The Colbor CF5 fog machine probably, is the coolest addition to my studio, which opened up my gates of creativity and elevated my production quality. To be honest, I have less experience using a fogger. But I see my videos get more captivating when I use it for my shots.
If you are into Photography or Videography, this tiny Colbor CF5 40W mini fog smoke machine can elevate your production quality to the next level.
For Full Disclosure, this product was sent to me in an exchange for a review. No money changed hands and all opinions are mine and mine alone.
So, this video is not just a review of the CF5 but is more of a story of how I started to make static shots more interesting using this fog smoke machine. While watching the video, if you are tempted to try something like this, please let me know in the comments down below. I am curious to know what kind of content you wish to make.
Understanding light in fog
First of all, I wanted to understand how fog affects the lighting. Afterall, photos and videos are mostly manipulating the lights that fall on subjects to tell visual stories.
The fog actually acts as a volume diffuser – creating depth and haze – unlike the surface diffusers. The fog in fact disperses the light through them filling the space with mystery. This certainly adds dynamics to the videos or photos.
Experience with CF5
Usually when I review a product, I talk about the product features as given by the spec sheet, but for this fogger, I want to tell the world how, – the features of the CF5 – helped me achieve certain shots.
When I want the scene to be smoky the regular fog feature without any attachment just sprays the fog everywhere. Here are some examples where the light rays get their path visibility giving this unique look for backlit situations.
For light painting, the CF5 fogger fan attachment has an array of dimmable LED lights, which helps achieve these beautiful shots. The fan attachment also disperses the fog creating haze.
The CF5 also comes with some bent tubes which I don’t think I used much, but they could be certainly useful in certain situations.
The open cell foam and flexible pipe were my 2 most frequently used accessories to get these shots. The open cell foam makes the fog flow like water, which I think I abused it quite a bit. It just makes everything look super cool.
The programmable option to fog and pause for certain intervals really helps for prolonged shoots.
Now for the big question, I am filling up my room with this fog and I’m being very close to it, am I still alive? How safe is this fog juice?
1st of all, it is not for smoking. Even though it is clearly stated on the bottle that the juice is made of vegetable glycerine and propylene glycol, I wouldn’t recommend consuming it. It is safe enough for inhalation for short period and for prolonged period , there is a weird smell from this fog which if anyone can withstand it, should still be fine.
Build & Usage
The build quality is good. I don’t really know how long it will survive in my hands, but for the past week of using it, it’s been doing pretty good. The plastic material attracts oil stains from my dirty fingers – It is not much of an issue tho, a quick wipe with a tissue will get it cleaned as new.
Now, I see some reviewers complaining about oil leaks, but I haven’t had any leaks so far, but perhaps, I’ve been using the CF5 as recommended without tilting the chamber too much.
I am glad that this fog machine came with all the necessary accessories in 1 box that helps the content creators go wild realizing their vision, instead of searching for 3rd party accessories or modifying the fog machine to achieve certain shots.
Using the CF5 is pretty straight forward. Long press on the power button to turn it on, pressing the power button when it is on will navigate through available menus which can be increased or decreased by pressing the Positive or Negative buttons and continuously pressing the fog button will release the fog. Long pressing the power button when the CF5 is ON, of course will turn it OFF.
Pretty intuitive isn’t it? For further details, I’ve attached the product details link and the the user manual link in the description below.
Battery & Fog juice capacity
The run time is pretty good – with the battery capacity of 2500mah, the CF5 can be operated for up to 30 minutes at 100% output. The 12ml fog juice chamber will deplete in 10-15 minutes, so for prolonged shoots, it needs to be refilled every 10 or so minutes.
Is the 40W actually powerful? In my use case, it is sufficient enough to fill a small room and to create some amazing studio shots. I don’t really need a stage level fog machine, I might need a couple of people to carry it around. The CF5 being tiny makes it so portable and allows me to mount or place it as I please.
The myriad of customization options available in this tiny portable fog machine allows the creators to try out something new, quenching the need to be more creative.
Of course, the CF5 can be remotely operated, but with limited controls. The fan and the fog intensity cannot be controlled separately via the remote albeit they can be controlled together.
It is weird that the fog button on the fog machine needs to be long pressed to release the fog while the fog button on the remote acts as an on/OFF switch. But other than that, I really don’t have anything else to complain about this CF5 fog machine.
Price
After using it for a while now, I think for the price of $125 US Dollars, (which is mostly discounted to $116 US Dollars), this CF5 could potentially bring in a lot more returns for your content and honestly, I am convinced I will be using it for all my studio works from now.
Conclusion
I highly recommend the CF5 or any other fog machine for content creators with a studio, to elevate your production quality and to quench your creative thirst.
That’s it for the video folks, if you have any questions, please let me down in the comments down below. Please like and subscribe to our channel for more such content.
