Logitech G Litra Beam LX review: dual-sided joy

The Logitech G Litra Beam LX is the company’s latest light aimed at streamers who want to improve the look of their setup. It’s an upgrade on the first, cheaper Logitech Litra Beam because it offers dual-sided illumination rather than one white light source. There’s a neutral, customizable light bar at the front to brighten your face and make you glow, and RGB lighting at the back to make your surroundings a little more exciting and add that gamer vibe.

The best lights for streaming come in all shapes and sizes. But they do have a common function; to brighten your setup, make you look good on calls and streams, and to be easy to use. The Logitech G Litra Beam LX does all those things for a higher price than many. That said, it currently has little competition, and gives out a brilliant, even light – plus customization – that almost warrants its price. And it’s not just for streamers. If you’re looking for better illumination on video calls and want to boost your office setup, the Logitech G Litra Beam LX is a great-looking lamp in non-gamer setups.

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Specs

The Logitech G Litra Beam LX specs:

Design

The Logitech G Litra Beam LX comes in a modest box that’s easy to unpack and assembly is incredibly straightforward. An extendable arm is attached to a (sturdy) tabletop mount and the light bar itself has the choice of two ¼-20 threaded inserts to screw it onto the arm. One thread is underneath the bar in the center next to the power port, and the other is at one end – giving you mounting flexibility.

The light is slim and can be positioned in myriad orientations and angles, making it easy to fit around your current streaming setup – monitors and all – and the position of your webcams. Screwing it to the stand at the end means you can set the light at a right angle around awkward monitors, but you also notice the power cable poking out the top.

Because it’s a 90-degree cable it’s not as prominent as the original Litra Beam’s straight-up cable, but it’s still not a design highlight. I mainly used the central thread for a more balanced T-bar shape, with the stand’s impressive height allowing me to position it above my monitor. You’re not going to have the Litra Beam LX on at all times, and crucially when off, it blended into the background of my setup rather than dominating, thanks to the neutral black and white design.

The light is powered via a mains outlet, allowing it to be much brighter than USB-powered options (400 whopping lumens). The power cable is long enough to reach faraway sockets under a gaming desk, but the cable management could be better than the few clips on the stand.

Physical buttons on the top of the Litra Beam LX control both sides of the light. You can power either side on and off separately, change the brightness and color temperature, or toggle the RGB when it’s turned on. The buttons are big and responsive, but fine-tuning is best left to the Logitech G HUB software.

The Litra Beam LX bar is largely made from plastic but feels well-built. The stand is solid and didn’t wobble even with the light hanging at an angle or standing upright. The size of the bar feels just right for my 24-inch iMac, but I can see it getting lost with larger gaming monitors. Logitech states that the plastic parts “include a minimum of 48% certified post-consumer recycled plastic”. That’s good news for eco-conscious buyers, as is the claim that the Litra Beam LX is certified Carbon Neutral.

Performance

The Litra Beam LX is designed to light up a room as well as your face on camera, and there’s a range of adjustments to be made to the front and back. You’ll get the most from this streaming light if you connect it to a PC and download the Logitech G HUB (which can also control other Logitech G products like the Logitch G Yeti GX microphone). There’s connectivity via USB-C or Bluetooth, and I opted for the latter to avoid any extra cables cluttering my setup.

It took me less than five minutes to set up G HUB on my Mac, then I was prompted to install a firmware update to the light (another few minutes). Once that was done, the G HUB offered tips and tricks for getting the light in the best position and letting me change the power and color of both sides without using the physical controls on the light – a great solution if it’s high up or in an awkward position.

When you change settings in the G HUB app, you’ll see a real-time stream of your face to check the changes. The quality of your picture will depend on your camera, but I could immediately see how the Litra Beam LX improved my complexion and the evenness of my face on-screen. As you can see above, changing the color temperature to the extreme of cool and warm (2700-6500K) made a noticeable difference in my skin tones, but it’s worth pointing out that the LX does a great job of giving you a radiant glow at all settings.

The light is bright, too. It’s hard to imagine what 400-lumen lighting looks like until it’s right in front of your eyes. And you can see from the screenshots above that I set the power to around 25% in a dim room. If you use the Beam LX during the day for a bit of fill light, pumping up the power balances out any shadows. However, on calls at night, I found the full power almost blinding. Still, I’d rather have the option of too much illumination than not enough, and the Litra Beam LX delivers on that front.

Given that the unique feature of the Logitech Litra Beam LX is its RGB lighting, I’ve been wondering if it was worth shelling out the extra cash for it over the original. At first, I thought I’d find it gimmicky, but after testing the light for a few weeks, I got used to the vibrant splashback projected on the walls behind my monitor. There are millions of color combinations and pulsing effects to choose from, and being able to deviate from a static RGB lamp is a real mood-setter.

Should you buy it?

Should you buy the Logitech G Litra Beam LX?

• Yes, if you want a powerful desktop light for streaming and even working. Its neutral design works in many interiors, and the light output is incredibly bright.
• No, if you’re on a budget and don’t need the extra RGB lighting side it offers. You’ll save money by getting an LED panel without RGB, or the original Litra Beam (below).

Alternatives

If the Logitech G Litra Beam LX isn’t for you, I recommend: