Aputure has announced a powerful new bi-color LED COB (chip on board) light. The Aputure STORM 1200x is the company’s first light to use its new BLAIR light engine.
BLAIR light engine
Previously, bi-color lights used a mixture of tungsten-balanced and daylight-balanced LED light emitters. This meant that you could adjust the color temperature of the light by varying the emitters that were illuminated. However, Aputure’s new BLAIR light engine doesn’t feature any white LED emitters at all. Instead, it uses blue (B), lime (L), amber (A), indigo (I) and red (R) LED emitters. The BLAIR light engine mixes these five colors to create a rich white light spectrum. Aputure calls the light a tunable white light rather than bi-color.
Bi-color
The STORM 1200x has a color temperature range from 2,500K to 10,000K. You can also adjust the green bias from +100% to -100% to match the output to other lights, as prescribed by the ASC MITC standard. In addition, because of the use of the five colors of LED emitters, the STORM 1200x also has an x,y coordinate mode. This means you have control of the full range of color adjustments available with the BLAIR light engine. However, this doesn’t mean the 1200x is a full-color light, just that you can fine-tune the white light output.
With traditional bi-color lights, the power output varies as you adjust the color temperature. This is because the extremes of the color temperature range only use a proportion of the LED emitters. However, the BLAIR engine creates white light by using a combination of all five colored LED emitters. As a result, the output remains consistent across the color temperature range. In addition, the BLAIR engine is so efficient that the STORM 1200x is brighter than the daylight-only LS 1200d Pro.
Color accuracy
The Indigo LED emitter within the BLAIR light engine enhances fluorescing materials. This delivers a higher quality white light that better matches natural daylight and black body sources such as tungsten quartz. As a result, the STORM 1200x has very high color accuracy figures with a CRI of 95+, a TLCI of 95+, an SSI [P3200]) of 87 and an SSI (CIE D5600) of 87. In addition, the STORM 1200x features improved dimming controls which means you can reduce the output to 0.1% without affecting the color.
Photometrics
The STORM 1200x comes with a 45° Hyper Reflector which focuses the light from the LED emitters. At 10 feet (3 meters), the output is 19,500 lux at 3,200 K and 22,500 lux at 5,600 K. You can also get an optional Reflector Kit which includes 15° and 30° Hyper Reflectors. The 30° Hyper Reflector boosts the output to 41,000 lux at 3,200 K and 41,800 lux at 5,600 K. In addition, the 15° Hyper Reflector increases the output even further to an incredible 94,600 lux at 3,200 K and 96,100 lux at 5,600 K.
Other features
The STORM 1200x uses Aputure’s newly developed ProLock Locking Bowens Mount. This provides a more secure clamping design for attaching modifiers. The lamp head, control box and cabling of the new light are also rated IP65 for dust and weather protection. This means you should be able to use it outside in the rain without worrying. In addition, you can control the STORM 1200x remotely via CRMX, DMX512 in and out, sACN and Art-Net over etherCON and Sidus Mesh.
What we think
With the release of the STORM 1200x, Aputure is continuing to lead the way with its development of lighting technology. The new BLAIR light engine is a completely new way to create white light and promises higher color accuracy and greater control. Its output is also much closer to true daylight and can be easily fine-tuned to match your other lights. In addition, the STORM 1200x is designed to be used on location in all weathers. It’s a very powerful light and may be too powerful for day-to-day use for many filmmakers. However, Aputure has said that the BLAIR light engine will be rolled out across its family of lights meaning smaller fixtures could be on the way soon.
Pricing and availability
The Aputure STORM 1200x tunable white light will retail at $2,990. The light is scheduled to be available at the end of this month. The optional Reflector Kit will cost $210. There is also an all-new Compact Fresnel designed especially for the STORM 1200x on the way too.
