From continuous to strobes (and sometimes both), here are six impressive lighting solutions and tools that debuted at the PHOTOPLUS trade show in NYC last month that should be on your radar.

6 Lighting Solutions and Tools to Know About

ARRI ORBITER
Kind of like a Transformer, ARRI’s new Orbiter system, which also debuted domestically during PhotoPlus after a preview at IBC, has a highly configurable, strong-output LED projection optic. The front lens then accommodates several different front-end units.

For studio and beauty work, the Orbiter also has diffusion options like their Dome configuration. Chimera and DoPchoice are already working on more attachable front end modifiers. At a CCT range of 2000 to 20,000K, it has six chips, with red, green, blue, amber, cyan, and lime for better color renderings. 

ARRI has built the Orbiter from the ground-up as a digital lighting solution. Using the Color Sensor Mode, the ARRI Orbiter can read ambient color surrounding the fixture to reproduce the color, even in changing light conditions, which could be an amazing option to employ during live events or video work.

With the same features as the previous SkyPanel operating system the ARRI LiOS lighting operating system combines with the new ARRI Spectra color engine for fifteen percent more color options over the previous ARRI light engines, including SkyPanel. There are also three operational modes, High Color Rendering, High Output and Low Noise. 

With weather resistant construction and modular internal operations that can be upgraded later, seems it is designed for long term installations. It has an internal power supply wireless operation as well as a removable control panel. Though the control panel is not touchscreen, there are also plentiful wireless options for apps and DMX.

LitraStudio
First shown during IBC in September, the LitraStudio made its domestic debut during PHOTOPLUS. Offering more than a million achievable tones and shades from a 5.5 x 3.9 x 2.9 inch camera-top panel, the $649 LitraPro is a bit more than pocket-sized, but that’s because it’s also pretty powerful. With continuous output at 3,000 lumens, the RGBWW light is also a strobe, flashing a burst at up to 6,000 lumens.

The CCT mode gives a white color temperature range that exceeds most tungsten-to-daylight bi-color lights at 2,000 to 10,000K. Battery and AC/DC powered with wireless access, it can also be used to enhance backgrounds and add color wherever needed.

Related:
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WESTCOTT FJ400
Announced in late September, Westcott’s flagship monolight, the $569 FJ400, was unveiled for the first time at PhotoPlus. The daylight-white strobe shows the capabilities behind LED lampheads, giving digitally controlled flash bursting that they say will provide reliable daylight output to within plus or minus 150K degrees through more than 480 top-power flashes on a single charge. At full power, recycling time is less than a second.

An internal Automatic Memory Recall can store several frequently used lighting setups, and the Continuous Capture mode that can burst at up to 20 fps. For step-and-repeat catalog and studio shooting, the Mask Function will provide two immediate flashes to create a second silhouette exposure in the light to make composite masking more or less almost automatic. 

The optional $99 FJ-X2m Universal Wireless Trigger was developed with the Westcott FJ400 strobe, and it can pair most camera brands with the light to use as an external flash system without the need for a receiver.

Related:
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ROTOLIGHT TITAN X2
As the name suggest, Rotolight’s Titan X2 is a 2 x 1 foot panel that they say exceeds the output in many competing 2 x 1 foot panel models. With two white diodes, Rotolight claims a range of 16.7 million colors and a CCT of 3000 to 10,000K.

For photography, it has a High Speed Sync flash at up to 1/8000th shutter with “zero” recycling time. The Titan X2 can be triggered at up to 656 feet (200 meters) using Rotolight’s HSS transmitter. The Titan X2 head unit has an integrated Elinchrom Skyport flash receiver for that model and other compatible Elinchrom systems.

The back of the system is intuitive for operations. It also has plenty of DMX modes for video work, too, like police, paparazzi, fire engines and more. It starts at $4,699. We’re talking with Rotolight about a review unit.

Related:
The Latest and Greatest Continuous Lights and Strobes

THE CUBE
At 1.6 inches by 1.6 inches, roughly the same size as a golfball, small is still powerful with the Lume Cube 2.0. Now in its second iteration, the tiny light is a popular choice for run n’ gunners and outdoor work for its runtime of 1.5 hours at full brightness. That’s a 5600K source that measures at 750 lux at 3.3 feet. It’s also got wireless controls through the Lume-X iPhone and Android app from within 60 feet. 

There is a 360-degree optical sensor that will trigger as an extra flash. The $89 Lume Cube 2.0 was showcased during PhotoPlus alongside Lume Cube’s $149 Lume Cube Panel, their first bi-color LED at 3200 to 5600K, and the $49 anti-collision STROBE, a lightweight, pulsing light for drones. The STROBE flashes in white, red and green.

Related:
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CHIMERA PANEL LANTERN
For both photo and video, Chimera makes high quality light modifiers for ARRI, Cineo, LitePanels, Fluotec and several others. Seen above, their large OctaPlus for lighting solutions are a beautiful source for an open, diffuse spread, and they have pretty much any diffusion and bounce situation needed to accommodate commonly used lighting equipment.

The company is also known for the ease of use and cross-compatibility of Chimera speed rings that can accommodate lampheads from pretty much any photography and video manufacturer, whether continuous video lights or high powered strobes.

At $1,998, their Panel Lantern Kit, a partnership with LiteGear, is pretty remarkable for the low placement footprint. Lit by a LiteGear LED flat panel with a white light CCT range of 2600 to 6000K, Chimera’s diffuse Lantern Fabric hangs just a bit below their durable aluminum 2 x 2 foot collapsible frame to give incredibly close overhead light placement without hotspots.

Chimera’s Lantern Fabric diffusion overhead falls only inches from the LiteMat. An optional skirt is available to further control light spread. The kit comes with a dimmer, 12 ft. head power cable and power supply. It weighs less than 6 pounds for mounting, stands and even handholding via a boom in the $2,450 Panel Lantern Studio Kit.

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