If you're an aspiring professional and you're not watching this channel, then you're cheating yourself out of at least a 10 year head start on experience and free practical education when it comes to gear and what to look for in different situations. Excellent honest review.
I swear, it feels like Aputure should pay to get early units to you for suggestions on the stuff you bring up. You're a treasure, Andrew - super informative reviews.
An Aputure package with the 600d, F10 and 10" barn doors in a single custom case would be a very attractive package. Stack 3 or 4 of them on a hand truck and wheel them on the set. Aputure should have a suite of Fresnel light kits for each of their bowens mount lights. Light, Fresnel and barn doors in a custom case. One case for all of the pieces. The number of cases at setup and teardown makes a huge difference.
Thanks for the review! Its perfect. Yesterday I saw another review, from another gaffer...and sorry, too much hype and nothing useful. You said about negatives, thats the important part. Everyone knows about the positives. Your review is honest. I decided to buy another one Forza 500, because: Its lighter, cheaper, easy to mount it overhead on a boom. Better reflector system. Yes I had issues with the knob on the stirrup and had to replace it with Manfrotto adapter . Aputure has great build quality and firmware, true. In my country, the difference in prices are 50%+ over Forza 500, but the light output is not twice for the double price. If I run two F500 together, will be fine.
Much better review than mine, per usual. Maybe I can just hang up my review hat and stick with the walk-throughs and other rants🤪 Thank you for setting the standard.
Man, this video puts all other reviews of this light to shame. I want to know how it stacks up to HMIs and the format 500 not a basic retelling of what apurture has already said about it. thank you for this awesome review! Answered all my questions like always
You never fail to impress! Even though I am not in the market for a super powerful cob, I wanted to watch because I never come away from one of your videos without picking up a valuable tip-or two as to a light itself or the power systems available or complexities with DMX system commands or such things as buckling light stand warnings! Aputure should pay you consultation fees before they release their fixtures, you would help them take their products up to the ultimate professional level! 👏🏾🙏🏾
Once I saw the announcement from Aputure, I immediately have been checking your page for your input ever since. You are one of the only trusted sources I use for video reviews of gear out there. Thanks for all you do, cheers mate.
3 года назад
Haven't watched it yet but I just want to say that your reviews are actually the only ones that matter to me when it comes to lighting. The amount of detail and knowledge shared is just unmatched!
Love to see Aputure's innovations and disruptions in our industry. IMO it is great to know that rental house quality is now in my budget and I can't wait to see how other manufacturers respond!
This was incredibly well put together. I've been wanting a review from someone who's familiar with higher end cinema lights and you absolutely knocked it out of the park.
Hello Andrew, again and again you prove yourself to bring the most interesting and useful reviews about lightning gear anywhere. You never disappoint commenting on crucial details that most reviewers seem to forget or simply ignore because they don't use the equipment on a regular basis on professional environments. I wanted to highlight that you asked Aputure the reason why the batteries would not give you 100% of the power the 600 D can deliver. It seems you are the only one who realize these little things that and the end of the day will make a WHOLE difference while in the field. Hopefully Aputure will let you know when they release a firmware that will make this light more powerful while running on batteries. I would love if you gives us an update when you get the Fresnel.
Thank you for that battery explanation! I was sitting here wondering why you weren't using 26V batteries for the 100% output....sure enough a minute later you said why.
Your videos and information are incredible - I honestly learn something new every time I watch one of your reviews. Fantastic review!! - I hope Aputure sees this - best detailed video review I have seen
Man, I love your reviews. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us. I especially like how you touch on real world use cases and potential pitfalls. The issue with regards to different fan noise frequency is something I hadn’t thought about. Thank you!
Great job! Cheers, and thank you! Don't forget to check back in with us when you have some on-set experiences. I'd like to hear you talk about how this fits in your kit and benefits you the most. THX
Love this review. So much good points made regarding details of the product, details that ultimately make you decide if it's the right tool for the job. I hope Aputure sends you their new Amaran COB lights. There's countless value in watching a true professional analize a tool while thinking of a real set scenario.
Great review! I'm always waiting to hear your perspective on the aputure lights before I buy them. Usually to know if I need to wait for second batch like with the nova. 👌
I firmly believe that Aputure should allow to review their lights and upload the videos before anyone else does. I believe that will help bring more views to your channel and possibly more followers. You deserve it because your reviews are the most thorough and clear on RU-vid.
@@gaffergear Sorry, Andrew. I understand. Your reviews are so fantastic that I basically watch the others just because I am curious, but I do not make any decisions until I hear your opinion. I am sure that Aputure knows that as well so I was surprised you were not the first. Again, apologies for the comment. I imagine that you are equally serious running your business as you are with your RU-vid channel and of course you must get tons of work. Merry Christmas for you and your family and a very happy new year.
@@osoriony One reason my Aputure reviews are always late is they ask me about my test results. I tell them all the things I don't like, usually within a few days I get a firmware patch to test and see if it fixed my issue. Then I test again, sometimes another software patch is required, and more testing. If I reviewed the light, as it was when I pulled it out of the box, no patches and firmware updates, it would not have been good enough for me to review, but two weeks later Aputure got it running rock solid. This delayed the review by about a week.
@@gaffergear Hello Andrew, by the way my name is Juan Osorio. I know my profile only shows osoriony. I will change that. Thank you very much for explaining this. Aputure should give you the lights 2 or 3 months in advance so all the process takes place before they release the product. I would rather watch your review first since it's always the most complete and in depth. I have been watching more reviews in the last week and still yours is the one that didn't leave anything out. Thank you very much also for the advice about using the golf cart's battery. I haven't done it yet. Do you have one available? Can you make a video showing the Aputure 600 D Pro just running on batteries and showing or telling us what happens when you used 14 Volt, 26 Volt and 28 Volt (if possible), also a golf cart's battery. I heard that apparently Aputure is planning to release a power station to solve these issues. Do you if that is true and when are they planning to do so? Can you also record a video with the new Fresnel and new barn doors? and with the spotlight? I know I am becoming very greedy! 🙂 Sorry and thank you very much again for your help and your time.
Just for the record, Aputure released a firmware update that allows you to select the fan speed on the 600D. You can choose between Smart Mode (Auto), High, Medium and Low. So you can disregard that particular "con" listed in this video.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I am so happy I found your channel. I have been watching a lot! Your reviews are based on actual use, not somebody reading from the manufacturer's specs.
I’d love to be a Gaffer after I finish Uni, but when I look at your fabulous lighting collection, it’s a little daunting to think of how expensive all that gear must have been!
You wouldn’t/shouldn’t want to go into being a gaffer straight out of uni. Get work as a spark, learn from experienced gaffers. The job is much more than just setting lights up. It’s about being safety conscious, working collaboratively with other departments, relationship with the DoP and interpreting their vision into reality. Just owning a truck with some lights is a portion of the job.
Great review. Hope they do something about the fans in the next firmware update. Bottom 1% drop off shouldn't be a problem through any diffusion, so not a worry. Hope for new batteries & firmware change soon, too.
I love your videos! would you consider do a series where you talk about which lights are the best for different situations ? For example lets say you have to film an interview and need to choose a light, would you bring a Light mat, Tube Light, Hmi ect
I really enjoy and appreciate the thoroughness of your reviews. While I understand it's not practical to purchase or review all lights, I would love for you to dip your toes into other brands ecosystems. What are our chances of seeing reviews of Digital Sputnik, Cream source, or Hive? If local owners or rental shops made them available to you would you be interested?
Cream source is a very real possibility, they are just busy forefilling backlog orders and can't spare a unit for me. Hive was going to happen before the lockdown. I would love to test the fiilex Q5.
@@gaffergear That Vortex8 sure looks amazing. Hope you also get to review both Micros which are more in my budget range. I love that these lights have such a narrow beam angle since my plan is to use them with CRLS reflectors.
Yes, a set is on the way. They originally didn't think I would be interested in reviewing them because I'm a professional user, but I think it's a great starting kit for new players. I wish we had stuff like that when I started.
Thanks for the information and in-depth review. One thing that annoys me about this, and the 300d ii is that they don't include a 'fire' effect. Even though I feel like they have said you can do it in the past. Anyways, looking forward to using one of these some day soon!
I have received the fixture a few days ago and have to say the noise level (the unit came with the firmware update) is way too audible for interview session. I love when manufacturers pushing boundaries, Aputure is a flagship on that ocean of innovation. I am really disappointed that I have to send this back, it's not going to work for me. The light is amazing otherwise, but I can't justify a $2000 light that I can only use when sound is not needed. It's a great tool for music videos, photoshoots, exterior applications when hitting interiors from the outside through windows...for those gigs it's absolutely amazing. I would wanted to use it for interviews in larger areas where all its power would have been utilized but that would be way too noisy. I also really doubt that 'Silent' mode is 60% of full power as it advertised. Again, amazing build quality and if that double fan technique were implemented in this one too like in the 300D II. then I would have kept it. I watched this review several times before pulling the trigger on the unit, thank you Andrew for constantly championing lighting reviews. P.S.: It really amazes me that (the 600D Pro being on the market now almost a year) videos do not address the noise issue in detail. They could have saved me a purchase for sure.
I have two of them that get used all the time, and I haven't had any audio complaints (yet). I do sometimes use them with the Dome 150 for interviews, so they can be 2m away from the talent, however most times I'm using them as sun light through a window, so they are not near a microphone.
@@gaffergear I am fully satisfied with your review Andrew! I truly think your channel is the gold standard of lighting fixture reviews. My unit for intimate extremely silent interviews would have failed to deliver so I had to return it. For external purposes the light is flawless.
Fantastic review, best of the bunch as usual. Two questions: 1. Will you be getting (more of) these lights for your business? 2. On Newsshooter.com there was a rumour of another big COB light coming early in the new year - you know anything about that?
1. Depends on the Aputure F10 Fresnel mount for this. But I only need so many high powered COB lights, and I already own 6 including this. 2. I don't know for sure who it is.
Andrew, a big thank you from the other side of the globe (Austria) for this review. Very helpful for making the decision to put that into my rental kits. It would have been interesting to see if the reflector from the Forza 500 would do a better job on the Aputure 600d than its native reflector. I found the evenness of the 600d version a bit disappointing because AFAIK the reflector on the 300d MKII has a more even spread. Looks like they went with a smaller diameter to better fit it into the bag? And do you know if the new Fresnel lens will have a bag for transportation too?
I suspect you are correct about the reflector being made to fit the bag, that was my first thought. Yep, the Forza 500 reflector works good on the 600d. I have no idea how they are going to package the F10 Fresnel.
Can you use the Forza 500 reflector dish on the 600D to help eliminate that hot spot? Very misleading that the majority of brightness readings taken by other reviewers talk about the hot spot brightness and ignore the dimmer portion of the beam
Thanks Andrew, I always learn something from your videos. Great note on the variable speed fan for sound recording. 2 questions - you mentioned testing flicker to 1/17000.. was that with the light at full power? Our unit is showing some flicker at 1/6400 when it’s dimmed.(and none at full power up to 1/71000!). Also curious whether you tried the Forza reflector on the 600d to see if that evened out the beam..it would be a nice option if it worked.
I forgot to test for flicker dimmed, most will flicker way down low on the dimmers. Yep the Forza reflector is way more even, but I didn't note the lux
@@gaffergear what we’re seeing, and it’s not that concerning, is Flicker at any dimming level, when the shutter is faster than 1/5000. Really only effects still photographers and high speed video. Wanting to confirm it’s not just my unit.. Aperture support is looking into it but no answer yet.
Definitely looks to be a superior unit to the Forza500, but at the moment a lot of Aussie dealers are doing a Forza500 + fresnel & barn doors + Forza60B for $2700. I think there's a lot of value in that if you can make use of a 60B in your kit.
Wonderful review (as always), Andrew! If you still have the review unit, could you please test the current barn doors (if you still have them too) on the reflector dish to see if gels melt at 100% brightness? If not, do you think they would?
@@MudreFilms They built the new barn doors for the new fresnel F10. Those do not fit on the reflector dish, hence why I was curious about the current ones.
@@pvalin Just found at 12:45 into the Live video Brandon V Le shared to the Aputure User Group on FB. He explicitly stated the Fresnel 2X and Smaller Barndoors are the accessories that are incompatible. m.facebook.com/groups/AputureUsers/permalink/4026246227407840/?sfnsn=mo
@@MudreFilms I guess I missed that when I watched that video last night. Thanks for giving the timestamp. I was really hoping to use them for the gel holder, for which I nicely precut and labelled a bunch of gels. Is there any word about some sort of gel holder that can attach to the reflector, yet still allow the heat to escape?
When you review the F10 Fresnel with this could you do a test with the spotlight mount in terms of output and chromatic aberrations. I have seen some comments that the light output is not multiplied by the spotlight mount like it is with the 300d II and that the edging is worse. Also at some point a head to head Aputure Amaran 200d vs Nanlite FS-300 would be good :-)
Don’t love that hot spot on the 600… I think the forza has an advantage over the aputure in regards to the hot spot. I rarely use the reflectors on these types of lights, but when I do, having a consistent beam is important in my opinion.
@@gaffergear Have you tried the original Spotlight mount on the 600D? From Aputures official 600D page: "The LS 600d Pro is compatible with Aputure Bowens Mount modifiers, except for the Fresnel 2X, Original Fresnel, and Aputure Barn Doors. ... Provided there is enough ventilation, all other modifiers, including third-party modifiers, should have no issues. The Light Dome II, Light Dome Mini II, Lantern 90, Lantern, F10 Fresnel, F10 Barn Doors, Spotlight Mount, and Light Dome SE are compatible." Would LOVE to see a brightness comparison between the 600D with the spotlight mount and a Joleko with a 800w bulb!
Can you make a video on how to read all your spectrometer graphs in greater detail? Things like how to measure how much +\- green/magenta you need according to the duv reading etc
Excellent work. Can you provide any links to articles or videos that show how to correct using gel? More specifically, any video or article that shows if you have a delta uv of say, +.0024, then a 1/8 Minus Green gel is recommended? I love these videos specifically when you speak to the color quality and accuracy. Keep up the solid work!
I have one question about the big lantern. I am a one guy shooter - in one hand my BMPCC4k in the other my stand. 1) Do you think that the bigger lantern is a lot heaver and more inconvinient or is the softer light worth it? Thanks for the help :)
If you put the clamp on an aluminum light stand right above a tightening collar, then it won't slide down and you don't have to tighten it very hard, right?
Fantastic video as always. I think I've decided on selling my Forza 500 for the 600d. Did Aputure give you any estimate on when to release the Fresnel? Best /Andreas, Sweden
@@gaffergear Thank you so much for your answers and thorough testing. You're contributions to the community are truly invaluable.
3 года назад
Thanks a lot for the Video! :) I currently have a Nanlite Forza 500 ... and i really don't know if i should keep it because i hate how loud it is ... soo idk i would be VERY thankful if you could make a in detail comparison of both. Selling a used light also would mean i loose money :/ so ... idk
Grt review as usual. Thx. You mentioned portability as the main reason to go for the Forza...but does the narrow concentration of intensity with the reflector present an issue for you in practical use with the 600dPro?
I don't use the hyper reflectors much to be honest, I mostly use bare COB with Aputure barn doors (because I love the hard shadows) or I use a fresnel for controlling the beam. The dish I use mostly if I need a hard back light, or if I'm bouncing the light of a ceiling, or going through a diffusion frame, in which case it would be ok for me. I would prefer it to be more even though
One follow up, if you have time and don't worry if not. The 600D with the expected Frenel lens...what HMI equivalent would you expect (hope) that to be?
GreatGreat review. Can you review the 600d with the F10 fresnel bowens mount adapter and the 10" barn doors? What does the complete package look like. Will it work as a direct replacement for a high power HMI light on set?
