Zhiyun recently released the Fiveray F100 Light Stick that we had the opportunity to review for the site. Considering this is an extremely similar design to the previous Fiveray FR100C Light Stick, you may be wondering, what’s the difference and which one should I buy?
Fortunately, we got our hands on both models to give you a comparison between both of Zhiyun’s light stick offerings.
Design
When it comes to the overall design, both the F100 and FR100C light sticks are nearly identical. The biggest change to the design is on the scroll wheel. Zhiyun has gone with less click buttons on the latest F100. Additionally, the F100 also has a new shortcut where double pressing the power button will cycle through changing the currently selected value to 0%, 50%, and 100%. This is quite helpful when dealing with brightness levels or changing colors in HSI mode.
Besides that, nothing else has changed in the design of the light sticks themselves. However, the Fiveray F100 has received a massive upgrade due to the fact that it now includes a range of light modifiers. The new barn doors, diffuser, and grid attachments make the F100 light stick far more versatile than the previous FR100C. This right here makes a strong case as to why you would want the latest model and more than makes up for the price difference.
Zhiyun also now includes a premium case with the F100 model to help carry all of the additional accessories that now come with the light. It would be great if the FR100C came with a carrying case as well, but this is another reason why the F100 now costs more.
Performance
Both lights have the same peak power output of 100W, same color temperature range of 2700K – 6200K, same CRI value of 96, and same TLCI of 97. Meaning, you have nothing to gain for typical lighting setups if you don’t plan on using modifiers.
Where the F100 sets itself apart is by nearly doubling the RGB intensity from 16W to 30W, and adding a host of video effects such as SOS, Fire, TV, Candle, and more.
Plus, as I mentioned above, the included light modifiers make a monumental difference in your ability to control the light in your scenes. Once I tried using the F100 with the soft box, grid, and barn doors—there was no way I could go back to using just the base light stick.
Battery
While both the FR100C and F100 light sticks include six 2600mAh batteries for power, the F100 still saw a big upgrade when it comes to charging. The previous FR100C was limited to charging at a maximum of 28W but the F100 is now capable of charging at 100W through the USB Type-C port and that’s nearly four times as fast as its predecessor.
Final thoughts
At first glance, without the accessories, you might not even notice a difference between the Fiveray FR100C and F100. However, the F100 is a substantial upgrade, offering nearly double the power in RGB mode and almost four times the charging speed. Then, once you add in the invaluable light modifiers and video effects, it becomes clear that the Zhiyun Fiveray F100 is the superior light stick.
That doesn’t mean the Fiveray FR100C is a bad light stick though. It’s still a very capable light, albeit less versatile than Zhiyun’s latest offering. It would be perfect to use as a second or third light in your setups, but I’d always choose the F100 if I could for being a more versatile lighting solution.
If you’d like a more in-depth review to see what the Zhiyun Fiveray F100 Light Stick is capable of, check out our full review. Otherwise, both the Fiveray FR100C and F100 can be purchased from Amazon or Zhiyun’s website.
Zhiyun Fiveray FR100C Light Stick
[button color=”” size=”” type=”square” target=”_blank” link=”https://amzn.to/3hI8Iot”%5DBuy from Amazon[/button] [button color=”” size=”” type=”square” target=”_blank” link=”https://store.zhiyun-tech.com/products/five-ray?variant=41580449595572″%5DBuy from Zhiyun[/button]
Zhiyun Fiveray F100 Light Stick
[button color=”” size=”” type=”square” target=”_blank” link=”https://amzn.to/3jekbMX”%5DBuy from Amazon[/button] [button color=”” size=”” type=”square” target=”_blank” link=”https://store.zhiyun-tech.com/products/fiveray-f100?variant=42064777511092″%5DBuy from Zhiyun[/button]