The RGB Critter BT LED handheld light has nearly infinite colors and uses an app for control. But is it easier to use for light painting subjects than its confusing predecessor?
What are the Ants on a Melon RGB Critter lights?
Created by Ants on a Melon, the line of RGB Critter handheld lights has been popular with LED flow artists during shows, art exhibitions, events and raves. The RGB Critter BT is the latest in this line.
They’ve also been very popular with night photographers for light drawing, which some describe as light painting. I use “light drawing” or “light writing” to indicate shining a handheld light source directly into the camera lens to create drawings and patterns, and “light painting” to indicate illuminating a subject with a handheld light.
During my review of the older RGB Critter 2.0, I found that the quality of the light was excellent for the light painting of subjects, if rather confusing and inconvenient to use. It illuminated subjects beautifully while holding detail.
Now, Ants on a Melon has a new RGB Critter BT light that can be controlled by an app. How much easier is this light to use now?
My evaluation of this new flashlight is primarily for light painting subjects such as abandoned vehicles, trees, rocks, buildings, and so forth. I will not be reviewing it for flow art or light drawing, although my belief is that it would excel at both.
Note: Ants on a Melon sent us the RGB Critter BT LED flashlight and accessories to review and keep. However, this is an independent review. All thoughts and feelings about this light are our own. We have not been influenced in any way.
Pros
- Very easy to use via app and Bluetooth connectivity (vastly improved from the very confusing and inconvenient RGB Critter BT three-button interface)
- Fantastic, friendly and responsive customer support
- Extremely high-quality light
- Analog light output option that creates especially rich, vibrant colors while preventing strobing (great for video or long exposures)
- 16,777,216 color options (much more than the 39 colors from its predecessor!)
- Many high-quality color settings are rich in color and retain detail when illuminating subjects
- Much, much easier to control brightness via the app
- Durable build quality
- Raised silicone buttons for ease of use in the dark
- Improved silicone sleeve does not slip (the RGB Critter 2.0 had some slippage issues)
- New silicone tail cap, which is much easier to grip, tighten, and remove
- Many flow art features and accessories too numerous to mention
- A universal mount for many attachments and accessories
- USB-C rechargeable with replaceable 2500mAh 18650 battery
Cons
Note: Please remember that this flashlight was not designed for people who illuminate, or light paint, subjects, but that this review is looking at it from this perspective. These cons may not apply for LED flow arts or light drawing.
- Although the Critter is far easier to use, now you must use two devices to change colors or brightness
- When you change colors or brightness, you must take care to not be in the frame of the photo or at least completely block the phone light from shining in the lens or you will get streaks
- Bluetooth can sometimes be inconsistent or fussy, although during testing in the field, the controls have been rock solid once the connection has been made
RGB Critter BT — Technical specifications
All technical specifications have been taken from the Ants on a Melon website:
- Length: 5.9″ (150mm)
- Diameter: 1.3″ (33mm)
- Weight: 9 oz (including the battery)
- max lumens: 170lm
- Max runtime (white): 2 hours
- Max runtime (color): 4-7 hours
- 18650 battery: 2500mAh (only use their specific battery for their products)
- Internal USB-C charging (only use their charging cable for their products)
- Can be used with USB power supply connected
- Aluminum body + updated silicone grip (offered in black only)
- 3 illuminated buttons (the LEDs can be turned off using the app)
- Connects to over 200 twist-on accessories
- Warranty: 1-year limited warranty with optional 3-year add-on
- Compatible with iPhones and iPads, with Android app coming July 2024
Ants on a Melon previously sent me a couple of attachments for light painting. These were the Illuminator and the Illuminator Flex. Of course, you can use these as well as about 200 other attachments with this light as well.
Typically, they include a soft drawstring mesh case for the flashlight, a charging cable, and a Critter Key (to open up the newly-improved silicone tailcap to access the mini-USB charging port and battery). You may also combine the RGB Critter BT with selected accessories in the Packages Section, which saves you a bit of money.
RGB Critter BT — Ergonomics and build quality
The light is designed for flow arts performers while having long attachments affixed to it. They’re not going to use a light that is flimsy since they’re waving it around and occasionally whacking it on the ground or a railing. It’s solid.
I had previously dropped the predecessor on cement from about three feet. This is not part of the Official Rigorous 101-Step Photofocus Review Protocol. I’m just clumsy.
No problem. Not a scratch.
Use a lanyard around your wrist and you may lessen your chances of being like me.
Also, the flashlight, including the buttons, is covered with soft rubbery silicone that feels quite secure in your hands. It’s the most comfortable flashlight I’ve used. The RGB Critter BT has an updated no-slip silicone grip, one that won’t slide around the body. There’s also a new silicone tail cap, which protects from accidental drops.
RGB Critter BT — In the field
To test the light in the field, I photographed using the light in Joshua Tree National Park. I also did some light painting with a tree and a car graveyard on the East Coast with the previous light, the RGB Critter 2.0. This light has the same optics and LED as the BT. I will also share some comparisons with light painting attachments and arguably the finest light painting device ever made, the ProtoMachines.
Real world light painting in the field: Joshua Tree National Park
I began using a light that was simply called “White”. It’s the default white. I light painted a Joshua Tree with white light on the right side, and red light on the left side.
This resulted in an odd blue (see left photo above). I looked at the light shining on the ground, and realized that while the center of the light was white, the periphery was blue. I had encountered the same issue with the RGB Critter 2.0.
Fortunately, I could create a Custom Color with the Ants on a Melon app. I created a very very warm white by working in a lot of yellow. Problem solved. I used this new color on the photo on the right.
Real world light painting in the field: Retaining detail in a forest filled with abandoned cars
Remember that the RGB Critter 2.0 has the same optics and LED as the RGB Critter BT. In other words, the actual light used for light painting is exactly the same in the new RGB Critter BT as it was in the Critter 2.0. Which is to say that the quality of light is quite pleasing.
The main difference now is the control over the colors of the light. You can produce considerably more colors than before. Much, much more.
In the humid forest, the silicone covering was a welcome bonus, providing a grip that was quite welcome in the damp environment. Although the beam was narrower than the other light I’ve used, it never created an issue when illuminating the cars. The quality of light was pleasing.
Above: The RGB Critter 2.0 light retains an enormous amount of detail.
Quality of light
This is a notable area where the RGB Critter shines (sorry about the pun…it happens). The light is capable of producing rich light that is well-suited for light painting subjects. You can use even richer colors by switching the toggle on the app to “Analog.”
Above: I tested numerous different colors from the RGB Critter in Analog Mode. I chose their most intense red and blue. Many digital cameras seem very sensitive to intense red light in particular, and it’s easy to lose highlights and detail with a red light. However, here, despite the intense red saturation, the details hold up beautifully. This is a high-quality light. To a lesser extent, it seems easy to lose highlights and detail with very saturated blue colors as well. However, it held up nicely as well. Click on the photos for a better look at the detail. There are several hues of green as well, and these render nicely.
Using the phone app while light painting subjects
The RGB Critter BT is infinitely easier to use in the field than the Critter 2.0. This is due to the app, which has a smartly-designed layout and is easy to figure out without requiring instructions. I’ll have more detailed comparisons between the BT and 2.0 as well as the BT and the ProtoMachines later in this review.
RGB Critter BT — A look into its easy-to-use app
Unlike its predecessor, the RGB Critter BT can be controlled via a phone app. The app works really well and is easy to use without requiring instructions or tutorials. This is a marked difference from the earlier model, the RGB Critter 2.0, which required difficult-to-remember sequences of button pushes.
Of course, the downside is that you will need to use two devices to switch colors and brightness. Still, I’ll take this over limited colors that I have to flip through sequentially.
How to select stock colors
This is a huge win for me. In Solid Color Playlist (playlists are basically modes), you can quickly scroll through 32 colors and activate them immediately.
But it gets better. Much better.
Creating your own custom colors
Hit the DIY button. Are you smiling yet? Yes, you can create your own colors! About 16,777,216 of them. But who’s counting?
Then, you can save your colors in one of your custom playlists. And yes, you can name all of these…with long, descriptive names if you wish.
Furthermore, there are three ways that you can save colors: Grid, Spectrum, and Sliders. Let’s have a look at these three ways, all from the perspective of light painting subjects (in other words, I will cover solid colors only, and not go over fades, strobes, and other functions that are not as helpful for light painting).
Grid Screen
This shows colors on 120 different squares. Nice and quick. Poke one of them and continue!
Spectrum
Exactly what you think. Select from a nearly infinite amount of colors that are displayed as a spectrum. This is probably the quickest way to select very specific custom colors since you can see all the colors laid out before you. Many other RGB light apps use a spectrum to select colors on lights such as RGB panels.
Sliders
Sliders can be little tiny hamburger appetizers. But here, it’s a page which offers sliders to adjust red, green, and blue colors. Adjust the sliders manually, and you’ll see the hex code at the bottom right change. This is where it gets really cool: you can manually enter a hex code! This is utterly fantastic if you want to replicate a very specific color, and you already know the hex code.
Saving your custom color
To create a custom color, you would use what AOAM call a Custom Mode. You can name your color (“Mode Name”), the Effect (for light painting subjects, we would select “Solid Color”), and of course, your custom color. After this, you can save it to one of your custom playlists.
This functionality is so vastly superior in ease of use and flexibility over the RGB Critter 2.0 that it’s barely worth mentioning. You were limited to 39 stock colors before. But here, you have a powerful, flexible method of creating almost any color, then organizing it into easy-to-access lists with your own names on everything! Nice.
Tip for choosing colors easily while light painting in the field
If you wish to make switching to your most-used colors easier while light painting, you can create your own playlist. You can then assign colors from either their permanent colors or assign your own custom colors to that playlist. Placing your favorite colors in a playlist will reduce the amount of time that you would need to change the color of the light. I cannot begin to exaggerate how much better this is than the RGB Critter 2.0, which required you to flip through all the lights in sequence to get to the light that you wanted. Yeah, no thanks.
Brightness control
The brightness control is also vastly superior in ease of use to its predecessor. From Playlists, press the Rocket Button. This opens Universal Settings. You’ll see a Brightness Slider there. Then just do your thing.
RGB Critter BT — Recycle times and battery life
I love having a USB-C rechargeable flashlight. For night photographers who do light painting, it’s nice to have one less item that requires a specific battery charger. As a bonus, you can easily replace its 2500mAh 18650 battery! You could get an extra battery and simply replace it in the field if necessary.
Due to the specific size of the battery, Ants on a Melon advises that you only use their batteries to prevent possible damage. You also should use their provided charging cable, also to prevent possible damage. They sell both on their website.
RGB Critter BT — Illuminator and Flex
Currently, while the company has over two hundred different attachments, these are the two best attachments for light painting subjects: Illuminator and Illuminator Flex.
Illuminator is somewhat shaped like an oil sieve, while Illuminator Flex has a wider opening. Illuminator Flex, as the name implies, is bendable as well, allowing for further light painting opportunities such as changing the shape of the outgoing light. You can do great light painting of subjects with either. If you have to choose one, I would go with Flex for its wider opening as well as its, well, flexibility.
Above: Illuminator Flex and Illuminator. The Flex is the larger, bendable one. You can squeeze it to change the shape. Once you release it, it pops back into shape.
Above: RGB Critter 2.0. The left photo shows the Illuminator attachment while the right photo shows the Illuminator Flex attachment, here using the Default White setting. Now, bear in mind that I am light painting the tree by hand, so there’s some inconsistency. I illuminated the tree from the same three angles for the same amount of time, but of course, it’s never exactly the same. You can probably see where the light beam is wider and more of the scene is illuminated.
I also want to point out that like the color white that I used for the Joshua Tree above, this white had a blue periphery to its light. You can see how it affects the color in the image. You’ll see some examples of this later.
Above: RGB Critter 2.0. The left photo shows the Illuminator attachment while the right photo shows the Illuminator Flex attachment, here using the Blue Setting. Like the previous example, it’s not an enormous difference, but you do notice that it is wider in these examples as well as in person when you are light painting the subject.
Warm white light and beam
Above: The left photo is the RGB Critter, using a warm white color. The right photo is a custom setting I have (RGB of 45 at 53% saturation at 7.5 brightness). I attempted to visually set the brightness of the ProtoMachines so that it appeared to be the same as the RGB Critter when I was aiming at both a wall and the ground. I illuminated the scene at the same angles for the same amount of time in both photos, largely to show the width of the beam. Take note that my custom warm white setting is warmer in part because I mistakenly left the saturation at 53% when I meant to lower it back down to 40% after my last photoshoot, just for the record.
Many of us who light paint subjects like warm white light for general illumination. I used these to look at how wide of a beam there is between the ProtoMachines LED2, arguably the greatest handheld light painting device, and the RGB Critter. As you can see, the ProtoMachines has a considerably wider beam. Is this better or worse? Like many things, it depends. It depends on what you are trying to illuminate, whether that requires a narrower beam or a wide beam, and your personal preference.
You can do great work with either. With a light that has a narrower beam, you would simply need to illuminate more of the scene, which could take slightly longer. On the other hand, if you were doing detail work with, say, car emblems, grilles, headlights, interiors, or other detail work, you might need to use a snoot with a ProtoMachines to match the RGB Critter.
More about those white colors…
I mentioned the blue periphery in what is supposed to be a neutral white color. Let’s look deeper into that.
The various white light settings have a colored ring around the periphery of the beam, visible when you are shining the light on a white wall. The Warm White light has a slightly green ring, while the Default White and Natural White light has a slightly purplish-bluish hue on the periphery. Sometimes, this bluish hue affects the light painting. To take the photos above, I held the camera and flashlight approximately one foot from a white door in the dark. All photos are shown here at 5500K.
As I mentioned in my field testing in Joshua Tree, to create a pleasing warm white light, I had to use a lot of yellow mixed in with white. This produced a very pleasing white light, great for general use.
RGB Critter BT — Universal settings
Adjusting Brightness, Analog Mode, and button lights
As mentioned before, to access Universal Settings, press the app’s Rocket Button. From here, you can adjust Brightness, Analog, and Button LEDs. You may also use the Lock power Button and Lock Buttons. You can also activate Momentary Press. What’s that, you ask? When the light is activated, the LED will turn off.
How much charge is left?
The app shows the percentage of battery life left. You no longer need to figure this out by pressing a sequence of buttons, which also couldn’t give the percentage, only several color flashes indicating whether it was strong or weak.
Comparing the RGB Critter BT to RGB Critter 2.0 for light painting of subjects
- The RGB Critter BT is much easier to use due to the nicely-designed app instead of the confusing multi-button interface.
- The BT can select specific colors rather than having to press buttons repeatedly to get to a color, which always remains in the same sequence.
- The BT can create unlimited custom Playlists and custom colors. You can place all your favorite colors in one Playlist for easy access, whether it’s their colors or yours.
- There are over well over 16 million different color combinations. The Critter 2.0 had 39.
- The LED lamp is the same used in the RGB Critter. It’s a good quality light that holds detail.
Comparing the RGB Critter BT to the ProtoMachines LED2 for light painting of subjects
As anyone who has read my articles repeatedly knows, I typically use the ProtoMachines LED2 for light painting. The ProtoMachines line is specifically designed to light paint subjects. And simply put, they are the best for for light painting subjects in terms of ease of use, functionality, and quality of light. However, there’s a slight issue: they’re currently not available. Nonetheless, here’s how the RGB Critter BT compares to the ProtoMachines LED2.
RGB Critter BT advantages vs. ProtoMachines
- The ProtoMachines LED2 and, to the best of my knowledge, their other lights, has eight color presets. The Critter has unlimited amounts of color presets (and Playlists). And that’s a lot more than eight.
- You can name your Custom Colors and Playlists with nice, long, descriptive names. I love this feature. It’s particularly handy for specific light painting objectives, matching colors, and photographers who are colorblind.
- The Critter BT is likely more durable. Although I’m not going to drop the Critter or the ProtoMachines any more than I already have, I’m going to guess that the Critter probably can take more drops than the ProtoMachines can, in part due to its lighter weight and aluminum housing, but also because of its soft silicone grip exterior.
- The Critter is more comfortable to hold and use if not using your phone simultaneously. This is due in part to the shape as well as the silicone grip. It’s also smaller and is easier to fit in your pocket. However, some of this comfort is negated when you have to switch colors while light painting since you have to bust out your phone.
- The Critter BT is currently available for purchase. Hopefully ProtoMachines will release more lights soon.
- The Critter is about a third of the price of what the ProtoMachines LED2 and LED8 cost when they were available.
ProtoMachines advantages vs. RGB Critter BT
- The quality of the light on the ProtoMachines is superior to the Critter. It also does not have a darker-tinged color ring around its white light, has no hot spots, and is more of a “pure” light. A ProtoMachines light, after all, is the Rolls Royce of RGB light painting devices.
- Although the Critter is far easier to use, you still must use two devices to change colors or brightness. Not so for the ProtoMachines lights.
- When you change colors or brightness, you must take care to not be in the frame of the photo or at least completely block the phone light from shining in the lens or you will get streaks. Thankfully, the app has a black background, which is far better than a bright background. While it’s conceivable that you could do this with the back screen of the ProtoMachines if you keep it turned on, it’s much smaller and dimmer. But a huge difference here is that there are physical buttons, so if you have your presets memorized, you don’t need to activate the lights on the screen.
- It’s easier to create rainbow-type light painting, ones that sweep through the color spectrum, with the ProtoMachines than with the Critter. This is largely due to only having to press the Hue button down rather than having to hold two devices and sweep your finger slowly down the Spectrum window to achieve a similar effect.
- The RGB Critter’s easy app interface could get stripped away should you have issues with Bluetooth connectivity. Many night photographers who have used Bluetooth triggers and intervalometers will be familiar with these issues. The good news with this is that you’re probably less likely to encounter this since you would likely be using the Critter in close proximity while light painting subjects. You will be able to use the light without the app eventually, but then you’re left with the limited and confusing multi-button interface again.
- The ProtoMachines has a timer, which is fantastic for making your light painting more precise. The Critter does not have a timer.
- The ProtoMachines can store the timer information as part of the preset.
- The Critter doesn’t always precisely turn on and off via the on/off button. The ProtoMachines, on the other hand, offers greater precision control. This should not be overlooked, and can be surprisingly important at times.
- If Ants on a Melon goes out of business, no longer supports the app, or your phone no longer can update its operating system or apps, it’s possible that many of the features of the Critter BT would be rendered cumbersome to use — or possibly inoperable. That said, Ants on a Melon have been around since 2012.
RGB Critter BT — Additional information
Sorry, you cannot upgrade the RGB Critter 1.0 or 2.0 to work with the app. It doesn’t have the hardware for Bluetooth connectivity.
You will be able to use the RGB Critter without the app. From the website: “The RGB Critter BT currently requires the Ants on a Melon app to operate, but later in 2024, we will add functionality that allows you to use it independently of the app.
The Ants on a Melon app is compatible with iOS 17.0 or newer, and will be compatible with Android 7.0 or newer.
I didn’t test this for light drawing or flow arts. However, given the high quality of the light, the ability to connect at least 200 attachments, and the ability to connect up to ten of these lights to the app simultaneously, I fail to see how this could be anything less than great.