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BUYERS’ GUIDE
NANLITE PAVOTUBE II 15C £227/$219 nanlite.com
QUASAR SCIENCE RAINBOW 2 £593/$498 quasarscience.com The Rainbow 2 produces every colour imaginable, but can also be set up to emit moving displays of colours. This Quasar Science fixture is a high-spec light source which can accurately set and maintain accurate colours. It’s highly controllable and adjustable, and relatively small and light so can be hidden away or mounted easily without massive rigging. There is also a double-width Rainbow 2. Quasar Science uses its own RGBx technology to enable the LED to score an SSI rating of between 76 in the daylight range and 91 in the tungsten range. It delivers CRI/TLCI scores of 95+ when producing full-spectrum white light from 1750 to 10,000K – and the most intense saturated colours. The Rainbow 2 is 58.4cm/23in long and 4.4cm/1.75in wide. Pixels are organised in ten groups that allow the light colour to be changed along its length rather than everything being one single hue. Built-in lighting effects include police car and fire – and these pixel groups mean they look very realistic. When adjusting colour temperature, changes aren’t only linked to the actual Kelvin numbers, but are in noticeably different steps as it’s easy to perceive
ROTOLIGHT NEO 3 PRO £373/$439 rotolight.com
Nanlite’s revamped Pavotube 15C and 30C Mark II tube lights now have larger illumination areas, wider CCT ranges, seamless diffusion, green-magenta adjustment, Bluetooth and 2.4G for wireless control and locking DMX ports. The Pavotube II 15C and 30C now also have equally sized compact endcaps that don’t look too distracting on screen. Powerful built-in batteries evenly distribute weight, making the tubes easy to mount with the included clip. More than two hours’ battery life can be wrung from 100% brightness, but Pavotubes are often used at lower intensities and battery runtimes rise exponentially as you dim. There is four hours of runtime at 50% power and 9.5 hours at 10%, for example. The CCT range reaches 2700 to 7500K, and green-magenta shift can be altered by +/-150. Diffusion has been improved, as individual LED diodes are completely obscured, allowing the fixtures to appear as seamless shafts of light. The new versions are identical in size to the originals but the illuminated areas have increased, providing a longer shaft of light. This redesign requires new barndoor and grid accessories due to this: not great if you invested in extras for the older units. Both the 15C and 30C feature built-in Bluetooth for direct control with the free Nanlink app, while built-in 2.4G allows control with an optional handheld remote. The bottom of an endcap houses AC power input and a locking metal 3.5mm DMX/RDM port. A built-in USB-C port enables firmware updates and fast charge. The larger Pavotube 30C kit is £330/$319.
As it is circular, Rotolight’s Neo 3 Pro can be used as a practical light but is so much more than that. It puts out continuous light in all colours and has a High-Speed Sync flash in RGBWW colours, too. Simply dial them in, giving you a flash in any one of 16.7 million colours or with 2500 digital filters, and virtually zero recycle time. Quick-access Kelvin presets in CCT mode mean, instead of scrolling through all the options, you get instant access to popular settings such as 5600K daylight, 3200K tungsten and 4600K midpoint. Four extra special FX settings include fireworks, candle, disco and throb, plus the new Masters of Light preset packs. These include more than 100 built-in effects, gels and HSI colour settings. Select these from the colour touchscreen on the lights or via the Rotolight app. The Neo 3 Pro has a full-colour, two- inch touchscreen – or navigate by the dials on the rear panel. The touch panel is easy to use with a sensible menu structure – or use the app which mirrors the touchscreen. At 145x50mm/5.7x2in and 354g/0.78lb, it’s easy to rig up and can be powered with the included mains adapter or using a Sony NP-F battery. The Neo 3 Pro output is a very powerful 5443 lux at 1m. This is dimmable 0-100% and controllable in colour temperature across 3000-10,000K.
small changes in Kelvin at warmer temperatures compared to cooler.
Pros: Consistent, accurate light quality Cons: Gets a little hot in extended use
Pros: Multiple uses, powerful Cons: Circular shape can be limiting
“Diffusion has been improved as individual LED diodes are completely obscured”
Pros: A decent upgrade Cons: Needs new accessories
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