Litepanels 1x1 Gemini

Nice! I consulted with Litepanels while they were designing this last year, curious to see if any of my suggestions made it in there.
 
I had been wondering how much longer until we saw an “RGBW” 1x1 class panel from LP. I’m sure it will be every bit as nice as it’s big brother. From the pics and video, it definetly seems to be a “beefy” design. And you’ll need a stack of green-backs at least as thick, to buy it, as well. It’s north of $2500, but you can get a slight discount for pre-ordering.

NewsShooter also has a full review, posted now.

https://www.newsshooter.com/2019/04/03/litepanels-gemini-1x1-soft-review/
 
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I spent a month evaluating and shot several projects with this light, if you have any specific questions, let me know. It's a very nice light, I am a bit surprised by the retail, I thought and was hoping it would be closer to $2,000.00
Matt, there will be barndoors and all sorts of other accessories for this light, snapoxes with snap grids, barndoors, various one and two battery power plates, etc. I am not sure if those accessories are shipping yet but if not, they
will be shortly. The light doesn't come with barndoors, or at least the one they shipped me didn't.

FWIW, the Litepanels 2x1 Gemini I tested and did the same last year, that light is EXCELLENT! I liked it better than the Arri Skypanel S-60 and it's significantly cheaper. They have done something very cool with the diffusion on these
lights, they look much softer on talent than the physical size of the source would lead you to believe.
 
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CharlesPapert said:
Nice! I consulted with Litepanels while they were designing this last year, curious to see if any of my suggestions made it in there.
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I gave them feedback as well on the prototype. I was disappointed with the plastic tie down knob and IEC power cable. For $2,650.00, this light should have a metal tie down knob with a
heavy duty yolk that can support a decent sized softbox. The IEC power stub to the power supply can easily be yanked out, I wish they would have used a similar connection
like the 2x1 version uses. Nothing is perfect and neither would keep me from buying the light but they did a better design job on the 2x1 version IMHO.
 
Definitely think the price is high, too. Especially when the 2x1 as been sold at various times over the last year for a little over $3,000. Going with a twist-lock PowerCON cord like the 2x1 would have been nice. I really like that on my 2x1's. I also think the 2x1 Gemini's look better than SkyPanels(color/skin tones). But Matt's review seems to indicate that the 1x1 isn't quite as good in that regard compared to its big brother.

How long till you think LP will put them on-sale for ~$1,500?
 
So compared to the Lupo is 3.6 lbs heavier, larger, and costs 60% more. The power draw is the same, so in theory the amount of lighting it's putting out should be pretty similar. Slightly different beam angles for better or for worse. What advantages does the Gemini 1x1 have over the Lupo other than brand recognition and wifi (with dongle) capability?

I guess the same question could be asked of the Lupo 2x1 RGB which is lighter, brighter, and cheaper than the Gemini (I say this as a Gemini 2x1 owner).

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1458846-REG/lupo_416_lupo_superpanel_60_rgbw.html
 
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I don't think power consumption alone is a reliable way to compare light output from modern LED fixtures.

Matt at NewsShooter did some comparisons with other lights in the "class" and one of them is the Lupo Superpanel Full Color 30. Forgive me if my math is off, I'm exhausted from being on the road since last weekend and on a bunch of allergy meds(don't you just love all the pollen in the south?), but at 5600K the 1x1 Gemini has about 75% more output than the Lupo and about 44% more at 3200K.

With that being said, I'd like to see one in person, but it's not on my 'to buy' list.
 
Eric Coughlin said:
So compared to the Lupo is 3.6 lbs heavier, larger, and costs 60% more. The power draw is the same, so in theory the amount of lighting it's putting out should be pretty similar. Slightly different beam angles for better or for worse. What advantages does the Gemini 1x1 have over the Lupo other than brand recognition and wifi (with dongle) capability?

I guess the same question could be asked of the Lupo 2x1 RGB which is lighter, brighter, and cheaper than the Gemini (I say this as a Gemini 2x1 owner).

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1458846-REG/lupo_416_lupo_superpanel_60_rgbw.html
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I agree with Run & Gun, read Matthew's excellent in-depth review over at Newsshooter. He makes comparisons to the Lupo, the Timpani, Arri. For me personally, too expensive, I have been very happy with my Cello and would probably buy the Timapni or Lupo, simply because of cost.
 
Run&Gun said:
I don't think power consumption alone is a reliable way to compare light output from modern LED fixtures.

Matt at NewsShooter did some comparisons with other lights in the "class" and one of them is the Lupo Superpanel Full Color 30. Forgive me if my math is off, I'm exhausted from being on the road since last weekend and on a bunch of allergy meds(don't you just love all the pollen in the south?), but at 5600K the 1x1 Gemini has about 75% more output than the Lupo and about 44% more at 3200K.

With that being said, I'd like to see one in person, but it's not on my 'to buy' list.
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I'd read most of the Newsshooter article.

Yes, there can be some variation in efficiency of lights, but I've always found power draw to be a good starting point for determining how much light a light is putting out (particularly in cases where (independent) lux testing has not been done). Some lights lose 50% power at 3200k and 5600k (which makes determining brightness based on power draw not very accurate), only being 100% at 4300k, but that doesn't appear to be the case with any of these lights.

Beam angle needs to be taken into account though with those numbers you just threw out. The Lupo's beam angle is 1.25 times wider than the Gemini, so to get the lux values at the same beam angle, 1.25 x 3880 lux at 5600k = 4850 lux, which then (if my math is correct) makes the Gemini about 40% brighter than the Lupo at 5600k as opposed to 75%.

For 3200k, 4150 x 1.25 = 5188 compared to Gemini at 5970, so just 15% brighter.

With that said, 40% brighter at 5600k (which is what I'm at the majority of the time) is considerable, and at 60% higher cost for the Gemini, that's not much more expensive per lux value, so I can see more of the value here now that I've done the math with the beam angle taken into account.

I suspect like the 2x1 Gemini, the 1x1 Gemini will see discounts before long. If I was to buy one I'd probably wait for the discounts. Currently I've been considering adding a second 2x1 Gemini as I'd like to have a pretty equivalent lighting kit for double booking jobs.

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I'm still surprised they haven't come out with an RGB Astra. The Astra comes in both the regular non-diffused version and the Astra SOFT diffused version. The regular one has been much more popular, but for whatever reason most of the RGB lights have come pre-diffused. Non-diffused is more versatile as you can always diffuse it later, and built-in diffusion is only good for saving time (which has it's uses, but I want to make the choice of what to buy, not be forced to buy a unit with built-in diffusion). The Luxli Timpani is the closest to it as it doesn't have built-in diffusion, but at a 72 degreem beam angle it's still a good bit wider than the Astra's tight 45 degree beam angle. Also, the Astra is brighter (in part because of beam angle), hence why my Timpani has not replaced my Astras as my main lights as is more relegated to casting colors on the background.

So, an RGB 7lb 100w Astra would be cool. Also, a non-diffused 200w and 325w 12lb and 24lb Gemini would be cool too. Options.

I see listed a "Gemini 1×1 Intensifier" which sounds cool. I haven't seen one available for the Gemini 2x1. I've heard pretty good things about the Skypanel intensifier.
 
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Eric Coughlin said:
I'm still surprised they haven't come out with an RGB Astra. The Astra comes in both the regular non-diffused version and the Astra SOFT diffused version. The regular one has been much more popular, but for whatever reason most of the RGB lights have come pre-diffused. Non-diffused is more versatile as you can always diffuse it later, and built-in diffusion is only good for saving time (which has it's uses, but I want to make the choice of what to buy, not be forced to buy a unit with built-in diffusion). The Luxli Timpani is the closest to it as it doesn't have built-in diffusion, but at a 72 degreem beam angle it's still a good bit wider than the Astra's tight 45 degree beam angle. Also, the Astra is brighter (in part because of beam angle), hence why my Timpani has not replaced my Astras as my main lights as is more relegated to casting colors on the background.

So, an RGB 7lb 100w Astra would be cool. Also, a non-diffused 200w and 325w 12lb and 24lb Gemini would be cool too. Options.
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When I was looking at the Gemini 1x1 prototype we talked about having the diffuser be removable and/or changeable. We pulled it and looked at the results. It definitely gets messy with RGB units from a color blending perspective. I can't quite remember the takeaway but it seemed like attempting a bounce with the diffuser out vs in wasn't nearly as much of a difference in output as I might have expected.

I'm just now remembering using my old RGB Zylight IS3 (which didn't have a diffuser) raw, for different applications. Amazing to think that light came out something like 10 years ago. They were way ahead of the curve with that one, it's a shame the company was too small to really make a dent.
 
If you look Eric, sadly, the special pricing on the Gemini 2X1 was just stopped and it's back up to $4,512.00, I believe just a few short days/weeks ago, it was down to as low as $3,200.00. That's why the $2,650.00 on 1X1 is disappointing to me, I would have definitely spent the extra $500.00 on the 2x1 as you did, it's a great light and was an incredible value at a little over $3k.
 
puredrifting said:
If you look Eric, sadly, the special pricing on the Gemini 2X1 was just stopped and it's back up to $4,512.00, I believe just a few short days/weeks ago, it was down to as low as $3,200.00. That's why the $2,650.00 on 1X1 is disappointing to me, I would have definitely spent the extra $500.00 on the 2x1 as you did, it's a great light and was an incredible value at a little over $3k.
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Litepanels has a history (with their Astras and the Gemini) of offering discounts, taking away the discounts, offering them again, rinse and repeat. I imagine the Gemini will show up on discount again. It's really just a matter of buying at the right time.

Also, with corporate discounts from distributors like B&H, sometimes they'll still sell to you for the discounted price even when not publicly on discount.
 
CharlesPapert said:
When I was looking at the Gemini 1x1 prototype we talked about having the diffuser be removable and/or changeable. We pulled it and looked at the results. It definitely gets messy with RGB units from a color blending perspective. I can't quite remember the takeaway but it seemed like attempting a bounce with the diffuser out vs in wasn't nearly as much of a difference in output as I might have expected.

I'm just now remembering using my old RGB Zylight IS3 (which didn't have a diffuser) raw, for different applications. Amazing to think that light came out something like 10 years ago. They were way ahead of the curve with that one, it's a shame the company was too small to really make a dent.
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I own three Zylight Z90s and one Z50. Nifty little lights with RBG capability. Lately I've moreso been using the Luxli 5" and 10" LEDs for the same purposes as I prefer the control setup. The phone ap control is sweet and works well and on-camera controls are much more intuitive than the Zylight; I always have trouble getting the right colors on the Zylight. I'm not sure if it's quite full RGB. Perhaps I'm not understanding how to use hue and saturation controls to get the exact color I want as when using it I've fiddled like an idiot pressing buttons trying to get the colors I want, and sometimes not being able to find them.
 
Eric Coughlin said:
Litepanels has a history (with their Astras and the Gemini) of offering discounts, taking away the discounts, offering them again, rinse and repeat. I imagine the Gemini will show up on discount again. It's really just a matter of buying at the right time.

Also, with corporate discounts from distributors like B&H, sometimes they'll still sell to you for the discounted price even when not publicly on discount.
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Good to know that, I have never wheeled and dealed for a corporate discount with B&H over the years, other than on used stuff, but maybe I should be?
 
Eric Coughlin said:
I own three Zylight Z90s and one Z50. Nifty little lights with RBG capability. Lately I've moreso been using the Luxli 5" and 10" LEDs for the same purposes as I prefer the control setup. The phone ap control is sweet and works well and on-camera controls are much more intuitive than the Zylight; I always have trouble getting the right colors on the Zylight. I'm not sure if it's quite full RGB. Perhaps I'm not understanding how to use hue and saturation controls to get the exact color I want as when using it I've fiddled like an idiot pressing buttons trying to get the colors I want, and sometimes not being able to find them.
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Agreed, the app on the Cello is pretty darned cool and I love that they named the gel presets with numbers that we are mostly familiar with, very handy. What happens with the App if you have two Luxli lights going, does the app give a light 1 and light 2 version or ?
 
puredrifting said:
Good to know that, I have never wheeled and dealed for a corporate discount with B&H over the years, other than on used stuff, but maybe I should be?
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Yeah, you're totally missing out on huge savings with very little effort. It's not really wheeling and dealing, it's basically take five minutes on the phone to setup the corporate account, add items to your shopping cart, e-mail the cart ID to the corporate account e-mail address, and they'll respond with a quote often saving you thousands of dollars. The Timpani for one is at least $100 off with corporate discount. I know a guy who got $400 off on his Astra 6x back when it first came out. I got $1500 off of my new OConnor 1030D. In the past year I've probably saved something like $5000 by using the corporate discount. Adorama does the same, and I assume other dealers as well. It is a bit less simple than simply hitting "Checkout" on your shopping cart, but the savings are significant.

Recently I got a quote from B&H that didn't have the typical discounts which they usually offer automatically, so I got a quote from Adorama which did have more significant discounts, went back to B&H, they then gave me a much better discount that was slightly more than Adorama's discount. Recent order was something like a $6000 order which was cut down to about $5000 with discounts.

I'm not much into using coupons at grocery stores; too much effort for too little of savings. But this, this is little effort for big savings.
 
puredrifting said:
Agreed, the app on the Cello is pretty darned cool and I love that they named the gel presets with numbers that we are mostly familiar with, very handy. What happens with the App if you have two Luxli lights going, does the app give a light 1 and light 2 version or ?
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There's a little bulb icon tab to switch between the lights in the app.
 
I just saw the Practilite 802 is available at B&H finally. I've been wanting those lights for awhile. Basically a 1/2 x 1 that does what a Litepanel Astra does, but with variable beam (with lenses) angles and an app that works much better and comes with the light. Smaller, lighter, cheaper, weather proof, better app control, variable beam angle, similar brightness specs, probably more reliable, and from a company whose lights I already own and am happy with (the Practilite 602s).

No RGB, but not a must have as I already have some RGB lights. I'm just wanting to phase out my Astras as they're a bit unreliable and bulky.
 
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