GEAR
BUYERS’ GUIDE LIGHTING
LITEPANELS GEMINI 1X1 HARD
LITEPANELS GEMINI 2X1 SOFT £3016/$4185 litepanels.com
NANLITE PAVOTUBE II 15X £324/$330 en.nanlite.com
£1920/$2360 litepanels.com
The Litepanels Gemini 1x1 Hard RGBWW offers punchy, bright light, with enough power to be used with modifiers, or made softer and with a wider spread. Intensifying lenses in front of the LEDs focus the output into a far more tightly controlled, narrower beam. It puts out over 3000 lux at 3m/10ft, with a beam angle of 46° – where the Soft is 120. To widen and soften the beam, two different diffusers are supplied. You can alter the light in terms of RGBWW, gel mode, hue, saturation or intensity with the three control knobs on the rear panel. Store one of these settings for instant recall. The Gemini 1x1 Hard is compact and weighs 6kg/13.25lb, including yoke and power supply. A power plate can be fitted to take V-Lock batteries. Plus, remote options include DMX, RDM, wireless DMX and Bluetooth.
When buying a large lightbank, the quality of beam is crucial, but so is the bulk and weight of the unit. Many LED panels are very heavy. The Litepanels Gemini 2x1 Soft is designed for beautiful, controllable output, and much lighter than many similarly sized panels – weighing in at 10.1kg/22.27lb. That’s despite having a built-in ballast and power supply. But the Gemini is all about brilliance, because it has dedicated white and warm white LEDs – rather than creating white light by mixing RGB like lesser panels. The colour temperature range is 2700- 10,000K, and there is adjustment of green and magenta, too. RGBWW control allows 16.7 million colours to be dialled in – set the light output to match a specific gel. The output has a consistent colour accuracy that scores 99 for both CRI and TLCI scales.
Tube lights such as this Nanlite PavoTube II 15X can create any colour you like – not only along the whole tube, but in funky patterns that you can set to pulse along like a moving rainbow. They are often used as part of a large set, held by performers, or even as practical lights, and can be mounted via a single clamp-on attachment. The PavoTube may also function as a regular LED, allowing a full range of RGBWW colours and tunable white to give a lovely, soft output – ideal for close-ups from its 43mm/1.69in tube. With an average CRI of 97 and TLCI of 98, the lights are consistent and adjust white from 2700-12,000K. Everything is controlled from the OLED panel on the handle, where you can scroll through the main settings of CCT for white light, HSI to adjust hue, saturation and intensity settings – and SFX.
Pros: Hard and soft choice Cons: 1x1 size might be limiting
Pros: It’s the light light! Cons: Pricey, but get what you pay for
Pros: Runs on mains or battery Cons: You’ll want to buy lots of them!
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