REVIEW – At home, I do most of my “work” at my computer desk paying bills, sorting papers, and staying up late. Lighting up my workspace has always been a little tricky since the computer screens themselves give of light and can get in the way. The BenQ ScreenBar Plus is a lamp that sits atop your monitor in a way that gives off even illumination without getting in your way.
What is it?
The ScreenBar Plus is an LED lamp that doesn’t add glare to your monitors, yet provides an even pool of light in your work area. It’s dimmable and color temperature adjustable.
Hardware specs
- USB powered
- Color temperature adjustable between 2700K and 6500K
- Auto-dimming
- Fits on any monitor thickness from 0.4″ to 1.2″
What’s in the box?
You’ll find the LED tube, the monitor clip, and a round controller with USB cables.
There’s a warning sticker in the box too. I guess they really don’t want you to use a USB extension.
Design and features
The LED tube itself has tiny, individual LED lights all along the length of the assembly.
Note that there are actually two “colors” of LED lights. The lamp is able to adjust between the two.
The controller has a cord permanently attached to it. There’s a standard USB-A for power, and a micro USB for the lamp itself.
The bottom of the controller has a large, non-skid pad. It feels rubbery.
Here’s the monitor clip. The cylinder actually has a bit of weight to it to serve as a counterbalance to the LED bar.
There’s a cutout on the back for the micro USB cable. The cutout is larger than the port itself, which allows the entire LED tube to rotate up to 20 degrees.
Setup
All controls are on the round “puck”. The dial is like an encoder that rotates infinitely in either direction and has detents like a mouse wheel. Depending on what mode you’re in (Brightness or Hue adjust), twisting the dial will raise brightness or change the color temperature.
Pressing the center knob turns the lamp on or off. You can also plug the lamp into a USB port on your computer so it turns on or off with the computer. Either way, the lamp remembers the previous setting.
The Auto Dimmer button illuminates with a green ring. When pressed, the light sensor (top position) determines a suitable brightness level, and the color temperature goes right in the middle. I like to choose my own brightness and color temperature, so I don’t use this. Twisting the knob returns control back to manual.
Performance
I attached the light to the top of my mess of monitors. Here are some shots of the warmest (L) vs. coolest (R) color temperature settings.
I placed some random objects on my desk and tried again. Warmest (top) and coolest (bottom).
What I like
Fits out of the way on top of your monitor, yet minimal glare on your screens. Adjustable brightness and color temperature is easy with the remote knob.
What needs to be improved
I haven’t seen much use for the auto dimmer.
Final thoughts
I’ve been trying to figure out what kind of lamp works best for my desk. I can stop looking. The BenQ ScreenBar Plus is a bright idea!
Price: $129.00
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by BenQ.
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looks like the mounting could interfere with webcam placement
An excellent point!