Today, we are taking a quick look at the RC10C by SmallRig. This is a 10W compact flashlight-style, color gobo holder/spotlight.
Photo/Video “flashlights”
This is not the first time that we have looked at a flashlight-looking LED designed for photographers here on LensVid. Back in 2019, we looked at the Bitlighter, which was a groundbreaking, powerful light with interchangeable heads for different color temperatures.
Last year, we reviewed another extremely powerful and flexible flashlight-looking LED in the form of the Gold Crow GC30 – a 30W bi-color LED with built-in Bowens support.
The SmallRig RF10C will be the first color “flashlight-style” light that we will be testing here that also comes with Gobos.
Flashlight-like design SmallRig RF10C
In the box
In the box, you get the light itself, a USB-C charge cable, as well as about 20 flexible plastic gobos with some interesting patterns. The light also has a flexible hood/gobo holder and a fabric carrying case.
Build, design, and use
When we first held the RF-10C, we were surprised by how robust it feels. Smallrig created a unit made of a single block of aluminum, and it shows.
The unit measures just over 15cm (a little over 6”) in length, with a diameter of 4cm (a little over 1.5”) and with a weight of 418g (14.8 oz).
The light has three ¼” 20 threads for mounting, It would have been nice if SmallRig had added Arri locating pin holes to all of them. In the middle of the light you have a plastic knob.
To turn the light on, you half twist the plastic knob. We would prefer a switch, but for the price it clear some compromises had to be made.
Robus build
When the light is on you can rotate between 4 colors including orange, blue, warm white, and red by pushing the knob. A long press will turn the light off. The light remembers the last color you chose, and you can also increase or decrease the output until you see a blink. In our experience, the difference between full power and minimum power is not huge.
The rubber gobo holder/hood is retractable for easy storage. Its main drawback is that swapping gobos is clumsy. For a future, more powerful unit, we would suggest metallic gobos with a magnetic holder.
Based on our testing, you can’t fully focus the gobos unless you are extremely close. This is not a problem for most gobos, as you typically might want the pattern to be out of focus, but it’s worth keeping in mind.
You do have the ability to change the size of the light beam and also spin the gobos by pulling and pushing the front element and twisting it around.
The main knob and push/pull beam mechanism
Performance
From a distance of 1m, the light can output just over 300 lux at 5460K with the white light color and a focused beam. The color accuracy can be a bit better with close to 95CRI, but an 80 or lower score in the reds and blues.
The light has an internal battery with 7500mAh that should officially last up to 3 hours at full power. To our surprise, in our test, the battery lasted over 5 hours, although towards the end of the test, the output started to reduce.
As the light has no info screen, it is hard to estimate the charging status of the internal battery. You can see a red indicator around the knob when the battery is low and when charging the unit the blinking green light turns to constant green when the battery is fully charged.
We tested the light output and color accuracy of the SmallRig RF10C from 1 meter using our Sekonic C-800 Spectrometer.
Results for the SmallRig RF10C at white color @1m (no reflector):
- Color temperature: 5462K.
- Output: 302 Lux.
- CRI: 94.9 (R9 – 74.7; R12 – 80.1).
- TLCI: 97.
- TM-30 RF: 93; TM-30 Rg: 100.
- SSI: 76.
Conclusion
The RF-10C is a surprisingly fun little light. It is compact but very well built, has a long battery life, comes with all sorts of gobos that you can use, and 4 colors to add life to your photos and videos.
Besides the slightly annoying flexible gobo holder and lack of on/off switch, the only real drawback is the output. At 10W, this is not something that you can use outdoors during the day or alongside any high-power pro light in many scenarios, as the output would simply not be enough to show on camera.
Regardless, if you are shooting a low-key or just adding a touch of color or shape (or both) to your background, the RF-10C is a useful, compact, and affordable option.
A shot taken with one of the SmallRig RF10C gobos
Price
The RF-10C currently sells for around $53, making it an impulse buy or a great gift for a photographer friend.
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Iddo Genuth 
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