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LIGHTBLADE USER REVIEW
CONTROL Control is, unsurprisingly, by
wired DMX, with the LightBlade 1K implementing CRMX bidirectional wireless DMX/RDM. Each of the wired controllers mounted to the back of the fitting can control two LightBlades (which is the basis of the zone system in the 1K and the Ladder). DMX connectors are RJ45s, with a loop-through. Control is very simple, with adjacent channels being used for intensity, colour temperature, hue and saturation. Using a simple DMX controller, like the DMX-iT 12 from Integrated Controls Inc, is slightly frustrating. It would be handy to have a calibrated colour temperature control – as you find on ARRI SkyPanels and the like. The DMX control allows adjustment of colour temperature, but you’ll need to tweak the fader with one eye on a colour meter if you want to select a particular value – the strip has no on- board controls of any kind. A single strip is useful in its own right, but it is the LightBlade 1K that is the real workhorse of the range. I have always liked large, square panel lights like this. Close up, they provide a light similar to a north facing window, soft and flattering. The LB1K (as they call
it) can do some more tricks, of course. If you are only using a small section of the panel, you can raise and lower the light simply by using different pairs of strips in the panel. You can even light from above and below simultaneously with a single fixture. At 5600K, the panel kicks out 275 foot-candles at ten feet, dropping to 230 at 2700K, making it as at home being a space light as it is as a soft light. The Ladder is also an interesting concept. I can see stage designers going nuts for it, with its flexibility in providing lighting effects. The Ladder integrates 12 Lightblades in a 14’ (4.3m) vertical configuration, ideal for lighting set backdrops, large-scale lighting effects and on-camera practicals. THEY OBVIOUSLY SEE A NEED FOR A PARTICULAR TYPE OF LIGHTING THAT ISN’T AVAILABLE
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APRIL 2018 DEFINITION
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