COB LED LIGHTS
these were more forthright. The Forza 60C’s lower output ended up being the overriding factor for managing the whole lighting set-up on the day, which is never ideal. Since the Forza 60C is the first RGBLAC light we have ever properly tested at Pro Moviemaker , it is a really impressive performer. Whether in CCT or full-colour mode, the colour and evenness of the lighting takes things to a new level. But with more fresh technology comes higher prices – and the Forza 60C is on sale for more than a comparable RGB light, as you might expect. If you can manage with 88W output, you will love this new technology. You just know that bigger, better versions will be coming out in the future from various manufacturers, but right now – for the size and cost – the Forza 60C is a stunning performer without any serious competition.
crisp and white, ideal for scientific applications. Temperature is set using a dial on the rear panel and is very easy to command. Nanlite claims it is ‘palm-sized’ – and that’s not a long way from the truth. The light head itself is just 224x110x88mm/8.8x4.3x3.5in and weighs 1.1kg/2.4lb. Yet it still puts out 12,810 lux at a metre away when set to 5600K daylight. This small body means the Forza 60C comes with a battery handgrip and dual mounts for NP-F batteries. It is absolutely light enough to handhold, even with a small softbox fitted to the front. Mount it to a stand and use the NP-F battery grip to provide power, or even via V-Mount battery with D-Tap cable. For studios, there is no big ballast box, but a simple AC adapter plugs right into the mains. Because the lamp head is so small, it comes with Nanlite’s FM bayonet mount and a 45° reflector. Also in the nicely padded case is an adapter for full-size Bowens S-mount accessories. This fastens on a light stand, allowing the 60C to be bayoneted onto the rear with a Bowens-fit modifier on the front. This way, the adapter takes all the strain, rather than the lamp head itself. The light housing is made from aluminium and a cooling fan inside is virtually silent. Settings can be controlled and adjusted from the onboard screen, control buttons and dial. It’s all very
simple to navigate. Alternatively, for more control, download the free Nanlink app, which works thanks to dual built-in 2.4G and Bluetooth modules. Brightness can be altered from 0-100% in 0.1 increments for precision. And here you can set and tailor SFX features like flash, pulse, storm, paparazzi and TV flicker. There is also built-in DMX/RDM functionality for remote control via wireless or a plug-in cable. We took the light on two commercial video shoots. One was an extra hair light in CCT mode, with the other making use of the coloured LEDs. The first was a product shoot of some folding bicycles, where the Forza 60C was used to form a backlight in a range of colours, which changed as the camera moved on a slider. The second was for a fitness shoot, where the light was set to orange, putting a patch of colour onto the wall behind the instructor. In both cases, the Forza 60C worked incredibly well, but we did end up at full power for the bicycle and fitness shoots. This was because the bike shoot happened in the daytime with lots of ambient light, so power was cranked up. The second was at twilight, but to get a large enough pool of light on the wall, we had to back the Forza away. Again, this meant it ended up at full power. We had to drop the power of the key light and hair light, too, because
WORKHORSE The Forza’s colour range was ideal for filming fitness workouts
TAKE CONTROL The rear has two
adjuster knobs and a mode button, as well as the LCD screen
39
PROMOVIEMAKER.NET
Powered by FlippingBook