L IGHT I NG UPDATE | FEATURE
THERE’S NOTHING LIKE A MAJOR EQUIPMENT TRADE SHOW TO BRING OUT THE LATEST LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY. THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND AT THE NAB SHOW
WORDS PH I L RHODES
L ED lighting is no longer a special is increasingly normal, with advanced control systems including wired and wireless control from lighting desks and cellphone apps. At the same time, higher power levels are becoming available, so LEDs can start to replace ever higher- powered conventional lighting. Perhaps the largest option on the planet appeared at NAB as Mole exhibited the hugely powerful “20K LED” (actually a 3KW device, presumably equating to a 20K tungsten). LED has arrived. Another company dedicated to pushing up power levels is Hive Lighting, case. The days when manufacturers struggled to achieve a reliable white light are over, and full colour mixing
whose 575W Super Hornet has a fraction of the Mole’s power but is still one of the most powerful point-source LEDs around. The prototype wasn’t run for long periods in Las Vegas, but a more final example is scheduled to appear at Cine Gear where it will take pride of place among Hive’s selection of hard lights. The company started out making lights using light- emitting plasma technology, and while the LEPs are still available it has become best-known for LED PARs. Hive’s products are unusual because they combine two things: first, they are not examples of the soft light panel that’s most often associated with LED lighting, and second, because they offer full colour mixing. No price was posted for the Super Hornet 575.
LEFT The Astera Titan Tube in action – and in plentiful supply – at a conference venue
FIILEX Sticking with hard light, Fiilex has been selling its flagship Q8 Travel light since early last year. At 320W it’s a little less powerful than the (unreleased) 575W Hive, but Fiilex’s light concentrates on producing tuneable white light output, not colours, a choice which potentially redresses the balance a little. It still offers both adjustable colour temperature and green- to-magenta shift, and is therefore capable of closely matching inaccurate LEDs, ageing HMIs or changeable daylight. As an eight-inch Fresnel, it’s optimised for controllability rather than the sheer brightness of a PAR, and the Q8 Travel is certainly controllable with conventional cutting and shaping tools thanks to its compact emitter array. The trick, as with Hive, is packing all those watts into a small light source, so it can cast sharp shadows
The days when manufacturers struggled to achieve a reliable white light are over
JUNE 20 1 9 | DEF I N I T ION 59
Powered by FlippingBook