I really hate and love the sky panel but I actually really hate it

N

nijurogoingon30

Member
The arri sky panel is a beautiful concept. All gels from rosco and Lee plus fine tuning adjustment. A detachable ballast and convenient frame attachment. I love that, but man I hate that freaking light. It weighs close to a arri m40 hmi head. The ballast is detachable but who gives a crap; you can only turn it on and off from there, and you can't change any other function. Thus leaving it on saves the headache of reattaching. A little condensation will mess with it so keep it cover. And finally its price point is 2000 too much for the s30 and 3000 too much for the s60. So I love the concept but will wait for the 3rd generation in another five or ten years before I buy one. Or I'd get a select 30
 
I just used the select 30 a few weeks ago. It's a beautifully designed unit. Has wireless comparability which is great for mounting on hard to reach places and still maintaining ability to modify settings. The quality of light was also quite good I found it lacking in output. I wasn't able to use it as a key light in some situations, which made it a fancy fill light. That is where the Skypanel wins out for me. It is really bright! But yeah, I get what you're saying too.

Have you tried the litemat 4? It's a 200watt unit, larger than Skypanel surface area, but thinner and way lighter.
 
Oh yea! I've worked with the litemat 1,2,2l,3,&4. I like them a lot plus they don't weigh that much. I think I may purchase it, but the connections and wires are too weak in my opinion. I can't believe they would survive a three year constant usage before fraying. I'd rAther build the life mat from their literibbons.
 
True, due to their light weight construction they are not that robust. Just so darn handy! :)

But the industry will keep getting betting in this regard. I'm looking forward to it!

I personally merged a few rental budgets for some projects and picked up a Skypanel. I wanted to wait for the next version (which will likely borrow a page from the select 30 with wireless DMX), containing slightly better color rendition. The weight isn't a huge deal for me. Not sure why, since I'm not that strong. But I've been able to boom it and hang it, without much hassle. It's become a money maker on my videographer type jobs where I produce, shoot and edit.

My ideal kit is starting to become:
-A few litemats and literibboms (smaller units)
-Skypanel s60 (with an additional s30 when possible)
-Wasp 1000

I wouldn't be able to afford much more on a small rental budget, but the Wasp 1000 is awesome. It brings back a bit of the Reds within a daylight spectrum, and still punches well through windows for that sunlight effect.

But also check out the Eco Punch
 
Also my hatred of them comes from working the shows as an electrician. On APB, the dp Bart Lau likes them fully built with a chimera. That makes it the most robust light we got, and when its on a combo stand its a pAin to raise and cumbersome if there is any object above it. This I hate this light.
 
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