BUYERS’ GUIDE
ASTERA LUNABULB £POA/$112 astera-led.com
extensive colour mixing with RGB, mint and amber, HIS, XY and filter gel colour options. Lee and Rosco filters can be emulated using the free Astera App. The Titan LED engine and app means the bulb can pair with the wider Astera ecosystem. But no internal battery means it needs mains power – something to consider if your set doesn’t have AC juice.
The only LED-based bulb with inbuilt CRMX, the Lunabulb is driven by Astera’s Titan LED engine to provide full-colour and wireless control. It is available with an E26, E27 and B22 fitting and screws into an AC-wired socket. A spring-loaded clip lets light convert from a slimline shape to a conventional bulb, while maintaining the weatherproof rating of an IP44 socket – perfect for house lamps or smaller fixtures. It has adjustable white levels from 1750-20,000K and
Pros: High end but not high price Cons: No internal battery
AMARAN T4C £331/$329 amarancreators.com
APUTURE NOVA £3589/$3690 aputure.com
Large panels are used up close to produce soft light, but Aputure’s new Nova LED panel range has a hyper-narrow-beam LED panel built to deliver intense, directional output over long distances. The Nova 9° 2x1 is made to replicate hard sunlight, throwing focused light through windows, across large sets or into reflectors. At 5m, it offers more than twice the output of a 5000W tungsten fresnel at full spot. For even greater punch, there is the Nova 9° 2x1 three-light kit, combining three panels into a single yoke that can exceed the output of a 12,000W tungsten source while still running from a standard household circuit. It uses Aputure’s extended Blair engine, with indigo and extended red emitters to enhance fluorescing materials and improve skin tones. IP65 weather protection, low-noise operation and a light construction carry across the range, alongside a growing ecosystem of Quickclip softboxes, domes, grids, barn doors and rolling cases. With these additions, the Nova family is both a flexible, everyday solution and a specialist cinematography toolset.
Amaran’s 40W T4c tube light is packed with technology yet very affordable. The T4c is 4ft long and the T2C is 2ft with a 20W output. Both are RGBWW and can be controlled wirelessly via the free Sidus Link app. The tubes have adjustable colour temperature from 2500-7500K, G/M adjustment and full colour control for a range of looks and lighting effects. They have a CRI of 95+ and a TLCI of 98+, so colour is accurate. Each tube features mounting options including Nato rail, 1/4in-20 threads and 3/8in-16 threads with Arri-type locating pins. The included 77Wh swappable battery grip allows the light to be powered anywhere without AC. The bigger T4c can run for 100 minutes at full power.
There are 46 colour gel presets and 15 built-in lighting effects including disco lights, lightning, TV, candle, fire and more. It comes in a carrying case and, as there is no cooling fan, is quiet. You can leave the tube bare with its 180° aperture for wider coverage, or you can attach a tool-less, collapsible 45° grid to the tube to create your own lighting design. You can control the T4C using DMX with a special USB-C to 5-pin DMX512 in/out adapter cable, adding pro-level control panels.
Pros: High spec for a budget brand Cons: Not the cheapest!
ASTERA SOLABULB £180/$225 astera-led.com
Astera once again offers something unique with the bulb-style LED practical Solabulb, which has a zoomable fresnel lens that shifts between a tight 15° spot and a wide 50° wash. It delivers the equivalent output of a 50W Par bulb while drawing just 15W and is the flagship in Astera’s practical LED range. Its industrial-style housing packs in Astera’s Titan RGBMA LED engine, perfect for saturated colours, lifelike skin tones and a 96 TLCI rating. The beam can be fine-tuned by rotating the barrel, as well as adding the included snoot to prevent spill. Accessory barn doors can also be fitted and an IP44 rating means it’s decent at fending off bad weather.
It has built-in Lumenradio CRMX and Bluetooth, plus wireless app control and multi-unit monitoring from a smart device. It can be plugged into any household lighting socket with an E26, E27 or B22 fitment or Astera’s Power Station battery system. A single Solabulb costs £180/$225, while available larger kits cost more. Pros: A light bulb you can fine-tune Cons: Industrial look is not easy to disguise
Pros: Power and hard lighting Cons: Not a budget option
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