I wish I had a solution like the Logitech Litra Glow when I started buying odds and ends to build my perfect office lighting situation. It took me a few years to land on my current setup for video chats and live streaming, and that was after a bit of trial and error. And even still, it sometimes feels like a bit of overkill having a tripod set up in the open when I’m simply sitting at my desk, taking calls.
The Litra Glow is part of the Logitech for Creators lineup, which includes brands like Blue Microphones (which makes the super popular Yeti podcasting mic). However, the Litra Glow is bound to be helpful beyond creative types, as many of us continue to work from home (still? forever?) and are tired of looking like trolls.
I like the Litra Glow because of its relatively small footprint. It’s unassuming enough that you don’t need a dedicated tripod or area on your desk to prop it up. It mounts onto any monitor, like Logitech’s companion webcams. It’s also only $60 including tripod. While it costs a bit more than some other options you can find, Logitech managed to make YouTube-level lighting friendly and accessible.
Easy, Quick Setup
The Litra Glow is essentially a well-propped, frameless selfie light. It packs Logitech’s TrueSoft technology, which claims to provide ample light for every skin color. It has a built-in monitor mount 4-inch vertical telescoping available and a 2-inch horizontal extension. The light is also on a 360-degree swivel top, so you can flip it backward and prop it up per your lighting needs. Or you can keep turning it to remove it from the monitor mount and screw it onto a tripod instead.
The Litra Glow also features a 5-foot USB-C to USB-A cable for connecting to your computer. This makes it accessible to some older systems, but you’ll still need USB 3.0 to power it up.
If you’ve ever used a Logitech product, then you know they’re pretty user-friendly. The Litra Glow is as simple as plugging it in and powering it from the back. You could probably buy this at the last minute if you needed and power it up minutes later for a video chat. You don’t even have to use the Logitech G Hub software if you don’t want to, because the Litra Glow’s temperature and brightness sliders are available on the back of the light (on either side of its power button).
If you want more customization, you can head into the Logitech G Hub software to start tweaking things. You can adjust the brightness up to 250 lumens max. You can also change the color temperature of the Litra Glow, anywhere between 2700K to 6500K, which is considered full-spectrum.
Logitech offers temperature presets in the software, which can help you navigate the different lighting situations that are available. You can also set up your configuration as you like and save it in the app.
I want to take a second to warn you of Logitech’s weird software fragmentation among its accessories. I understand that each app is meant for a particular lineup, but I am staring at three different Logitech icons on my Start menu whenever I look for it. If you want to avoid being annoyed, make sure you stick to devices in the Logitech for Creators lineup or ensure that they use the G Hub software.
Bright Lighting
I currently use a Dazzne D50, which I switched up after several years with a circular Neewer selfie light I got on Amazon. The Neewer started flickering ever-so-slightly, and that triggered headaches from time to time. I couldn’t get through a live stream sometimes without having to lie down afterward.
Thankfully, I don’t have those issues with the Dazzne, but I am sometimes overwhelmed by how much space it takes up and that I have to plug into an outlet to light myself up on camera. The Litra Glow is less of a thing to handle at a moment’s notice, and it’s thin enough I can chuck it into a drawer when I need to reclaim some space.
After Logitech sent me the Litra Glow to try out, I drew my blackout curtains and turned off the mood lighting to see what this light could do. At maximum brightness, the warmer light made the result look like it took place in a vintage setting, while the whitest light appeared almost too artificial—like a flashlight blaring in my face. The best lighting was that just-right middle bit, between 4500K and 5000K on the spectrum slider.
If you are already facing a window with plenty of light when you conference or record yourself, you might find the Litra Glow redundant. I found that if it’s already a sunny day, the extra light will make me appear washed out on camera. But it can help with color correcting on a gray day, particularly if you’re looking to add a bit of warmth to your environment.
I also have a Lume Cube, which I use for subtly illuminating photos, but I am not a fan of its user interface. Its hold-to-turn-on mechanism is sometimes the last thing I want to deal with when I need to snap a photo, and having to hold the temperature slider can be tedious. I prefer the push-button access of the Litra Glow for its color temperature and brightness amount.
As a result, I started using the Litra Glow more often to snap photos of my Tamagotchi collection. If you find you’re making TikTok videos or Instagram Reels to deal with the monotonous doldrums of we’re-still-in-a-pandemic life, it might be time to consider a lightweight, adjustable selfie light like the Litra Glow.
