Nanlite Forza 300B II Review

Recently Nanlite announced its new Forza 300B II, as well as a host of other new fixtures in the range. The Forza 300B II is a 350W Bi-color LED Spotlight with a CCT range of 2700K-6500K. Essentially it is a direct competitor to the Aputure LS 300x and the Godox Knowled M300BI. The Nanlite and these other two options share very similar feature sets and prices.

Just like the rest of the Forza II series, the Forza 300B II was designed as a versatile and professional lighting fixture that is color accurate, powerful, and easy to use.

As I have mentioned numerous times before, versatile COB lights in this form factor have become increasingly popular due to their swiss army knife style abilities, which enable them to be used for a variety of lighting scenarios. This is why we have seen so many of them being introduced over the last few years and why there are so many options to choose from.

The Nanlite Forza 300B II looks to be a worthy competitor to lights from both Aputure and Godox. So without further ado, let’s get on with the review.

Concept

The concept behind all of these LED spot lights, whether they are daylight, bi-color, or full color, is to make a very flexible, fully-featured lighting source that won’t empty someone’s wallet. The only problem with this concept is that so many lighting companies are doing the exact same thing, that it is hard to make your product stand out.

Bowens Mount fixtures such as this enable you to use a ton of very affordable lighting modifiers.

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Appearance-wise, the Nanlite Forza 300B II FS-300B looks slightly different from Nanlite’s own FS-300B.

Build Quality

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The build quality of the Nanlite FORZA 300B II is pretty good and in line with what you would expect from a light at this price. The housing is reasonably robust and everything is solidly made.

The controller and power supply are not built into the light fixture like they are on the FS-300B, instead, there is a separate power supply/controller.

The power supply/controller is also nicely made, and again, I couldn’t find any flaws or problems with it.

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The yoke frame locks down securely when tightened and it is nice to see a well-made locking system that is a lot more robust than the one used on the more affordable FS-300B.

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The locking mechanism for where you attach the yoke frame to a light stand is nice and solid and there are two mounting holes.

The light comes with a limited 2 Year Warranty which can be extended to 3 years by registering online.

COB Design

Lots of LED lights on the market, including the Nanlite Forza 300B II are using COB technology. COB stands for “Chip On Board” where multiple LED chips are packaged together as one lighting module. The advantage of COB LEDs being multi-chip packaged is that the light-emitting area of a COB LED can contain many times more light sources in the same area that standard LEDs could occupy. This results in a greatly increased lumen output per square inch.

The Nanlite Forza 300B II’s light engine sits right on the heatsink and the LEDs are actually sitting inside a mirrored reflector. This is different from how most COB LED lights are designed. The light actually gets projected through a diffused surface instead of just coming straight out like most COB spotlights. Why would you want to do this? Well, I am glad you asked. The whole idea is to create a single light source and by having the light projected through a diffused surface the Forza 300B II works really well with projection attachments and it is really bright given its size and power draw.

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The fixture does feature a decent-sized fan that is on the underside of the light.

The biggest problem with COB LED lights is that unless you diffuse them they are very bright to look at and unsuitable for directly lighting talent.

Weight & Size

The Nanlite Forza 300B II tips the scales at 12.4 lb / 5.6 kg (including the power supply/controller). This makes it reasonably lightweight for a 350W fixture that can be run via camera batteries.

The nice aspect about the fixture only weighing 6.3 lb / 2.9 kg, is that you can use it with a lot of lightweight and compact light stands. This makes it a good option for anyone who needs to travel with minimal gear.

	WEIGHT
Nanlite Forza 300B II	12.4 lb / 5.6 kg
Aputure LS 300x	16.11 lb / 7.31 kg
Godox Knowled M300BI	13.66 lb / 6.2kg

How does the weight compare to the Aputure LS 300x and Godox Knowled M300BI? Above you can see that the Nanlite Forza 300B II is lighter than the competition.

CCT range

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The Forza 300B II has a CCT range of 2,700K to 6,500K. This is a decent enough range and it will suit most people’s needs.

+/- G/M Correction

It is nice to see +/- G/M correction on the Forza 300B II. This is always a handy feature to have on a light because it can help you when you are trying to match other fixtures or when working in environments where you need to try and match available light sources.

To my knowledge, this is the only 300-watt bi-color spotlight that has the ability to adjust the green-to-magenta shift by +/- 80. This is only possible because nanlite is using a WW(RG) LED source and light-mixing chamber.

Beam Angle

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The beam angle of the fixture, when used open face, is 120°. If you use it with the included reflector it is 55°.

The included reflector is similar to what you would find on a lot of Bowens mount spotlights.

Mounting

The Nanlite Forza 300B II comes with a traditional two-sided yoke frame, but it only has a locking mechanism on one side.

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There isn’t a lot of clearance and the power cable will end up hitting the yoke frame if you try and tilt the light up too much.

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You do get a clamp attachment in the kit that allows you to mount the power supply/controller to a loight stand, etc.

Power Draw

	POWER DRAW
Nanlite Forza 300B II	350W
Aputure LS 300x	350W
Godox Knowled M300BI	330W

The power draw of the Forza 300B II is 350W. Above you can see how this compares against the competition.

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The control box has the power adapter incorporated inside, reducing the overall control unit size of Forza 300B II by 37%. There are V-mount battery plates on both sides of the control box. Nanlite doesn’t offer an AB Gold mount version, but you could buy a third-party Gold mount to V-mount conversion plates if required.

Dual 14.4V-14.8V batteries can be used simultaneously and both fixtures will also support single-battery power operation for fast power switching when the batteries are low. This innovation enables hot-plugging as well as hot swapping between AC/DC. With two 14.8V 160W batteries you can get just over an hour of run time when the fixture is set at 100% output.

The power supply has both DMX-In and DMX-Out.

Mount

Like most COB spot lights, the Nanlite Forza 300B II utilizes a Bowens mount. This allows you to use readily available lighting modifiers and accessories that you may already own. Nanlite also makes a lot of accessories that you can use.

Controls & Menu System

The LCD screen on the power supply/controller looks similar to what you would find on most of the Nanlite products. Although it is fairly basic, it does clearly show you key information about the light’s operating modes, brightness, CCT, etc.

With a good light, you shouldn’t have to read a manual to work out how to operate it. You should be able to turn it on and use it straight away.

In the menu, you can adjust quite a few settings, such as the DMX, fan, etc. The menu is reasonably intuitive, and it is easy enough to make changes to items that you need to adjust.

As well as being able to adjust certain parameters and modes on the light itself, you can also use the NANLINK Bluetooth app. Additionally, 2.4GHz provides control through the separately-available WS-TB-1 transmitter box for more elaborate setups, or with hardware remotes like the NANLINK WS-RC-C2. DMX/RDM control is also supported for advanced users.

Operating Modes

The light has the following lighting modes that you can access from the fixture:

• CCT
• EFFECT

The light features a Maximum Output Mode and a Constant Output Mode
and Nanlite claims that there isn’t any CCT shift from 2700K-6500K in either mode.

Effects

The Effects mode lets you recreate a wide range of lighting effects that can be handy for certain scenarios. You can see what effects are available above.

All the effects modes can be individually adjusted, and you change the Speed and Cycle.

Bluetooth App

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The light can be controlled via Bluetooth using the NANLINK App. It is relatively easy to connect up a light and get started. All you need to do is tap on add a fixture and then choose how you want to connect.

For this example I chose Bluetooth and the app will search for available Nanlite fixtures.

Once you select the fixture you want to add, it takes about 5-10 seconds for the app to configure everything.

Once the fixture is set up you can see that it has been added to the scene page.

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There is a range of parameters that you can adjust using the app, including changing the output, CCT, setting the fan mode, saving presets, and switching between constant and maximum output modes.

The app is straightforward and reasonably easy to use, however, they haven’t made it as intuitive or visually appealing as some other companies lighting control apps. This is something I would like to see Nanlite work on.

The only other downside when using the app is that when you make changes they don’t happen instantaneously, there is a slight delay.

How does it stay cool?

COB lights get very hot, and keeping them cool is not an easy task. The Forza 300B II, as I mentioned earlier in the review, does utilize a fan.

In the menu settings on the light, you have the choice of setting the fan in the following modes:

• Smart
• Full Speed
• Low Speed
• Off

If you set the fan to Low Speed the maximum output is capped at 50%. If you set it to Off it is capped at 15%. In Smart and Full Speed it can be used at 100% output.

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You can also control the fan settings using the NANLINK app. The trouble when doing this with the app, is that the intensity slider won’t show you the correct values. For example, if I turn the fan Off, the intensity slider still shows you values up to 100% even though the light is only at 15% output. This is where I think NANLITE needs to pay more attention to small details. Little quirks like this could easily be addressed by updating the app, but unfortunately, a lot of lighting companies release apps, and then very rarely ever update them. I keep mentioning these issues in every review, but nothing has been done about it.

The other issue is that the fan control settings on the app are not listed correctly and they don’t reflect what is available on the light.

The fan in the light does make some noise especially when it is used at its Full Speed setting. This may be a concern for anyone wanting to run the light at full output in a quiet room where audio is being recorded. If the light is around 3-4 meters from where audio is being recorded it shouldn’t be a problem, but if it is closer you may be able to pick up the fan noise.

Lighting companies really do need to work on cooling their lights and if they are going to include a fan, that fan can’t be too loud.

Photometrics

So now let’s get to the photometric results. I always test lights in this way so that I get a reference to how they compare to other fixtures. Results only tell part of the story and should never be used alone to judge a light. I have found from extensive testing over the years that certain lights that have good photometric results don’t always look good, and lights that have worse photometric scores can sometimes look better than their results indicate.

You can’t judge a light from one set of photometric results. You have to look at all of the different results to be able to come to a conclusion.

Different lights can also look different depending on what camera you happen to be using.

Output & Color Temperature Accuracy

I tested the Nanlite Forza 300B II at a variety of CCT settings with a Sekonic C-800 Spectrometer to find out how much output the light had and how accurate the CCT reproduction was. All readings are taken at a distance of 1m (3.28ft) in a controlled environment. The readings were also taken directly from the lighting source. In the case of using the light with the Reflector, they were taken from the end of that attachment, and not from the COB.

Above are the claimed photometric data that Nanlite lists for the Forza 300B II.

5600K (open face)

Above you can see the Forza 300B II recorded an output of 13,100 lx (1220 fc) when set at 5600K and used open face. Nanlite lists a figure of 13,790 lx, so the result I got was slightly lower than the claimed figure.

The light recorded a CCT reading of 5656K which was a good result.

3200K (open face)

Above you can see the output when it was set at 3200K in the open face configuration was 10,800 lx (1000 fc), which was 17.5% less than the 13,100 lx it produced at 5600K. Nanlite lists a figure of 10,780 lx, so the result I got was almost identical to their claimed figure.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded an exceptionally accurate reading of 3204K. This is one of the most accurate results I have ever obtained.

	OUTPUT	CCT READING
2700K	10,200 lx	2698K
3200K	10,800 lx	3204K
4500K	12,700 lx	4516K
5600K	13,100 lx	5656K
6500K	13,300 lx	6549K

Above you can see a summary of results when using the light in various CCT settings open face. The light maintains very accurate CCT readings throughout its range. The output is fairly consistent at 4500K and above, but you do lose output when using the light at 2700K-3200K.

Reflector

So, now let’s see how much output the light has when used with its 55° reflector.

5600K (Reflector 55°)

Above you can see the light’s output when it was set at 5600K with the reflector was 31,300 lx (2920 fc). This was 138.9% more than the 13,100 lx it produced at 5600K when used open face. It is important to note that this measurement was made from where the reflector ends. This is a lot of output from a fixture that draws 350W. Nanlite claims a figure of 43,480 lx, however, their measurements were taken from the COB, so that is why they are higher.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded a very accurate reading of 5624K. The CCT accuracy when using the reflector was fairly similar to when the light is used open face. It is nice to know that when using the reflector the light’s CCT won’t change by any huge noticeable difference.

3200K (Reflector 55°)

Above you can see the output when it was set at 3200K with the standard reflector was 25,300 lx (3460 fc), which was 19.1% less than what it output at 5600K using the reflector.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded a very good reading of 3240K. The CCT accuracy when using the reflector was fairly similar to when the light is used open face. It is nice to know that when using the reflector the light’s CCT won’t change by any huge noticeable difference.

Output & CCT comparison against the Aputure LS 300x & FS-300B

	SETTING	OUTPUT	CCT READING
Forza 300B II	3200K	25,300 lx	3240K
Forza 300B II	5600K	31,300 lx	5624K
FS-300B	3200K	37,200 lx	3215K
FS-300B	5600K	37,400 lx	5807K
LS 300x	3200K	15,100 lx	3144K
LS 300x	5500K	17,500 lx	5295K

So as a comparison, how does this output compare to the Aputure LS 300x and Nanlite’s own FS-300B when using their included reflectors? Well, above you can see. All the lights draw 350W, but it was interesting to see that the much cheaper FS-300B had the most output. The Forza 300B II was the most CCT accurate of any of the lights and it still managed to have a lot more output than the Aputure LS 300x

How does it perform at various CCT settings?

Summary of results (Reflector Max Output Mode)

SETTING	OUTPUT	CCT READING
2700K	24,100 lx	2732K
3200K	25,300 lx	3240K
4500K	30,100 lx	4548K
5600K	31,300 lx	5624K
6500K	31,600 lx	6447K

These results show me that the light’s output varies by just 23.7% across the CCT range. The consistency of the output across the CCT range isn’t great, but there is a Constant Output mode you can use if you want similar output across all CCT settings. Please note that you won’t get nearly as much output in this mode. As a test, I measured the light in the Constant Output mode at both 2700K and 5600K and I found that there was only a 5% difference in output. Now, the output for the light when used at 5600K in the Max. Output mode was 31,300 lx, while in the Constant Output mode it was just 22,600 lx.

CCT consistency & linear output when dimming the light

Now, what you should always do when testing lights is to see if the CCT remains consistent when dimming the light. Just because you set a light at say 5600K, that doesn’t mean that the CCT will remain stable as you start dimming the fixture down. I also wanted to see how linear the dimming curve was.

I decided to do a series of tests at 100%/75%/50%/25%10% to see if the Kelvin color temperature being recorded changed. This was done at a distance of 1m using a Sekonic C-800. These tests were done at 5600K with the reflector and the light in its Maximum Output mode.

CCT READING	OUTPUT	INTENSITY %
5624K	31,300 lx	100
5564K	23,800 lx	75
5563K	16,300 lx	50
5552K	8,600 lx	25
5467K	3,700 lx	10

The Nanlite Forza 300B II maintains ok CCT consistency as you start dimming the fixture, but I did expect better results. My testing showed that the CCT varied by 157K. On the more affordable FS-300B, it only varied by 27K.

As far as how linear the output is when you start dimming the light, at 50% output it had 47.92% less output than when used at 100%. At 25% it had 72.5% less output than when used at 100%. At 10% output, it had 88.2% less output than when used at 100%. This shows me that the light’s dimming curve is fairly linear. Again, as a comparison, the much more affordable FS-300B had better results in this category, and in fact, those results were the best I had ever seen from a light for this test.

Color Rendering

5600K (Reflector)

So now that we have seen how much output the Nanlite Forza 300B II produces, how does it perform when it comes to replicating accurate colors? Above you can see that when the light was set at 5600K using the standard reflector it recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 97.2 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 95.39. For replicating accurate skin tones it recorded for R9 91.4 (red), 97.4 for R13 (closest to caucasian skin tones), and 96.0 for R15 (closest to Asian skin tones). These are good results, but not great. The light struggles to produce R12 (Blue) with a score of just 80.8.

	CRI	EXTENDED CRI	R9	R13	R15
Forza 300B II	97.2	95.39	91.4	97.4	96.0
FS-300B	97.6	96.24	94.3	99.2	98.4
Forza 720B	98.6	97.04	92.7	99.3	97.2

As a color rendering accuracy comparison, the Nanlite Forza 720B recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 98.6 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 97.04. The FS-300B, which is a budget fixture, had better color rendering scores than the Forza 300B II.

	CRI	EXTENDED CRI	R9	R13	R15
Forza 300B II	97.2	95.39	91.4	97.4	96.0
LS 300x	97.0	95.97	96.8	97.7	96.0

As another comparison above you can see how it performs against the Aputure LS 300x.

The Forza 300B II, when set at 5600K, recorded a TLCI score of 99.

3200K (Reflector)

Above you can see the scores for when the light was used at 3200K. It recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 96.1 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 95.66. For replicating accurate skin tones it recorded 94.7 for R9 (red), 95.1 for R13 (closest to caucasian skin tones), and 96.2 for R15 (closest to Asian skin tones). These were decent results, and a little bit better than when the light is used at 5600K.

	CRI	EXTENDED CRI	R9	R13	R15
Forza 300B II	96.1	95.11	94.7	95.1	96.2
FS-300B	96.5	95.66	94.8	95.9	97.8
Forza 720B	96.5	96.22	97.4	95.6	97.4

As a color rendering accuracy comparison, the Nanlite Forza 720B recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 96.5 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 96.22. The budget Nanlite FS-300B also had near identical results to the Forza 720B.

	CRI	EXTENDED CRI	R9	R13	R15
Forza 300B II	96.1	95.11	94.7	95.1	96.2
LS 300x	97.0	96.08	93.5	96.4	97.9

As another comparison above you can see how it performs against the Aputure LS 300x.

The light, when set at 3200K, recorded a TLCI score of 98.

CC Index & ⊿uv

The CC Index displays the CC correction value and whether any magenta or green need to be added or subtracted. 1 CC corresponds to 035 Kodak CC values or 1/8 Rosco filter values. Any reading less than +1.00 or -1.00 and you’re probably not going to need to make any kind of adjustment. The ⊿uv is the value to show how much this light is away from being an ideal light source (black body radiation = incandescent lamp). As with the CC Index you want this number to theoretically be zero. Kelvin is not a linear value, so we need to convert from Kelvin to MK-1 to compare the values of color temperature. To calculate from Kelvin to Mired is MK-1= 1*1000000/Kelvin. While this may sound confusing, it is the only way of measuring if the Kelvin shift is significant enough to warrant having to use a filter for correction. Below are the results for the Nanlite Forza 300B II when used open face:

Kelvin Vs MK-1

	Kelvin	Difference in K	MK-1	Difference in MK-1
SET VALUE	2700K	0	370.37	0
ACTUAL READING	2698K	2	370.64	-0.27 MK-1
SET VALUE	3200K	0	312.5	0
ACTUAL READING	3204K	4	312.10	0.4 MK-1
SET VALUE	4500K	0	222.22	0
ACTUAL READING	4516K	16	221.43	0.79 MK-1
SET VALUE	5600K	0	178.57	0
ACTUAL READING	5656K	56	177.80	0.77 MK-1
SET VALUE	6500K	0	153.84	0
ACTUAL READING	6549K	49	152.69	1.15 MK-1

These figures might look confusing, but what it tells me is that the light is exceptionally CCT-accurate at all settings. Any MK-1 score that is under -9/9 means you wouldn’t have to use any color correction gels. The MK-1 scores for this light were absolutely outstanding. Any MK-1 score that is under -6/6 is a very good result. These were the best results I have ever seen from any LED light, period.

CC INDEX & ⊿uv

	CC INDEX	⊿uv
2700K	0	0.0007
3200K	0	0.0001
4500K	0.1M	0.0003
5600K	0.1G	0.0001
6500K	0.3	-0.0002

Again, these were outstanding results across the board. The consistency of the ⊿uv scores were the best I have seen from any LED light I have tested.

TM-30

TM-30 is a relatively new color rendering standard that was developed to deal with the limitations of CRI. TM-30 looks at 99 individual colors. These 99 colors are categorized into seven groups: nature, skin color, textiles, paints, plastics, printed material, and color systems.

TM-30 scores go from 0 – 100. The higher the score, the more accurate a light is at producing colors. Any TM-30 Rf score in the ’90s is considered to be good. What is interesting and something that you need to be very aware of is that two separate light sources with the exact same CRI scores can render colors very differently. A light with a high CRI rating could have a low TM-30 score. Conversely, a light with a good TM-30 score could have a bad CRI score.

Now, there are two measurements associated with TM-30, Rf and Rg.

Rf (Color Fidelity)
Rg (Color Gamut)

With Rf value, ideally, you want a score in the 90’s.

With Rg value, a score below 100 indicates that the light source renders colors with less saturation than the reference source. So ideally you want this score to be above 100.

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Above you can see the scores for the Forza 300B II at various Kelvin color temperatures. Below I have listed the figures as well.

Here are the results:

	Rf	Rg
2700K	95	100
3200K	95	102
4500K	94	103
5600K	94	103
6500K	94	102

The TM-30 scores are all excellent and it shows me that the light is pretty consistent at replicating accurate colors with full saturation. The consistency of the scores was impressive.

SSI

SSI (Spectral Similarity Index) was developed by the Sci-Tech Council of the Academy. SSI gives me the ability to set any light as a standard, or use predefined standards (such as CIE D55), and then give other lights an SSI score based upon how well they will match standards such as CIE D55. This way I can measure spectral response and compare it directly against an ideal light source. This is actually a much better test than recording CRI scores.

3200K

In this graph, the red bars indicate a perfect Planck 3200K source. The gold bars indicate a perfect 3200K Tungsten source. This lets us compare how close to a perfect 3200K lighting source the Forza 300B II is. Any SSI score in the high 70’s, low ’80s is very good for a 3200K LED light. The results for the Forza 300B II were very good when used at 3200K. As you can see, LED lights have a hard time replicating colors below about 450nm.

5600K

In the graph above the gold bars indicate a perfect CIE D55 source. The red bars indicate a perfect CIE D 5600K source. This lets us compare how close to a perfect 5600K lighting source the Forza 300B II is. A score in the low 70’s is typical for a 5600K LED source.

The main reason we want to record SSI scores is so we can see how well they match with other lights. As an example, I wanted to see how well the Forza 300B II matched the ARRI Orbiter and Nanlite Forza 720B. Below you can see the results.

As you can see neither lights are not a perfect match to the Nanlite Forza 300B II, but they are reasonably close. You could fine-tune the lights to try and get them to match more closely. In saying that, a score in the high ’80s and low 90s is still reasonably good and the Forza 300B II would work well with both of these lights.

Above you can see the same test at 3200K. The Forza 300B II is still a pretty close match to the Nanlite Forza 720B. Very few lights from different manufacturers are ever going to be an exact match, but ideally, in a lot of scenarios, you want to use lights that match as closely as possible.

SSI tests are a great way of telling you what lights you own or use will work well together.

Spectral Distribution

Above you can see the spectral distribution of the Forza 300B II when it is set at 5600K. The spectral distribution is ok, but it is not overly full.

As a comparison, above you can see the spectral distribution of the Nanlite Forza 720B. It is a little fuller and it doesn’t have as many troughs.

Above you can see the spectral distribution of the Forza 300B II when it is set at 3200K. The spectral distribution of the light is pretty decent for a 3200K source

As a comparison, above you can see the spectral distribution of the Nanlite Forza 720B.

Real-World Performance & Quality of Light

As I always say, photometric scores only tell you part of the story. So let’s how the Forza 300B II performs in the real world.

The photometric results can only give me scientific data and it is much more important for me to see how the light looks and performs.

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The Forza 300B II has a decent amount of output and it is capable of producing nice results. Like any light it is up to the person using it to get the most out of it. The fixture is easy to use and quick to set up.

Above you can see what the light looks like at a distance of 3m /9.9′ when using its reflector. The nice aspect of the reflector is that it doesn’t have a hot spot.

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Above you can see the difference in the type of shadows the light creates when used open face and with its reflector. When used open face you will get clean shadows. If you use the reflector then the shadows won’t have defined outlines.

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The light packs a punch, and because it has a decent amount of output it allows it to be used for a lot of lighting applications. Above you can see how much output the light has when used with its reflector. In this example, I am punching the light from outside through a sheer curtain.

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Above you can see some examples with the light placed outside and aimed down directly at the table.

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Above you can see an example of the light placed inside and directed straight into the table.

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Above is an example of the light being punched directly into the ceiling. being punched into the ceiling.

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Above is an example of the light being punched straight into a light-colored wall to the left of the table.

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I also tried the light with a DoPChoice Octa 3 softbox. While the light won’t fill the soft box completely, it still does enough to provide good results.

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Above you can see the light used with the optional Projection Mount. The Projection mount works really well and it allows you to really concentrate light into a tiny area.

What you also clearly need to remember with point source lights such as this one is that even though they can generate a decent amount of output when not used with diffusion, once you add diffusion they lose a ton of output because that output is coming from a very small concentrated source.

The light also works well when used with bounce boards or the CRLS reflector system when you combine it with the Fresnel or Nanlite Projector.　

Who is the Forza 300B II aimed at?

I think a lot of people who are in the market for a compact-sized bi-color light with a decent amount of output will be looking closely at this light. It is well made, competitively priced, has a decent amount of output, and its small size and weight all make it a compelling option.

It is certainly priced to appeal to owner-operators who are looking for a small-sized jack-of-all-trades lighting solution. The versatility of the Forza 300B II allows it to be used as a hard light source, a soft source, a fresnel, a gobo, or just about anything else you want it to be with the correct modifier.

I personally think this is one of the better bi-color spot lights that are currently on the market. It has good color accuracy, and it has consistent output and performance across its wide CCT range, and it is nice that you have the ability to access +/- G/M adjustment.

Price & Availability

The Nanlite Forza 300B II retails for $999 USD and it is available to buy. This makes it competitively priced.

Competition

Below you can see some other similar power draw Bi-color spotlights that could be considered competition:

• Aputure Light Storm LS300X LED $999 USD
• Godox Knowled M300BI $989 USD
• SmallRig RC 350B COB Bi-Color LED Video Light $899 USD
• SWIT S-2330 Bi-Color Studio LED Focusing Spot Light (300W) $1,550 USD

As you can see, most of the lights in this space are priced at around $1000 USD.

What do you get?

• Nanlite Forza 300B II Bi-Color LED Light
• Stand Super Clamp
• Nanlite 55-Degree Reflector for Forza 300 and 500
• Nanlite COB Cap with Bowens Mount for Select LED Monolights
• Padded Carry Bag
• Power Cable (19.8′)
• Head Cable (9.8′)
• Control Unit with V-Mount Plates
• Limited 2-Year Warranty, 1-Year Extension with Registration

Optional Extras

As it utilizes a Bowens mount you can use a wide array of affordable lighting modifiers. Nanlite also makes quite a few of its own accessories for the light.

Conclusion

The NanliteForza 300B II is a solid offering. It is very CCT accurate, has a good amount of output, and most importantly is compact and easy to use. Its versatility makes it a fixture you can use for so many different applications.

The output, color accuracy, and small size make this light a compelling option in this space. While it is a decent upgrade over the original, apart from the slight decrease in size and the addition of +/- G/M correction, it doesn’t offer anything new that we haven’t seen before. That might sound like nit-picking, but LED lights have seemingly reached a plateau where almost every fixture being released offers similar performance and feature sets. I think we are all waiting to see what the next advancement will be.

Having the ability to use the Forza 300B II with a wide array of lighting modifiers gives the light a lot of versatility.

The interface and operating system are easy enough to use, but the app needs improvement and updating. The build quality is solid, and for people who are looking at a light at this price, I think they will find it acceptable.

The fan noise isn’t too bad, but if you are running the fan at its highest setting, it may be possible to hear it if you are working in a very quiet space.

The relatively small size and decent output make it a great option for anyone who is traveling, especially considering that it can be run via two flight-safe batteries. As a main key light or a jack-of-all-trades single lighting source, it makes for a compelling option, however, as I already mentioned, there are plenty of other lights on the market that can also do the same thing.

The quality of Nanlite fixtures has certainly improved over the last few years and they have a large array of options to choose from. The Forza 300B II is a solid fixture and it does a lot of things really well. Nanlite has done a good job of making a fixture that performs well in so many areas without having to make many compromises.

Specifications