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USER REVIEW LIGHTBLADE
What has made huge US broadcaster NBC decide to market their own range of LED lights? First we review the product...
WORDS ADAM GARSTONE
course, enabled by the LightBlade strip itself. These are solidly built from a white painted alloy extrusion with a translucent cover over the individual LEDs. Mounted to the back of the extrusion – in a slightly Heath Robinson but nevertheless secure manner – are the power supply and controller for the fixture. I would have liked to see a bit more cable management back here – the power and control wires just dangle, inviting snagging – but it’s nothing that some strategically-placed cable ties won’t solve. Each LightBlade draws a maximum of 50W (about 0.07 horsepower), and generates 11.5 to 13.8 foot-candles at ten feet (I give up – about 14 squirrels per square erg. No, I’ve got it, about 8000 lumens), depending on colour temperature. Each LightBlade consists of five colour LEDs – 2700K, 6500K, red, blue and green. This provides reference quality white light – it has a 95 average CRI at 3200K and 5600K – but with the ability to tune the colour temperature, and even produce saturated primaries. All this is managed in a completely flicker-free, totally silent system – the fixtures are passively cooled, so there are no fans to annoy the sound department.
LED lighting than you can with an HMI – without singeing the talent. Smaller fixtures, with two and four strips, are also now available. There is also a Ladder Light, consisting of 12 individual strips, separated into, well, a ladder. Both packages allow pairs of strips to be controlled individually which, particularly with the Ladder Light, can provide some interesting effects – perhaps to give a gradation from horizon to sky in a background, or to generate movement and shadow without the need for a gobo. These lighting packages are, of
hen a major US broadcaster like NBC teams up with Cineo to produce its own lighting range, you have to
ABOVE The LightBlade has an output comparable to larger HMIs.
take notice. The company obviously sees a need for a particular type of lighting that just isn’t available from the usual suspects. What has been born from this union is the NBC Universal LightBlade. Each LightBlade is a 4ft-long by 2½in-wide LED strip (those Americans with their crazy units – no metric units at NBC). These can be built into frames, producing a variety of lighting fixtures – though, of course, they all have a 4ft-long side (just under ¼ perch, if we are sticking to imperial units). As well as single strips, NBC are offering a series of pre-packaged lights. WHY LIGHTBLADE The LightBlade 1K is so called because it consumes 1kW (1.34 horsepower). It is a 4x4ft square light (that’s ²⁄₃ of a fathom square, if you are struggling) with an output comparable to larger HMIs, having 20 of the strips packed side by side. Of course, you have the added benefit of being able to get much closer with
RIGHT Lightblades also come pre-built in one blade, two blade and four blade fixtures, ideal for near-field lighting, low- profile broadcast lighting rigs and creative scenic applications.
DEFINITION APRIL 2018
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