Emotional), but these are aimed more at consumers/creators than professionals. It is possible to remotely turn the light output on and off, which is useful for long exposures.
Screenshots of the amaran app - CCT, HSI, and Effect modes.
Screenshots of the amaran app - Color modes (Natural, Emotional, Light Source)
Beam, Output, and Runtime
The amaran Ace 25c uses focused optics which allows for a good power to illuminance ratio.. The Ace 25c has adjustable CCT from 2300K warm white to 10000K very cool white. It has adjustable Red, Green, and Blue output with RGB or Hue, Saturation, Intensity (HSI) colour mixing.
Illuminance is the best photometric for comparing lights for photography and videography, as it measures how bright an object (such as a model) is illuminated at a specified distance in the centre of the beam. A comparison of White, Red, Blue, and Green illuminance (lux/1m) manufacturer specifications for RGB LED panel lights are as follows:
amaran Ace 25c Boost: W@4300K 1500 (RGB not available in Boost mode)
amaran Ace 25c 100%: W@4300K 1163 R 327 G 395 B 84
amaran Ace 25c 30 Degree Grid Boost: W@4300K 514 (no RGB data available)
amaran Ace 25c Dome Diffuser Boost: W@4300K 1188 (no RGB data available)
Compared to some other RGB LED panel lights:
Aputure MC Pro: W@4300K 399 R 110 G 212 B 36
Zhiyun M20C: W@4300K 539 R 255 G 280 B 103
Ulanzi LE20: W@unspecifiedK 800 (no RGB data available)
And a few larger portable COB video lights (without reflectors):
SmallRig RC 60C W@6900K 2430 R 257 G 1120 B 266
Zhiyun X60 RGB W@6500K 2010 R 634 G 688 B 194
These are the test results with measured illuminance (my light meter over-estimates lux by approx. 25%).
amaran Ace 25c 4300K Boost: 2032 lux/1m
amaran Ace 25c 5000K Boost: 1832 lux/1m
amaran Ace 25c 2300K 100%: 1216 lux/1m
amaran Ace 25c 4300K 100%: 1632 lux/1m
amaran Ace 25c 5600K 100%: 1516 lux/1m
amaran Ace 25c 10000K 100%: 1116 lux/1m
amaran Ace 25c 5600K Grid 100%: 1148 lux/1m
amaran Ace 25c 5600K Dome Diffuser 100%: 644 lux/1m
amaran Ace 25c 5600K 1%: 16 lux/1m
Compared to the MC Pro:
Aputure MC Pro 5600K 100%: 535 lux/1m
Compared to a portable COB video light:
SmallRig RC 60C 5600K 100%, No Reflector: 3624 lux/1m
SmallRig RC 60C 5600K 100%, Reflector: 9648 lux/1m
At the time of writing, the Ace 25c has the highest brightness/illuminance (lux/1m) for a pocket RGB LED panel light. The standard optics results in a "50 degree" beam, with wide flood, and a diffuse hotspot. This is useful for illumination, but you may need to take care with some close up portraits. The 30 degree Light Control Grid narrows down the spill beam angle, and is very useful for more controlled illumination. The Dome Diffuser reduced brightness by around 2/3, but with a wider beam angle and smoothed out hotspot. Despite the reduction in illuminance, the Ace 25c's illuminance with dome diffuser is higher than the MC Pro's illuminance with no diffuser - yes, it's that bright! However, I still think a flat diffuser would be a useful addition to the accessories range. Dynamic range is good, with 1% mode being pretty close to 1%.
Boost mode is limited to just 4000K to 5000K CCT range, and manages to just beat the bi-colour (not RGB) Zhiyun M40 in maximum illuminance.
It should be noted that even with the diffuser, LED panel lights will not be as soft as a COB video light with a soft-box due to the small size of LED panel light's light emitting area. If you need higher brightness with portability, you'll need to move to 60W COB video lights, which are at least double the weight, and much larger.
I tested the CCT, CRI, and Tint (0 G/M) using an Opple Light Meter 3 Pro:
amaran Ace 25c 2300K 100%: CCT 2076K, CRI 86.3 Ra; Tint -0.0025 DUV
amaran Ace 25c 4300K 100%: CCT 4031K; CRI 99 Ra; Tint -0.0038 DUV
amaran Ace 25c 5600K 100%: CCT 5336K; CRI 100 Ra; Tint -0.0040 DUV
amaran Ace 25c 10000K 100%: CCT 11431K; CRI 100 Ra, Tint -0.0055 DUV
The CCT accuracy is OK, but not fantastic. The CRI is generally very good at >99 Ra, however is a disappointingly low 86.3 Ra at 2300K (though this is still better than many LED light bulbs). Tint at 0 Green/Magenta generally has a very slight magenta tint at all CCTs. At 5600K, the extremes of Green to Magenta tint adjustment were +0.0100 to -0.0306 DUV.
The brightness in terms of Lumens is 3332lm in Boost mode at 4300K CCT. This is very impressive for the light's size. As lumens are total luminous flux, and don't take into account the beam profile, it is not a useful photometric for photography and videography lighting.
Whilst the active cooling is essential to allow for the high brightness, there is a small draw back for long exposure light painting photographers. There is a small amount of light leak back through the ventilation grills. Thus if you are illuminating a scene, with the light in the camera's field of view, the light will be visible to the camera. If the light is outside of the camera's field of view, or hidden within the field of view, then this isn't an issue.
Runtime was actually quite decent for the recent breed of high brightness pocket LED panel lights with active cooling, where runtimes are typically quite short. The runtime for 5600K CCT, 100% output was 70mins. The brightness was stable throughout the runtime. The light can also be continuously powered by USB-C PD/QC at up to 41W, and can also be used as a power-bank. Charging time from 0% to 100% was 91 mins.
Beam Profile - Left to Right - No Attachment; 30 Degree Control Grid; Dome Diffuser
Conclusion
Positives:
Good value for money.
Brightest "pocket" RGBWW LED panel light available (at the time of writing).
Good CCT range, HSI and RGB colour mixing.
Green/magenta tint adjustment.
Decent runtime (for an actively cooled panel light).
Useful beam shaping accessories.
Useful effect modes.
Useful optional mini tripod.
Magnets for attachment.
Negatives:
Boost mode limited to 4000K to 5000K CCT.
Not weather proof/IPX rated (you'll need the MC Pro for that).
Small amount of rear light leak through the ventilation grills.
Not as solid as the MC Pro.
No flat diffuser.
No on-board Source or Gel modes, and limited in the apps..
The amaran Ace 25c is currently the brightest (large) pocket sized RGBWW LED panel light, aided by a focused beam, and active cooling. It is priced very competitively. Even without using the gimmicky Boost mode, the Ace 25c is double the brightness/illuminance of the Zhiyun M20C, and triple the brightness of the Aputure MC Pro. The Ace 25c has a useful range of accessories.
There are some limitations. Unlike the more expensive and professional Aputure MC Pro, there is no weatherproofing/IPX rating, and build quality not as solid. Gel and Source modes are limited. These could easily have been enabled in the light's firmware.
If you need high brightness from a compact and portable light for photography and videography aimed at content creators, but don't need "professional" quality features, then the amaran Ace 25c is an excellent choice.
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