Mirfak Moin L1 Light
Cameras need light! Photography and videography are all about catching the light and if there isn`t enough light and it limits your ability to get your shots you need some assistance. The Moin L1 is one of the options you can go for if you need a small, compact, yet powerful light source to carry around for those occasions.
An external light source can have two purposes in general – Adding light to the scene so overcome the limitations of the camera or adding light for creative purposes. Portable light sources are good to cover both of them and there are a few of them on the market. Looking at action camera lights (that also work with all other cameras) there are a few that are pretty similar, both in design and features. Besides the Moin L1 you can check out the reviews of The Lume Cube, The Litra Torch or the somewhat different Qudos Action Light.
The Moin L1 Overview
The Moin L1 by Mirfak comes in a small display box with a cardboard bottom and a Plexi top to showcase the product. Compared to the Lume Cube box it`s a lot smaller and uses less material that goes in the bin (Lume Cube rep said they will drastically reduce the packaging material). I do appreciate a nice thought out packaging but I also believe there has to be a good balance between a good package design that showcases the effort put in the product itself and using too much material that creates excess waste. The Moin L1 I think has found that balance.
In the Box
- Moin L1
- Adapter Ring
- White Color Filter
- Charging Cable
- User Manual
The first thing you will notice is the dedicated charging cable. When most other lights or GoPro accessories use standard USB cables for charging the Moin L1 has a custom cable. The round, tipped cable has a magnetic connection and the cable attaches to the charging port with the magnet. I see the merit of this magnetic connection – there are no latches or ports to open and there are no places for the water or dust to sneak in and you don’t need any tools to open the charging port.
The downside is that if you lose the cable of leave it home and need to charge the light you are fucked! I usually use just one or two cables to charge all my devices so now I need to keep track of another one.
The light itself has a familiar cube shape and comes in all matte black finish. There are cooling grooves on all sides to help distribute the heat on long periods of use. The screw mount is at the bottom and the function button and the magnetic charging port at the back. The entire backside is actually magnetized so you can mount the light on any metal surface.
Moin L1 Features
- 3200 – 5600 Adjustable Colour Temperature
- Up to 1000 Lumens Brightness
- Rechargeable 800mAh Li-Ion Battery
- 2 Hour Battery Life at 100%
- 1/4″ Thread and Magnet Mount
- IP68 Waterproof Rating up to 32.8′
- 6 LED’s (3 @ 3200 and 3 @ 5600)
- Dimensions 1.6″ x 1.6″ x 1.6″ (40mm x 40mm x 40mm)
- Weight 2.43oz or 69g
- Free App
The first thing that stands out and separates Mirfak Moin L1 from the competition (like the Lume Cube or Litra Torch) is the fact that you can change the light temperature either from the single button or from the app. This is one of the biggest features and a really useful one.
Usually, LED lights have a very cold tone and need filters to warm the light. The harsh cold light can be very unflattering when lighting people so the L1 hits the nail on the head with this feature. The ability to change the light temp can be a lifesaver for those occasions when you don’t have the filters at hand or you don’t have the time to clip them on. You can change the temperature by double-pressing the button.
The L1 has six LED elements in total, and three are warm and three are cold. So when adjusting the color tone you decrease and increase the intensity of either cold or warm elements. If you switch off wither the cold or warm light from the app you only have three elements on.
The light is pretty powerful but at 100% it’s still less than Lume Cube that maxes out at 1500 Lumens compared to 1000 Lumens for the L1. You can adjust the brightness from the app or tapping the button. Manually you have 5 steps of brightness and from the app, you have much more control over the brightness. You can also adjust the cold and warm light brightness separately.
The other great feature of the L1 is the strobe mode and the Morse Code mode. You can actually type any text in the app and the L1 will flash your message in morse code. Pretty cool.
The L1 also comes with four colored filters: orange, yellow, green, blue. The filter adapter sits very firmly on the cube and the filters are super easy to change. Compared to Litra Torch that has a very fiddly filter adapter and changing the filters is not that easy and secure. Since the L1 is not as bright as the Lume Cube, for example, the light does not get very hot at all. This is a huge advantage when using it for a long time.
There are some things the Moin L1 does really well and some things that fall short in comparison to the competition. Here`s a quick feature list comparing some of those key features.
| Moin L1 | Lume Cube | Litra Torch |
| 1000 Lumens | 1500 Lumens | 800 lumens |
| Trobe Mode | Strobe mode | |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth | |
| – | Optical Slave Flash | – |
| Waterproof to 32.8ft | Waterproof to 100 ft | Waterproof to 60 ft |
| Magnet charging cable | USB cable | USB cable |
| $49 | $79.95 | $79 |
| Magnet back | – | Magnet back |
| – | – | Belt clip |
| One screw mount | One screw mount | Two screw mounts |
So there are a few things going for the Moin L1 – Its a lot cheaper than the competition, it has Bluetooth connectivity and a great app, its lighter and doesn’t get hot.
The app ( get it from Google Play or iTunes) is easy to use and navigate. The only thing I noticed is that the warning “The front glass is too hot, caution” is always on. I`m not sure if that is supposed to be there or not.
What I love about the Moin L1
- Lightweight
- Adjustable color temperature
- Magnetic charging cable
- Does not get hot
- Good filter holder
- Cheap
Things I don`t love
- Magnetic charging cable – if you lose it you need to buy a new one
- The material feels cheaper in hand
- Not as bright as some competition
Mirfak Moin L1 light – Final verdicts
It`s a really great light! I love that it`s a LOT cheaper than some and it still has Bluetooth connectivity. The ability to change color temperature is absolutely great and you can do it either from the app or from the single function button. The unique charging cable leaves me on the fence – I love the fact that you don’t need to open up any ports to charge so there’s no danger of getting water or dirt in the charging port. But it also means you need to carry it around and can’t just use any random USB cable you have laying around.
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