Hobolite Avant Max and Hobolite Mini Max Creator Kits review: go big, or small, with retro lighting

Hobolite is a subsidiary of AEC Lighting Solutions, a company who have over two decades of expertise and has won numerous design awards. And its in relation to design that the Hobolite range of LEDs stands out from the crowd when compared to the LEDs produced by other companies such as Godox and SmallRig. Many LEDs are designed to be functional - whereas the Hobolite range - with their retro curves and faux leather panels - are designed to be noticed and admired while they illuminate your subject. I’ll dwell more on their distinctive design looks in the Build and Handling section of this review.

I reviewed (and highly rated) the Hobolite Avant and the Hobolite Mini back in March 2023. In 2024 Hobolite revealed revised versions of the Avant and the Mini - The Avant Max and the Mini Max. The name ‘Mini Max’ makes me smile as it sounds like a contradiction in terms, but at 40W the Mini Max is twice as powerful as the older 20W version. The Avant Max can boost its intensity by 3.5 times when you magnetically attach the Avant Lens, converting its 80W to the equivalent of 280W. The Avant Lens is supplied in both the Standard and Creator kit versions of the Avant LED. The Creator Kit versions of both the Avant and Mini Max lights cost more than the Standard versions, but you get a host of extra accessories and modifiers as we’ll explain.

Hobolite Avant Max and Mini Max: Specifications

Hobolite Avant Max and Mini Max: Price

Hobolite Avant Max and Mini Max: Design & Handling

I’ve tested and reviewed a range of Hobolites, from the 8W Hobolite Micro that fits into the palm of your hand to the 5W Hobolite Iris that looks like a vintage camera. At the other end of the power and size spectrum, there’s the larger and more powerful 100W Avant . All of these lights share the same attractive 1960s-inspired retro look with curved aluminum bodies adorned by brown faux leather panels on the sides.

The new Avant Max and Mini Max also share the same vintage design aesthetic, though the Avant Max can also be purchased with Midnight (very dark blue) faux leather paneling and that’s the version I tested for this review. The Mini Max that I tested had the standard brown faux leather panels that I’m familiar with from using other Hobolites. While the Midnight Avant Max looks very chic I prefer the brown-colored version as it sits better with the overall 60’s look (and it will match other Hobolites that you may own).

Both the Avant Max and the Mini Max can be powered from the mains, but they also ship with a detachable 99Wh V-Mount Battery that has the same faux leather paneling that features on the light’s body. With 99Wh/6900mAh of lithium-ion energy, the battery frees you up to shoot in any location without being tethered to a mains supply.

Both Max versions ship with a silver ergonomically designed handle that you can hold while lighting a subject on location. In the studio, you can mount the handle onto a light stand. I was lent two Hobolite branded tripods so we could attach the handle-mounted Avant Max and Mini Max onto these hands-free stands. The stands were quick and easy to deploy thanks to a series of sturdy and tactile twist-to-extend rings. The silver Hobolite stand that sits on top of the light stand can be angled through 180º with precision thanks to a ratcheting mechanism that can be locked firmly into the desired angle to light your subject.

Both the Avant Max and the Mini Max are bi-color lamps, so they only emit light between the color temperature range of a warm 2700 degrees K to a cooler 6500K. Therefore an essential feature of the Avant Max and the Mini Max Creator Kits is the inclusion of a collection of coloured gel domes. These colored gels can be magnetically attached to each light in an instant to creatively change the light’s color (and alter the mood of the shot). Both lights also ship with magnetic ‘barn doors’ that enable you to control the spread of light being emitted. You can still attach a colored dome to the lights when they are sporting a barn door.

Hobolite Avant Max and Mini Max: Performance

To test both the Avant Max and the Mini Max I took them into a studio and mounted them on Hobolite light stands. I popped the larger Avant Max on the 250 cm Hobolite Light Stand (90’’). and extended it to head height. The Avant Max’s supplied metal clamp enables me to attach its power unit to the light stand (rather than have it dangling loose).

I attached the Mini Max to the slightly shorter Hobolite Adjustable LED Light Stand 210 cm (82.7’’). I powered the Avant Max by plugging it into the mains. During the shoot, the onboard fan did kick in but it was so quiet that it didn’t register in my recording - check out our supplied test video. I powered the Max Mini using its attachable battery, which I had previously charged via a USB-C cable. The batteries on both kits have a little screen that indicates their level of charge when you press a button.

Both lights have the same method of adjusting their output. There are two knurled dials on the side that also function as buttons. One dial enables you to adjust color temperature between a range of 2700K - 6500K so that you can complement other light sources (such as daylight from a window or tungsten light from a bulb). The other dial enables you to adjust the intensity. To speed things up you can press both dials like buttons to jump between a range of settings in larger increments (such as going from 50% brightness to 75% in a click). An OLED screen on the same side as the dials enables you to see the Intensity and Color Temperature settings. A smaller button on both lights jumps to Effects mode. This enables you to trigger a wide range of creative lighting effects such as the flashing of paparazzi cameras (using a suitably cool color temperature) to the warmer flickering light of a fire (using a lower CT of 2700K).

As with most LEDs these days both the Avant Max and the Mini Max can be controlled remotely via a Bluetooth-linked smartphone app. This enabled me to experiment with different color temperature settings and special effects while I talked to the camera.

After my studio test shoot, I traveled to interview cinematographer Andrew Rodger about his work on the Amazon Prime chart-topping ‘sharks on a plane’ movie - ‘No Way Up.’ I decided to take the Hobolite Mini Max with me as I was filming in Andrew’s home and didn’t know how much space I would have to work in. While I was setting up the Hobolite Mini Max as a key light (on the 250 cm Hobolite light stand) Andrew commented on the Hobolite’s distinctive design as being reminiscent of a classic Hasselblad camera (which was a compliment to the Hobolite’s retro aesthetic look). Andrew also pointed out that LEDs such as the Hobolite have high CRI ratings, so flesh tones look faithful and accurate. (The Mini Max and the Avant Max have a CRI of 96, which is very close to the maximum value of 100).

Because Andrew’s movie is set in a sunken (and shark-infested) plane there’s lots of moody LED lighting in the movie (See our interview here…). So I decided to stick the green magnetic dome onto the Mini Max to cast a moody sub-aquatic green key light onto Andrew’s face to echo the creative lighting in his movie. I recorded the interview on my iPhone 15 Pro Max shooting in Cinematic mode to get a nice blurred background. Check out the interview extract in this review’s supporting video.

Hobolite Avant Max and Mini Max: Verdict

The Hobolite Avant Max and the Mini Max are beautiful LEDs, but they’re more than their stylish good looks. Thanks to both Creator Kits’ magnetic gel modifiers you can change the mood of your footage. Both lights have 8 video effects that you can trigger from the Hobolite app to enhance dramas. Thanks to the app you can change the color temperature of both lights with ease while standing in front of the camera, making these lights great for self-operating performers or documentary makers. You can sync both lights to the Hobolite app and then control both lights remotely. The main difference between the two is the Avant Max’s 7000 lux output compared to the Mini Max’s 4000, but I often had to dial down the intensity of both lamps as 100% wasn’t required.

Alternatives

Hobolite Mini
If you want to own a Hobolite but lack the funds for an Avant Max or Mini Max, then seek out the older and cheaper Hobolite Mini. This is more compact than the Mini Max (as you’d expect), and its smaller size is made possible by having the USC-C chargeable battery built into the body of the Mini (rather than having a separate battery pack as we see in the newer Mini Max). You can buy a Creator Kit version that includes color get modifiers.

Zhiyun Molus G200
The Zhiyun Molus G200 is considerably cheaper than either the Hobolite Mini Max or the Avant Max. It’s not as pretty as the Hobolites either but it can outgun both when it comes to intensity. As a 200W lamp that can be boosted to 300W (compared to the 40W Mini Max and the 80W Avant Max) the Zhiyun Molus G200 can emit a much stronger light source. Like the Hobolites the G200 is a bi-color light, so it can’t produce creative colours. The G200 lacks the colorful magnetic modifiers used in the Hobolite Creator Kits to add moody washes of colors to a subject. Please note, that unlike the Hobolites the G200 lacks a battery, so you’re tethered to mains-supplied locations.