I only do photography for a hobby, but lighting has always been an issue for the little setups I do. My perception was always that this type of equipment runs in the hundreds of dollars and wasn’t worth investing in for my very occasional creative bursts. I was excited to request this product since its range of effects could prove useful for other projects, in addition to providing ambience at parties or on Halloween, whether we might want to simulate lightning or use the RGB light to set off the decor with fun colors. The light can be used while it is plugged in and charging so you could hook it up to a USB plug or a power bank that is USB compatible in order to extend its battery life. The USB cord is pretty short: measuring the cord from one connector to the other (so not factoring in the length of the USB plug on one side and the USB-C plug on the other), it came out to about 18”.The light itself feels well made. It’s lightweight and compact so it would be easy to travel with. All of the diodes are functioning as expected. The box it was packaged in is made of sturdy cardboard and should be ideal for long-term storage. The tripod it came with is pretty basic, but it functions okay if you don’t have anything else: You get the full range of motion with the ball mount and the extendable legs stay in place. I did notice as I manipulated the lighting modes that the mount shifted a little, so the locking mechanism is a little loose, but that should be less of an issue if you’re just setting up the light and leaving it alone. This looseness was the factor that led me to give a 4-star rating instead of 5.I find the interface easy to work with. I've included a video where I go through all the different modes and options to show how they work. There is an on/off switch and a Mode button at the top to switch between CCT, effects, and the HSI modes. Along the side are two dials. The top one controls adjustments in each mode and the bottom one lets you control the brightness. Each of the two dials works slightly differently: the top one operates more like a switch and has a nub in the center so you can easily push it up or down (it also functions as a button to toggle between options in each mode), and the bottom one is a simple dial that you can spin in either direction. I was pleased to see that though the top dial doesn’t let you just spin it around, if you hold the dial up or down it can go through the full range on that control very quickly. You can also fine tune it by individual increments by just notching it up or down. There is no HSI scale printed on the back of the light so it would be helpful to have a reference card on hand to achieve the color you want.The light has one mount on the bottom so you can attach it to a tripod and comes with a cold shoe adapter. I’ve seen some other lights that have a magnetic backing; this light does not include a magnet but that is not an issue for my usage since I would be more likely to just mount it on a tripod.Overall, this is going to work great for my hobby uses. I'm pleased with its compactness as well, since it would be easier to take it with me on outings where I might want additional light to produce better photos.