Dapper Gaffer Podcast - Ep 001 Initial thoughts on the newly announced Arri Skypanel X. Comparisons to the Creamsource Vortex 8 and guesses on how it might fit into the film lighting market
I tried out the skypanel X at arri on a test shoot for a feature, heres what i can say: -Its heavy. -The hyperoptics are impressive, i hate using the vortex naked, the shadows are just disgusting, the X i would absolutely use as a hard light, it also has crazy minimal spill coming of the lenses. However. It is NOT "as good as a fresnel fixture" but its close. -when using it as a soft light its not all that different from the vortex or even the old skypanel. -the new lightengine is great, amazing color -the crmx is very well done, even just the fact that it has legacy skypanel crmx profiles from the get go is awesome -its heavy.
I had a DP specifically request an orbiter because we couldn't get a powerful unit on the 12th floor of a building, and couldn't shoot anything through windows. He wanted it to feel like direct sun. To his credit it looked great for that use case.
I feel like the precursor to the Skypanel is actually the Mole zip lights. The 2k zip is pretty close to the dimensions of the S60 and the quality of light is much more similar than it is to skypans.
I'm curious how a stacked array with the hyper optics light output compare to an M40 HMI. Long through soft light at those intensities feels pretty useful.
Hey Tom, thanks for the feedback. We recorded this video a day or two after the light was released and there was no pricing information at the time. Quite happy to see the lower pricetag - although it will still be pricy with the accessories
What do you think sounds more similiar to SkyPanel, SpyPan or LightPanel? You really think the main idea comes from a simple tungsten open face instead of a LED panel light? It surprised me!
