Litepanels Gemini 1x1 Hard

Female DPs will love this.



My Gemini 1 x 1 the LCD recently cracked from ordinary use, so the LCD is completely unreadable now. My Gemini 2 x 1, the rotary knob is haywire so I have to play around with it for 10-20 seconds to get it at the percentage of brightness I want. And my Astras have all broken various times. Litepanels makes nice unreliable products. Since they're nice, I keep buying them. Since they're unreliable, I keep regretting my purchase. But they're nice. So I buy again. Rinse and repeat.

This looks nice.

Litepanels isn't the only company I've had issues with. My Luxli Timpani died so they're sending me a refurbished replacement at around 40% the cost of buying a new one. My Practilite 602s have worked pretty well but one of their LCDs died and one of them now no longer seems to turn on from the physical buttons so you have to turn it on via the app. The Practilite 802's, the Anton Bauer mount is only compatible with some batteries as it doesn't fit many of my AB batteries.

I never had problems with my Arri 650 tungsten light, aside from the bulb dying which was an easy fix. That light got stolen, though, so I no longer have it. Maybe I should buy Tungsten lights again. Cheap.

My CLAR 350 light just arrived but I haven't tested it out yet. The CLAR 500s I think are waiting for me at UPS and I've got a Nanlite 500 arriving tomorrow. Aputure 600D's I ordered many moons ago (Black Friday) are still on back-order.
 
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Got the teaser email a few days ago, then the announcement this morning. I figured it was about time for them to tweak the Gemini’s to raise their profit margins again. First set of Astra’s(4x) I bought were around $1500/each. Then the prices dropped. Then they came out with the 6x version. $1500, again(followed by a big drop). Then the Gemini 1x1 debuted around $2200-$2300 or so. Now it’s been around ~$1600 for a while. So... I’m guessing this one will be down to ~$1500-$1600 within a year.

To follow up on Eric’s post, it’s a damn shame that some of the components that Litepanels builds their lights with are so sh!ty, because the quality of light is great. We all remember the power board debacle on the Astra’s. There were strong rumors of a class-action lawsuit, until they initiated a program that essentially went back and reimbursed customers for the repairs/replacement of the boards that weren’t covered under warranty.

And I just had to have one of my 2x1 Gemini’s repaired about a month ago. The rotary encoder that controls dimming went out. It would only turn the power up, no matter if it was turned to the left or right. $377 repair bill and the encoder was only $12. The rotary encoders on the Gemini line are some of the worst I’ve used(probably 2nd only to the one on my F55). When I bought my first 2x1 I sent it back because of erratic encoders. Replacement did the same thing. They actually had to issue a firmware update to “fix” the problem. How do things like that “slip” past the development and testing phase?.

Knock-on-wood, my 1x1 Gemini’s have been fine.
 
Run&Gun said:
Got the teaser email a few days ago, then the announcement this morning. I figured it was about time for them to tweak the Gemini’s to raise their profit margins again. First set of Astra’s(4x) I bought were around $1500/each. Then the prices dropped. Then they came out with the 6x version. $1500, again(followed by a big drop). Then the Gemini 1x1 debuted around $2200-$2300 or so. Now it’s been around ~$1600 for a while. So... I’m guessing this one will be down to ~$1500-$1600 within a year.

To follow up on Eric’s post, it’s a damn shame that some of the components that Litepanels builds their lights with are so sh!ty, because the quality of light is great. We all remember the power board debacle on the Astra’s. There were strong rumors of a class-action lawsuit, until they initiated a program that essentially went back and reimbursed customers for the repairs/replacement of the boards that weren’t covered under warranty.

And I just had to have one of my 2x1 Gemini’s repaired about a month ago. The rotary encoder that controls dimming went out. It would only turn the power up, no matter if it was turned to the left or right. $377 repair bill and the encoder was only $12. The rotary encoders on the Gemini line are some of the worst I’ve used(probably 2nd only to the one on my F55). When I bought my first 2x1 I sent it back because of erratic encoders. Replacement did the same thing. They actually had to issue a firmware update to “fix” the problem. How do things like that “slip” past the development and testing phase?.

Knock-on-wood, my 1x1 Gemini’s have been fine.
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Yup, I won't be buying any Litepanels fixtures for this reason. I have had rental Astras die on me 3 minutes before cameras are supposed to start rolling. I'm sure that could happen with any brand, but I've only had it happen with Litepanels...and more than once, albeit only once did it happen so close to the downbeat.

Like you said, great quality light, but reliability is actually more important. Redundancy is great, but not to the point where you feel like the need for a backup unit is right around the corner because the issues come up that often.
 
ozmorphasis said:
Yup, I won't be buying any Litepanels fixtures for this reason. I have had rental Astras die on me 3 minutes before cameras are supposed to start rolling. I'm sure that could happen with any brand, but I've only had it happen with Litepanels...and more than once, albeit only once did it happen so close to the downbeat.

Like you said, great quality light, but reliability is actually more important. Redundancy is great, but not to the point where you feel like the need for a backup unit is right around the corner because the issues come up that often.
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So what are you buying instead of Litepanels?
 
Eric Coughlin said:
So what are you buying instead of Litepanels?
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In my case, I haven't had enough of a dire need for RGBW, so it's not really as much of a thing...which is why the issues I've reported have been with Astras, while you and others are having issues with the full spectrum fixtures.

I wouldn't mind getting a couple of full spectrum fixtures for those situations where I'd need it, whether it's Aputure, Litepanels, Luxli, or Lupo, but I'm mainly working with Aputure COB lights these days for my own needs. I have a 600d, 300dmk2, 300x, and 2 of the LS60x units, which are really great so far. I sold my Kinotehnik fresnels as soon as I tried the LS60x units.

...and then when I need more fixtures, I just rent more Aputure units from Borrowlenses or elsewhere for dirt cheap and can then run everything off of an app. It scales very nicely and with low cost. Most of the time, if I'm renting more units it's because the space needs more fixtures, not just more firepower. If I need much more raw power, then I'd rather hire a gaffer with higher power HMI's in tow, and take that burden off of my plate, both in terms of sourcing the gear, but also schlepping it, storing it, etc.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the ideal amount of gear for an individual to own. It's a complicated question, and definitely a very personal one with no universal formula, but there are definitely diminishing returns at some point. Same with grip gear. I want to own certain things, because I want instant quick access and it pays for itself. However, at some point adding more and more makes no sense and if the gig calls for that much stuff, then it should be coming from elsewhere.

Anyway, that's not what you were asking, so I'm rambling a bit and thinking out loud.

I've said this elsewhere, but what I really want is a lot of power with green/magenta control. I can skip fuchsia for most of my shoots.
 
I've probably said this here before, but on the subject of buying too much lighting and grip gear as a DP, I tend to think of it as, you can buy a $40k set of lenses, charge $1000 per day for it, and fit it all in a small pelican case that can be packed and ready to go in the car in a minute, or for $40k you can buy a grip van, maintain it, spend a lot of time buying hundreds of items of grip gear, and then schlep all that around, and charge a similar or lesser amount as the lens kit, but have to put a lot more effort into dealing with it all.

I'm curious to see how I like using COB lights now that I've got some. I still want an RGB COB. The PROLYCHT Orion 300 and Hive 575 are still on my radar.

The Practilite 802 is a 90w light and the LS60x is 60w, so I would imagine the Practilite is 1.5 times as bright. Do you find that to be the case and if so do you miss the extra brightness of the Practilites?

If was buying a 2 x 1 panel today, I'd lean toward the Creamsource Vortex8 2x1 650W. It's twice the wattage of the Gemini 2 x 1 so I would imagine twice as bright, similar size, and not much heavier, metal build quality, and with a wonderful five year warranty. Like the Gemini Hard, it's a hard panel that can have a diffusion panel it comes with put on it. I suppose there is simplicity to having the diffusion panel integrated into the light like the Astra Soft and original Geminis, but if a diffusion panel can be ergonimcally integrated to give the option to leave it on or off, that's a superior design. I wonder when Litepanels will come out with a Gemini 2 x 1 Hard. At twice the size there are certain people who are really going to love that.
 
Yesterday I got a 5m bit of scaffolding between two large matthews stands and made a backlight with my lupo panels 3m in the air. The point of the width was to keep the 'stage' clear and stands out of shot.

Hell did I want an app to dim them off a bit? Too right.

Do Lightpainels offer control and a selection of hard and soft lights? I dont think so. Can you get Apture 1/4 of the price with an armchair Dp app. I think so. Has everybody heard broke litepanels stories. Should Litepainels and the rest of Vitec just quietly go away?
 
morgan_moore said:
Do Lightpainels offer control and a selection of hard and soft lights?
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Litepanels also has an "armchair DP" app, if that's what you mean by control. As well as DMX.

I have an Astra, a Gemini 1x1 and a 2x1 and apparently I am fortunate because knock on wood, no issues. In fact the Astra is indispensable for me with the four control grids as a highly controllable last-minute fill light.

If I was starting out again today, I might have gone a different direction as there are a lot of interesting products out there in the LED panel world.
 
If the primary goal is to be able to control all of one's lights from an app, then there is bound to be compromise in other ways--no one manufacturer makes the best panel lights and COB's, but as usual, one's definition of "best" is always going to vary (cheapest? highest output? color purity? UI? feature set?) etc.

If all of one's units are DMX capable, then one can control everything from a single app such as Luminaire--but the cost and complication of doing so is considerable.
 
Eric Coughlin said:
I've probably said this here before, but on the subject of buying too much lighting and grip gear as a DP, I tend to think of it as, you can buy a $40k set of lenses, charge $1000 per day for it, and fit it all in a small pelican case that can be packed and ready to go in the car in a minute, or for $40k you can buy a grip van, maintain it, spend a lot of time buying hundreds of items of grip gear, and then schlep all that around, and charge a similar or lesser amount as the lens kit, but have to put a lot more effort into dealing with it all.
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Yup, that's what I'm thinking too.

Eric Coughlin said:
I've probably said this here before, but on the subject of buying too much lighting and grip gear as a DP, I tend to think of it as, you can buy a $40k set of lenses, charge $1000 per day for it, and fit it all in a small pelican case that can be packed and ready to go in the car in a minute, or for $40k you can buy a grip van, maintain it, spend a lot of time buying hundreds of items of grip gear, and then schlep all that around, and charge a similar or lesser amount as the lens kit, but have to put a lot more effort into dealing with it all.

I'm curious to see how I like using COB lights now that I've got some. I still want an RGB COB. The PROLYCHT Orion 300 and Hive 575 are still on my radar.

The Practilite 802 is a 90w light and the LS60x is 60w, so I would imagine the Practilite is 1.5 times as bright. Do you find that to be the case and if so do you miss the extra brightness of the Practilites?
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You and I already had an exchange about the photometrics of the practilite. I posted my findings in another thread. Don't remember thread title, but I'm sure you can find it. In any case, The practilite draws close to 90 watts only when in turbo mode (ridiculously labeled 140%) only at 4400k. The units have a different type of lens (fresnel vs aspherical), but so far I haven't missed anything about the practilite including overall brightness. It is a bit more compact than the Aputure since it doesn't have a full yoke, but both are pretty small.


These are photometrics published by the companies, so take them with a grain of salt, but the numbers sound about right to me.

Practilite at 15 degrees: 16.000 lux @ 1m
Aputure LS60x at 15 degrees: 30,000 lux @ 1m
 
ozmorphasis said:
You and I already had an exchange about the photometrics of the practilite. I posted my findings in another thread. Don't remember thread title, but I'm sure you can find it. In any case, The practilite draws close to 90 watts only when in turbo mode (ridiculously labeled 140%) only at 4400k. The units have a different type of lens (fresnel vs aspherical), but so far I haven't missed anything about the practilite including overall brightness. It is a bit more compact than the Aputure since it doesn't have a full yoke, but both are pretty small.


These are photometrics published by the companies, so take them with a grain of salt, but the numbers sound about right to me.

Practilite at 15 degrees: 16.000 lux @ 1m
Aputure LS60x at 15 degrees: 30,000 lux @ 1m
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I recall talking to someone about the Practilite's brightness before. :)

But if "Turbo mode" is just your typical LED thing where you're combining the 5600k and 3200k LEDs to get the brightest out of the light, and turbo mode on the Practilite is when it can achieve its highest power draw, 90w, then assuming the Aputure LS60x uses the same methods for bi-color, it would only be (in it's "turbo mode") using it's full 60w when at 4300k. So assuming the LS60x hasn't gotten around this lower brightness at 3200k and 5600k thing, then I'd imagine overall it'd be less bright than the Practilite. Obviously there can be other factors at play such as a light's efficiency, lensing, etc., and you're the one who has experience with both lights.
 
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