Metz Mecalight S500 BC

Andy Westlake tests a compact, well-featured LED light panel

£119.99 www.intro2020.co.uk

WHILE LED panels are mostly associated with video, they can be useful lighting tools for stills photographers. They can go some way towards replicating fill-flash, for example, with the added advantage that you can see the effects live.

Metz’s Mecalight S500 BC is a compact, flat unit that’s roughly the size of a smartphone. It sports 117 surface-mount LEDs, of which 60 are daylight-balanced with a colour temperature of 5500K, while the rest are 3000K, similar to standard household lighting. This allows the colour to be continuously adjusted to match a wide range of light sources, or simply for creative effect. The brightness is finely adjustable in 5% steps, from full power down to 5%, equating to a little more than a four-stops range. The colour rendering index (CRI) is specified as >96, meaning your images should maintain accurate colours.

Output settings are straightforward to control using four small buttons arranged around the edge. Pressing the power button on the side first activates the OLED status panel, allowing you to adjust settings. Two buttons marked + and - increase or decrease the values, while another toggles between brightness and colour temperature. A second tap of the power button then turns the light on. Another press switches it off again while keeping the screen active, whereas holding the button down for a second turns the unit off entirely. It will also auto power- off after 10 minutes of inactivity.

Along with the brightness and colour-temperature settings, the OLED screen displays a battery level indicator and a useful estimate for how long the light should last. When recharging, the screen helpfully shows the time remaining until the battery is full.

The S500 BC’s neat design is complemented by impressive build quality, with a sturdy-feeling aluminium casing. The diffuser panel is attached using an ingenious elastic band that holds it clear of the LED array, but the fact that Metz supplies two of these suggests it’s not entirely confident about their robustness. The screw-in hot-shoe mount also slightly spoils the neatness of the overall design.

Diffuser The removable frosted-plastic diffuser panel stands proud of the LED array, held in place by an ingeniously designed silicone-rubber band. Status display A small, colour OLED screen on the back shows the current output settings and battery status. Power The built-in 2300mAh Li-ion battery is rated for approximately an hour at full output. It is charged though a standard micro USB socket. Tripod mount The device incorporates a standard 1∕4in socket, with a hot-shoe adapter included in the box.