The JOBY Beamo Reel Creator Kit is an inexpensive, all-in-one kit intended for beginning content creators. It’s also very easy to use. We break down whether it could be right for you.
The kit includes the PodZilla Medium mobile tripod kit, Wavo Mobile vlogging microphone, and Beamo Reel LED light. The bundle is capable of stabilizing your phone and capturing audio via the Wavo Mobile microphone. The LED light has a diffuser for a flattering soft light. With this, you can use your phone to easily create content for YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and more.
Note: JOBY sent us the JOBY Beamo Reel Creator Kit to review and keep. However, this is a completely independent review. All thoughts about this lighting are our own.
Pros
- Versatile for many photographic and video applications
- Simple to use
- Small and portable
- The PodZilla tripod has flexible legs that can wrap around objects
- The LED light has warm, day, and cool white light with adjustable brightness
Cons
- The Beamo Reel LED light is not bright enough for outdoor use even in shade
JOBY Beamo Reel Creator Kit — Technical specifications
All of the technical specifications for the JOBY Beamo Reel Creator Kit are from the official Joby website.
- Weight: 0.11 kg
- Brightness [email protected]: Up to 250lx; [email protected]: 250
- Power source: built-in lithium
- CRI (Color Rendering Index): 80+
- Product contents: Tripod, Phone Mount, Microphone, Light, cold shoe adapter, TRS cable, TRRS cable, USB-A to USB-C Cable
- Battery Life: Up to: 3 hrs @max. brightness 7 hrs @ 50% brightness; 20 hrs @min. brightness hrs
- Beam Angle: 60 °
- Mounting Method: 1/4” -20 tripod mount, cold shoe mount
- Power supply: USB-C charging cable
- Dimensions: 4.8 x 5.4 x 25 cm
- Material: Aluminum, ABS Plastic, TPU
- Lumens: 110 lm
- Charging time: 180 min
JOBY Beamo Reel Creator Kit — Ergonomics and build quality
Typically, if I get something new for review, what I like to do is simply start getting to work to see if I can figure out all the equipment. This sounds as if I am launching into the “guy who doesn’t read the manual” territory. But no, that’s not what this is at all. If I cannot figure it out, I certainly will look at the manual.
I simply didn’t need to here. Everything in the kit was easy to use.
Ergonomics on each piece of gear was very simple. I was pleased to see that there was both a 1/4” -20 tripod mount to screw onto tripods or stands as well as a cold shoe mount for mounting onto the top of a mirrorless or DSLR camera. Options. I like options.
Build quality
The build quality is appropriate for the price point. The microphone, hot shoe connectors, and connectors all feel solid. The Podzilla seems reasonably sturdy for its intended purposes — holding a phone, microphone, or smartphone — and the legs hold their shape when bending them around chairs, railings, tripods, and other items. The LED light feels well made, but is made of plastic, and might not withstand a fall from high up. The microphone and the tripod would likely fare much better.
JOBY Beamo Reel Creator Kit — In the field
Ease of use
The microphone simply plugs in and begins working. It does not require you to insert or activate a battery. It’s considerably simpler and smaller than the Joby Wavo Plus microphone.
You will want to push the cables in firmly. While recording the video above, I didn’t push it in all the way. Consequently, the stereo cable only transmitted one channel out of the two stereo channels. To be clear, this was “user error,” not a design flaw.
The round LED light comes with a built-in diffuser. You simply turn on the light by twisting the outer rim. This also allows you to adjust the brightness. A button allows you to choose between three different kinds of white light: warm, day and cool. In the video, I give examples of both warm and cool.
The flexible Podzilla tripod allows you to bend the legs around objects such as a chair, thus turning almost anything into a stand. Anyone who is familiar with JOBY’s larger, venerable Gorillapod tripods will feel at home with the Podzilla. The Podzilla also has rubbery round feet, good for simply placing it on surfaces.
Using with iPhones
I did not test this with an iPhone, instead using a Pentax K-1 DSLR camera. This is because I don’t have an adapter for the cable. I also don’t have another kind of smartphone, unfortunately. Regardless, I believe that the audio quality would be, if anything, better than going through the extra gain-stage and converters of a DSLR.
Flexibility
Because the LED light has a 1/4” -20 tripod mount as well as a cold shoe mount, you are able to mount it on quite a few items. Also, it can be used on flat surfaces too, at three different angles. Or you could have a friend hold it since it’s quite small. And of course, being able to adjust the brightness and warmth of the light can create flexibility as well.
When indoors, the light works well when you are relatively close to it, probably within about three feet or so. By six or seven feet, its effects are negligible. When you are outside, the light is almost useless, even when three feet away and in shade on a bright day. Check out the video to see the light’s effectiveness in indoor and outdoor settings.
The Podzilla also offers great flexibility because it is, well, flexible. Being able to turn all sorts of common objects — chairs, shelves, railings, ladders, lamps, doors — into stands makes setting up very easy while still using something that doesn’t take up very much space at all.
The microphone comes with a “dead cat”-style furry windscreen, which is far more effective than its foam counterparts, and probably longer lasting as well. I did not test it in high winds. However, I did test it outside in slightly breezy conditions, and it worked quite well. It also worked well when I spoke a little closer to the microphone.
