Elgato Key Light Review

Name: Elgato Key Light
Brand: Elgato

This is a large LED panel that clamps to a desk and is controlled from software. It is expensive for what it physically is, and the price is not really about the light.

What you are actually paying for

Desk space. The clamp puts the Key Light (at Amazon, opens in a new tab) above and behind the monitor with nothing standing on the desk. On a crowded desk that is worth more than it sounds, and it leaves the top of the monitor for your webcam.

Zero friction. Brightness and temperature change from the computer or a control surface. The practical consequence is that you adjust the light, rather than deciding it is close enough because adjusting means reaching behind a monitor.

A properly diffused surface. Large and even out of the box, which is what soft light requires, with no additional diffusion to buy or rig.

The honest limitations

It depends on your network to be controlled, and there are no physical controls as a fallback.

The clamp needs a desk edge of the right thickness with clearance underneath, which is worth measuring rather than assuming, particularly if a monitor arm is already using that space.

How we assessed this

We have not photographed under this light or measured its output. This assessment rests on the published panel dimensions, output and colour range, the mounting system, and the control method. It is a judgement about suitability rather than a measurement.

Questions people ask

Is it worth the price over a cheap panel?

It depends on whether you will actually use it every day. What the money buys is not light: a cheap panel with a diffusion sheet produces comparable output and comparable softness. What it buys is that the light clamps off the desk instead of occupying it, and that you change brightness and temperature from the computer instead of reaching behind a monitor. If you go on camera daily, that friction removal is worth real money. If you go on camera occasionally, it is not.

Does it need the software?

To control it, effectively yes, since there are no physical controls on the unit at all. It connects over your wireless network and is adjusted from a desktop application, a phone, or a hardware control surface if you own one. That is convenient in normal use and it does mean the light depends on your network being available, which is worth knowing before you build a daily routine around it.

Will the clamp fit my desk?

It fits conventional desk edges up to a moderate thickness, which covers most desks but not all of them. Very thick tops, glass surfaces, and desks with a lip or a rounded edge underneath are where it becomes awkward. Measure the edge before ordering, and check there is clearance beneath for the clamp jaw, because a monitor arm or a cable tray already occupying that space is a common and irritating collision.