Thoughts on Litepanels Astra "4X" Daylight LED? It's on sale right now...

Jim Feeley

Jim Feeley

Veteran
So I've used various Astra lights and worked with gaffers who find them bearable in certain situations. But I don't think I've been around this particular model:

Astra 1x1 Daylight - Next generation LED panel (110w):
http://www.litepanels.com/en-DE/Shop/products/led-lights-astra-1x1-daylight

Lights with that same model number are on sale at a couple US-based box houses (B&H and Adorama) today for US$670; B&H is calling it a 4X light (i.e., it's not the 55w 3X model):
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1122774-REG/litepanels_935_1001_astra_1x1_daylight_led.html

Can it usefully push through, say 4x4 silk to light an interview?

So what do you all think about this particular model at this price?


Thanks!
Jim
ps- Can we keep reliability issues in this thread?
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?357556-Astra-s-Dying
 
I haven't used the daylight only version, but I love my bi-colors and I have used them with a 4x4 1/4 stop silk in front for interviews, before. In the controlled light situation, they had plenty of power. I've even used them to light subjects in front of windows on overcast days(obviously NOT going through a 4x4 first. Lol).
 
Jim... I almost want to start a new thread on this... as I'm happy to see some discussion... but honestly... TODAY IS THE DAY. I bought 2 of the daylight 4x... as I think this deal is unbeatable for the most part. It seems like a safe bet. Litepanels is moving to a 6x and 3x... and my guess is that when the 4x are sold, that will be the end of it. At $670... those are the bargain of the year. Here's why:

3x Astra Daylight is 364 fc at 5'... for $855.
4x Astra Daylight is 538 fc at 5'... for $670 (today only)...

That's 48% brighter, for a lot less money... with 110w vs. 55w... but here's what's been frying my noodle all day... and made me want to start a thread called, "Help me find the free lunch with Astra"...

6x Astra Daylight is 614 fc at 5'... for $1235 (for sake of this, price isn't important, but just an extra bump to anyone on the fence, as I think this $670 deal is pretty solid).
So... the 6x is 14% brighter... WHAT? Yes... you read that right (do the math)... 14%. How are you going to even perceive that? "Yeah... it looks a LITTLE brighter.. um... I think?"

So... yes. I think that 4x is a totally safe-bet at $670... and... I keep finding sites saying the 4x is 4x brighter than the original Astra (or the 6x saying so) meanwhile... NO... NOT... it's based on the ORIGINAL LITEPANEL 1X1... which, by today's standards is a bit of a joke. Why don't car companies say 200x the original? (meaning the horse)... OR... if they want to hang on to the Model T... base multiples on that? IMHO... I think this verges on marketing trickery... since it's way past time to let go of the original LED panel as means of bench-marking performance.

Well...here's where the plot really thickens... and is the crux of my frustration with specs and wanting to know what's what. The 6x bi-color is ALSO on special today (rebate)... and it's numbers are baffling. The 6x Daylight (newest Astra gen, max brightness) is 614 fc with all 256 TIR LED emitting daylight... while the 6x bi-color is 588 fc... with only 128 daylight diodes. So only a 5% DECREASE WITH ONE HALF THE DIODES? WTH?! Is Litepanels about to turn LED tech on it's ear?! So why don't they have a daylight Astra with all 256 diodes working the same tech and take over the entire world of LED? Because based on that math... they could have DOUBLE the output from a daylight-only fixture that used the same daylight LED's as the 6x bi-color... instead of FIVE PERCENT more output? Imagine a 10x (or more) daylight LED that truly competed with a 400w HMI? We'd all be crapping our pants to get one.

Something doesn't add up.

So yes... if you're on the fence on the daylight 4x... I'd get 1-2 (or whatever you were considering) TODAY... since it seems clear that the plan is to only offer 3x and 6x in the future... since a 10% difference 4x muddies the marketing waters. Buyers in the future will think... "half the wattage and no fan... this makes sense"... meanwhile let's all forget that the 4x was between the two, with performance and wattage very close to the 6x.

IF the numbers on the 6x bi-color are actually accurate (which I find suspect)... then it's as good a deal as the daylight (since you'd be getting nearly identical output to a dedicated daylight panel AND the same power in a tungsten AND everything in-between), but... I question all this math as presented... and suspect the 4x is the light they want to see go away since for less money than the 3x with more brightness... it makes the 3x completely pointless... and for less money than the 6x... with only 10% difference in performance?! What's the point there also? *BIG SHRUG*... if you're in the market for a bargain panel LED... I think today (read: NOW) is the time to make that move... but the specs have been on my mind ALL day... as I've tried to make sense of them... if they're accurate... which IMO... is a big IF... and also why I think of all of it... the daylight is probably the safest bet on today's deals.
 
Just went on to the B&H app and grabbed two 6x bi-color Astra's for $1092/each. That's over $330 off apiece. Yeah, they're out of stock now and I have to wait, but for that price, who cares. The 1x1 Chimera's are on sale for about $30 off, too.
 
Honest question here. I see a very recent thread from you that puts Astra reliability in question (to say the least)... but I've been working with Astras for a couple years and they definitely seem to be the "it" light for ENG. I see more of these than anything else... even down to national news, so I'm wondering, if you've had multiple units go down at once, are you that impressed that you'd keep investing in them?

BTW... Adorama has them in stock (supposedly)... but on things like this I'll go with B&H when possible, because they seem to be leading the way on deals like this, and I wager that Adorama responded to B&H vs. offering the deal themselves. I could be wrong about that... but the fake high prices, then discounted, on Adorama are a huge turn-off for me.

Anyway... congrats on the deal... if past experience has any bearing... they probably won't be on sale again for another year+... for all the bashing on Astra... I still think they seem to be offering the best bang for the buck of anyone. From your recent thread about reliability... then buying a couple more... I'm guessing you know what I mean. :-P... It doesn't matter if it's NBC Nightly, or Sunday Morning... or CNN... ESPN... you name it... Astras are standard kit with everyone... so I guess I'm a fan, but I do wish someone would offer a sensible explanation of their ratings, and how they seem odd for the 3x-4x-6x in daylight and bi-color.
 
I decided to pass on this Astra 6X and 4X deal.....but then read the last few posts above and with 4X no longer an option, ended up ordering a 6X bicolor from Adorama shortly after the deal expired at B&H.
I've been wanting a bright LED light to help shooting outdoors for a while. I've never been able to make sense of those photometric numbers. The math just doesn't compute how the bi-color 6X is almost as bright as the 6X daylight only..

Alas, does anyone have a recommendation for a V-mount battery to power the thing? ;)
 
firehawk said:
Been on the fence about these since yesterday.

Well now that is over the plot thickens. I see the soft bi color version is $615 off, bringing it to $1095
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1219777-REG/litepanels_935_5001_astra_1x1_soft_bi_color.html
Click to expand...

That deal has been going and I expect will be for a while longer... if it was 2 years ago I'd be all over it. That's a fair deal also... IMO one of those is probably enough. It's a nice light and very soft, but that's also what limits it.

firehawk said:
The math just doesn't compute how the bi-color 6X is almost as bright as the 6X daylight only.
Click to expand...

I already said this and I hate to sound cheesy, but seriously man... this thought has been driving me nuts all day. I tried to reach Litepanels for an answer even... but no luck. It makes no sense that they'd have a light using half the diodes but making the same output... but until someone who knows chimes in with an explanation... whatever. I still think both these deals were worth hitting... I'm watching Adorama and debating another one.
 
This is so tempting. Wish the Bi-Color option was on sale. Plus I would need the battery plate. They are expensive at $147.
 
Eric, good(ish) news! B&H and Adorama (and perhaps other dealers?) have the Astra 6X bi-color panels on sale until midnight (east coast time) today.

$333.00 "instant rebate"

Discounted price:
$1,092.00

So a significant discount, but not free. And backordered for an estimated week or two.
 
MattinSTL said:
Honest question here. I see a very recent thread from you that puts Astra reliability in question (to say the least)... but I've been working with Astras for a couple years and they definitely seem to be the "it" light for ENG. I see more of these than anything else... even down to national news, so I'm wondering, if you've had multiple units go down at once, are you that impressed that you'd keep investing in them?

BTW... Adorama has them in stock (supposedly)... but on things like this I'll go with B&H when possible, because they seem to be leading the way on deals like this, and I wager that Adorama responded to B&H vs. offering the deal themselves. I could be wrong about that... but the fake high prices, then discounted, on Adorama are a huge turn-off for me.

Anyway... congrats on the deal... if past experience has any bearing... they probably won't be on sale again for another year+... for all the bashing on Astra... I still think they seem to be offering the best bang for the buck of anyone. From your recent thread about reliability... then buying a couple more... I'm guessing you know what I mean. :-P... It doesn't matter if it's NBC Nightly, or Sunday Morning... or CNN... ESPN... you name it... Astras are standard kit with everyone... so I guess I'm a fan, but I do wish someone would offer a sensible explanation of their ratings, and how they seem odd for the 3x-4x-6x in daylight and bi-color.
Click to expand...

That's a legitimate question. Yes, I've had issues with two of my four current 4x bi-color panels and I think there may be a design issue(possibly something along the lines of an internal power board/part), but I feel certain that they may have figured out what has been failing so that going forward it won't happen again and panels that have failed will be replaced with "good" ones or repaired properly. And the 6x units probably have a completely new power design, unless the extra output is solely from new diodes(LED's) and/or optics designs. Or it may be a combination of all of the above...

And yes, I like them that much. Or at least I like the light that much. The physical design leaves a lot to be desired. I would say they are probably the de facto LED panels in the ENG world. There are a decent number of Dracasts out there, but I'd still say LP wins. The addition of the two 6x bi-colors will put me up to six bi-color Astra's, each with it's own Chimera(BTW: B&H had the Chimeras on-sale last night, too, for ~$30 off each). The only thing that wasn't on-sale was the the Porta-Brace bag that I've bought for the other two sets. It has jumped up like $100 since I bought one last year for my second set, so I may wait and see on that.
 
Run&Gun said:
That's a legitimate question. Yes, I've had issues with two of my four current 4x bi-color panels and I think there may be a design issue(possibly something along the lines of an internal power board/part), but I feel certain that they may have figured out what has been failing so that going forward it won't happen again and panels that have failed will be replaced with "good" ones or repaired properly. And the 6x units probably have a completely new power design, unless the extra output is solely from new diodes(LED's) and/or optics designs. Or it may be a combination of all of the above...

And yes, I like them that much. Or at least I like the light that much. The physical design leaves a lot to be desired. I would say they are probably the de facto LED panels in the ENG world. There are a decent number of Dracasts out there, but I'd still say LP wins. The addition of the two 6x bi-colors will put me up to six bi-color Astra's, each with it's own Chimera(BTW: B&H had the Chimeras on-sale last night, too, for ~$30 off each). The only thing that wasn't on-sale was the the Porta-Brace bag that I've bought for the other two sets. It has jumped up like $100 since I bought one last year for my second set, so I may wait and see on that.
Click to expand...

Thanks for clearing that up (on all counts)... and yes, I agree with you. I'll confess something here... I really like my job, not every day... and I do get burned out, but basically it's the most emotionally rewarding part of my life, so I get a little nostalgic about the gear that I see week-in and week-out. Working with the Astras so much has got them a special place in my heart at this point. I think the light-mats... and the Aladdin lights, are outstanding, and probably more practical than the Astras, but overall I think the Astras get the short-end of the stick on these forums. Most users here want the max bang for the buck, which puts them in Dracast or ikan... but I believe the Astras (mostly when on sale) are possibly best value out there (quality/quantity of lumens per dollar/watt/size/weight).

I'm not even a light guy, and I'll be getting up there with you in units too. (I've rented them to the occasional client who hires me for sound, but that's rare) I keep fantasizing that I'm going to do some doc/indi stuff with some struggling locals... anyway... I did finally get in a conversation with Litepanels about the stuff I brought up earlier in this thread... and so far no real explanations, but Richard at Litepanels suggested I check out the Astra daylight bi-focus... okay... now that light seriously should make a giant dent in the industry (and FURTHER makes me wonder why anyone would buy the 6x daylight)... The specs on that bi-focus are ludicrous... mainly thinking for news stand-ups... i.e. HMI replacement... at TEN FEET the fc is 756... 8133 lux... at TEN FEET? THAT is genuine HMI territory there. That's at 15 degrees spot, but that's exactly what you want for a standup.

http://www.litepanels.com/dam/jcr:ecb869f7-0b1b-4cde-94ac-9d421ad2e912/Astra-Bi-Focus-Data-Sheet.pdf
 
There's Airbox for $75 with an egg crate.
https://www.airboxlights.com/product/airbox-model-1x1-kit/

Airbox.jpg


Here's a positive review from a few years ago:
http://www.newsshooter.com/2013/12/30/airbox-lights-inflatable-softbox-for-1x1-led-panel-lights/


I've seen these in use. Seem decent.

There's also the DoPChoice Snapbag for about $250. Look convenient, but haven't used or (I think seen) one:
http://www.dopchoice.com/products/snapbag/


Have others tried any soft boxes for 1x1 LEDs that they like enough to recommend?
 
Matt, the power of the Astra's is what puts them over the top vs. Dracast and some of the others, for me at least, and why I'm willing to pay more(when they're not on sale).

Jim, I don't know if the deal is gone now or not, but B&H had the Chimera LED Tech 1x1 for even less than the DoP Choice. I grabbed two for $188/each Tuesday night.

All of my softboxes are Chimeras. The 1x1's for the Astra's are nice and simple. They have an internal collapsible frame that is made from the old "slap bracelets" from when we where kids. There is elastic bands on all four corners and a loop on two sides to secure it to the panel. The loops go around the yoke knobs and the corner pieces go over the corners of the panel. Unfortunately, because of the rounded design of the Astra's, it's a pain getting the corner straps to stay in-place. I've actually been saying for two years now that I'm gonna stick some little "knobs" on the corners, just so the straps have somewhere to grab easier.
 
LennyLevy said:
Is there a reasonably priced soft box for these other than the one by Chimera itself.?
Click to expand...

The Chimera softbox for the Litepanel 1x1 is actually less expensive than the DoP Choice softbox.

DoP's products are pricey. Feature-film production pricey. Their large softbox for the Astra is $531.00!
 
The Snapbag box for the Astra is about the same size as the Chimera one... and it was just on sale with the Astras for $30 off... putting it at $200... so $12 more than the Chimera. I see those all the time, but I also see those torn-up all the time. Sooner or later one of the corners comes loose (the elastic tears free or the stitching gives). They should make an Astra with 4-holes as part of the design, then have a standard softbox with rods... you know, the kind that last forever and simply work as expected?
 
I think the best option is getting the barn door/grid adapter that holds the honeycomb grids they make (30º or 40º) for the Astra and get the Chimera softbox option. One of the reviewers of the Chimera on the B&H listing said it the Chimera stays on better with the adapter on, and I didn't see a fabric grid offered for the Chimera.
 
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