Product review: Selens 168 LED Dimmable LED Light panel

I own several light panels and Selens has several features that made it the one I use most often.

The most useful feature to me is the ability to change the amount of light that the panel generates with a simple turn of the knob. This allows me to have perfect lighting in different situations. In the attached video you can see how easy it is to find perfect lighting.

The second thing that I find very useful is the two filters that are included with the panel. The one I use most is the yellow filter that give me warm light. I really like that the filters fit snugly and stay in even if you turn the light upside down. In my other light panel the filter can slide out of I tilt the light and I had to tape the filter so I don't drop it as I move the lights.

The light panel can run using several different types of batteries: six AA batteries, NP-550,LP-E6,EN-EL15. I am using it with rechargeable AA batteries. Another useful feature is a battery test button on the back - I can tell how much juice the batteries have. I can recharge the batteries in advance of a long photo session if needed.

The light panel generates continuous light. Once you turn it on the light panel stays on. This panel does not communicate with the camera like a flash. It can be mounted it on the camera shoe, but I use it mounted on tripod so I have more control of where the lighting goes and my camera is lighter for a steadier shot. In my video you see how I use this light on a small tripod for the table top photography.

The photo panel is 6" by 3.75" and 2" deep. The light weighs 1 poin 0.3 oz (with six AA batteries installed). It has 168 LED lights.

Overall, I like this light very much. It is easy to set up and easy to change the amount of light I get to fit any situation.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: UNU Ultrapak Tour 10000mAH External Battery Pack

This battery performed pretty well with my phone and iPadMini tablet (I am including a couple of test results below), however there is a couple of cons that made this battery pack not very convenient for me.

First, to charge the battery you need to use a large power adapter with a round connector. The battery cannot be recharged using an USB cable. The plug takes up more than one spot on the power strip, so I am finding hard to find a good place for it to be plugged in. It is also too large for travel. I prefer power packs that use standard USB cables so I can plug it into a regular USB adapter.

It has a nice easy to read digital display showing the capacity of the battery, however this read out appears not to be reliable. What I mean is that it goes from showing a decent amount if charge left to empty so quickly that it is not predictable.

The battery has two ports and a flashlight. The flashlight is quite small and very dim (see video). It is not useful.

Size: 5 3/8" x 2 3/4" x 3/4"
Weight: 9.3 oz
Capacity: 10,000 mAh
Charge through charging: yes (i.e. can charge while being charged)

To see how well different external batteries charge my mobile devices I use a Nexus phone and an iPadMini to test each of them. The current drawn on each port depends on each device using the charger. The port rated with a maximum capacity of 2A does not always deliver 2A, what is actually delivered is controlled by the device based on many factors such running apps, level of charge, and so forth. I always use the same two devices and I do my tests with the devices charged to the same level, running the same applications and using the same cables to keep everything the same. This allows me to do a relative comparison of various chargers and identify the ones that do not perform well. Note that these tests are not testing for the maximum current each device can draw on each port as I don't have a device that maxes out the output.

Both my devices did well. I am including the details of the tests below for those who like to see the technical details.

★ Test Results:
======================

✔ Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone
--------------------------
port 1: 0.99A / 5.01V (good)
port 2: 0.98A / 5.01V (good)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this phone is 1.00A/5V)

✔ iPadMini
--------------------------
port 1: 0.93A / 5.01V (typical for 1A port)
port 2: 1.36A / 5.01V (good for 2A port)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this tablet is 1.70A/5V)

Even though I am getting pretty reasonable charging out of this battery the cons I listed at the start of this review make it just an okay power pack in comparison to other battery packs I am using.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Outlite A100 (with Rechargeable 18650 Battery) LED flashlight

This is a very bright flashlight. My favorite feature is a variable focus. On its largest setting the spot light is quite large and still very bright. I show how variable focus works in my video - all you have to do is slide the barrell up or down. The flashlight is 5.25" long, made out of aluminium alloy, it feels sturdy weighing 6.5 oz. The flashlight is waterproof but should not be submerged in water (i,e, okay in rain only).

It runs on one 18650 Li-ion battery rechargeable battery and the package includes one lithium a battery and a charger. It can also run on three AAA batteries (which are not included). The flashlight includes jackets so either battery type has a good fit in the flashlight. It took me about 4 hours to fully recharge the battery. The lens of the flashlight is plastic,

The flashlight has 5 modes: bright, medium, low light as well as fast strobe and SOS. To change the brightness I need to press the button once, to get into strobe modes I need to press the button twice in a row.

Attached video shows the flashlight in use to give you a better idea of what to expect.
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: iPowerBuddy 10000mah Dual Port USB Portable Charger External Battery Pack

This is a 10,000 mAh external battery with two ports and a flashlight. The flashlight is fairly bright but generates a narrow beam (see video). The power pack has a very nice and clear charge level indicator - a digital display with the amount of remaining power. The charger performed well with my Android phone but charged iPad Mini at 1 amp rate on both ports including the port rated as 2.1 amps.

Size: 5 3/8" x 2 1/2" x 3/4"
Weight: 7.9 oz
Capacity: 10,000 mAh
Charge through charging: no (i.e. can charge while being charged)

To see how well different external batteries charge my mobile devices I use a Nexus phone and an iPadMini to test each of them. The current drawn on each port depends on each device using the charger. The port rated with a maximum capacity of 2A does not always deliver 2A, what is actually delivered is controlled by the device based on many factors such running apps, level of charge, and so forth. I always use the same two devices and I do my tests with the devices charged to the same level, running the same applications and using the same cables to keep everything the same. This allows me to do a relative comparison of various chargers and identify the ones that do not perform well. Note that these tests are not testing for the maximum current each device can draw on each port because I do not own devices that can max out the current draw.

I am including the details of the tests below for those who like to see the technical details.

★ Test Results:
======================

✔ Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone
--------------------------
port 1: 0.94A / 5.01V (good)
port 2: 1.04A / 5.01V (excellent)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this phone is 1.00A/5V)

✔ iPadMini
--------------------------
port 1: 0.93A / 5.01V (typical for 1A port)
port 2: 0.94A / 5.01V (typical for 1A port)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this tablet is 1.70A/5V)

★ Summary
------------------
This battery performed best with Android devices.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Handi-Bag Super Value Pack, 8gal

We purchased these trashbag for a 13.5"H x 11.5W" trash bin EasyPAG Round Wastebasket. Each trash bag is 24" tall and 21 3/4" wide. The stock photos seem to show an older version of these bags, the ones I got have flaps which are nice for tying up the bag (I show them in the video).

The bags are large enough to flap over the edges so I can put a large rubber band that holds the trash bag in place. They are a good fit for my 13.5" tall bin!

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: LELEC 1200W Steam Mop

I like this steam mop. It does a good job cleaning and it is quite light (4 pounds).

The mop went together nicely, all pieces fit together easy, the piece felt solidly connected, I did not need any tools. The instruction were very clear (words and diagrams). The only somewhat tricky part was attaching the water reservoir as the bottom of it is open and the water spills out a bit as you tilt it down. I did it over a sink and I was glad I did to avoid a puddle.

This mop is designed for sealed hard wood floors, tile, and vinyl floors. It also comes with a glider that can be attached to the bottom to use on carpets. The cleaning pads attach to the mop by Velcro. The bottom of the mop has heavy duty built-in Velcro strips that grab the Velcro on the bottom of the pad. I suppose with time they will pick up dirt and will not hold as well, but so far the hold is very secure, the pad did not come off during cleaning and took a strong pull to remove it. The mop came with two micro fiber pads.

The handle is adjustable and from the floor to the tip of the handle is 47.5". It comes with a nice long cord which is 114".

I thought the mop did a fine job cleaning. The steam level can be adjusted by controls on the body of the unit, right above steam control is an on/off button. When the steam is going full force the steam reaches the buttons and one needs to be careful not to get scolded. It might have been better if the controls were on the handle away from the steam. Pushing the mop on the tiles floor were easy. The mop head is fairly large (10.5" inches across) and there were some places where I wanted to clean but could not fit in in.

I liked that the steam level can be controlled and I can tell the difference when I use +/- buttons. The steam function works well and the mop does not leave the floor too wet as you can see in attached video.

I liked most things about the mop. The summarize the minor nits I have are

1) The water container is tricky to put back as the water spills a bit.
2) Control buttons are the area that get steam vapors

Overall, I thought the mop did a nice job. It was easy to use, it did a nice job cleaning.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Foxnovo F08 8-Slots Li-ion Ni-MH Ni-CD Universal Intelligent Battery Charger

This charger is trully a universal charger. It charges Li-ion, Ni-MH, Ni-CD batteries in large variety of sizes.
Ni-MH /Ni-CD: A, AA, AAA, C, SC
Li-ion: 26650, 22650, 18650, 18500, 18490, 17670, 17650, 17500, 16340, 14500, 10440

It charges batteries individually and up to 8 batteries at the same time. Some of my devices use odd numbers of batteries and it is useful to be able to charge one or three.

Foxnovo charger is pretty large: 8.5"L x 5"W x 1.5"H. The AC cord is 80".

✅ Foxnovo Charger shows individual status for each battery. The indicator blinks while the battery is charging , and is steady when the battery is stopped charging.

To test if it really works I took a AAA battery and a AA battery which my La Crosse charger showed "fully charged" and one of the AA batteries from my mouse which my computer told me needed changing because they were down to 14% full. Foxnovo charger stopped blinking for the 2 full batteries in 2 minutes, and continued charging the empty battery. The empty batteries were recharged in under 3 hours.

✅ I tested the charger through the charging cycle and it remained fairly cool through out.

✅ I found that spring loaded slider that holds the battery is quite stiff and the battery in the bay does not always make good contact as the slide pushes slightly to the side. I always make sure the light is blinking and adjust when the contacts do not line up right. This is not a deal breaker, but could be better.

Overall, I like this charger a lot. I like not having to charge my batteries in pairs and I like being able to charge different size batteries at the same time.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★