Is the Aputure HR672s still a good buy?

J

Jeffsteez

Member
Hi,

I'm quite tempted to buy a couple of Aputure HR672s units. A couple of things are holding me back though and I'd be grateful for any input and/or alternative suggestions. A few thoughts in no particular order:

- The HR672 is starting to age, looks to be nearly 3 years since the first press about it. Wondering if and when a refresh from Aputure at that price point will be due and whether there is any news of this.
- Again, linked to 'age' - I've read a few comments online about the advances in LED technology and that the 'year' of the LED tech can be a useful factor in weighing a potential light. Perhaps this is less of an issue when assessing a known product such as the HR672s which has had a number of reviews and independent test data available online. But it does suggest that some of the smaller branded panels of late are comparatively more attractive.
- The HR672s seems to have risen in price quite considerably. I've just been watching a youtube video where a couple of years ago they were picked up for £170 each. £239 is about the cheapest I can locate them in the UK.
- Lots of new panels, including 'no name' panels and the array of flexible panel options are out, but typically don't have the plethora of reviews and comparisons of the Aputures.

I'd appreciate any advice which suggests whether despite the passing of time, increase in cost, and new competition, the HR672s is still a great buy. If not, or if 'maybe' what alternatives would people suggest noting I:

- Don't want a smaller light, bigger is fine and welcome.
- Will be used in D'Fuse soft boxes (or custom diffusion).
- It will be used for interview/Youtube type content in a home studio, so doesn't need to be built like a tank, but will need to be packed away so single unit preferred.
- Will be used on mains power, battery option is just a bonus.
- Could manage with a bit less power
- CRI ~95 desired.
- Don't want a fan (unless it really is super quiet - which I think puts the Yongnuo 900 out of the running.)

A couple which I've also considered:
- EACHSHOT FL-3060 30x60cm - £187 (Or the 30x30cm version at £125). CRI of only 90.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/EACHSHOT-D...e=UTF8&qid=1488822462&sr=1-2&keywords=fl-3030

- Pergear Lightmate S CRI 96+ £99 CRI of 96, not as powerful as the HR672 and a bit small.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pergear-Li...F8&qid=1488823039&sr=1-1&keywords=pergear+480

- Pergear Lightmate Plust - ~£220 on ebay, size is better and bright:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pergear-U...021710?hash=item2108e3198e:g:BO0AAOSwKtlWoI9E

Has anyone used the Pergear Lightmate range?

Grateful for any advice - thanks.
 
I don't own the 672s but I have shot with them and I do own three of the Aputure LS 1S, which I am pretty happy with.

Basically:

The Aputure 672 puts out decent quality light with pretty good CRI
If you drop your 672, it will probably shatter like an egg shell. I've never dropped one but they are built to a price. They are made of brittle plastic. At least the LS 1S are made of aluminum.
The battery mounts are friction fit and will wear out or break with moderate use
Aputure or any of the Chinese LEDs, in a way, for a working pro, are disposable. If you can even get them repaired, you may have to send them to China or be without them for a long while.
For a hobbyist, twiddle your thumbs with no light but for a working pro, then you have to either rent or borrow other lights until yours are returned, hopefully repaired.

In regards to your lights linked to above:

it's 2017, there is no reason to buy LEDs with CRI of less than 95
I've never heard of Pergear, the build looks nice for a cheap light but who knows? Could be junk, could be decent?
There are some cool, cheap LEDs on the market, but IMHO, you get exactly what you pay for. Just like my LS 1S, they are a pretty good value for what they cost and the amount of light and color accuracy they put out. But they are not pro quality, the yokes, tie down knob, fittings on the cables around the connections are all flimsy. I knew that going in. So far, they have been reliable and they work well, but in three years with a lot of usage, who knows, they may be falling apart. If you pay thousands of dollars for a Rotolight or an Arri Skypanel, those are pro lights built to a level of quality that pros use. In a way, everything under about $1k is not very good build quality. I just received one of the new Kamerar Brightcast LED Flexible panels. Light quality is great, it's an innovative and interesting design. But the light stand fitting is all plastic and felt like it was going to crack when I tightened it. I will be flying to South America with a couple of these and I was realizing that even though they come in a sort of soft case, I am going to have to put them into a Pelican case because luggage handlers can break almost anything. The control unit housing switches are tiny and delicate, made of plastic. So if I wrap them in bubble wrap, in a Pelican, they'll survive. If I thrown them in my dufflebag in their soft cases, they will show up in pieces because they are not Arri or Kino quality, they are cool Chinese new technology, most of which is not built to pro gear standards.
 
I'm just starting to do more interviews now.
I have 4x 672 panels that have been sitting on a shelf for 2 years until now.
The newer 888 series was announced but not released yet from Aputure. Supposed to be 25% or 30% brighter, I forgot which. Basically the 672 model but beefed up to be more like the LS1 series.

I've found they are decent if you can control the lighting and are not shooting wide because they are:
Smallish, light weight (like 1.5lbs!), decent CRI (but still looks a tad green to my eyes). Throw one of those d-fuse type things on the front and you have a light that works well if you can get it up close.

However, they do not throw a lot of light and it's hard to shape. So I am migrating to a monolight/fresnel type LED setup.
Also they seem really annoying to use as hair lights.

I'm taking a chance on the Godox SL series right now. I'm unsure of the actual CRI values because I don't trust the stated specs.
Waiting for a good deal to get a small spectrometer and use it with that argyllpro app.
The Godox will require some DIY as the fans are way too loud IMO. However the $/lux proposition is great.
(I'm also trying to mod the SL-60W by separating the head from the power supply because I don't have heavy duty booms)
Once fan-modded you can throw on a softbox with the front bowens mount.
The SL-200W is like $350 or something and produces 10x the lux of the 672S with a cheap fresnel attachment.
(open face, the SL-200W is a stated 12,000lux @ 1m vs 672S at around 6,000lux. But you can throw on the fresnel to produce 5x or more spotted down...)

The SL-60W produces a stated 4,100lux @ 1m but when I put on the reflector dish it looked brighter than the 672s to my eye. I picked it up for $115 on eBay, so half the cost of the 672. I can't recommend them yet because I don't know what the actual CRI or TLCI etc is, and I haven't seen if my mods will work out. But I definitely want to move in this direction even though they are bigger and heavier fixtures.

The Nanguang CN stuff looks decent too but way more $$$ and they actually run hot so they're off my list for now.
The Aputure COB seems good but the Godox produces way more lux per dollar.
The Came Boltzen and Fotodiox J-500 look interesting but not for key lights. Maybe Came's larger fresnels will be good too.
The other light that looked cool was the Rayzr 7 300W.
The other stuff is way out of my price range.

If you need lights right NOW and can live with the short throw and low output, the 672 panels are still ok, especially if you are shooting closeups.
They are very light weight, just don't drop them. But if you need to go wider and fight ambient light they really show their weakness.
I definitely think lots of better stuff is around the corner though, and the monolight / cob / fresnel stuff is way more versatile, but much heavier.

I needed to go wider because the people I'm working with want a wider shot to cut to, otherwise the if you are doing closeups the panel style is way more convenient in general because they're so light and you can put them really close so they don't need to be super powerful.

Just my 2c from a semi-pro freelancer.
 
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I love Godox for their flash gear but I'm not so sure about their LED range. To me it seems like it's still got a way to go before it catches up with Apurture.

The Aputure COB is more expensive ($around $230) but you get the bonus of battery portability & fresnel option.

In Aust it is getting harder to plug gear into the client's mains power because of public liability issues. Quite often gear needs to be tested & tagged and I suspect that requirement will get more common.

Plus not having 2 or 3 extra cables to trip over and not having to locate easy to reach power outlets is a bonus.

There is no denying that $/lux is pretty good but I still think the Aputure range is a better long term solution.
 
The Aputure COB120D is $650 and the older tungsten is $600...
Not including any of the attachments, which will be $70 for the fresnel and I forgot, like $130 for the softbox.

I do like the portability and battery option but it's like double the price for 3.5x less output.
Plus I don't have any V mounts or AB. Which further adds hundreds of dollars.
OP said he's using them in his studio so power shouldn't be a problem.
Aputure spotted is 16,800 lux @ 1m. Godox spotted estimated 60,000 lux @ 1m.
23lux/$ vs 146lux/$ - getting 6.4x the light per $.

Hopefully they test out to actually be high CRI. I will say right off the bat it's definitely not green compared to the Aputure stuff which is a positive in my books. I like a lot about Aputure but they're getting lots of competition now!
 
I'll be interested in your findings as there is virtually nothing useful on YouTube about the real-world operation of these lights.
 
On youtube you can search for the Jinbei EF-200 which is similar. I'm not sure if Godox also made those.
I don't think they are the exact same, I have a feeling Godox improved upon it slightly but who knows.
The stated CRI values for the Jinbei stuff was much lower.

Also someone on DVX really loves these lights too.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?345335-Some-new-LED-options-Bowens-Mount

Not sure when I can find a deal on the spectrometer so I don't think I will find out soon unless indiecinemaacademy finally gets their hands on one and tests them.
 
Thanks for the all the replies and advice. I was still a bit torn:

- I don't have the space in my shooting space for the COB style lights, but as I see the attraction - particularly the ability to use my existing bowens modifiers.
- I'm a hobbyist, will mainly be shooting in and around the house, so am willing to take a chance on lower build quality.
- I did think about extending the budget towards the LS1, but the cost together with the fact that the control/power isn't attached to the back of the light meant it would also be more inconvenient.
- The Aputure Tri-8 sounds good; but no signs of actual release yet and I need something now.
- Pergear just have too many unknowns and the lack of remote I feel could be a significant drawback.

Bazsed on the above, I've decided the HR672s feels like the best option for the time being, so I've ordered a couple of those.
 
Jeffsteez said:
Thanks for the all the replies and advice. I was still a bit torn:

- I don't have the space in my shooting space for the COB style lights, but as I see the attraction - particularly the ability to use my existing bowens modifiers.
- I'm a hobbyist, will mainly be shooting in and around the house, so am willing to take a chance on lower build quality.
- I did think about extending the budget towards the LS1, but the cost together with the fact that the control/power isn't attached to the back of the light meant it would also be more inconvenient.
- The Aputure Tri-8 sounds good; but no signs of actual release yet and I need something now.
- Pergear just have too many unknowns and the lack of remote I feel could be a significant drawback.

Bazsed on the above, I've decided the HR672s feels like the best option for the time being, so I've ordered a couple of those.
Click to expand...

If you are a hobbyist who will shoot mostly in a home studio, I think you made a good decision. Nothing wrong with the light they put out, they are cheap and lightweight. Just don't knock them over.
 
I did a post on my blog and includes a video of the promo I used them on.
I found them to be very handy for a panel. Easily diffused with Aputure and other products. Relatively inexpensive considering how bright they are.

Don't drop them but then don't drop any light. We had a Astra tip over and the housing exploded. Still worked but it was a mess and of course had to be repaired. If you do the same with the HR672 you would Gorilla Glue and gaffe it together if it still strikes. These cheap lights are disposable at these prices.

I'm looking at traditional fresnel style LED's these days. Just plug it in. No hanging controllers or power bricks. Simple, high output (650 watt equivalent or more) that I can add a softbox to or shoot through with some diffusion. More are coming out and I think it's worth saving up for.
 
Erik Naso said:
I did a post on my blog and includes a video of the promo I used them on.
I found them to be very handy for a panel. Easily diffused with Aputure and other products. Relatively inexpensive considering how bright they are.

Don't drop them but then don't drop any light. We had a Astra tip over and the housing exploded. Still worked but it was a mess and of course had to be repaired. If you do the same with the HR672 you would Gorilla Glue and gaffe it together if it still strikes. These cheap lights are disposable at these prices.

I'm looking at traditional fresnel style LED's these days. Just plug it in. No hanging controllers or power bricks. Simple, high output (650 watt equivalent or more) that I can add a softbox to or shoot through with some diffusion. More are coming out and I think it's worth saving up for.
Click to expand...

Erik, you thinking of the new Rayzr or ? Which ones intrigue you?
 
puredrifting said:
Erik, you thinking of the new Rayzr or ? Which ones intrigue you?
Click to expand...

I've been using an old Mole SolorSpot with a 1K VisionSmith drop in LED. I love this light. It's a little less than the 1K tungsten due to the reflector being removed to get the LED in but it's bright and punches through a 4x4 great. It doesn't have a built in dimmer but I can add one to the end of the cable and plug it in. I have three of these old workhourse fixtures and tempted to do one more. They are heavy but I dont mind. I have the stands.
 
Bad Godox, Bad boy!

Bad Godox, Bad boy!

doubledark said:
I'll be interested in your findings as there is virtually nothing useful on YouTube about the real-world operation of these lights.
Click to expand...

Did some testing with my questionable lux meter and have been wildly underwhelmed (sort of). Non-scientific testing with my $30 lux meter at 1m, 100% output

Aputure 672s ($280USD, beam angle 25) ~ 7,200lux
(advertised as 6,040lux)

Godox SL-200W ($370USD beam angle ?120?) bare light ~ 7,100lux
(advertised as 12,000lux)
With included reflector ~ 18,000lux
With NG-10X flood ~27,400lux
With NG-10X mid ~31,000lux
With NG-10X spot ~29,500lux
note: I did not move the light when I attached the NG-10X which puts it a bit closer to the target.
With 47'' Godox octabox umbrella w/ bowens mount ~ 5,500lux (double diffusion, light not moved, face of box was like 6'' from meter)
With 47'' Godox octabox umbrella w/ bowens mount ~ 2,000lux (double diffusion, light was re-positioned, face of box was 1m from meter)
(Remove softbox, measured 2,700lux bare face)

Umbrella octabox does have a portion of the light obstructed by the umbrella mechanism, so a regular octa might yield more light.


The Godox is about $100 more than the Aputure 672s and does spit out a lot more light since the beam angle is crazy wide (all of these COBs are probably around 120 degree, I'm assuming).
But, they stated 12,000lux @ 1m which I didn't find to be true, I found only half that.
Even if my light meter is a POS $30 it should still be able to give me a relative idea of performance (the 672s is stated 6,040lux @ 1m and my unreliable measurement was 7,000 so I can believe Aputure).
If you take into account the beam angles, the Godox probably spits out about 4x the light and consumes 4x the power, so they are about even in terms of efficiency.
Still no way for me to measure CRI.

Disappointed in finding out the Godox only puts out half the light as advertised.
Perhaps the Aputure fresnel will be better than the Nanguang one. The NG-10x only increased lux by 4.5X on the SL-200W, but the Aputure seems to increase by 7-8X on their COB light.
I will start a thread once I finish my mods and stuff on the SL-60W.

I think I will try a Nanguang CN-30F as those look pretty legit with high CRI (95+ CRI and TLCI). I might still pick up a Boltzen or two.
The Nanguang stuff looks about 2x as efficient as everyone else, not sure if it's their fresnels or if they are just driving the LEDs harder.
From what I can tell, they actually do have high CRI (indiecinemaacademy and another youtube video did actual measurements, 90+/95+ cri and tlci depending on model).
Also from the YT video the lux given by the manf. seemed to be accurate as well. Shame on you Godox! :) But it was too good to be true anyways...

So in my spreadsheet the Godox stuff is no longer super impressive, BUT it is still a good "deal" for lux/$ and it is cheaper in general - Aputure COB120 is twice the price and about half the light output (135W vs 200W).
However the Nanguang stuff now looks to be better in terms of lux/$ so I will look at those now... Can't wait to see what pricing and options Zylight is going to do for them (they are US distrib. now).

All of that being said, for $370, the fact that you can use a 4' octa on it and get basically the same lux but more overall light than the 672W ($280) is a pretty good deal.
 
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