BenQ Screenbar Plus Monitor Light Review
Thanks to BenQ for sending the ScreenBar Plus to help me "see" what I've been missing. Check the monitor light out here: ➡️ https://amzn.to/3zWRc2P
Having even light that doesn't hit the screen has been a huge video editing environment improvement since adding this light in my edit bay.
Why Use It?
The BenQ ScreenBar Plus is a computer monitor-mounted LED light. It came in a slick, apple-Esque, quality box with just three parts to hook up - the light, the control dial, and the patented monitor clip.
The clip that BenQ created is by far the best I’ve seen for this type of light. It’s weighted just right and fits great on any flat monitor, as well as my curved iMac display. There are rubber pads, so it doesn’t shift or scratch anything and leaves enough room for the FaceTime webcam.
The monitor light and adjustment dial power up with a single USB cable that I plugged into my USB hub. It just needs 5 volts - like charging your phone.
Once it’s plugged in, tap the dial to turn it on, and the light emits an asymmetric light pattern, which is some fancy voodoo science for explaining why the light doesn’t put ANY GLARE or REFLECTIONS on my display! I don’t get it, but I like it - especially when I’m color grading in DaVinci Resolve.
Instead of needing to reach on top of your monitor to change the brightness or color temperature (that’s how warm or cool the light is), the “Plus” model of the Screen Bar Monitor light uses a little puck dial which is oddly satisfying to adjust. The button on the right toggles brightness vs. color temperature, ranging from 2700-6500 degrees Kelvin. And the button on the left performs an automatic adjustment based on your ambient light in the room.
Why Use It?
I want to edit the best videos that I can, and because uneven and poor light quality can tire your eyes out - this new monitor light has given my eyeballs a little break. So, as a result, I can be more productive and craft better stories - that’s the hope anyway.
A couple of other great things that have come from using the Screen Bar Plus is that it lights up my DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor and keyboard. The light doesn’t just look fantastic in the b-roll, but it also helps me find the right shortcut key to press when it’s one I don’t use all of the time.
And of course, it saves desk space from not needing a desk lamp which, therefore, gives you more room to pile up other creative tools all over the place.
Would I Buy It?
Suppose I hadn’t seen and used it in person. No, I wouldn’t have bought it. It’s a premium desk lamp at around 130 dollars or so in the US, which can, of course, fluctuate - but that’s a lot of money for a desk lamp. So it wouldn’t have been on my radar as something I needed to help me edit better videos.
But, now that I’ve had the pleasure of actually using it for a while, I can’t work without it. It’s one of those things that you didn’t know you needed until you used it. And now it’s like, where have you been all my life? Why don’t companies build these into computer monitors?
So, in other words, yes, as odd as it sounds - mainly because I can be very cheap on certain things. I’d buy this because it makes the hours I spend at the computer that much more pleasant.
The monitor clamp, the way it attaches to your screen, and the little desk adjustment puck dial make this specific model stand out from the cheaper knock-offs. And the light is rated to last for years, so you buy once, cry once.
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