Sokani LED. Power, Waterproof and fits in the Palm of your Hand. Really. Short review. No messing around.

I was ordering some batteries the other day on Amazon and while I was on their site I looked around at the current state of LED lighting. These tiny lights caught my eye and I dug a little deeper. They are amazingly simple. These lights are 8 Watt 200 lux capable at full power and advertiser as capable....oh what the hell? Here are the specs on the site:

Color temperature: 5600K(±100K),3200K(±100K) when using 3200K Diffuser
Color Rendering: Ra≥95, TLCL≥95
Built-in Lithium Battery Capacity: 1600mAh
COB Bulbs Quantity: 1
Maximum Power: 8W
Input Voltage and Current: 5V/1A(normal charge)5V/2.1A(quick charge or continuously working)
Beam Angle: 120°
Illuminance: 2400LUX/0.3M 1000LUX/0.5M 200LUX/1M
Battery working time: about 1 hour under 100% power output constantly; about 12 hours under 25% power output
Bottom Screw hole: 1/4"
Weight:: 80g
Dimensions:50mm*45mm*45mm
Waterproof：20M / 65ft

Package Including:

1 x LED Light
1 x USB charging cable
1 x Soft light diffuser
1 x 3200K Diffuser
12 x Color Gel
1 x Product Manual

So, they are actually super bright for their size and the big, fun thing is that they are waterproof to 65ft (that's 20 meters for our non-USA friends...). They charge their internal batteries from a USB connection that hides under a screw-in port on the opposite side of the unit from the COB (chip on a board) sensor. At the power levels we're talking about here you certainly aren't going to light up a set or slash a spotlight across a scene from 50 feet away but....

If you put two of these at full power, pushed the light through a layer of 1.5 stop silk, and used something like a Lumix S1 or a Sigma fp at 6400 or 8000 or 12,000 ISO I think you actually could film a very decent looking video clip with them. Alternately, you could add just the right amount of fill light to a low light photographic scene. There is a water proof on/off switch on the top that cycles through from off > 1/4 > 1/2 > 3/4 and full power and on the other three sides are quarter inch, threaded mounting points. You can mount these on a video cage, add a hot shoe mount and put them on your camera, use a stand adapter to put them on a light stand or just have your favorite super-model hold them and point them in the correct direction.

I bought two of them to have around. In a pinch they make great flashlights. I can think of a thousand uses for them. But the reason I think they are really great is that: I can use them in a pool, in the rain, in the sink, down the drain, I can use them in a flood, I can use them in the mud. I can use them in Scotch and water, I can use them to film an otter. I can use them covered with drool, I can break each lighting rule. 

And look!!! No magic cables to make things anti-science and oh so complicated!!!

Video with sound effects included just for fun. And now you've read this; we're all done.

Cost = $38 a piece. The cost of half a tuna sandwich at the Plaza.