Litepanels Sola-4

Starman

Well-known member
Recently used network owned Litepanels Sola4 for the announcers booth for a soccer game.

I have to say, I was very impressed, they were daylight and very nice color, not green at all.

has anyone used these outdoors for live shots? They seem pretty punchy and would seem to fair well in that kind of situation.
 

Douglas

Well-known member
I have a Sola 4 and use it (battery operated) with almost every indoor setup that I do. But for outdoor use, I think that it is a little under powered. It's better than nothing, and I'd rather have it than most HMI's, but if regular outdoor use is important to someone, I'd recommend stepping up to a Sola 6. I don't own one of those myself but I have used them extensively and they are fantastic outside and indoors. A really nice light to have in your bag of tricks.
 

Focused

Well-known member
I agree

I have 2 SOLA 4s and have used them outdoors as a fill with bounced light or as the main sources under cloudy conditions. But you will need the 6 to compete when the sun is out. Great fixtures all the way around.

I have needed to add + green when mixing with certain HMIs but that is minor for what they give you.
 

Lensmith

Member
A slight shift in subject matter...but one of my long time freelance friends came through Miami last week and was showing me his pair of Litepanel Astra 1X1 bi color lights.
http://static.bhphoto.com/images/images750x750/1439413747000_1056832.jpg



I was really impressed with the power they put out...even though they are bi-color. Lately I've been thinking too much punch is lost with bi-color and it's better to stay with a single color and have the punch of all the LEDs working instead of compromising trying to achieve various light temps.

Anyone else played with these?

I was really impressed, not only with the light, but the yoke design as well which allowed much more tilt parameter than other models.

Still not equal to an HMI but...again, I was really surprised at their powerful 46 degree beam.
 

Run&Gun

Well-known member
John, I have two of the Astra's and I really like their performance. Color is good and output is good. I don't like the physical design, but what they do, they do well. I just bought two of the Chimera 1x1 soft boxes for them, because even with the diffusion panel, they are still a little harsh. One thing to keep in mind, though, because of the higher output, they can drain a battery MUCH faster than the old 1x1's. Some have even reported that they don't get the full output on battery power.

I have the two Astra's and two Chimera's in the Porta-Brace bag designed for them and a Sola ENG three light kit and you can actually do a lot with that. Even though I'm a "tungsten guy" for most of my feature work when it permits, I have shot a few interviews with this set-up, lots of live shots and just filling people in working with ambient light.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1046477-REG/chimera_1655_universal_led_tech_lightbank.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/860840-REG/Litepanels_906_1030_Sola_ENG_Flight_Kit.html
 

Starman

Well-known member
Nice looking kit there RunNGun. I'm still using tungstens, and for daylight I have a 200w Kobold "Reporter Light" HMI and a couple of the Dracast daylight 1x1 panels. It's just enough to get me by for most stand ups as well if I have a silk/scrim setup, and sometimes a net to keep the background from over-exposing. I don't shoot enough live shots or stand ups to warrant buying punchier lights yet, but if/when the need arises, I will def look into the Sola 6 and Astra's.
 
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