SmallRig RC 220C RGB COB LED Video Light Review

SmallRig recently unveiled its new RC 220C RGB COB LED Video Light, which is a full-color successor to the RC 220B.

The RC 220C RGB COB LED Video Light looks to be a nice compact, lightweight full-color solution with a decent amount of output and a good feature set.

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It is claimed to be lighter and smaller than competing options, which makes it a good option for anyone who is travelling a lot or needs to keep their kit size to a minimum.

The SmallRig RC 220C RGB looks to be an interesting light given its low price. So without further ado, let’s get on with the review.

Bowens-S Mount

The light comes with a Bowens-S mount so you can use affordable lighting modifiers, as well as Fresnel attachments, etc.

Versatile COB lights in this form factor have become increasingly popular due to their Swiss army knife-style abilities, which enable them to be used for a variety of lighting scenarios.

Build Quality

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The build quality of the SmallRig RC 220C RGB could arguably be better. While it looks solidly made from a distance, once you start examining it more closely, it isn’t as robust as other similarly priced fixtures from Godox, Neewer, amaran, etc.

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There are a lot of lightweight materials being used, and I’m not sure how well the light would fare if it were dropped. In SmallRig’s defence, to keep the weight to a minimum. It is not surprising that they have used a lot of lightweight and more affordable components.

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The included reflector in the kit was deformed and bent.

There are no clearance issues with the power cable attached because the light doesn’t utilize a traditional yoke frame.

Design

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As far as the design goes, it almost looks like a box-style digital cinema camera, especially since it has an in-built battery plate on the back.

The light has a power supply that you need to attach on the back, but for all intents and purposes, its a self contained all-in-one unit.

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Appearance-wise, the SmallRig looks quite different from lights such as themaran 150c RGB LED Monolight and COLBOR CL220R.

Lots of LED lights on the market, including the SmallRig RC 220C RGB are using COB technology. COB stands for “Chip On Board” where multiple LED chips are packaged together as one lighting module. The advantage of COB LEDs being multi-chip packaged is that the light-emitting area of a COB LED can contain many times more light sources in the same area that standard LEDs could occupy. This results in a greatly increased lumen output per square inch.

The fixture does feature a rather large fan that is on the top of the light.

The biggest problem with COB LED lights is that unless you diffuse them they are very bright to look at and unsuitable for directly lighting talent.

Weight & Size

The SmallRig RC 220C RGB weighs 5.5 lb / 2.5 kg. The controller is built-in to the lamp head; there is a separate AC adapter that you attach to the back, and this weighs in around 800g (1.76 lb).

So, how does this weight compare to some other similar fixtures that have the same power draw?

Below, you can see how the price compares to some of the competition:

	WEIGHT LAMP HEAD
SmallRig RC 220C RGB	3.9 lb / 1.75 kg
Godox Litemons LA200R RGB LED Monolight	5.5 lb / 2.5 kg
amaran 150c RGB LED Monolight	7.76 lb / 3.52 kg
COLBOR CL220R 220W RGB COB LED	3.5 lb / 1.6 kg
GVM SD200R RGB & Bi-Color LED	6.94 lb / 3.15 kg

The nice aspect about lights that are this size and weight is that you don’t need to carry around a heavy-duty lightstand.

Beam Angle

SmallRig doesn’t list what the unmodified native beam angle is. When used with its reflector, it is 55°.

Mounting

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The light doesn’t come with a traditional yoke frame. Instead, it has an in-built tilting mount mechanism.

This keeps the size and weight down, and it also makes it easier to pack into a bag for travel.

I put a large DoPchoice Octa 3 softbox on the fixture, and the lightstand mount was strong enough to hold it without moving.

SmallRig also includes an umbrella holder, which is a nice touch.

Power Draw

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The light draws 220W. SmallRig gives you three ways to power the light. You can directly mount a V-Mount battery, use an optional Sony NP-F adapter plate, or run it via mains power. The input power is 24 VDC at 10 A.

	POWER DRAW
SmallRig RC 220C RGB	220W
Godox Litemons LA200R RGB LED Monolight	220W
amaran 150c RGB LED Monolight	180W
COLBOR CL220R 220W RGB COB LED	250W
GVM SD200R RGB & Bi-Color LED	200W

Above, you can see how the power draw compares against some of the competition.

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If you run it via mains power, you simply attach the power supply directly to the V-mount battery plate.

Having a built-in V-mount battery plate makes a ton of sense as it makes for a much cleaner build. The caveat with having it attached directly to the light is that it will make it heavier, and that could potentially make it harder to hang out on an arm, etc.

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Now, there are some serious caveats when operating the light using batteries. This is something that SmallRig should perhaps make a lot clearer to potential buyers.

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If you don’t use a V-lock battery that has above 20V, the output is capped to 67% regardless of the capacity of your battery. It doesn’t matter whether you use a 150Wh battery or a 420Wh battery; the output will be exactly the same, as the light will only support a maximum input of 150W. If you run the light using an optional NP to V-lock battery plate, the light’s output will be capped to 60W, and it will only operate at 27%.

I tried using a dual-voltage battery, but the light would only recognize it as a 14.8V battery.

I am a little puzzled as to why SmallRig would make a relatively ‘affordable” light with a built-in V-mount plate that you can’t run at 100% output. At least to me, it would have made a lot more sense to have limited the power draw of the fixture so it could be run at 100% from a single flight-safe V-mount battery or made an optional dual V-mount abttery plate so you could run it at 100%.

Now, in SmallRig’s defence, most other similar style lights can’t be run via camera batteries at all, and having the ability to run the light remotely, albeit, at a lower output, is still handy.

Controls & Menu System

There is a small color LCD screen on the side of the fixture.

The screen is very difficult to see outdoors when it is bright.

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You have two dials, a Mode, and a Reset button. The dials are not tactile in any way, but they still get the job done.

The On/Off switch is located on the bottom of the fixture.

Although it is fairly basic, it does show you key information about the light’s operating modes, brightness, CCT, etc. While it is not a touchscreen, it is still pretty quick to access all of the available lighting modes and make changes.

With a good light, you shouldn’t have to read a manual to work out how to operate it. You should be able to turn it on and use it straight away. A lot of these ‘affordable’ small-sized lights don’t have very deep menus, so in that regard, they are very easy to use. With the SmallRig RC 220C RGB, there isn’t any menu.

As there is no menu, working out how to do some things requires you to consult the manual. For instance, to turn the Bluetooth on, you need to hold the Reset button for three seconds.

SmallGoGo smartphone app

The SmallGoGo smartphone app allows you to control the light from up to 328’/ 99.97m.

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It is a little tedious to set up when you first use it as you need to register an email address and then enter a confirmation code. I dislike apps that ask you for email addresses, etc., as there is no reason why it is needed.

The app won’t actually locate your light until you hold down the Reset button on the fixture for three seconds to enable it. This is something that should be stated directly in the app to avoid confusion.

Once Bluetooth is enabled on the fixture, it should then appear in the app.

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You then select the fixture, and the app will start setting it up.

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Once it has finished, you will see the above screen. You then need to select the light and click on it.

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The app is very basic, but again, it is good enough to get the job done.

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You can use the sliders to make adjustments, or you can type in CCT values, brightness, etc.

Unfortunately, there are limitations when typing in CCT values. You can only enter values as low as 25K.

You can save presets and then recall them, which is handy.

There is a Color Picker mode as well, but this is only accessible through the app.

RGBWC

We are seeing a lot of lighting companies now using RGBW technology. RGBW stands for Red, Green, Blue & Warm White. There are, however, other types of RGB, such as RGBWW, RGBAW, RGBACL, etc.

The SmallRig utilizes RGBWC, which is Red, Green, Blue, Warm White, and Cyan. What is interesting, and something I am suprised that SmallRig isn’t promoting more, is that the light’s color engine looks to generate a fairly similar spectral response to some of Aputure’s new STORM series lights.

Operating Modes

The light has the following lighting modes that you can access from the fixture:

• CCT
• RGB
• HSI
• FX
• Color Card (Rosco, LEE)

Correlated Color Temperature (CCT)

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This is the mode most people are going to use the light in. In the CCT Mode, you have full access to making Kelvin color temperature adjustments between 2500-10,000K.

The fixture also has continuous variable (full minus green to full plus green) correction.

Being able to dial in more or reduce the amount of green coming from your lighting source can make a huge difference. Different camera companies use different sensors in their cameras, and they all react differently to light. Some camera sensors may lean towards magenta, and some, more towards green. By making CCT adjustments, you can dial in the light so that it looks better for whatever camera system you are using. CCT adjustment also helps when you are trying to match lights from different manufacturers.

RGB

In the RGB mode, you can independently adjust the Red, Green, and Blue values. Strangely, this mode is only available using the onboard controls, and there is no RGB section when using the SmallGoGo smartphone app.

HSI

The HSI mode lets you create just about any color you can think of. It gives you full hue and saturation control as well as intensity. By manipulating the hue and saturation, you can create some really interesting colors that, depending on the project you are working on, can really add some creative flair. I quite like using this mode to create a lot of color separation between the foreground and background, or for recreating a really cold or warm-looking image.

The colors are represented as degrees from 0-360.

The interface on the fixtures screen doesn’t provide you with any visual aids, so it can be difficult to dial in the exact color you want to create. It isn’t as good as the visual reference on some other lights.

Color Card

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In Color Card mode, you can select from a wide array of Rosco and Lee digital gels.

FX

The FX mode lets you recreate a wide range of lighting effects that can be handy for certain scenarios. The effects include:

• Paparazzi
• Lightning
• Fireworks
• Faulty Bulb
• TV
• Party
• Flame
• Breath
• Flickering
• CCt Cycle
• RGB Cycle
• Police Car

All the effects modes can be individually adjusted, but you can only adjust the speed and intensity of the effects.

How does it stay cool?

COB lights get very hot, and keeping them cool is not an easy task.

The light features an in-built fan; however, there aren’t any fan options you can choose from.

SmallRig claims it produces a 28 dB fan noise level at a distance of 1m / 3.3′.

According to SmallRig, in the Silent fan mode, the output is limited to 20%. The problem is, I couldn’t find any fan modes, and there is nothing listed in the operating menu.

The fan noise is pretty quiet, even after having the light on for long periods of time.

Photometrics

So now let’s get to the photometric results. I always test lights in this way so that I get a reference to how they compare to other fixtures. Results only tell part of the story and should never be used alone to judge a light. I have found from extensive testing over the years that certain lights that have good photometric results don’t always look good, and lights that have worse photometric scores can sometimes look better than their results indicate.

Different lights can also look different depending on what camera you happen to be using.

Output & Color Temperature Accuracy

I tested the SmallRig RC 220C RGB LED at a variety of CCT settings with a Sekonic C-800 Spectrometer to find out how much output the light had and how accurate the CCT reproduction was. All readings are taken at a distance of 1m / 3.28ft in a controlled environment. When using a reflector, softbox, or other lighting modifier, the measurements are taken 1m / 3.28ft from that modifier.

Above, you can see the claimed photometric output figures published by SmallRig.

Open Face

5600K (Open Face)

Above, you can see the SmallRig RC 220C recorded an output of 8890 lx (826 fc) when set at 5600K used open face. This is a pretty good amount of output for a 220W fixture. My reading was slightly higher than SmallRig’s claimed output of 8680lx.

The light recorded a CCT reading of 5428K, which was more than 170K from being correct.

	OUTPUT	CCT
SmallRig RC 220C	8890 lx	5428K
Godox Litemons LA200R	6910 lx	5693K

Above, you can see how that compares to the Godox Litemons LA200R.

3200K (Open Face)

Above, you can see that the Godox recorded an output of 8360 lx (776 fc) when set at 3200K and used open-faced. This was 5.96% less output than it had at 5600K.

The light recorded a CCT reading of 3121K, which was pretty good.

	OUTPUT	CCT
SmallRig RC 220C	8360 lx	3121K
Godox Litemons LA200R	7510 lx	3336K

Above, you can see how that compares to the Godox Litemons LA200R.

Ok, now let’s have a look at a summary of results for the RC 220C when it is used open face at various CCT settings.

	CCT READING	OUTPUT
2500K	2450K	7140 lx
3200K	3121K	8360 lx
4500K	4403K	9020 lx
5600K	5428K	8890 lx
6500K	6381K	8380 lx
8000K	7981K	7960 lx
10,000K	10143K	7810 lx

What these results tell me is that when used open faced the RC 220C has pretty good CCT accuracy at 2500K, 3200K, 4500K, and 8000K. The output varied by 20.84%. The light had its highest output when used open faced and set at 4500K.

Reflector

5600K (55° Reflector)

Above, you can see that RC 220C recorded an output of 31,300 lx (2900 fc) when set at 5600K and used with its 55° reflector. This figure is a lot less than the claimed output from SmallRig, but it is important to note that I measure from the end of the reflector for all of my lighting tests.

The light recorded a CCT reading of 5303K, which wasn’t a great result, and it was around 125K lower than when used open-faced. This shows me that the reflector is changing the CCT by a small amount.

	OUTPUT	CCT
SmallRig RC 220C	31,300 lx	5303K
Godox Litemons LA200R	43,300 lx	5624K

Above, you can see how that compares to the Godox Litemons LA200R.

3200K

3200K (55° Reflector)

Above, you can see the light’s output when it was set at 3200K with the standard reflector. It produced 29,300 lx (2720 fc), which was 6.38% less than its output at 5600K

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded a pretty good reading of 3116K. The light is more accurate at producing a 5600K source than a 3200K source.

	OUTPUT	CCT
SmallRig RC 220C	29,300 lx	3116K
Godox Litemons LA200R	51,800 lx	3309K

Above, you can see how that compares to the Godox Litemons LA200R.

Ok, now let’s have a look at a summary of results for the RC 220C when it is used with its reflector at various CCT settings.

	CCT READING	OUTPUT
2500K	2422K	24,700 lx
3200K	3116K	29,300 lx
4500K	4356K	31,900 lx
5600K	5303K	31,300 lx
6500K	6029K	30,600 lx
8000K	7369K	29,100 lx
10,000K	9227K	28,400 lx

What these results tell me is that when used with its reflector, the RC 220C has pretty ordinary CCT accuracy at 4500K and above. The output varied by 22.57%. The light had its highest output when used at 4500K.

The tests clearly show me that the output does vary across the CCT range; however, between 3200K and 10,000K it is pretty consistent.

Making adjustments

Now, if you have the ability to measure the CCT value of a light, it is pretty easy to make adjustments to change it if needed.

For instance, I found that if I set the fixture to 5900K and +1G/M, I got much closer to being an accurate 5600K source.

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Above, you can see that when the light was set at 5900K, it recorded a reading of 5572K. Any light that has the ability to alter the CCT and +/- G/M bias allows you make adjustments regardless of what that fixture is outputting.

3200K (55° Reflector) Battery Power

Above, you can see the light’s output when it was set at 3200K with the standard reflector and using a V-mount battery was 20,000 lx (1860 fc), which was 31.74% less than its output when run off mains power.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded a solid reading of 3147K.

5600K (55° Reflector) Battery Power

Above, you can see the light’s output when it was set at 5600K with the standard reflector and using a V-mount battery was 23,100 lx (2140 fc), which was 26.19% less than its output when run via mains power.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded an ok reading of 5364K.

DoPchoice Octa 3 Softbox

I also wanted to see how much output the light had when used with a DoPchoice Octa 3 softbox.

5600K DoPchoice Octa 3 Softbox

Above, you can see the light’s output when it was set at 5600K with a DoPchoice Octa 3 softbox. It produced 2730 lx (254 fc). This isn’t a ton of output for a diffused source, but it is decent for a light with this power draw.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded a reading of 5173K.

+/- G/M adjustment

As the fixture includes +/- G/M adjustment, you can quite easily correct any tint. While there is no exact science to this, and it really depends on what camera you are using as well, it’s just a matter of trial and error to see what setting actually works the best. The nice thing is that any light with +/- G/M adjustment can be fine-tuned to deliver better results.

CCT consistency when dimming the light

Now, what you should always do when testing lights is to see if the CCT remains consistent when dimming the light. Just because you set a light at say 5600K, that doesn’t mean that the Kelvin color temperature will remain stable as you start dimming the fixture down.

I decided to do a series of tests at 100%/75%/50%/25%10% to see if the CCT being recorded changed. This was done at a distance of 1m / 3.3′ using a Sekonic C-800.

CCT READING	INTENSITY %
5303K	100
5326K	75
5394K	50
5481K	25
5535K	10

The RC 220C wasn’t able to maintain good CCT consistency as you start dimming the fixture. My testing showed that the CCT varied by 232K. These are just ok results, and it shows me that if you dim this fixture down, you will get CCT changes.

This is why we test lights, because with a lot of ‘affordable’ options, they don’t maintain good CCT accuracy when dimming the fixture down.

How linear is the output when dimming the fixture?

I also wanted to see how linear the dimming curve was by doing a series of tests at 100%/75%/50%/25%10%.

INTENSITY %	OUTPUT
100	31,300 lx
75	23,500 lx
50	16,000 lx
25	8520 lx
10	3410 lx

As far as how linear the output is when you start dimming the light, at 50% output, it had 48.88% less output than when used at 100%. At 25% it had 72.77% less output than when used at 100%. At 10% output, it had 89.10% less output than when used at 100%. This shows me that the light’s dimming curve is very linear.

Color Rendering

5600K (55° Reflector)

So now that we have seen how much output the RC 220C produces, how does it perform when it comes to replicating accurate colors? Above, you can see that when the light was set at 5600K using the standard reflector, it recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 97.9 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 96.55. For replicating accurate skin tones, it recorded 96.4 for R9 (red), 99.3 for R13 (closest to caucasian skin tones), and 98.4 for R15 (closest to Asian skin tones). These are excellent results, and only R12 (Blue) was below 90.

The light, when set at 5600K, recorded a TLCI score of 99.

	EXT. CRI	R9	R13	R15
SmallRig RC 220C	96.55	96.4	99.3	98.4
Godox Litemons LA200R	93.84	95.6	94.3	95.6

Above, you can see how that compares to the Godox Litemons LA200R.

3200K (55° Reflector )

Above, you can see the scores for when the light was used at 3200K. It recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 97.7 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 96.48. For replicating accurate skin tones, it recorded 98.4 for R9 (red), 97.5 for R13 (closest to caucasian skin tones), and 98.3 for R15 (closest to Asian skin tones).

These results were fairly comparable to when the light was used at 5600K.

The light, when set at 3200K, recorded a TLCI score of 90, which was pretty low for a modern-day fixture.

	EXT. CRI	R9	R13	R15
SmallRig RC 220C	96.48	98.4	97.5	98.3
Godox Litemons LA200R	94.86	97.1	93.8	96.6

Above, you can see how that compares to the Godox Litemons LA200R.

The CRI scores were excellent, and a lot better than anything else I have seen at this price.

CC Index & ⊿uv

The CC Index displays the CC correction value and whether any magenta or green need to be added or subtracted. 1 CC corresponds to 035 Kodak CC values or 1/8 Rosco filter values. Any reading less than +1.00 or -1.00 and you’re probably not going to need to make any kind of adjustment. The ⊿uv is the value to show how much this light is away from being an ideal light source (black body radiation = incandescent lamp). As with the CC Index you want this number to theoretically be zero. Kelvin is not a linear value, so we need to convert from Kelvin to MK-1 to compare the values of color temperature. To calculate from Kelvin to Mired is MK-1= 1*1000000/Kelvin. While this may sound confusing, it is the only way of measuring if the Kelvin shift is significant enough to warrant having to use a filter for correction. Below are the results for the SmallRig RC 220C when used open faced:

Kelvin Vs MK-1

	Kelvin	Difference in K	MK-1	Difference in MK-1
SET VALUE	2500K	0	400	0
ACTUAL READING	2450K	50	408.16	-8.16 MK-1
SET VALUE	3200K	0	312.5	0
ACTUAL READING	3121K	79	320.41	-7.91 MK-1
SET VALUE	4500K	0	222.22	0
ACTUAL READING	4403K	97	227.11	-4.89 MK-1
SET VALUE	5600K	0	178.57	0
ACTUAL READING	5482K	118	182.41	-3.84 MK-1
SET VALUE	6500K	0	153.84	0
ACTUAL READING	6381K	119	156.71	-2.87 MK-1
SET VALUE	8000K	0	125	0
ACTUAL READING	7981K	19	125.29	-0.29 MK-1
SET VALUE	10000K	0	100	0
ACTUAL READING	10143K	143	98.59	1.41 MK-1

These figures might look confusing, but what they tell me is that the light is fairly Kelvin color-accurate at 4500K and above. Any MK-1 score that is under -9/9 means you wouldn’t have to use any color correction gels. The MK-1 scores for this light, when used at 2500K and 3200K could have been better. Now, these are just one set of results, and we can’t jump to any conclusions.

CC INDEX & ⊿uv

	CC INDEX	⊿uv
2500K	0.1G	0.0003
3200K	0	-0.0001
4500K	0	-0.0011
5600K	0.3G	-0.0021
6500K	0.5G	-0.0028
8000K	0.9G	-0.0034
10000K	1.2G	-0.0033

The light’s ⊿uv scores were very good, from 2500K to 4500K. The CC Index scores were also very good from 2500K to 6500K. At 8000K and 10,000K, they were not very good. The score of 1.2G at 10,000K was the worst I have seen from any light I have tested.

TM-30

TM-30 is a relatively new color rendering standard that was developed to deal with the limitations of CRI. TM-30 looks at 99 individual colors. These 99 colors are categorized into seven groups: nature, skin color, textiles, paints, plastics, printed material, and color systems.

TM-30 scores go from 0 – 100. The higher the score, the more accurate a light is at producing colors. Any TM-30 Rf score in the ’90s is considered to be good. What is interesting and something that you need to be very aware of is that two separate light sources with the exact same CRI scores can render colors very differently. A light with a high CRI rating could have a low TM-30 score. Conversely, a light with a good TM-30 score could have a bad CRI score.

Now, there are two measurements associated with TM-30, Rf and Rg.

• Rf (Color Fidelity)
• Rg (Color Gamut)

With Rf value, ideally, you want a score in the 90’s.

With Rg value, a score below 100 indicates that the light source renders colors with less saturation than the reference source. So, ideally, you want this score to be above 100.

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Above, you can see the scores for the RC 220C at various Kelvin color temperatures.

Here are the results:

	Rf	Rg
2500K	95	100
3200K	96	101
4500K	96	102
5600K	96	102
6500K	95	101
8000K	93	100
10000K	91	99

These were good results, and they show me that the light is capable of producing fully saturated colors at almost all of its CCT settings.

Accuracy when creating saturated colors

Let’s see how the SmallRig RC 220C performs when creating super-saturated colors.

0° – RED

Above, you can see that the light recorded an output of 2870 lx / 267 fc @1m / 3.3′.

As far as creating an accurate 0° RED, the RC 220C was 1° off.

120° – GREEN

Above, you can see that the light recorded an output of 8,880 lx (825 fc) @1m / 3.3′.

As far as creating an accurate 120° GREEN, the RC 220C was perfect with a 120° reading and 100% saturation.

240° – BLUE

Above, you can see that the light recorded an output of 1140 lx (134 fc) @1m / 3.3′.

As far as creating an accurate 240° BLUE, the RC 220C was 1° off with a reading of 241°.

60° – YELLOW

Above, you can see that the light recorded an output of 9120 lx (847 fc).

As far as creating an accurate 60° Yellow, the RC 220C was 18° off with a reading of 78°.

SSI

SSI (Spectral Similarity Index) was developed by the Sci-Tech Council of the Academy. SSI gives me the ability to set any light as a standard, or use predefined standards (such as CIE D55), and then give other lights an SSI score based on how well they will match standards such as CIE D55. This way, I can measure spectral response and compare it directly against an ideal light source. This is actually a much better test than recording CRI scores.

3200K

In this graph, the red bars indicate a perfect Planck 3200K source. The gold bars indicate a perfect 3200K Tungsten source. This lets us compare how close to a perfect 3200K lighting source the SmallRig RC 220C is. Any SSI score in the high 70’s, low ’80s is very good for a 3200K LED light. Most LED lights have a hard time replicating colors below about 450nm, but the SmallRig can do it.

	SSI TUNGSTEN
SmallRig RC 220C	89
Godox Litemons LA200R	75

Above, you can see how that compares to the Godox Litemons LA200R.

5600K

In the graph above, the gold bars indicate a perfect CIE D55 source. The red bars indicate a perfect CIE D 5600K source. This lets us compare how close to a perfect 5600K lighting source the RC 220C is. A score in the low 70’s is typical for a 5600K LED source. The RC 220C had an excellent score of 87.

	SSI CIE D55
SmallRig RC 220C	87
Godox Litemons LA200R	66

Above, you can see how that compares to the Godox Litemons LA200R.

The main reason we want to record SSI scores is so we can see how well they match with other lights. As an example, I wanted to see how well the SmallRig RC 220C matched the ARRI Orbiter and the Aputure STORM 1000c. Below you can see the results.

As you can see, the Apture is a slightly better match to the SmallRig.

At 5600K, it was a pretty good match to the Aputure, but not a very good match to the ARRI.

SSI tests are a great way of telling you what lights you own or use will work well together.

Spectral Distribution

5600K

Above, you can see the spectral distribution of the SmallRig RC 220C when it is set at 5600K. The spectral distribution is very good for a light set at 5600K.

Above, you can see the spectral response of the Aputure STORM 1000c.

As a comparison, above, you can see the spectral distribution of the Godox Litemons LA200R when it is set at 5600K. The spectral distribution is a bit all over the place, and you can see a big green spike.

3200K

Above, you can see the spectral distribution of the SmallRig RC 220C when it is set at 3200K. The spectral distribution is nice and full.

As a comparison, above, you can see the spectral distribution of the Godox Litemons LA200R when it is set at 3200K. Again, just like at 5600K, the spectral distribution isn’t overly full, and there is a green spike.

Real-World Performance & Quality of Light

As I always say, photometric scores only tell you part of the story. So let’s find out if the scores from SmallRig RC 220C translate into good real-world performance.

The photometric data can only give me scientific data, and it is much more important for me to see how the light looks and performs.

It is very easy to create a soft, flattering light source using the RC 220C by using modifiers. I found that by using a softbox you could create a very soft lighting source without needing to punch it through a diffusion screen. This makes it a very quick and easy light to use for interview situations or for any scenario where you need soft light. While the light doesn’t fully fill up a big softbox, it still does a decent enough job.

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Above, you can see what the light looks like with a softbox being used. For these examples, the light was set at 48% intensity.

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Above, you can see what the light looks like when it is placed outside and punched through a curtain sheer. I have kept the camera settings the same for all of the shots.

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Above, you can see what the light looks like when it is being punched directly into the ceiling with its reflector.

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Above, you can see what it looks like when it is bounced directly down onto the table.

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Above you can see what the light looks like at a distance of 3m / 9.9′ from the wall when it is used with its reflector and open faced.

Who is the SmallRig RC 220C aimed at?

Just like most LED lights that are this size and have this type of output, you could use the SmallRig RC 220C for lots of different applications, but the light is certainly being aimed at budget-conscious shooters who want a good quality full color COB fixture that won’t cost a fortune. The ability to run the light remotely via a V-lock battery, albeit at a lower output, is also going to increase its appeal.

It is priced to appeal to owner-operators who are looking for a jack-of-all-trades lighting solution. The SmallRig RC 220C has the ability to be a hard light source or a soft source. There is a reason that COB lights such as this have become very popular with shooters, and that is because of their versatility.

The SmallRig RC 220C is likely to appeal to solo shooters and small crews who are looking for a similar light to some of the offerings from amaran and Nanlite, etc.

Accessories

As the SmallRig RC 220C uses a Bowens mount so you can attach a large range of affordable accessories and modifiers. If you own multiple lights that utilize a Bowens mount, you can swap and switch around accessories.

Price & Availability

The SmallRig RC 220C RGB is now available to pre-order for $409 USD.

Below, you can see how the price compares to some of the competition:

	PRICE
SmallRig RC 220C RGB	$409 USD
Godox Litemons LA200R RGB LED Monolight	$419 USD
Nanlite FS-300C RGB LED Monolight	$384 USD*
amaran 150c RGB LED Monolight	$251 USD*
COLBOR CL220R 220W RGB COB LED	$319 USD*
GVM SD200R RGB & Bi-Color LED	$239 USD*

*Currently on sale at B&H as of the 29th June 2025.

The SmallRig RC 220C RGB faces stiff competition from competing fixtures made by Godox, amaran, Nanlite, COLBOR, and GVM.

Conclusion

The SmallRig RC 220C RGB is a good option if you are looking for an affordable full-color fixture. Its SSI scores were excellent, and it has a reasonable amount of output for a light that draws 220W. The CCT accuracy could be better; however, the CRI and TLCI scores were outstanding.

The build quality could certainly be better, and when using a V-mount battery, the output is limited to 68%. In saying that, being able to run the fixture remotely, albeit at a lower output, from a flight-safe battery does add to its appeal.

The light is compact and easy to travel with, and you can use it with smaller-sized light stands.

The interface and operating system are reasonably straightforward and easy to use. The app is pretty basic, but it gets the job done. By utilizing a Bowens Mount you can utilize a large array of lighting modifiers without having to spend a ton of money.

The fan noise is almost non-existent, which means it can easily be used when recording critical audio.

With a lot of modern LED lights, the quality of the LEDs being used is very similar, even across the price spectrum. What separates the lights comes down to build quality, features, ecosystem, and usability.

The biggest issue SmallRig faces is that they are a company that makes a lot of different products, and they have to compete against dedicated lighting companies that are making similar options. If you are not a recognized brand in lighting, you need to either be a lot more affordable than your competition or offer features and functionality that other fixtures don’t have. SmallRig also doesn’t make any fixtures with a power draw above 220W, so that is also a factor that may be potentially swaying customers away from the brand.

The SmallRig RC 220C RGB has some small caveats, but overall it is a very solid option, and arguably the best ‘affordable’ 220W RGB light that is currently on the market. It may not have as much output as some other competing options, but its photometric color results were excellent, and the SI scores were right up there with the best I have seen.

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