REVIEWS GEAR
L ED lighting fixtures have taken the industry by storm, and amaran has continued to innovate with a range of cost-effective, high- quality lights that take full advantage of new tech. That trend continues with the The amaran Ray 660c, a streamlined, monolight-style design – the first full- colour COB in its power class. This fixture is the most powerful COB lighting system the company has released to date, boasting 38,500 lux at 1m without accessories. It has been well documented how 600W lights are around as powerful as 1200W HMIs, but what’s just as notable is comparing to an offering from Aputure, the 600c Pro II, which has an output of 21,610 lux at 1m (bare). Admittedly, it’s not a totally fair comparison since the 600c Pro II has more features as an overall package (and is specifically tuned for high-end film sets). Nonetheless, amaran looks to be punching above its weight class. The OmniColor light engine is particularly impressive. The lamp produces light that looks true to life, to your eye and camera. The light engine utilises previous generations’ full-colour chipset, expanding the red and blue ranges to deliver a fuller, more balanced spectrum of light – achieving SSI scores of 87 (tungsten) and 80 (D56). The result is cleaner whites, truer skin tones and consistent colour. The expanded CCT+ range of 1800-20,000K gives a cinematographer and gaffer a vast WORDS JOSHUA IGHODARO amaran Ray 660c
GLOW UP A glowing portal special effect was used during the shoot for The Secrets of Ravenswood Academy, using one of the fixture’s 12 lighting effects
REVIEWER: JOSHUA IGHODARO J oshua Ighodaro has racked up nearly a decade’s worth of experience in the camera department on blockbuster features such as The Marvels and The Batman . He has also made his mark on acclaimed shorts and music videos. His recent work includes the documentary Red Soil , nominated at the Aesthetica and Norwich film festivals, the Sony backed sci-fi short Hestia and the Cannes-screened The Return of the Screw .
spectrum to play with and there is also 360º full-colour control, allowing you to create any colour you desire in RGB colour modes. The 660c features 12 lighting effects, a feature we utilised for a glowing portal special effect. The 660c is also IP54 weather-resistant, giving you protection against dust, sand and light rain – for a fully waterproof fixture, you would have to splash out double for the 600c Pro II. My gaffer and desk op were able to incorporate the 660c into the workflow seamlessly, thanks to the NFC and DMX control options. In this case, we were using Sidus Link Pro and connected to the lamp via Bluetooth. The connectivity
was responsive and simple to set up, making quick tweaks to colour, intensity and effects a breeze. We were predominantly using Aputure fixtures on the shoot, and thanks to the vertical integration of the companies, they were able to be synced up easily. The metal Bowens mount was also handy, giving the user multiple stand options. However, the durability of the materials remains to be seen, requiring extended use, and while the lack of a ballast makes the lamp easy to manoeuvre, should the wireless control drop out for any reason, bringing the light down to make adjustments could be tedious. Helpfully, amaran also offers a plethora of accessories so you can tune the lamp to your specific needs.
FEATURES Extremely powerful OmniColor light engine Simple monolight design; built-in ballast and single power cable NFC, Bluetooth and DMX capabilities 12 lighting effects IP54 rating Innovative motorised FlowTurn adjustment dial Great value
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