Arri SkyPanel or Equivalent

egproductions

egproductions

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I'm looking at renting Arri Skypanels for an upcoming shoot. I basically need a large/soft rectangular light source. The skypanels look nice because the hue adjustments also which are nice so that I don't have to gel to get a specific color.

What other options are out there?
 
egproductions said:
I'm looking at renting Arri Skypanels for an upcoming shoot. I basically need a large/soft rectangular light source. The skypanels look nice because the hue adjustments also which are nice so that I don't have to gel to get a specific color.

What other options are out there?
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Options as far as large / soft / rectangular sources? More than I can think of before I have to head out, but if you specifically want something with a built in hue adjustment, Skypanels are the only one I know of. Putting a piece of eighth plus green in front of a celeb really isn't a big deal though.

It should be noted that the Skypanels are extremely bright, and quite heavy too. They also have a hundred something built in gel colors. If you're doing an interview or something similar, you probably won't need to run it at more than 25 percent if you put the chimera bag on it, less if you use it clean. They're great lights, but maybe a bit overkill.
 
If the hue shift you are looking for is across color temps, there are many bi-color panels available. RGB panels are more scarce; the Zylight IS3 comes to mind.
 
The Kino Celeb and Diva LEDs are also RGB panels; recent firmware upgrades made them capable of gel simulation and arbitrary colours, much as the Skypanels.

I recently had them side by side and the Skypanel is gigantically powerful, but very heavy.
 
I know they added green/magenta shift to those product lines but full RGB color selection...?! Can you post a link to information on that please?
 
Strictly speaking it's HSV colour selection, as most of them are. Info? actually... no, can't find a damn thing. But the UK dealer Cirro Lite did show it at IBC, and I took a photo:

IMG_20160910_165221500_HDR.jpg
 
Phil Rhodes said:
The Kino Celeb and Diva LEDs are also RGB panels; recent firmware upgrades made them capable of gel simulation and arbitrary colours, much as the Skypanels.

I recently had them side by side and the Skypanel is gigantically powerful, but very heavy.
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Diva LEDs?

First I'm hearing about these. I use the standard Divas all the time. These are cool, especially with the option to run them off a brick.
 
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Been using Arri's SkyPanel S60-C, & L7-C fresnel, quite a bit lately. Seems most SkyPanels come in oversized steel cases, instead of Arri's more compact molded-plastic case.

The S60-C works well either bare, thru diffusion frames, or with it's dedicated Softboxes. Have rented the smaller S30-C but haven't been able to secure it's softbox. Also used the L10-C fresnel, but their relatively bulky too.

Love the CT, & CC, options, plus low power draw, but between the bulk, weight, & need for stands with junior receivers, the Arri LEDs end up casting a larger footprint than comparable HMIs.
 
What about fall off compared to HMIs Bern? I shoot a lot with LEDs and am always amazed at how wimpy the output becomes as you move the subject away from light.
 
puredrifting said:
What about fall off compared to HMIs Bern? I shoot a lot with LEDs and am always amazed at how wimpy the output becomes as you move the subject away from light.
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Phil Rhodes said:
Exactly the same as any other diffused light source.
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Phil Rhodes is correct.

But it's a bit hard to compare SkyPanels to most other LED panels because the Arri is so much brighter, & as yet I've never used one near full power.
 
I have to second the falloff. Of course it won't compare to the throw of a fresnel unit because the beam is more concentrated. But it will still follow inverse square law.
I used the skypanels on a location shoot last month and found the kelvin rating to be off by almost 1k. but that's ok if you have a sensitive eye or use a spectrometer. It had some good throw and it's power came in handy for using it through several layers of diffusion, book lights, while also placing the unit farther away from the subject...allowing the actor to move around on set more while still maintaining similar level of exposure. I used the intensifying panel for this.

The variable rgb colors are also a neat feature. I haven't gotten a chance to use this feature yet, but want to use it with DMX to subtly change light colors to emphasize subtext and emotion in dialogue or thought processes in the story.

The Diva LED unit is also pretty good. Lighter than the big skypanel. I just don't like the mounting system on it as much.
 
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