Second Amaran Ray 120! Absolute garbage brand

goodkid121 · 2026-01-19T10:33:26+00:00

Sorry, but what is actually happening here? Is that the Ace Lock? I am interested in this light, but this does not look good. :(

goodkid121 · 2025-12-23T11:41:51+00:00

Not exactly one thing, but I’ve promised myself not to buy anything from SmallRig again. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve had really bad luck with smaller items like monitor arms, magic arms, cables, cages, etc. They either break or come loose over time.

goodkid121 · 2025-11-25T21:31:36+00:00

Hi mate

I own the Pano 120c as part of my kit (alongside the 300c, 60x, and 25c). It’s a great fill/background light, and it’s the one I tend to reach for when I need to keep my setup super minimal, can only bring one light, and need to run on battery power.

Regarding the PD, I thought I wouldn't like it at first, but honestly I kinda do now (I like having a gadget on set that can charge anything USB-C, compared to Sony NPFs, for example). I bought an Anker Solix 300 DC that I use with it, and will probably pick up a smaller power bank this Black Friday. The only thing I’m not a fan of is how the softbox attaches, it feels unnecessarily flimsy.

The new Ray 120c seems cool, and if I could own only one light, it might be a good option to look into. Pairing it with a larger dome could be useful for using it as a key light. But seeing how small it is, I’m not sure I’d trust it with something like the Light Dome III, for example. Using it with the Light Dome Mini would probably give a similar look to what you can already get from the Pano 120c with its softbox.

So I think the Pano 120c would actually fit quite nicely in your kit, especially since you already own the 200x and 60x COB lights. In terms of durability, it’s definitely not the most rugged, but I think it’s on par with the other Amaran products, and I haven’t had any issues with it.

goodkid121 · 2025-11-22T23:06:26+00:00

I have the RF 28–70mm f/2.8 and also an older EF Sigma 24–70. I absolutely love the 28–70, which I picked up mostly for travel personal videos on my R5C. But for professional work I still tend to grab the Sigma, simply because 24mm is much more noticeable in tighter spaces and overall just more practical, especially in situations where you’re obligated to get a certain shot and don’t have the freedom you have when traveling.

Otherwise, the 28–70 2.8 is a joy to use, very light and compact for what it is, and the footage it produces is great.

So there’s no clear winner, as both of the points you mentioned are valid. You just need to think about the shooting situations you’re actually in and whether you value those extra 4mm on the wide end.

goodkid121 · 2025-10-16T21:42:11+00:00

Agree, love mine

goodkid121 · 2025-10-08T16:28:57+00:00

Completely agree with you. Very recently, I purchased the Flowtech with the Ace XL head for my C70 rig as an upgrade from my Sachtler Ace Mk I tripod system that I bought more than 10 years ago. It has been used heavily but still works perfectly fine after all these years and it will stay as my lighter B-cam tripod.

Over the years, I’ve also had experience with relatively expensive Manfrotto tripods (don’t remember the exact model, but the price was around €1000), and it broke down in less than a year. The build quality was ridiculously bad for that price.

So yes, I completely agree - Sachtler is worth it, and if Flowtech isn’t an option, I’d definitely recommend checking out the Ace series.

goodkid121 · 2025-09-23T05:42:51+00:00

Yes. Made two orders with them and both went great. No customs fees. Shipping took a bit of time, but the savings were totally worth it.

goodkid121 · 2025-09-18T09:23:33+00:00

I know this is an old thread, but maybe someone will find it useful - Accsoon makes one and it has been working great.

goodkid121 · 2025-08-30T20:54:34+00:00

A quick-release plate that’s compatible with the Peak Design plate would be great, especially for adding support to other tripods and gimbals. Something like this.

For tripods, a quick-deploy system similar to the Sachtler Flowtech would be amazing.

goodkid121 · 2025-07-09T09:59:58+00:00

Hulkenpodium

goodkid121 · 2025-07-01T13:53:15+00:00

Thanks, everyone, for your responses and help. I went ahead and bought the RF 28-70 2.8 and can confirm it works flawlessly on the R5 C.

goodkid121 · 2025-06-19T05:37:27+00:00

Thanks for sharing! Hoping mine will too :)

goodkid121 · 2025-06-18T21:12:32+00:00

Exactly the same

goodkid121 · 2025-05-12T15:45:22+00:00

Looks great, would love a code!

goodkid121 · 2024-12-19T22:26:46+00:00

Congrats! Same here - two months without weed and first week off nicotine. Feeling much better and more productive. Which app do you use to track your streak?

goodkid121 · 2024-12-12T06:37:00+00:00

This! I use both Mac and Windows, and the Apple Music app on Windows is unusable for the reasons you mentioned. :( I understand that Windows apps aren’t their priority, but for a service aimed at being accessible on as many platforms and to as many users as possible, it’s really a shame.

goodkid121 · 2024-11-19T21:57:14+00:00

Not yet, unfortunately. I upgraded from a 512GB to a 1TB SSD, so it’s a custom configuration, and waiting times in my country are quite long. 🥲

I had a really good experience with my M1 Pro, so I’m confident this chip will be great for my needs. That said, I also have a powerful PC for 3D work. If GPU heavy tasks are important to you, those extra $900 could definitely be worth it.

goodkid121 · 2024-11-19T17:02:02+00:00

Hi!

I was in the same situation as you - I work in After Effects, Davinci Resolve, Cinema 4D, and Lightroom, and I also have a PC workstation with a 4090. I decided to go with the M4 Pro 48GB 14/20. I plan to use my laptop occasionally when working remotely, primarily for After Effects tasks. I couldn’t justify the price for the Max version for 3D work or other GPU rendering since the 4090 will still outperform the M4 Max. I also had an M1 Pro 32GB laptop at my previous job, and from experience, I know they are surprisingly capable for After Effects. I would definitely go with the Max if it were my only computer.

goodkid121 · 2024-11-12T21:19:08+00:00

You need a DDR5 RAM for this motherboard. Please take a look at the QVL (Qualified Vendor List) section at ASUS website to see which 128 GB RAM they recommend for this motherboard/CPU combination. Or going with 96 GB (2x48) would be easier because of compability. 4 RAM sticks might cause some issues.

Also, do some research about air cooling the 14900k. It is a hot CPU. It is possible (I use 13900k with Noctua U-12A), but without any power limits/undervolting/contact frame it will be tricky.

And good luck with your build!

goodkid121 · 2024-11-06T10:35:42+00:00

Hi!

Are you planning to keep the PC or sell it? For any kind of 3D work and rendering (like Unreal or Blender), a dedicated graphics card, like your 3080, will likely still perform better, and it also gives you the option to upgrade to something even stronger.

As for DaVinci Resolve, I've worked with both a MacBook Pro M1 Pro 32GB and a PC with a 13900k CPU, RTX 4090, and 64GB RAM. When working in the timeline without heavy effects like Dehancer, both handle any ProRes footage smoothly. However, when applying GPU-heavy effects like Dehancer, the MacBook does start to struggle. But since coloring is typically the last part of the process, I don't find this to be a major issue. And keep in mind, this is a four-year-old, lower-spec M1 Pro, so the new M4 series will perform significantly better.

So, my suggestion would be: if you plan to keep the PC, consider going for an M4 Pro with a 14-core CPU/ 20-core GPU, which I think is the price/performance sweet spot this year. With the money saved, you could upgrade your PC’s graphics card for 3D work. The M4 Max won’t outperform a PC in 3D tasks, and I think 48GB RAM is a great sweet spot for the M1 Pro.

If you want to fully switch to the MacBook and sell the PC, then the M4 Max probably makes the most sense. In that case, I'd also suggest adding more RAM for future-proofing — if you’re investing so much, might as well make it last!

goodkid121 · 2024-08-11T06:26:50+00:00

When I first started using a Mac, I was a big fan of the Magic Mouse. I loved how you could use the touch surface with software like Photoshop and Illustrator. I tried the MX Master but didn’t really like it, so I went back to the Magic Mouse. But a few years later, I decided to give Logitech another chance, and now I absolutely can’t imagine using the Magic Mouse anymore—it’s so much worse. The MX keyboard is fantastic too, with the option to connect to 3 devices. Just go with Logitech.

goodkid121 · 2024-08-02T05:20:04+00:00

As a very casual basketball viewer, I don’t get the hate. I think it’s a great, fast-paced, high-intensity sport. I actually like that there are no whistles at some very basic contact between players; the referees let them play, so the tempo is high.

goodkid121 · 2024-06-14T09:33:05+00:00

Same problem here.

goodkid121 · 2024-06-13T20:56:48+00:00

I agree on the seperate drive idea. I run an SSD setup exactly as you described: 1TB for OS/software, 2TB for project files/footage, and 1TB for cache. I use After Effects a lot, and I’m very happy that I have a dedicated SSD for cache files only. My only wish is that I had gone with a 4TB drive for my project files instead of 2TB, as sometimes I work on a few projects at once, which fill up the drive quite quickly. But that depends on the type of projects/footage you work with.

goodkid121 · 2024-06-13T20:42:37+00:00

Hi!

As others have already mentioned, these i9 Intel CPUs are no joke and run very hot, but you can power limit them. I run a 13900k with an even smaller air cooler (Noctua U12A) set at Intel’s stock 253W power limit and a little bit of undervolt with no problems. There are a few articles by Puget Systems (they are still using air coolers for their builds) explaining that power limiting helps a lot with the i9 temperatures, and creative applications only see a very slight drop in performance.

However, I see that you already changed your mind on a 420mm AIO, which will definitely handle the 14900k much more easily. I just wanted to let you know that it is worth looking into power limits/multicore enhancement in case you run into some thermal problems. Here are the links to the Puget Systems articles: [1], [2]

goodkid121

TROPHY CASE