Saturday 16 March, 2013   David A. Selby   Continuous, Lowel, New releases   5 Comments

Lowel GL-1 Power LED released

The handheld, focusable Gun Light GL-1 from Lowel is now available in the USA, priced at $699.95. Toted as “the next revolution in portable lighting”, the GL-1 Hot Light looks a bit like a cordless drill but is in fact a battery-powered LED light source “destined to become the wedding and event shooter’s best friend”.

Lowel GL-1 Gun Light

Despite the “GL-1 hot light” moniker, the GL-1 uses cool-running light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and not tungsten bulbs, though the output is a similar colour temperature at 3000 Kelvin. The light is put through a focusable fresnel lens, which has a 5:1 focus range so the user can adjust the beam from a tight spotlight to a wide flood. The claimed colour rendering index (CRI) is 90 and from a single charge the battery is rated to last for one hour. You can also run it from the mains.

To see some example images lit with the Lowel GL-1, visit the Pro Gallery showcase or the GL1TV YouTube channel.

The Lowel GL-1 Power LED can be bought directly from GL1hotlight.com for $699.95 plus shipping. For some reason the company is not openly publicising information for international customers, who instead have to fill in a form with their details and wait to be contacted by a supplier. Update: You can now also order the GL-1 from Adorama and B&H Photo.

The reaction from Lighting Rumours readers was decidedly mixed when the GL-1 was announced late last year. What do you think about this product?

  • Garry Edwards

    Have they announced “the next revolution in portable lighting” just a little bit early?
    Should it have been announced on April 1st instead?

  • joe b

    Saw this at wppi last week
    The speakers at the booth made magical images with this light
    Got 2 on order

  • http://profiles.google.com/agent.kayosweaver Kay O. Sweaver

    I’ll wait for the $100 Chinese knock off.

  • http://www.facebook.com/Rangefindergeneral Simon Fairclough

    Oh dear… I tried this and its way too underpowered… You get more light opening a fridge door..
    It would be fine at $100…

  • Ed

    I don’t get it. If I need a dash of light I will use a LED flash light. This this is way to big and looks too much like a drill.

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