Digital Camera World Verdict
Having used two fog machines on two pro portrait shoots I’ll now always carry a fog machine as it adds texture, color, and atmosphere to my photos and video clips. So far the Telesin C40 is my favored unit as it has the edge over the Lensgo Smoke S MINI in relation to the volume of smoke that it can produce. The Telesin’s display screen also enables you to take more control over the volume and type of smoke/fog/steam that the device produces and the display can be detached to function as a remote control, so you can set the machine running from up to 10 meters away and start shooting your subject straight away.
Pros
- +
Compact and portable
- +
Produces fog, steam and dry ice effects
- +
Display enables more precise control
- +
Detachable panel for remote control
Cons
- -
Plastic body
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When it comes to testing portable fog machines for Digital Camera World this is my second session (and I have a few more fog machines to try out!) I recently purchased a Lensgo Smoke S MINI to add atmospheric mist effects to my toy photography and people portraits. Due to my unfamiliarity with fog machines, I approached using the Lensgo with some trepidation. Would the smoke be toxic? Would it set off a fire alarm? As you’ll see from my review I had a very positive experience with the Lensgo Smoke S MINI, so I was keen to try out the Telesin C40 to see how it compared to the Lensgo.
After purchasing the Lensgo Smoke S MINI my social media feeds started promoting the Telesin C40. Like Lensgo, Telesin is a Chinese company that produces a wide range of photographic and action camera accessories, though the C40 fog machine is the first Telesin-branded device that we’ve featured on this site. The Telesin C40 machine was a bit more expensive than the Lensgo, so I was keen to see if this extra cost gave you extra features. Read on to see how the Telesin fog machine compares to Lensgo’s device!
Telesin C40: Specifications
| Battery operation | 28 minutes of continuous smoke |
| Power | 40W (Max) |
| Wireless Method | Infrared |
| Wireless Range | 10M |
| Material | Plastic |
| Dimensions | 61 x 59 x 166 mm |
| Weight | 276g |
Telesin C40: Design & Handling
In contrast to the Lensgo Smoke S MINI’s metal canister body, the Telesin C40 Fog Machine is constructed of sturdy plastic. The Telesin machine is also slightly chunkier than the Lensgo but it still fits comfortably in the hand. When you frost unbox the Telesin C40 it has a little fuel tank that you need to screw onto the main body of the device. You then pour some of the supplied fuel into the tank.
When you power up the C40 a useful display tells you whether the fuel tank is attached securely or not. This display gives the Telesin machine the edge over the Lensgo, which only has an on/off button and a smoke trigger. With the Telesin C40, you can use multiple buttons to toggle between a range of modes - Smoke, Fog, Steam, and Dry Ice. The selected modes are clearly indicated on the display.
The different fog outputs are created by the C40 in two ways. On the left of the display, you’ll see the strength of the smoke being produced by the C40. On the right, you’ll see an indicator displaying the strength setting of the machine’s built-in fan. On the Dry Ice mode, you get a low setting on the fog output section of the display and a lower fan strength, so that the resulting smoke produced by these settings trickles out more slowly and therefore clings to the ground. Other settings have a full smoke and fan setting that makes the C40 fill the location with a denser fog. The Free mode enables you to dial in custom values for fog output and fan strength rather than rely on a preset mode.
In addition to the handy display the C40 kit ships with plastic modifiers that change the way the fog/smoke is distributed by the device. Oh - and the entire display can be detached from the body of the unit so that you can control the type of smoke that the C40 produces and trigger the smoke from a distance. The C40 remote is more sophisticated than the Lensgo’s remote which only has a trigger button. Both remotes are designed to control the fog machines from up to 10 meters away.
Telesin C40: Performance
After using the Lensgo Smoke S MINI on my first outing with a fog machine my wife was critical about the amount of smoke that it produced in the resulting portraits. However, she was more impressed by the more noticeable presence of smoke produced by the Telesin C40. To be fair on the Lensgo model I wasn’t trying to fill my location with super thick fog as I was scared of drawing attention to my shoot in a public place - an interior corridor in London’s Barbican Centre. When heading back to the Barbican to test the Telecin C40 I found a more remote location on an upper level, so I was ready to ‘open the throttle’ on the C40 during my shoot.
The theme of my shoot was Film Noir, so I hoped that the presence of some fog would add atmosphere to my night shoot at the Barbican Centre. To add some creative lighting to my shoot I took the Harlowe Blade LED kit with me to the Barbican. I set the two LEDs to make a cinematic orange and teal key and fill light to illuminate my model. After lighting Olga I placed the C40 between her and the rear Harlowe LED. I detached the C40’s remote control, set it to full output, and by triggering the fog from a distance I was ready to start shooting as soon as the fog had billowed up between the LED and the model.
By using the display you can set a duration in seconds for the machine to emit smoke. I tended just to press the trigger on the display when using it as a remote to add a blast of fog manually when required.
The Harlowe Blade 10’s LED turned the Telesin C40’s smoke blue, which added a dramatic and atmospheric texture behind Olga as she posed. This textured backdrop looked much more interesting than the bland bricks that we would have captured without the presence of the C40’s foggy emissions. For this review’s supporting video I asked Olga to wave the smoke machine around while I set the iPhone 16 Pro to Slo-Mo mode. We popped a plastic modifier onto the C40 to create a wider spread of fog. As I was shooting in slow motion I asked Olga to rotate the C40 quickly while I ran towards her. The resulting clip looks great.
One tip I’ve learned when shooting with a smoke machine present is to lock your focus on the model before triggering the smoke. When there was lots of smoke in front of my model my iPhone 16 Pro struggled to focus on her. Perhaps the Lidar was struggling to find a focal point due to the smoke. When the smoke was less dense or behind the model then the focal point was sharp.
The C40 has a built-in battery that you need to charge up by plugging a USB-C cable into the unit. The unit had plenty of power to add smoke to my two-hour shoot when required, though of course it was only activated in short bursts. So there were no issues of it running out of power. The C40 ships with a 60 ml plastic bottle of fuel which doesn’t look like a lot. However, I only partially filled the little fuel tank at the start of the shoot and it lasted for the whole session without requiring a refill.
On returning home I experimented with using the C40 to add atmospheric effects to a toy photography shoot. I set the display to Dry Ice and added the sponge modifier to one of the supplied nozzle pipes. This caused the fog to drop and drift atmospherically around the base of my action figures. I look forward to experimenting with the C40 and miniature LEDs for a more creative toy photo shoot.
Telesin C40: Verdict
As a toy photographer and a location portrait photographer, I look forward to regularly carrying the Telesin C40 Fog Machine in my backpack. The fog machine and its accessories ship in a small branded Telesin zip bag, so it fits nicely alongside LEDs, smartphone cages, etc. I love the way the C40 can be controlled by its detachable control panel to emit a range of smoke and steam effects that fill space with interesting textures and take on the colors of RGB LEDs (such as the Harlowe Blade Kit). The control panel also enables me to adjust the strength and style of the smoke in a much more easy and effective way than cheaper on/off devices such as the Lensgo Smoke S Mini. The C40 costs a bit more than the Lensgo, but it's worth paying more for the extra control features offered by the Telesin - plus my wife was more impressed with the amount of fog produced by the C40 while she turned her nose down at the Lensgo’s output.
| Features | Accessories change the way smoke is emitted and everything is transported and organised in a branded Telesin zip bag. | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | A control panels enables you to adjust smoke amount and fan strength, leading to a range of smoke, fog, steam and dry ice effects. Plus the panel is a detachable remote! | ★★★★★ |
| Performance | It fills a location with fog and smoke quickly, and produces a smaller amount for toy and product photography in seconds. The supplied fuel goes a long way. | ★★★★★ |
| Value | It costs approximately a third more than the Lensgo Smoke S Mini, but its fog making capacity and the removable display give it the edge. | ★★★★★ |
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