Adaptalux Studio LED Combo Pack

Ian Pack reviews the modular Medusa of macro lighting

- Ian Pack

Adaptalux Studio is a unique modular lighting system for macro photography which is compact and adaptable. The concept was initially created by Samuel Granger for his product design final dissertation project at university. He then continued the project from his parents' garage, and ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to launch the company. I was attracted to Adaptalux because conventional ring flashes, LEDs or lens-mounted light sources don't always place the light where it's really needed for close-up shooting. In contrast, Adaptalux uses LEDs which are small and therefore well scaled to macro-sized subjects.

At the heart of the Adaptalux Studio system is the USB-C rechargeable Control Pod 3.0 which gives up to 12 hours of light from a full charge, which takes approximately 2.5 hours. This run-time is based upon using two lighting arms running at 50%. If you need to extend the battery life of the Pod, it's possible to use a USB-C power source. Outdoors that would mean a power bank that many of us now carry out of necessity for most location photography.

Up to five LED lighting arms may be connected to the control pod via patented magnetic connectors. The LEDs are located at the end of the flexible arms within a threaded shade which extends to control the spread of the light. The white LEDs are 5700K with a CRI of 90 and available with either 200 or 400 lumen output.

Adaptalux Studio App