Lighting Head to Head: NanLite Forza 300 vs. Aputure 300d Mk II Which is better? NanLite Forza 300 or the Aputure 300d Mk II

In the video above videographer, Bart Johnson does a head to head comparison between two of the most interesting high power COB LED lights of 2019 – the new Aputure 300d Mk II and the NanLite Forza 300.

Aputure has been gaining more and more attention in recent years making improvements after improvements to their LED lineup. The new 300d Mk II which we covered here only recently when it was announced is a very impressive COB LED. It includes a very long list of improvements including a number of major ones like the 20% brighter COB than its already powerful predecessor (with 5500K color temperature) and very high CRI/TLCI rating.

It also has an all-new, hyper-efficient 55° reflector a completely redesigned all-in-one silent control box, a new quick-release Lightning Clamp, 50% power with a single battery, it now supports the new Sidus Link Mobile App,  a new and better-designed yoke, and new stronger and better carrying case and there is much much more.

The new NanLite Forza 300 comes from a completely new brand (although the company behind it has been making LEDs for many of the big names in the industry for years). It is a very compact and relatively lightweight COB with fewer bells and whistles but also a lot of emphasis on what actually counts such as power and color accuracy and it seems to have both of these in spades (we are actually hoping to test it ourselves in the not too distant future).

As for which LED wins this head to head – there is really no clear winner. It seems that the NanLite Forza 300 is a little bit more powerful and a little bit more color accurate as well as lighter but the Aputure 300d Mk II is better designed and has more features (some of them are really useful such as the included remote and app and the ability to use only a single battery for half the output). Both cost around $1200 at the moment (check prices for both on Amazon/B&H – NanLite Forza 300 and Aputure 300d Mk II).

If you liked this video you will surely like Jay P. Morgan and Kenneth Morgan’s extensive gear guide on 13 different COB LEDs under $1000 that we published here just a few weeks ago.

You can check out more of the videos from our photography gear guides section here on LensVid, and you can find all of Bart Johnson’s other videos on LensVid in the following link.

Iddo Genuth
Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.

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