GEAR LIGHTING SPECIAL
NAN MORE POWERFUL!
With parent company Nanguang celebrating its 30th birthday this month, Nanlite has unveiled the most powerful lights in the COB Forza range: the 720 Daylight fixture and 720B bicolour, with a range of 2700-6500K. The Daylight-only LED puts out the most power, typically around 20% higher, and with a colour rendition score of CRI 95/TLCI 96 – that’s the one we tested. This puts out 800W of light, but Nanlite says it’s accurate up to 720W – hence the name. When you want every bit of lighting power at your disposal, every little helps. And we found the colour quality still excellent at full power anyway. For £1745/$1649, you get a lot for your money – and a light that’s as powerful as many HMIs, which have often been called on when max illumination is the order of the day. An equivalent HMI would be far more expensive to buy, is bigger and runs hot. Once turned off, many won’t re-strike for a while in order to cool down, and it takes time for the colour to stabilise when they are switched on. You’ll also struggle to power them from standard household AC sockets. That’s why LEDs are taking over in many cases. The Forza 720 has a standard Bowens mount, meaning it’s compatible with Nanlite’s own modifiers and lots of accessories from many manufacturers. An umbrella mount is included, for a more traditional modifier. The light comes as a kit in a custom-fitted, padded case with all the basics. The carbon-fibre-effect head and separate control box have solid metal frames to make them rugged and reliable – but this means they’re no lightweights. The light is 475x231x142mm/18.7x9.09x5.59in and 4.8kg/10.58lb; the control unit 156x140x332mm/6.14x5.51x13.07in and 4.2kg/9.26lb. So you’re not setting these up on flimsy stands. Something more solid like a C-stand will be required, with a large pin fitting at the top. The light does go
NO LIGHT
WITH LIGHT
on large and small stand fitments to give you the best of both worlds, and clamps down with solid twist locks. A quick-release clamp mounts to stands of pretty much all sizes, and the control box clicks into place securely. The box also has a soft handle for carrying, or you could hang it from a sturdy stand. The leads between control box and head, as well as the AC input, consist of solidly made click-in fasteners – and the cables are long enough to be handy on-set. Everything feels well-built and nicely designed. A fan keeps the light cool and can be turned down (or even off) if you need to record critically important audio. Everything is controlled and adjusted from the onboard screen, control buttons and dial – or via the free Nanlink app, thanks to dual built-in 2.4G and Bluetooth modules. Brightness is altered from 0-100% in 0.1 increments for complete precision. There is a small, protruding antenna booster in the control box to make wireless connection more reliable, and built-in DMX/RDM
MAX POWER Even on the brightest days, the Forza 720 adds highlights and lifts shadows
LED-ER OF THE PACK The potent Nanlite is one of the most powerful LEDs
“The carbon-fibre-effect head and separate control box have solid metal frames to make them rugged and reliable. But this means they’re no lightweights”
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