Aputure 300D Alternative? | NiceFoto HA-3300B Review

These COB LED lights, the ones with the big LED chip have become very popular over the last few years with Aputure leading the way with their 300D; something which we have used in the past to shoot our short film The Asylum Groove.

From our experience, the 300d is a very good light, but one of the main reason we have not bought one is because of the price.

So when a company called NiceFoto contacted us saying they have a light which has a very similar design to the 300d, but is brighter and is nearly half the price, we weren't going to say no to reviewing it.

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Just to say up top Nice Foto did send us the HA-3300B light to review, but everything in this video is our honest opinion.

Specs

Let's start off with the specs of the light.

We will be comparing this light to the Aputure 300D when we can, but we cannot do a side by side comparison as we don’t own one.

So everything we say about the 300d will be from our own experiences of using the light and some spec information which Aputure provides.

The HA-3300B is a 330W LED light. The output at one meter away with the standard reflector cone is 52000 LUX or a F20 at ISO200 1/50th of a second.

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In the real world, this is well over a 2k light.

The Aputure 300D has an output of 31000 LUX or F11 at ISO 200 1/50th of a second at the same distance and reflector cone.

As you can see at 100% you would need to shoot at a higher f-stop to capture the correct exposure for the Nice Photo light.

Basically, the Nice Foto light is a brighter than the 300D.

The colour temperature is 5600K with the 300D being 5500k and both have a CRI rating of 95 plus.

You can dim the light in 10% increments, down to 10%. This doesn’t give you as much control as the 300D were you can change the brightness a percentage at a time but in practice, 10% increments are enough.

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All of this is controlled on the light or via the wireless remote, and if you have a few of these lights you can control them all from one remote.

To keep the light cool there are 3 fans built in, which work great. We have had the light running for a few hours and it stayed super cool.

If people are concerned about fan noise from any of these types of lights, don't be. If you are recording your audio correctly, your mic should be pointing toward your subject and not the light.

Even if you are standing right next to the light, just position your mic away from it and you're never going to hear the fans over dialogue.

Build Quality

The main body of the light and the arm is made out of metal, but the knobs and handle are made out of plastic.

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This is unlike the 300D, were most of the parts are made out of metal. This is where NiceFoto has saved money to make the light much cheaper.

After using this light a bunch of times it still has the feel of a high-quality product and it is going to last a long time.

The light has a Bowens mount and comes with a reflector cone. The Bowens mount is the same one you get on the 300D, so you could attach all of the Aputure Bowens attachments like the fresnel, softbox, and space light to this light.

There are loads of different Bowens mount attachments out there, which allow you to turn this light into many different types of light.

We are going to be making a video about all of the different Bowens mount attachments and how many different sources of light you can get from one light. So if you haven't already consider subscribing.

Power

The light has a very similar power setup to the 300d. First, you plug the DC cable into the light and then into the power adapter. The best thing about the power adapter is this strap which lets you easily attach it to the light stand.

This was the biggest problem we had when using the Aputure lights, as you had to hang the power and the control panel from the light stand.

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This little strap makes it safer and saves rigging time on the NiceFoto light.

Next, you plug the AC cable into the power adapter, which is 5 meters long.

NiceFoto are releasing a V-Lock battery pack so you can use this light via batteries.

How have we used this light

We have used this light to bring up the general ambient light in a room by bouncing the light off the wall and ceiling.

We have used it at night to shine more direct light into our scene to bring up the exposure of our character, which is something we wouldn't have been able to do before.

We are also using it right now to light up this presenting setup. It is currently on 10% about 3 meters away shining through a shower curtain, creating a large soft light.

Negatives

One negative with this light is that it does not come with a bag. It’s an awkward shape and to protect it when in transport, it really needs a bag.

If we find one in the future that fits this light, we will add it into the description below.

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Positives

You get a lot of light for the price, and that is what it comes down to. At nearly half the price of the Aputure 300D, you are getting a light which is brighter, at the same quality, and it has the same flexibility with the Bowens mount attachments at nearly half the price…

which I know I have mentioned but is worth saying again.

So who is this light for? It's for people that need a light that can replicate the sun, but also the control to turn one light in too many different sources of light.

This light holds up and beats the 300D in some categories, so if you are looking for a cheap alternative to the 300D you can find a link in the description below to the Nice Foto light.


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