The Atomos Sun Dragon offers a unique take on cinema lighting. Presented as the “world’s first sun spectrum, 5-color HDR LED production strip lighting system with wired, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity,” the Sun Dragon abandons the panel form factor to offer a more flexible — literally — lighting solution.
Getting to know the Sun Dragon
The Atomos Sun Dragon is a flexible strip of 5-color LED lights capable of outputting an impressive 2000 lumens. Its CRI rate of 98 also promises good color rendition. Atomos says their product outputs close to the full sun spectrum of light. This avoids issues sometimes seen with broken-spectrum LED lighting and leads to more authentic and reliable colors.
The light strip can bend to a radius of 30cm, meaning it can be wrapped and shaped to create any number of creative lighting effects. It also weighs just 1kg, making it easy to position.
Atomos highlights the Sun Dragon’s ability to mold to any shape, giving filmmakers more control over the light and shadows in the image. You can even light scenes underwater or in extreme weather thanks to the light’s waterproof design. The lights are waterproof down to one meter.
However, if you don’t need the extra control of a flexible strip light source, the Sun Dragon also works while coiled up. This way, you can also use it as you would a ring light or standard LED panel.
Control and connectivity
Aside from the light, the Sun Dragon also comes with an active controller. This controller features a large display and offers wired and wireless DMX control. For basic setup, it’s is also compatible with Atomos AirGlu devices. Plus, it’s Bluetooth compatible, giving you DMX control via iOS app.
The light draws 80W of power via an included battery or AC power source.
Pricing and availability
The Atomos Sun Dragon is available for preorder now, with the first units shipping out in June 2024. The price is set at just under $1000. To learn more, head to atomos.com.
