BUYERS’ GUIDE
APUTURE STORM XT52 £TBC/$13,700 aputure.com
AMARAN 150C £342/$359 amarancreators.com
Amaran’s range is for content creators or filmmakers on a budget, but its kit is packed full of features. Take a look at this affordable full- colour COB light, the 150C. This monolight offers a CCT range of 2700-7500K with green- magenta adjustment, but set it to HSI mode and you have a full-colour RGB option that can produce 90% of colours in Rec. 2020 space. That’s a load of power and adjustability in a small, inexpensive package, as it puts out up to 15,610 lux at 1m and 5600K with the included Hyper Reflector. It’s not a super-advanced RGBLAC chipset for subtle colouring options, but you wouldn’t expect it from a light that costs this little. A fitted polystyrene carry case keeps it light, while the standard Bowens mount gives lots of modifier options, and the controls are minimal. It also works with the Sidus Link app to control the lighting outputs of lots of Amaran and Aputure fixtures at once.
Aputure has gone all out to win the award for most-powerful COB with its brand-new Storm XT52. With output to rival most 9000W HMIs, it is insanely bright, but the white-only light is controlled well. It has Aputure’s Blair light engine, offering tunable white light with a wide 2500-10,000K CCT range, green adjustability and x- and y-coordinate colours covering 70% of Rec. 2020. With so much power, there’s a lot of heat, but Aputure’s structural design and cooling system prevent overheating, despite the lamp head being compact enough that one person can lift it. The briefcase-sized control box can sit on the ground too. The XT52 owes its ability to replicate the natural fluorescence of real daylight to an indigo-coloured emitter. The CRI and TLCI are 96, SSI (tungsten) is 87 and SSI (D56) is 86. Not only is it the brightest point source LED in its class, it also offers low dimming for maximum control.
Pros: Great value and loads of spec Cons: Case is a bit fragile
Pros: More power than ever! Cons: Not cheap or full colour
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