GEAR. ASTERA HYDRAPANEL KIT
PANEL SHOW For in-shot effects lighting or out-of-shot close-ups, Astera’s FP6 HydraPanel kit offers a high-quality, versatile solution W hile there are several small LED light panels on the market, few are as well built, accurate “Real filmmakers have had a hand in ensuring these lights can be mounted anywhere, using a variety of methods” WORDS & IMAGES. Adam Duckworth
and complete as the Astera FP6 HydraPanel kit. Supplied in a custom hard case, the four LED lights fit neatly into a set of cut-outs that include contacts, so the quartet can be charged simultaneously. The lights can also be daisy- chained together and powered by an external AC source or battery. Doing this doesn’t affect the IP65 rating, as it’s all so well sealed. Plus, the connecting cables not only supply power, but also data, for control via various remote systems. Before you even turn the lights on, it’s evidently an impressive set-up. Three connector plates are supplied, so up to four of the lights can be joined together to form a larger panel. And infrared
you get a whole set of accessories too. Four baby pin mounts for use on conventional grip heads, plus gel holders, 60° and 40° honeycomb grids, small softboxes, 80° intensifiers and diffusion sheets are all included. And you get a full set of four for each panel. These fix onto the front of the light using small magnets, so you can combine them. Plus, the kit comes with four small stands that can be mounted to the base of the units, to angle them on a flat surface. As well as these mounting options, there are standard 1/4in-20 mount holes and each light has a magnet on the back. We found these strong enough to hold to a flat surface, but on a C-stand, they wanted to slip round. It shows that real filmmakers have had a hand in ensuring these lights can be mounted anywhere, using a
connectivity means they can all sync together – make changes on one light and the rest follow suit. Put them near to each other and they flash blue, showing Bluetooth is ready for pairing. The fixture enables infrared remote, wired DMX or wireless CRMX connection, as well as app control via Bluetooth. So you can create big set-ups to be quickly installed, monitored and adjusted. Each panel is controllable by integrated display, with a set of buttons and touch slider. The panel allows navigation of the main menu for colour adjustments, brightness and runtime settings. Anything more advanced requires the Astera app. At £1630/$1810, the kit costs roughly the same as four individual HydraPanel lights. But as well as the aforementioned charging case,
ADD ONS Run each light bare, with a diffuser softbox or choice of grids – the accessories make this a very handy kit to own
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