Which key lights for podcast studio ?

Technical/Equipment Help and Information

Hi there,

I am revamping/upgrading my podcast studio and I am looking to buy two key lights but I'm in between the following

  1. The amaran COB 200x S Bi-Color LED Monolight (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1753990-REG/amaran\_apm022xa10\_amaran\_cob\_200x\_s.html)
  2. Nanlite FS-300B Bi-Color LED Monolight (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1710116-REG/nanlite\_fs\_300b\_bi\_color\_led\_spot.html)

Both are in my budget so price isn't really an issue.

Here's what the podcast setup looks like
- 2 person interview, 3 camera set-up in a room without windows. The room is approx 20 square meters (approx 215 square feet) but the guest and host will be pretty close to each other
- Planning on designing a background with some nice ambient lights, either some neon bars and branded neon signs, or a shelf with plants and small lamps. So background will be somewhat lit.
- Planning on using a grided softbox (36") for the light

I'm between the two lights above as the primary light but I don't know which to use. From the specs, sounds like they have similar output in terms of lux, but my understanding is that the higher wattage of the nanlitee will yield better brightness with a softbox.
However the aputure light is much ligher, so it's easier to transport if we need to film an episode on location (which sometimes happens).

I guess my question is, from the specs I shared above, do you think the amaran will be bright enough to be the key studio light, or should I go for the nanline with higher wattage? Again price isn't much of a criteria

Posted Dec 1, 2025, 7:01 PM UTC

10
Loading comments…