Litepanels Astra good enough?

A

Alpha Beta Omega

Veteran
I've been using a cheap set of 4x55w fluorescent. They have plenty of light and light quality is good but they are also fragile and I wouldn't dare to check it in at the airport. I also have a Litepanels 1x1 Bi Color which to me looks good but puts out much less light.

So I'm looking at the Litepanels Astra to be used as my main light. Maybe I'll get two and keep the 1x1 Bi Color as an extra panel or just use one Astra and the 1x1 Bi Color.

Anyone have the Astra and care to share experience with that panel?
 
I have Astras on order and expect them this week. I don't know anyone who has one yet but given the specs it should have enough punch to use as an interior key through a Chimera or diff frame. If you can swing the money get two, but I'd keep the extra bi-color for an edge or back light for sure.
 
I just delivered two of these to a lighting rental house client. Excellent lights. Power is great and they are light weight. We didn't do a drop test... But two of them in a pelican for trwvel jobs should be no problem. They have a fan to keep the light cool so you don't need large metal heat sink. The fan can be turned off of sound is an issue.
 
I placed an order and will keep the bicolor panel. They are on back order so I wont get them until February. Bought two panels, two frost filters and a portabrace bag.
 
Look forward to hearing how they work out. I am selling all my ChinoFlos and have been using CoolLights 1x1s for a while. The CoolLights are now mostly used for lighting my ChromaKey and big bounce setups. Recently bought a 576 bi-colour same as the Ikan one but not branded by them and it works well but not enough punch for anything other than a single talking head. I had been looking at a Celeb but it is just out of my budget and the Astra looks like a nice compromise. As my buddy mentioned it is smart that you don't have to pay for the extra electronics in the Astra unless you want them unlike the Celeb. Is there any flicker when dimming the Astra?
 
My rep at Abel told me that they just had their shipment of Astra's come in today and my two panels should be delivered next week.

I did get to play around with one at my local Barbizon about three days ago, though. The output is great. I didn't scientifically measure against my existing 1x1 daylight flood to see if it really does have 4x the output that they claim(with the fan on), but is it demonstrably brighter(I don't doubt the claim of 4x). I liked what I saw on paper with the Astra's and wanted to stick with LP, because all of my current LED fixtures(1x1 and 5 Sola ENG's) are LP, so I wouldn't have to worry about them matching. Well, the Astra's DO have a green spike and it's especially noticeable when next to a legacy LP fixture, like a 1x1*. We put a piece of 1/8 minus green over the Astra and it matched up pretty closely then, but it's disappointing that 1) there's a green spike(I've never had an issue with LP before) and 2) now their fixtures don't match each other anymore.

Also, the power cable from the power supply to the panel is a THREE pin XLR, not a four pin XLR as most power cables are. Not sure the reasoning behind that.

*I only checked 56, because that's what my existing 1x1 is. I don't know if or how much correction would need to be done for 32, etc. if trying to match other LED or tungsten fixtures. I also didn't check against my Sola ENG's which are daylight, too.
 
I picked up our ASTRA today. It's a nice little light. I'm having an issue with V-Mount batteries powering the light. It seems that when using the batteries, the light doesn't like being turned up to full power. Even with a fully-charged battery, the light turns itself off after a few seconds of being turned to full-power. It works fine at 70-80% power. I've tried 4 different batteries (3 Sony & 1 IDX) and it happens with all of them. I've found a temporary solution to be turning the fan switch inside the ASTRA to "off." This limits the output of the light, but also eliminates the need to baby the output so it doesn't turn off by itself. Anyone else having issues like this?
 
How many amps can your batteries output? I guess you'll need like 8 amps for full power with 14,4 batteries. The power adapter is working at 24v and outputs 5amps. Lot's of juice to muster from a V-lock. That's why I skipped batteries and will run mine on mains.
 
I'm starting to think not quite enough... I suppose to have all that power we have to give up a little convenience. I wonder if I could run two V-Mounts in parallel with a second plate for some more oomph? Seriously though, running it at 80% still works great. I've been happy with it compared to my old F&V K4000.
 
What's up with the "high CRI" rating on these?

How high? Is there any green or magenta bias in skintones? What is lux at 4ft?

The lack of specific numbers is irritating.
 
CRI is more of a marketing panacea than a scientific measurement for LED manufacturers.

LED with their discontinuous spectrum do not lend themselves to CRI as an objective scientific measure of color purity.
 
mcgeedigital said:
CRI is more of a marketing panacea than a scientific measurement for LED manufacturers.

LED with their discontinuous spectrum do not lend themselves to CRI as an objective scientific measure of color purity.
Click to expand...

That's interesting. There is something to it though, isn't there?

Only asking because when using the Area 48, Kino Celeb, etc...LEDs that advertise 95 and higher CRI, I have noticed a huge difference in how the skin looks as opposed to lights with even 90 CRI. Of course, the remote phosphor tech isn't precisely the same as here.

That's primarily the reason I assumed there was some significance to the CRI rating.

You have any thoughts on the Astra v the Westcott Flex or any other newish LED light? Looking to rebuild my LED flight kit.
 
Astra needs 1/4 minus green

Astra needs 1/4 minus green

Working with 3 Astras for a few months. They need a 1/4 minus green gel to remove green. Also experiencing the shut-off issues using batteries at full power. SnapGrid soft box accessory works great.

traviswears said:
That's interesting. There is something to it though, isn't there?

Only asking because when using the Area 48, Kino Celeb, etc...LEDs that advertise 95 and higher CRI, I have noticed a huge difference in how the skin looks as opposed to lights with even 90 CRI. Of course, the remote phosphor tech isn't precisely the same as here.

That's primarily the reason I assumed there was some significance to the CRI rating.

You have any thoughts on the Astra v the Westcott Flex or any other newish LED light? Looking to rebuild my LED flight kit.
Click to expand...
 
I was planning to buy the Astra but ended up rolling the dice on the Aputure LS1 panel. Just got it in today and can't wait to test. Its built very solid w no fans. Probably will add another very soon and come within the budget of the Astra.
 
Please let us know how you like the Aputures. I've been debating between Astra and Aputure Light Storm panels. I wonder if the Light Storms are just using the same LEDs as the 672s panels but with a denser spread of LEDs.

Definitely disappointing to hear the Astras still need gels to remove a green spike.
 
I'm really happy with the Astra to be fair i think the Aputure lights really compliment them. Here is some interviews I shot recently using the Astra as a key and the Aputure as a hair light.



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