Gaffer & Gear 196 - Amaran F21C & F22c 

I really don’t consider a light it’s “out” officially until you review it ⚡️

Wow. That hack with the Ifootage clamp is game changing! thank you Andrew!! your channel has helped out so much

Your perfect reviews always are exactly the information we need. Thank you!

Love all your little upgrades, sings to my soul.

been waiting for months for my order... thank you for the review as always spot on!!!!

Andrew, thank you once again for your amazingly thorough review. Without a doubt, you are my GO TO when it comes to lighting for video.....

I’m glad you finally got sent one. A review by you was the first thing I looked for (and have been waiting for) since the release of these.

The clamping hacks are genius! Well done

I was waiting for this in depth review for a time. Thank you so much! Order placed!

So appreciate your channel mate - really looking to get one of these

Excellent review Andrew, loads of info and some great hacks to use

Thank you so much for all the videos you are putting out. I´ve already learned a lot on your channel!

Wow really cool that you took the errford to actually come up with a solution for that problem of the mount :D

Literally just took delivery of one of these today, it couldn’t be better timing.

Ok, so I was sniffy about these Amaran lights, but now you show how good their light quality is, I’m definitely going for one of these.

Wanna add a fault. The coloured top connector on the controller has a ring. That ring is made of brittle plastic and easily breaks. The ring is the only thing that keeps the connector in place. We didn't notice it immediately during a shoot and pushed the entire connector into the controller unit. Now I must commend Aputure, they replaced it within 2 days and the replacement ring I got was metal instead of plastic. We just got another F22c in and it already has the metal ring as standard, so apparently with new shipments they've fixed this. But if you have you have a older one, this is something to keep in mind.

Awesome!!! I’ve been waiting for these!!!

Your mods to this light are so amazing!

These are going into the kit for sure

Great solution for the grip head!

This looks like a killer light. Can't wait to get it in my kit. Thank you so much for your review!

Great review as always

I have been anticipating your review anyways!

This channel is too good. I'll watch it for lights I don't even care about. I just want to pretend like I can keep up with Andrew's knowledge. Glad a video for this light is out!

Great review, as always. I did find that the two-way receiver knuckle thing stripped out pretty quickly, so I use the beefier version that Chimera makes for its lanterns. The Amaran pancakes look great tho… I didn’t know they have those available🙂

WOW ! Your tricks are awesome !

thanks nice :). Very humble that they think that it is not good enough. Great Review!

Thanks Andrew, another great thorough review. Very timely too, I happened to pick up the 22 version last week to use on an interstate job we’ve got coming up. I find these mats are great for travel. We used to use a Westcott Cine mat but these Amarans are much cheaper and brighter. They’re a no-brainer.

wow, super nice review. thank you so much.

Great hack with the clamps!!!

Bloody hell. This is without a doubt the best and most comprehensive video on the F22c. The Amaran pancakes aren't out just yet, but I've been told they're on their way. Unfortunately, Aputure HQ is in Shenzhen and they're under lockdown so I've been told not to expect it for at least a month. I'm pretty taken with your hack for the mount. I half expect Aputure to release a new mount via their store. My only gripe with the F22c (except for the fan noise), is the frame does tend to slip out when you move the unit. Good to know we can bend them back into shape, though. The confirmations you get from Aputure help keep the rest of us informed.

great review. cant wait to see what their aputure version looks like. I hope its the size of a Floppy 48x48

Terrific stuff, thanks mate!

These lights look extremely impressive considering the price... Litemats are one of my favorite lights and I have one on 80% of my shoots, I'll have to throw in one of these for my next shoot.

Excellent review as always. Rather than replacing the receiver to accept a baby pin you could just use a second umbrella swivel to connect the supplied straight pin to the baby pin on the flex arm.

Great thanks. I ordered one. Cancelled my order. Nearly sent you a message to ask if you could review it. Now you have reviewed it, I will reorder it. Cheers

Great review!

great video! for the boom arm issue you could also just use a 20" c stand arm instead of modified reciever / magic arm

Amazing work as always Andrew, your comprehensive reviews are second to none. The only thing is I can't seem to find anything about the pancake lantern... besides your video, it doesn't seem to exist anywhere!

Its nice to see that Aputure is that self reflective that they keep it real with their products and capabilities. Not overselling or overhyping them.

Thanks, Andrew. I think I'd just use a short c stand arm and grip head to hang it off a boom. Also... please review the Nova 600c.

I'm here watching the review months later, thinking about picking these things up but waiting on the updated exoskeleton mounts that Aputure has promised. With the noted issues being the mat slipping off the exoskeleton. If you're interested in these lights mid 2023 and later I would verify that your unit is coming with the yet to be available updated mounts, or that you get the updated mount from Aputure when they make them available.

Saw another fantastic use for these on the Aputure User Group, where a guy mounted 4 of them into a lightweight aluminium box frame and essentially had a lightweight 4ft x 4ft RGBWW panel for under 4 grand. Amazing times.

Excellent Andrew! Thanks for the extra modification tips too. 👍🏾🙏🏾

Great review! I would like to se a review of godox vsa-36k spotlight. How it works with diffrent lights

This dude is a legend 🫡

Andrew, many thanks for all the great work. I truly appreciate you and your Channel! I just purchased the F22C and already used it on set 2x It truly is amazing. I rigged the raw mat flush to roof of a Privacy Pod to light our talent, absolutely brilliant. I am needing to Modify them of late so ifootage clamp seems a good thing to have, I assume 7" length best? Also what make is the Magnet Kit mod? Cheers and thanks from NYC

You must have got a good one... the fan on mine was a little insane... I had to send it back. I run the amaran 200x without too much trouble from sound but I didn't dare bring the f22c on set.

Really informative video! Thank you for taking your time to make it :) Can you send us a link of the magic arm you are using as well as the 3/8 adaptor that you mounted on the back of the light?

Nice, thx. I love these units. I have the 22x and will get another. The exo-skeleton has slipped out a couple of times, not a big deal, but i would be curious if you devise a lil remedy for that.

about the part mounting the light on boom with magic arm... you could use a short extension arm with 2 grip heads, this will do the job I guess

Great review! Any chance you have a recommendation to secure the mat not to accidentally fall when on a boom arm?

I have a question. I have Aputure and non-Aputure products. What device are you using to control the Aputure products via DMX. Also, as others have stated, you are among my favorite places to go for gear reviews and information. I find it all to be invaluable.

I believe an adapter like Startech's CDP2CAPDM would solve your CRMX receiver power issue.

They seem pretty great but I just begging for a pro 2 x 3 and one by three version.

Very helpful review - especially the suggested modifications. Could you tell us the make/model of the magic arm you are using, please?

They updated the mount. It’s a full Babypin now.

Just bought an f21c recently. This review fails to mention that it has no fan it's just passive cooling unlike the f22c so it gets pretty hot, its also less than half the intensity of the f22c apparently. Besides that good review. Bought the kupo super knuckle to replace the mount which works well

Great video again mate! Would you be able to advise where we could buy the pancake lantern from? I've searched for it everywhere and haven't been able to find anywhere that sells it.

Andrew where did u get the dmx usbc cable I can't find it to purchase anywhere? I have a few of these I have also modded with kino plates yo mount but the have not been able to use with dmx.

Because of ceiling space issues (8' 6") I am looking at using the F21X ( or F21C ) to stick between the rafters to light a 16 foot green screen. Do you think they would be bright enough to manage that?

Sorry for the delay but this has just popped up on my feed. It's interesting looking at what your doing in comparison to diffusion brands (a term from fashion). I have just made a huge leap up for me to standardising on to Aputure using its nonstandard sidus link architecture due to the cost & complexity of going to DMX. I simply don't know enough or do enough to warrant the extra costs. And the kit might not be up to the rough-housing that commercial kit is expected to put up with So where your using lighting stands, I am using microphone stands with dumbell plates as weights. And where your using ¿13mm? pins on articulating arms, I am using quarter 20's on cheaper articulating 'magic' arms. For batteries your using V-Locks, I am either using Sony batteries or more often USB-C batteries I am left wondering if my Rigid Amaran 60c panes are only capable of 8bit output or if they are capable of 10bit and its the controller that limits them. Either way I am also wondering if someone has some software (running on a battery powered Arduino or Raspberry Pi) that can take a 10bit DMX colour request and then tone map it to an 8bit output that my Aputure panels can understand As if there isn't, there is a potentially huge market for people want to step up their game, whilst pros take advantage of using diffusion brands to bring down their costs. In many ways sidus link ability to capture the colour from other lights may be all that you need for a 'good enough' result (well goodenough certainly works for lithium Ion batteries 😝)

Hi Andrew, absolutely love your videos. Do you think a Matthews Knuckle attached to either the straight or curved pin would work as well as your articulating arm trick?

Amazing review! Didn't know about the lanterns and love the modifications! Any tip on where to buy the DMX to USB C adapters or a brand you like to use?

How were you able to mount the iFootage locking pins on the magnets? It’s a great setup

Thanks for the info. A lot has been upgraded on the design since your review. What did you think about the fan noise?

I don't seem to find any information on the lantern which I think is incredibly useful. Does it come with the light or hasn't been released by Aputure?

Fantastic review as always. I learn so much watching your channel. Question: where did you purchase those floor stands? I have never seen those before. What a great design!

Good review! It should only have been emphasized more that this lamp is virtually useless in a small space. The fan of the control unit is too noisy. Another disadvantage is that the power supply and the control unit are two separate units connected by a cable. This makes the whole weigh quite a bit.

Hey Andrew! Great video and review! Where do you get the dmx cables for these lights? I've been needing some for mine, but cant find where to get them?

Thanks Andrew for your fantastic job, do you now if the F21C is only working with 24volt battery as the F22C.......?

8:00 they've complete redesigned the frame now

I would ilke to see Mole Richardson LEDs Fresnel review. Why costs so much compared to Aputure or Arri

Have you made a video on the Falcon Eyes RX line? Thinking about buying the 848, would love to see yall make a video on this.

The pancake soft box looks incredibly well designed. They don't seem to be available anywhere online. Was this something discontinued?

Can you share a link for the lumin radio Receiver you showed in the Video?

Great review Andrew! What voltage v-lock runs these?

The lantern seems not for sale yet? When will it be on the market?

Just invaluable to benefit from your expertise. Hope Aputure will watch this and change the non standard pin mount, very limitating like this. What boom polr are you using? thanks in advance

Great review, thanks. How’s the low end dimming capability? 0 to 1 % i am really interested in a really smooth transition from 0 to 1 not the usual eye blinding pop, but seems to me that the ORBITER is the only one with this option.

Something worth mentioning is that with this light you cannot adjust the Kelvin in HSI mode. Its a feature they have locked and this feature is only available on their more expensive products.... this is not the case if you use dmx (right Andrew?)

Where can I buy those Pancake Lanterns? I can’t find them anywhere and they aren’t mentioned on the aputure site as far as I can see but it looks like yours are offical ones. As you mentioned, that feature itself can literally justify the light price.

Excellent video. Unfortunately I’m not seeing where I can purchase the lantern used in this video at around 25:50? Could someone please send a link to this product if possible? I’m not seeing it on the Apature site?

I can’t seem to find the lanterns listed for sale anywhere. Do they still make that accessory?

Great video as always. I have bought F22C and love the output, portability and Sidus Link app, but the build quality is a nightmare. First time it broke after a month (maybe 5 jobs) without any reason or crash - half of it started to show completely different colors than the other half. Now that they replaced it, after like 3 jobs I already have one strip of LEDs showing different colors. Did anyone else have these issues? Or am I so unlucky and I should try another repair before I get a refund? Thanks!

17:40 rigging genius

Awesome review! But where can I find the lantern for the F22c? It's nowhere online.

Is there a way to adjust the fan speed? I’d actually say that the fan is very noisy on my unit , and would prevent me using it for audio recorded work

I haven't seen that floor stand (at 17:04) before. Is that something you made? Or is it an item for sale somewhere? Thanks!

How did you build your magnet kit?

Andrew would you get these over the equivalent Godox knowled or Intellytech RGBww?

where can I find that floor stand you used? What makes it better than a board mounted baby plate?

Worked with this light last fall and was initially impressed by the output, but extremely frustrated by its build quality. Used the F21c on a feature film, and the header cable--attached to the unit itself--came out of the box (brand new unit) loose, resulting in only half the unit functioning properly. Because it was sealed by rubber, we didn't have the ability to repair the connection. Have you encountered this issue? It seems positively reviewed here, but I've become scared off after my first experience.

Any tips on removing the amaran receiver on the exoskeleton back? I’m having a hell of a time removing it to add a 3/8th receiver like you’ve done.

hi do you know when the larten will be coming out for sale

Great review... again! I can't find the Lanterns anywhere. Did you get yours directly from Aputure? Thanks!

What kind of alternative standard receiver did you put in?

Are the half domes available to buy yet?

ANYONE CAN COMPARE THESE WITH INTELLYTECH LIGHTCLOTHS 2.0 ???

I haven't seen the lantern mods available anywhere or even listed on Aputure's site! Am I missing something? Or are they not out yet. They'd certainly be a real boon!