Polaroid’s latest photography accessory may look like it came from a galaxy far, far away but the new Brightsaber could actually be a versatile lighting tool. Introduced in the spring and finally hitting digital shelves on Wednesday, the strange but potentially wonderful Brightsaber Travel Light Wand and the Brightsaber Pro LED doubles as both a continuous light source and light-painting wand.
The Brightsaber Travel Light Wand uses 98 LED lights in a panel along a handle, quite obviously designed to mimic the famous Star Wars lightsabers. With 10 different power settings, users can determine how much light the wand emits while color filters offer four different colors for light painting.
The Pro version also includes a shutter release compatible with most Canon, Nikon and Pentax cameras, theoretically to make it easier for light-painting selfies. Using 298 LED bulbs, the more advanced option is also able to output a daylight color as well as a tungsten color filter.
Both options break down for easier traveling and are rated for 50,000 hours of use.
The Brightsaber resembles more of a toy lightsaber than other tools — the Pixelstick is a long customizable LED panel, for example. The Westcott Ice Light is similar, but instead of using rows of lights it works more like a flashlight, with the ability to put out beams of light at up to a 72.6-degree spread.
But the biggest difference between the Brightsaber and other options on the market — besides that remote control on the Pro version — is the price. The basic Brightsaber retails for $79 while the Pro version is $169. Westcott’s light retails for $549 and the Pixelstick for $349.
Whether the force is with Polaroid’s new accessory or photographers will opt for the pricier Ice Light is anyone’s guess, but the versatile settings and shutter release in the pro version could make it flexible tool for the price.
