New fixtures: SoftPanels

I myself wouldn't want to deal with the 3x4' as it is just a bit too unwieldy for use without an assistant. But if I had two 2x3' SoftPanels, then I have the same surface area as a 3x4', the option to run off batteries, and far more versatility in how I position the lights (2x6' anyone?). And it would be vastly easier for me to transport. Just saying'.

The Kickstarter is finished now, so this may be beside the point, although one can still be purchasing these lights.
 
Mitch - I was thinking the exact same thing... two of the 2x3's. In the end tho, I kept waffling...and decided to wait for these to go out into the field to get more hands-on reviews. I guess I'd rather spend the extra 25% over the $4200 when they are proven repeatedly.
Have to say tho.. a bit of non-buyers remorse going on now. :cry:
 
My conundrum was 2 x 1x2 or 1x2 + 2x3... but w/o any junior stands, I figured let's go with what I can already handle... updates when they arrive.
 
Mitch Gross said:
I myself wouldn't want to deal with the 3x4' as it is just a bit too unwieldy for use without an assistant. But if I had two 2x3' SoftPanels, then I have the same surface area as a 3x4', the option to run off batteries, and far more versatility in how I position the lights (2x6' anyone?). And it would be vastly easier for me to transport. Just saying'.
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I wouldn't expect the market for the 3x4 to be one or two person crews, it's too big for that.

It would take a bit of ingenuity to mount two 2x3's into a vertical stacked configuration (the ballast below the top light would interfere with the bottom light, so you'd have to place one in front of the other). And tuning and dimming them in tandem would be a bit of a process, unless you had them ganged via DMX. Seems like it would be easier to just push one of them into a 4x4 diffusion frame at that point. But it all depends on what size source you like to use, what you are shooting and the size of the crew.
 
CharlesPapert said:
I wouldn't expect the market for the 3x4 to be one or two person crews, it's too big for that.

It would take a bit of ingenuity to mount two 2x3's into a vertical stacked configuration (the ballast below the top light would interfere with the bottom light, so you'd have to place one in front of the other). And tuning and dimming them in tandem would be a bit of a process, unless you had them ganged via DMX. Seems like it would be easier to just push one of them into a 4x4 diffusion frame at that point. But it all depends on what size source you like to use, what you are shooting and the size of the crew.
Click to expand...

Have you played around with the LitePanels Bluetooth system? It's pretty impressive for the situation you just described. Like DMX from your iPhone. You can easily create groups and control master dimming/color, individual dimming/color, and create, add, or subtract lights from the group instantly. A DP can stand at the monitor, with an iPad in hand... dialing individual lights and/or groups. I thought it would be gimmicky, but it works perfectly... Using an iPad is actually more precise than the knobs on back. They need to revise the iPhone app to horizontal so the sliders have more travel.

I'm guessing Bluetooth control and color/light meters will be common for all lights eventually. The question will be whether or not the competition can do it legally. How long will it be before the patent is challenged by a similar design(?)



On a side-note, am I the only one dying to know the story on the SoftPanels? Kevin and Fred are named on the original LitePanels patents... So what happened?! I've seen Manfrotto on the LitePanels site. Did Manfrotto buy out LitePanels w/o a no-compete? I look at Kevin in the videos... and looked back at the videos from past NAB, seeing his promotion of the original LP 1x1... It makes me reflect on my own life. I mean this with no disrespect, but he's aged... we all have. Time passes, and you have to do what you're passionate about... so what's the story? LitePanels has NEVER been about offering an economical light... Their whole business plan (it would appear) was to control the use of all LED for panels in video production. I guess the legal side of this didn't work out in LitePanels' favor... since everyone is now offering a 1x1... and the irony is Kevin and Fred starting a new company that will obviously compete with LitePanels... and with a completely different philosophy than they've worked under for the past 15 years! (Paraphrasing here, but Kevin says something to the effect of; "Our business plan is to offer the best LED at roughly half the price...") Um yeah... there's a story here. I'd love to know why and how Kevin and Fred left LitePanels... and how they're able to bring a directly competing product to market. There has got to be some interesting personal stuff there... you know... "life".

I was surprised to see the kickstarter goal of "only" $30K... My first thought was, "how does this guy not already have millions?" He basically says they were $30K away from final stuff... so maybe he was just tapped-out? I don't know... but yeah... I'd like to hear about it.
 
Litepanels was bought out by the Vitec group. I haven't known Vitec to make a company better so maybe there were differences of opinion on direction and profit margin to quality ratio.

I'll take the weight penalty for a light of mostly metal compared to some of the cheap plastic housings.

I'm excited now that the campaign has ended. I can't wait to get my hands on the 2x3 for interview setups. They say shipping in May but I wouldn't be hurt if it was pushed to early June. It seems that they had the lights in production and needed the money to complete the first run. Now they have enough to have these out for sale sooner than later.

The hardest part of the wait now for delivery is that every setup I'll be thinking how nice it would be to have a powerful soft source on hand.
 
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Do you think Kevin was "only an employee" at LitePanels? I know he was the Chief Technical Officer, but I'm not sure if he was one of the original 5 founders. Fred is listed as a co-founder of LitePanels. Fred also worked for Vitec for a little over a year, leaving in 2013.

Those guys have got to be freaked out by the success of the campaign. I'm still scratching my head about $30K... what's $30K when you're starting a company?! Surely... surely they were moving through production and getting tapped out. I don't know... but maybe this applies to me personally more than the rest of you guys... I'd love to hear the personal story on how they got here.

I'm also very excited... I can't wait to see these in person. On a personal note... I've been on a major roller-coaster with LED. I thank God that this is just something I'm interested in now... and that I'm not trying to figure out how to make money with it. (Aside from renting lighting to people who hire me for sound).

B&H had a killer promotion on the Astra... so I'd JUST bought one roughly 5 DAYS before Randall, "WiredInside" (new member) told me about the SoftPanels. I'm still in the return window for it, but I'm so impressed by the Bluetooth control that I'm going to keep it... and I like that it can be flown in on an arm... and I'm looking forward to directly comparing it to the Softpanel.
 
MattinSTL said:
Have you played around with the LitePanels Bluetooth system? It's pretty impressive for the situation you just described. Like DMX from your iPhone. You can easily create groups and control master dimming/color, individual dimming/color, and create, add, or subtract lights from the group instantly. A DP can stand at the monitor, with an iPad in hand... dialing individual lights and/or groups.
Click to expand...

I hadn't, but I also don't use any Litepanels gear. Like many I used to use the original 1x1's and the mini Lite panel (the "hand grenade") but weaned off them because of the color rendition, and by the time they came out with the Astras I'd moved on to other products.

For the last few years I've used the Luminaire system which is an IOS interface to DMX, so we can control any and all DMX'able units on set through that (as opposed to just Litepanels). So we have tungsten and LED's alike running through it, can build basic cues etc. When I need to go bigger we bring in a dimmer board and op.
 
I figured you'd have something much more sophisticated. I half-expected the LitePanels Bluetooth to be a gimmick, or choppy... just "unrefined". I was pleasantly surprised that it works so well (and so easy). It's not like real DMX (they sell those modules also)... but for a regular dude on standard ENG-EFP... I think it's the future.

I was glad to see you sharing interest in the SoftPanels. Some of the new guys around here might not realize your level of production. When I saw a backer going with (2) 3x4 I assumed that might be you.
 
What impressed me most about this product was the importance placed on colour rendition and complete spectrum rather than just numbers. You can tell they too pride in developing colour rendition and accuracy which many manufacturers shy away from. I've tried to find spectro info on other lights and I find most manufacturers won't post them or don't push them instead putting CRI numbers. The lack of red spectrum in LED has always been their weak spot and Softpanels seems to have this covered best I've seen and at a great price range. Since its made of metal I can probably get some side rental money as I can see these being great beauty lights into a larger diffusion with the wonderful colour and zero heat in tight spaces.
 
FrameFarmMedia said:
What impressed me most about this product was the importance placed on colour rendition and complete spectrum rather than just numbers. You can tell they too pride in developing colour rendition and accuracy which many manufacturers shy away from. I've tried to find spectro info on other lights and I find most manufacturers won't post them or don't push them instead putting CRI numbers. The lack of red spectrum in LED has always been their weak spot and Softpanels seems to have this covered best I've seen and at a great price range. Since its made of metal I can probably get some side rental money as I can see these being great beauty lights into a larger diffusion with the wonderful colour and zero heat in tight spaces.
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I think the color rendition, ideally the TLCI over the CRI... is what sold almost everyone. I considered all the other stuff to be gimmicks... well, except for the color meter that shows you what you really have... AND shows you what the other lights in your set-up are doing. The beauty of that is now your other lights will be temperature accurate also, because you can first turn on the other light then hit the button on this one, and it will display the color of the other light! (Dim the SoftPanel to zero).

So yeah... I'm really excited to get this thing in my hands, and just marvel at the advancement of technology.

I hope you're right about the rental. That was the original reason I decided on a couple LitePanels, for the rental name-recognition... that and a recent "fiasco" with renting lights from our local rental house... having to pick up and return them, I decided I wasn't doing that again. It's a 70 mile round-trip for me... and more importantly, a potential 2 hour trip in rush-hour.

My reason for jumping on this deal, is with my OCD I have to see these for myself... and I have a lot of nostalgia about LEDs. I get a funny feeling having a LitePanel branded light and also getting a panel directly from Kevin. It's very surreal. I still have a bunch of unopened Vidled in my basement.

http://nofilmschool.com/2012/10/lit...he-air-regarding-led-patent-infringement-case

For anyone interested in the meat behind the history I'm talking about... this article from 2012 helps. I'm guessing that SoftPanels is paying a small cut of each sale back to Vitec... and/or maybe everyone else making panels is also paying a licensing fee(?) I wonder what it means that Kevin and Fred are listed on the original patents. Do they own the patent or does LitePanels? Either way... that article helped me better understand how this can be amicable to all parties. I thought there might be some dramatic stories... but it's probably pretty simple, and civil.
 
MattinSTL said:
I'm still scratching my head about $30K... what's $30K when you're starting a company?!
Click to expand...

You realize how much "free" marketing a successful kickstarter is?! They didn't need the 30k. They used it as a gimme number to guarantee a successful ks and offer the light at an intro rate to a ton of power users. Ran it during NAB. Well-planned strategy IMO.
 
CharlesPapert said:
I wouldn't expect the market for the 3x4 to be one or two person crews, it's too big for that.

It would take a bit of ingenuity to mount two 2x3's into a vertical stacked configuration (the ballast below the top light would interfere with the bottom light, so you'd have to place one in front of the other). And tuning and dimming them in tandem would be a bit of a process, unless you had them ganged via DMX. Seems like it would be easier to just push one of them into a 4x4 diffusion frame at that point. But it all depends on what size source you like to use, what you are shooting and the size of the crew.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't try to stack them vertically; too much of a pain in the butt. The lights can be mounted vertically or horizontally (2x3 or 3x2). I would stand them up tall side by side, with the ballasts & stands on the outter sides or behind.
 
I almost said this before... but why would it be that hard to stack 'em? Bottom light on a straight stand... top one on an arm, barely extended... 30lbs isn't that much if you only need 12" of arm. With the offset yoke... plus a few inches extension on an arm... it seems like you could directly line-up the actual panel parts... what am I missing? I put stands close together all the time... with the legs of one stand inside another... so it's not like the support post needs to be the full leg-spread away(?)

traviswears said:
You realize how much "free" marketing a successful kickstarter is?! They didn't need the 30k. They used it as a gimme number to guarantee a successful ks and offer the light at an intro rate to a ton of power users. Ran it during NAB. Well-planned strategy IMO.
Click to expand...

Well... it's all good. Either way, based on my belief that LED diodes are a commodity product... I'm happy with the cost per (quality) lumen... so I'm not complaining. I can't wait to get these babies into my dirty, dirty hands. (Okay fine, I'll wash 'em first)
 
duh Mitch, of course you are right about them going sideways to make a 3x4 panel, I didn't do the math. By the way, I haven't yet seen how these lights mount sideways--any pictures or video that demonstrates that?

Incidentally, been using a Skypanel last few shooting days on a colorful dance party set in RGB mode (along with a smattering of Colorblasts, my old Zylight and color-gelled Litemats and tungsten units). The Skypanel has been a great workhorse for us in that regard.
 
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