Zhiyun Molus B500 COB Light Review
I was recently contacted by Zhiyun and asked to make a review of their new Molus B500 COB light. I recently reviewed their Molus X60 and was really impressed with the quality of the light so I jumped on the opportunity to review their new 500 watt led light. The Molus B500 is an ultra bright LED light that can deliver a lot of light in a small compact form factor. Considering the size of traditional 500 watt light Zhiyun has done an amazing job shrinking the technology into a small compact body. This might be the perfect light for content creators who are constantly on the go and need a lot of power.
Light Weight and Easy to Set Up
For me the most appealing thing about the Molus B500 is the easy setup and weight. As someone who shoots a lot of talking head videos for clients I’m always lugging my gear around. My GVM 650B weighs 23 lbs while this Molus B500 only weighs 7 lbs. I could replace my GVM light with two Molus B500 lights and it would still weigh less then my one main light. The other really nice thing about the Molus B500 is that it only needs one plug for setup. You just plug it into the outlet and turn it on whereas with my other lights I have to connect to a battery pack then connect that battery to the light. So setup and teardown time is a lot faster and if you’ve ever done a full day video shoot you know that taking down your lights is a struggle when you’re fried. So big win to the Molus B500 for being compact and easy to setup.
Bowens Mount
Another nice feature of this light is that is has a standard Bowens mount connection which opens up the door to a wide range of light modifiers on the the market. When it comes to the Bowens mount whatever you need you can probably find it for a Bowens mount.
Drawbacks
From my testing there are only two drawbacks to the Molus B500 and neither is a deal breaker. In order to keep the weight down Zhiyun used a plastic shell around the light. I’m honestly happy to have less weight to carry around to shoots but on the other hand I don’t think this light could take much abuse. If you drop it i’m sure it will crack the shell. The other drawback is the noise. With three fans per light they create a lot of noise. If you have a four light setup that’s 12 fans going. In my testing I found that the fan noise is easy to reduce in post production. But it may create some limitations so it’s something to be aware of. Something worth noting is that the fans cycle down to a minimum spin when the power of the light was set to 50% or lower. So fan noise might not even be an issue depending on how you use your lights.
YouTube Review
Watch the youtube review for more information about the light.
Sample Photos
I wanted to test out the Molus B500 in a photo shoot situation. All these shots were lit with the Molus B500 and a variety of light modifiers which you can see in the video. I used the Molus X60 as a secondary light in a few shots. Images shot with the Fujifilm GFX 100s. These are jpgs right out of camera using a Fuji film simulation and a bit of skin retouching in photoshop.
📷 Product photos Canon EOS R5 + RF 28-70mm f2
📷 Portrait Photos Fujifilm GFX 100S + GF 45mm f2.8 & GF 80mm f1.7
Fujifilm Recipe Used
GFX 100S
Film Sim: Classic Chrome
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Color Chrome FX Blue: Strong
White balance: Auto
Tone Curve: H0, S-2
Dynamic Range: DR200
Color: +4
Sharpness: -2
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: 0
🚀 EQUIPMENT USED TO MAKE THIS VIDEO
Canon EOS R5 - https://amzn.to/3snWNve
DJI Osmo Pocket 3 - https://amzn.to/3W1bas7
Fujifilm GFX 100s - https://amzn.to/479uNRr
Canon RF 15-35mm f2.8 L IS USM - https://amzn.to/32fkIma
Canon EF 50mm f2.5 Macro - https://amzn.to/3afvQUq
Fujifilm GF 45mm f2.8 - https://amzn.to/3V25qgG
Fujifilm GF 80mm f1.7 - https://amzn.to/4dzIQTQ
Tiffen Enhancing Filter - https://amzn.to/3qAWiPX
Tiffen 6 Point Star Filter - https://amzn.to/4dKsJ6e
Tiffen Pro Mist 1/8 - https://amzn.to/3uYDXMs
NiSi True Color VND - https://amzn.to/3YbYL29
NiSi True Color Circular Polarizer - https://amzn.to/3YdjJxH
⭐ Zhuyun Molus B500 - https://amzn.to/3ynuk1w
Zhiyun Molus X60 - https://amzn.to/3TJo4JK
Weeylite K21 RGB Light Stick - https://amzn.to/37YN5vv
Sennheiser AVX MKE2 LAV - https://amzn.to/3x6VtTk
