Hobolite Mini Max 40W LED Light Explained

by Jose PradaSeptember 18^th, 2024

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At IBC 2024, we had the chance to talk to Helena Bian – Hobolite’s founder and CEO. She spoke to us about the company’s history, its concept, her background, and the new Hobolite Mini Max 40W LED, a bi-color light with portability and efficiency as main features. Let’s see what we found out!

Update: Hoblite have officially changed their company name to “Harlowe”.

We have written about Hobolite in the past, like in this article about the Avant Max and Mini Max. The brand was established two years ago and has their headquarters in Shangai, with a branding division in the US. However, the story began twenty-four years ago, with their parent company, AEC Lighting Solutions, designing, engineering, and manufacturing premium lighting solutions for the industrial and automotive industries, for example. Hence, their concern about delivering high-end products that will stand the test of time and heavy usage.

When asked why so many Chinese women are in charge of companies, Helena told us that the Chinese policy of having only one child allows women to have time for education and a career. In her case, her passion for art, design, and engineering were the motors that brought Hobolite to life.

Hobolite Mini Max 40W LED – brightness and efficiency.

If Hobolite has something special at first sight, it is the uniqueness of their products’ design and look, which come from Helena’s passion for photography and art and the conviction that lights could be as beautiful as cameras or watches. She wanted lights to be considered as important and good-looking as cameras; lights are essential for an image’s visual outcome and quality. Aligned with this premium concept, all the manufacturing and design occur in-house.

The new Mini Max is a 40W LED fixture that answers to the concepts of efficiency and brightness since, thanks to its optical design and a 20-50 degree lens, those 40W can be increased by 350%. With one lens rotation, we can focus the light to a point where the fixture can approximately match the brightness of a 180W fixture. Another function of this optical design is to deliver clean, smooth quality of light. 

A light for today’s shooters

Helena reflects on the ‘new normal’ in the content creation world: shooting on location. Hence, their efforts to produce a portable light that users can carry in a backpack without adding much weight and space to our total workload. That makes sense for documentary shooters traveling and checking in their luggage. 

What is the best gear? The gear in your backpack. 

Helena Bian, Hobolite’s CEO and founder

Regarding powering options, the Travel Kit features a LiteDock Power Bank handle that makes it possible to carry and use with one hand in a balanced way. The handle also features a ball head to angle the fixture in the desired position. Other ways of powering are through any PD-approved fast charging system or via a V-Mount battery.

Ease of use is another concern for the brand, which understands that not everyone using a light fixture is a professional videographer or lighting expert. In that sense, the philosophy behind its simplicity of use is to simplify things and focus on the creative aspect instead. The fixture has one knob for brightness and another one for color adjustments. We can control effects and more refined settings from a smartphone app. 

The connections are USB-Type C. The company’s philosophy is not to force customers to use proprietary accessories but to keep them open with standard connections, cables, etc. Similarly, the native mount can be adapted to Bowens mount to use existing modifiers following this standard. Hobolite also has their own modifiers, such as a quick-release softbox.

Hobolite wanted the Mini Max to be an efficient light, so they built it as a bi-color fixture instead of an RGB one. According to Helena, 95% of the time, users are lighting within the bi-color spectrum. For the occasion when they need more options, the Creator and Travel kits include six gels and a diffuser that attaches magnetically to the fixture.  

Price and availability 

The new Hobolite Mini Max 40W LED light is available in two colors (classic and midnight) and three different kits. The Standard and Travel kits cost $599 each, and the Creator Kit retails at $799.

For more information, please visit the product’s website here

Have you ever used Hobolite products? How do you like their vintage-inspired design? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.