Blackmagic Forum

This seems pretty interesting. A new generation of lights coming and the P300c is the first. $1,699 for the light and $1,899 if the hard case kit is included.

And some possible competition now matching the same price point: Luxli Taiko RGBAW LED light.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1479458-REG

Would lights like these be ideal for producing accurate skin tones with the new sensor? Does it matter?

Are these their version of the Arri Skypanel?

Que, the lights can dial in over a billion colours. They can match the temperature of other light or objects. their CRI and TCLI are only 95 and the SSI is 85, but that’s not the whole story compared to using them. Reviews currently are very light on showing how the light behaves when lighting various scenes; I assume in the next few weeks we’ll see more professional reviews. I suspect they could be more reliable than an ARRI Skypanel in terms of the accuracy of colour they generate. In spite of being announced long ago, the entire range of accessories are not ready or readily available as I understand it. Lux rating is not as high as the Luxli I also posted. But I think this is a light I would look at when buying lights both as soft fill or directed light.

Early days and according to one review, he was concerned that standard V-mount were not supported as Aputure offers their own solution I think; an adapter is needed to be able to use your own dual V-mount batteries.

I like it. I would like to see how it performs and will be looking for the reviews, but I like it enough to put it on my list.

Still awaiting our pre-order of two of them. Hopefully in the next week or two and I'll put some tests up.

I've seen footage of them out in the woods running via battery so presume there must be an easier solution than lugging their heavy power adapter thing around (it looks a bit like the ballast/control on their light storm range but with a battery on either side. I'd definitely look into rigging some kind of chest/back harness for power if that was the case!)

Edward, I believe they’re supposed to offer an adapter so you can put V-mount on the back of the light somehow, but you need two batteries to get to 24VDC.

Good news that you’re getting a pair. Life is just so much better with two. Eager to see how you use them. Good luck getting them sooner than later.

Yeah, I was wondering because it’s and rgbw light and the sensor is rgbw?

Very different though. The light has LEDs designed to produce red, green, blue, daylight, and tungsten type light. By blending the colours you can more easily replicate any other light source and time of day.

On the other hand the 12K sensor has red, green, blue and an equal number of clear filters primarily for luminance sensitivity.

Damn, it sounds like a sensor.

Kim, my Cinegears 250Wh is 16.75Ah. Not sure of the maximum current draw it supports directly. The D-tap 12VDC may be limited to 5 amps, but I think the direct connection goes higher. Would need two of them per Aputure P300c though.

A light at 24 volts would draw 15 amps. They say you must use two batteries, so if the voltage is added, then 360 watts divided by 24 volts would be 7.5 amps from each battery. So two of my large batteries might last two hours.

D’oh! So the two batteries get me to 24 volts but they’ll both be drained of their charge in about an hour.

One modest concern I have is the placement of the yoke below the light so if the light was rotated to point downwards, it looks like the yoke will cause a shadow. The Skypanel has the light hanging below the yoke to avoid that issue.

Edit
Or maybe it’s as simple as hanging the light upside-down when point down further.

Well, they're here, they're bright, they're loud and I'm going to be spending most of my days doing this for the foreseeable:

By loud are you talking about the fans?

jallen0 wrote:By loud are you talking about the fans?

I am. There's an option for 'auto fan' which I presume powers them on when needed but I figure I'm at home playing with them so for a bit of longevity they can be on full blast. That said I'll do some tests about how long it takes them to kick in at certain environmental temps. Would be a pain to have them kick in midway through an interview I suspect over time they'll kick in faster (dust / heat damage etc.)

Initial impressions - colour range and accuracy really is brilliant. Even more so when you consider the value. They're also much much brighter than I'd expected. Beam angle is nice and broad and fairly consistent throughout the range - the falloff that there is from the centre is nicely graduated. Basically I can stick it a few inches behind a 4x4 and fill the frame with a solid output corner to corner. Certainly couldn't do that with my 300/120D IIs. I've got a DOP Choice 40 degree snap grid I've tried with it which works as you'd expect.

It's lovely, soft and large even without a 4x4 - just did some very quick - 'shine a light at it and see what happens' tests with a black, matte flask against a duvetyne background. All images are a single Nova, no grid or modifiers on the key side with a bit of fill (18X24 artificial silk on the far side) at times. Just bumped the blacks and highlights quickly in Resolve, stills from a UMP G1, f22, 800 iso





(Currently reading light: science and magic and enjoying learning about reflections - I've shot people all my life but covid has made me rethink having some kind of remote studio for products so I'm playing catch up!)

Thanks for the thoughts. I have this on my list to get, looking forward to it. Interested in seeing what people do with it from a creative point of view.

Edward, great you have received the new Nova P300c. Does this Auto fan option mean that the light only comes brightest when you’re light keeps as cool as it’s safe before the fan becomes an issue? So you might have a limited level of light normally when getting the shoot ready and then have a predefined level quickly set the desired wait just as we run sound ready and camera ready?

rick.lang wrote:Edward, great you have received the new Nova P300c. Does this Auto fan option mean that the light only comes brightest when you’re light keeps as cool as it’s safe before the fan becomes an issue? So you might have a limited level of light normally when getting the shoot ready and then have a predefined level quickly set the desired wait just as we run sound ready and camera ready?

There doesn't appear to be any change in brightness when switching between full power and auto so I suspect they'll kick in when they need to in order to maintain performance - time will tell. At least it won't be like various cameras du jour and just switch itself off when it reaches cooking temp : )

In other news, I've now set up Sidus. The gel presets are brilliant. The source match is very fun (though tricky to nail but certainly gets you in the ballpark). I can see these being a great for colourful interviews when called for.

https://vimeo.com/442716524/f35f13a1c1

My biggest gripe is the weight - I got the 'kit' versions with rolling cases. Thankfully the cases are heavy duty as I've already gouged a chunk out of one trying to lift it up a flimsy ladder into my attic where I have an office of sorts. The other is staying downstairs for now : )

Ed,

Do you experience I high pitched sound at higher intensity? I just received my unit today and there is a very audible high pitch noise coming from the unit. It is not fan noise. It seems to only occur between 4500 and 5500 Kelvin.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iGMR0zK-apbV_7mhhhzZGGqaCARfhFA5?usp=sharing

There doesn't appear to be any change in brightness when switching between full power and auto so I suspect they'll kick in when they need to in order to maintain performance - time will tell. At least it won't be like various cameras du jour and just switch itself off when it reaches cooking temp : )

In other news, I've now set up Sidus. The gel presets are brilliant. The source match is very fun (though tricky to nail but certainly gets you in the ballpark). I can see these being a great for colourful interviews when called for.

https://vimeo.com/442716524/f35f13a1c1

My biggest gripe is the weight - I got the 'kit' versions with rolling cases. Thankfully the cases are heavy duty as I've already gouged a chunk out of one trying to lift it up a flimsy ladder into my attic where I have an office of sorts. The other is staying downstairs for now : )[/quote]

robertmanningjr wrote:Ed,

Do you experience I high pitched sound at higher intensity? I just received my unit today and there is a very audible high pitch noise coming from the unit. It is not fan noise. It seems to only occur between 4500 and 5500 Kelvin.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iGMR0zK-apbV_7mhhhzZGGqaCARfhFA5?usp=sharing

Yes! I don't on the units I have now but I had to send one of them back to Aputure which was a pain.

It's exactly as you described in those ranges though I discovered it more by playing around with gels. They said they couldn't replicate it but quickly agreed to an RMA and sent me a replacement which doesn't have the same issues.

This was the video I sent them: https://vimeo.com/449218184/fd13eb8cd7

Ed_Mantle wrote:... They said they couldn't replicate it but quickly agreed to an RMA and sent me a replacement which doesn't have the same issues…

Good to know it may not be a common issue but I’m sure they were aware of it whether or not their test units had an issue.

Yup, that's it. Now I am a little concerned. Aputure got back to me and said they have never heard of my problem before. They instructed me to take it back to B&H where I bought it and said it would be faster to get a replacement that way. However, B&H is out of stock for the next 2-4 weeks and I'm number 29 in the que.

When I asked Aputure to help with expediting the replacement I got crickets. The guy at B&H was concerned too and asked me if this is a known problem.

We shall see. Thanks again for the reply and the video.

Rob

Ed_Mantle wrote:

robertmanningjr wrote:Ed,

Do you experience I high pitched sound at higher intensity? I just received my unit today and there is a very audible high pitch noise coming from the unit. It is not fan noise. It seems to only occur between 4500 and 5500 Kelvin.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iGMR0zK-apbV_7mhhhzZGGqaCARfhFA5?usp=sharing

Yes! I don't on the units I have now but I had to send one of them back to Aputure which was a pain.

It's exactly as you described in those ranges though I discovered it more by playing around with gels. They said they couldn't replicate it but quickly agreed to an RMA and sent me a replacement which doesn't have the same issues.

This was the video I sent them: https://vimeo.com/449218184/fd13eb8cd7

robertmanningjr wrote:Yup, that's it. Now I am a little concerned. Aputure got back to me and said they have never heard of my problem before. They instructed me to take it back to B&H where I bought it and said it would be faster to get a replacement that way. However, B&H is out of stock for the next 2-4 weeks and I'm number 29 in the que.

When I asked Aputure to help with expediting the replacement I got crickets. The guy at B&H was concerned too and asked me if this is a known problem.

We shall see. Thanks again for the reply and the video.

Rob

Disappointing to hear - my experience with Aputure was good but I was speaking to the EU team and maybe they don't communicate well between regions. They did actually send me back to the dealer for a replacement but stock was faster. There were a few days between emails from Aputure (as though they only work half a week or something) but when they did respond they were very helpful and proactive. Crossing fingers you get it sorted but feel free to share the link and that Aputure EU know about it as a known issue.