Did Aputure fix the Amaran 200D??
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- čas přidán 12. 08. 2024
- A review of the Amaran 200D LED light and the changes Aputure has made to the light.
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► B Camera Lens Adapter: amzn.to/3gLOy8m - Krátké a kreslené filmy
I'm liking your presentation style. A no bullshit take with no useless filler and actual real testing and demonstrations. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks so much for your kind words! I'm trying to get better at producing stuff that's looks ok with as little unimportant BS as possible.
Huge respect to you for this review. Didn’t review it immediately and got the one consumers are going to get, gave your honest opinion and intersected with basically every comment.
Thanks so much for the kind words! That reaction is exactly the one I am hoping for. With all my videos I just want to help out other shooters because man, this is one expensive hobby/business to get into!
Thank you for doing this tests and showing the changes (fixes) they made. Checked this out today at a local store and indeed, the fan noise is now very low. I didn't even consider this early on because of the early reviews showing how noisy it was.
I have a lot of respect for Aputure for listening to those early reviews and then addressing the issue before selling them globally. I wish more companies worked this way!
Good to know fan noise has been addressed! 👍🏽
Fantastic review. Love the detail you put into this
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Bravo on the solid video and info!
Thanks for the tip about pure sine ac power. I'm considering getting one and had no idea about it.
I need to get something like this, my LitePanels 1x1 is older than many of the CZcamsrs I watch! Thanks for the review Gerald.
I have probably used this light along with the Amaran 200X and 100X lights on at least a dozen or more shoots since this review and I'm happy to report that are holding up perfectly. Really impressed with these lights.
Your introduction is very detailed, he is helpful to me, thank you very much
Thank you for the kind words!
Nice review! Thank you, have a good day 😊
Hey thank YOU for watching and commenting! I truly appreciate it
Great video! I'm looking for a power supply like the ones you mentioned, but I'm not sure which one to get. Can you give a recommendation about which one you use?
Great review, thank you!
Thanks for the kind words!
Exactly what I was looking for. If you read the specifications of the two lights without a reflector on Aputure's website, the Amaran is 8,200 Lux with the bare bulb and the Aputure is 11,000 lux with the bare bulb. Great video!
oh goodness I didn't watch the rest of your review! my apologies.
Totally agree. I mentioned how much I disliked the new reflector but I may not have been clear enough. While I love Aputure products, this new reflector makes it's stats a bit misleading. Not to mention the beam spot has that super concentrated center with that extreme falloff to the sides. I actually ditched that reflector and got my hands on Aputures previous version.
@@GeraldBertramPhotography Great review. May I ask where you picked up the older Aputure Reflectors? I see some Godox old style reflectors on Ebay. =)
@@oceansidesounddesign8770 I believe I grabbed them off of Amazon quite some time back but I don't see them there now. I have heard you can get good results with that GODOX AD-R6 reflector.
@@GeraldBertramPhotography Brilliant. Thanks for the quick reply. I'll give them a shot.
Thanks. That was helpful. Any suggestions for an inexpensive alternative reflector?
Absolutely. Try the Godox AD-R6. The inside surface is more of an even speckled texture instead of the almost mirrored grid texture of Aputure's hyper reflector. It puts out a more even beam of light in my opinion. Should provide a beam similar to Aputure's original reflector which is about $10 more and seems to be sold out most places.
@@GeraldBertramPhotography Thanks
Does the amaran 200d have “rosettes”/clicking tilt adjustment? Or does it allow you to tilt the light angle freely? Also, can it handle a heavy umbrella like a 7 foot parabolic umbrella?
Thanks!
It's more of a free adjustment, no clicks. I feel it's another area where they were trying to save money as a rosette mount might have been a little more solid. I've mounted a 40" parabolic softbox, which isn't a light modifier, on my 200D and it held it fine. Now I'm not sure what the weight of a 7 foot umbrella is but I wouldn't think it's too terribly heavy. Obviously I can't say for sure how it would handle it since I don't have a 7 foot umbrella but my gut says it shouldn't be an issue.
Does it have same issue in amaran 100d? How about the fix in the screw on the 100d? Did they also fixed it?
I subscribed because I loved your content and audio. Whats your audio setup for voiceovers...
Thanks so much for the kind words! I use the Neat Worker Bee microphone, just an amazing mic, running into a Tascam DR60D II audio recorder.
Thank you for the video! Great picture quality! What filter did you use on your lens? Or you add the effect in post?
Thanks so much! In the video I used a K&F Concept Nano-X 82mm Black Soft 1/8
@@GeraldBertramPhotography thank you! Keep up the great job! 👍👍
@@cosmonaut1961 Thank you for the kind words!
Does any place sell the old reflectors?
Thank you so much for the review. I plan on buying two of these lights for self-tape auditions. Do you think the fan noise would be of any issue if placed at a distance of five to feet apart? Even with the firmware update? Since most casting agents hate any distractions. I am new to video editing. Advice, greatly appreciated.
As long as the mic that you are recording with, either the built in one on your camera or an external one, is at least a 2-3 feet away from the light you will have no issues. At the five feet distance you mentioned you shouldn't hear it at all.
@@GeraldBertramPhotography Thank you!
Welcome Back. Just went on a shoot today with the 300D, and it was really great having that much Wattage. My choice for my Studio Setup right now is between the Godox and the 200D. Since you have both of them, which one do you prefer?
Thank you! If you are using light weight gear or smaller softboxes, 30"ish or under, then I'd say the 200D considering the cheaper price. However if you are using larger softboxes I wouldn't count on the 200D holding it up very well. The SL200 II on the other hand is a solid beast of a light and would have no issue mounting bigger gear on it. It handled my 48" deep parabolic without a problem where as the 200D started to dip down. Hard to imagine going wrong with either!
@@GeraldBertramPhotography thanks for the knowledge.
@@GeraldBertramPhotography Hi! Your video was really informative. Thank you for that. You said that larger softboxes (above 30") would cause a dip, and I was considering buying the light dome SE, but it's around 33.5". Do you think that would cause a problem? I'm also considering buying softboxes from other brands as well as I am on a budget. Would you have other recommendations? Thanks again!
@@Jacinta862 So I think that size softbox is right at about the upper limit so you should be fine. However I wouldn't go with the Light Dome SE. It's a style of softbox that you need to manually put together every time you set it up with individual rods you have to bend into place. I would highly recommend the Glow EZ Lock Collapsible White Beauty Dish. It says beauty dish but it's really just a shallow round softbox. Very light weight. It sets up and breaks down in seconds with an umbrella style mechanism. Very high quality and best of all much cheaper than the Light Dome SE at just $79 right now at Adorama and I believe you can find them on Amazon as well. I use glow modifiers exclusively as I haven't found a better quality product at it's price point. I have about 5 different ones now I believe.
@@GeraldBertramPhotography
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and for your helpful advice! The GlowEZ does seem more practical in hindsight. Much appreciated. 😊
Would you recommend two key lights with these lights? 2/3 people in one room? Sitting against back wall. I also can't hear the fan at all through my phone durning your demo. Great review and channel. ✔️💯
Thanks for the kind words! You could go with 2 key lights or you could use a single 200D with a lantern modifier as your key. Those modifiers do a great job when you need to light up a larger areas with multiple people.
Thank you for this. Subscribed. Would you suggest the 200D for a 3 people interview where I need to light up 2 interviewees sitting next to each other? I have considered the 120d ii but was suggested the 300D for it's much greater output but the 200D seems like plenty of power. Thank you :)
a 200D would be a perfect fit for something like that. I would combine the 200D with something like the Aputure Lantern modifier. Hang that up overhead between your 2 subjects and you should get some really nice soft even light. If you want to save about $30 - $40 Salens makes a virtually identical lantern modifier which also includes the skirt.
@@GeraldBertramPhotography Noted. Thank you for that
Hi Gerald! Thank you for your great review. Just one question: I'm about to buy it, how can I be sure that what the store has is the newer version? Thank you so much!
So what I am hearing now is that the lights that had the issues were just the ones they released to early reviewers. The actual production ones you get now have all the fixes I mentioned in the video.
@@GeraldBertramPhotography Wow, awesome! And thank you for the super fast reply :)) Have a great one!
Nice review!!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you as well!
is there an easy way to identify if the unit has the new fan? (I will be buying online and really don't want to go through the return process if I end up with old stock)
So what I think happened was the review copies given initially to influencers had the fan noise issue and the actual production units have the updated fan so if your purchase one now you should have the updated version.
Thanks for the through review. Could you let me know if the Bluetooth can be turned on and off? In certain environments there are times that I need it to not be transmitting. Thanks
Thanks for taking the time to comment! As far as I know the Bluetooth on the light cannot be turned off.
Thank you for getting back to me…cheers
hello my mount is broken so i cant put it on a stand anymore . do you know if there is a way to replace it, thank you
Hey sorry for the delayed reply. For sure reach out to Aputure support about the issue. I have had nothing but great experiences with their support staff.
Where did you find the ratchet handle? Great review!
Thanks so much for the kind words, Steven! Just search for "uxcell M8" on Amazon and you should find it.
V mount batteries or Anker 523 Portable Power Station? What do you prefer? How long will the power station last when using the 200D.
Well there is no real solution for using v-mount with the 200D without jerry-rigging something. Power stations, I feel, is the way to go for portability. So if you are using the Anker 523 should would get a little over an hour of 100% power of the 200D. At 100% power the 200D draws around 240w. The Anker 523 has 289Wh capacity. Now I rarely run my lights at 100%. Often it's around 20-40% especially when I am out onsite. So at lower power you'll get a much longer run time on those portable power banks.
@@GeraldBertramPhotography Wow thank you so much for your comment! This answer my question! I will go with this option!
Please help me in selecting this lights. I am considering them for both Wedding photography & video. Currently for photo will be using Nikon D3300 with 18-55 usually at f/6.3 ISO200 1/320. Will be buying A7m4 & 24-105 f/4 (f/4 ISO 400 1/320) Will this lights especially Amaran 200D usefull to litup people sitting in 10 ft x 10ft performing wedding rituals. Obivouly will be using 90cm deep parabolic softbox. Also will be using A7m4 for video with 18-105 f/4 for 4k60p
A lot of folks like to use the 60w Aputure lights for weddings so I would image this 200w one would provide you than enough light. Just make sure you can safely run power cords or use one of those power stations to power the lights.
Previously, the fan inside the Amaran was not yellow colored. So they definitely changed the supplier with your Amaran 200D.
I appreciate the confirmation! I actually just used the 200D, as well as the 200X, at a wedding this weekend and they worked out really well. I really though the build quality might be a hinderance but they are tougher than they appear.
@@GeraldBertramPhotography I come from a hobby where I work with many materials. I find it sad that plastic is often synonym for mediocre build quality. The fit and finish of the Amaran light is actually very good and the plastic they used is tough but flexible. Other plastics that cause the bad reputation are the briddle ones usually used in cheap toys and tools.
So while having plastic on this light is definitely a cost measure, the handle and the bottom part should never break during normal use. Many people tend to overtighten their equipment so much that they break M6 or M8 threads (sorry for talking metric). The Amaran is not ment to be a tough on location light. It is marketed as a content creator studio. So if you travel a lot, I can highly recommend a light case and you are good to go! As long as your light stand doesn‘t tip over, these lights should last you a long time!
Did you ever get the handle issue straighten out? Maybe with a shorter bolt , metal sleeve, washers etc..Are those threads M8 or M10?
I actually haven't. That bolt on the light mount is SO long that I have yet to find a handle deep enough to handle it. I don't know if there is a way to replace the bolt on the light itself with a shorter one. I don't have the guts to actually take the light apart. If the bolt was built into the handle instead of on the light itself then there would be no problem as there are many handles with different length bolts. However since the handle needs to be "female" I haven't found any handles with different depths. It's a M8 thread bolt.
It has happened to someone that after a few hours of use the screen decreases in intensity and they erase numbers going black the display stops looking
Interesting. I've had this light fixture for a bit over a year now and have not experienced this issue. I'd love to hear more about this issue. Thanks for the comment!
Great review ! I am interested in buying this light. Do you think it is better than the Godox sl150w ii ? What do you think about the amaran 100D ? Is there a big difference with the 200d ? Thank you.
I actually have the Godox SL 200II. I will say the build quality of the Godox light is superior to the Amaran light. Color accuracy and fan noise is similar. The biggest different the the ability to use Sidus Link app with the Amaran. There is no better light control app than Sidus Link.
@@GeraldBertramPhotography Thank you for your answer. I think the best for me is the Amaran as long as the original fan noise is removed.
Sorry, but can't you really use only one battery on the power plant? Does this mean that with two lights I should take two power plants + 4 V batteries? Is it really like this or does it work even with only one battery connected? Please. Thank you
You still get really nice foam :D
I will also say this about ABS plastic bodies-if well designed, they last for decades. Literally. I bought Paul C Buff Einsteins in 2011, and while I had a mounting point crack (another "V1" problem similar to the first generation of Aputure lights here), they've held up to an absolute beating over the years. They aren't a rental item, but the circuitry in the Einstein is still unique, and I'd rather have a couple extra lights than sell them for cheap!
I have to say I have been really impressed so far. So many folks were questioning the build quality of these things but I've been traveling with them shoot after shoot and they are holding up perfectly!
Has anyone else experienced electric shocks when disconnecting the power cord of the 200d? I’ve gotten them a few times and they seem to come from the ac/dc converter. Sometimes it happens a few seconds after disconnecting, so it’s probably a capacitor issue. I guess I just had bad luck and got a faulty converter, since I haven’t seen anyone else complain about it 🤷♂️
Otherwise the light is great for the money and I’m glad that I didn’t buy anything less powerful. Agree with the review 100%. The new fan doesn’t bother me at all, even when in a small room.
Sorry for the delay in responding! No, I haven't ever recieved an electrical shock from the power cord and that is plugging directly into the wall socket or plugged into a power station.
I think my next light is gonna be the Amaran 100d. Definitely not gonna be moving it from the studio, but yeah.. that plastic handle looks terrifying..
Thanks for checking out the video. Yeah the handle bites the big one. Still a damn good light for the money though.
I bought the 200D last week and the fan noise is the same as in your light. Although compared to 300d II the fan noise is much louder. This is understandable because the heat fins are smaller in the 200d and only one fan.
I am curious as I do not have a 300D II. Is it the fan in the actual fixture itself of the 300D that is quieter or are we talking about the fan (if there is one) in the control box/power supply?
@@GeraldBertramPhotography The control box doesn't have fan in it. Control box is cooled passively. The fixture has two fans in it.
what portable power do you suggest that safely works with this
The one I really love, but is a tad expensive, is the Anker 523 Portable Power Station. I believe the model number is A1731 and it will set you back $359. That being said I used it successfully with the Flashfish 330W power station for over a month before getting the Anker and it was only $259. Any power station that can provide at least 250w of power (to use the light at 100%) should work just fine as long as the AC plug is a Pure Sine Wave outlet.
@@GeraldBertramPhotography plug is a Pure Sine Wave outlet ...this is the only thing that worries me but the model number you stated is good ...problem i want to get the The Nanlite FS-300B Bi
You see a higher draw on the power station because of the AC/DC conversion, happening from the batteries out to AC, and then back to DC for the light. You're losing about 25% of your battery capacity versus a DC solution.
Other reviews all show this light draws closer to 250W at peak brightness. The efficiency loss is likely from the power brick of the light combined with the fans and other components within the light itself. I imagine they advertise it as 200W light output rather than 200W power input. Agreed a pure DC solution from V mounted batteries would be more efficient, but the loss he saw didn’t include any losses from the power station itself making the AC. That was just pure load draw.
6:40 "the big factor coming into play here was the new reflector dish"
False, the reflector dish didn't askew anything. Caleb replaced it with the old reflector dish for his test. The lights just insanely bright.
would you recommend the 200d or 200x?
I actually own both. I will say I end up using the 200D probably 90% of the time. I primarily shoot in daylight balance light so the extra light output of the 200D over the 200X is more useful to me.
How about the 2x Fresnel combo?
Did you find out?
@@pixl8 nope, they never told me
I’m defiantly using the cardboard box as my professional carry case for jobs
Just bought 2 let’s go!!!
Right on! Best light for the money on the market in my opinion
@@GeraldBertramPhotography thank you for this review! I just checked my lights and noticed the plastic was different as well and it didn’t seem loud at all imo so I’m pretty stoked
@@jordanbeckfilms Perfect. I've actually been carrying my Amaran lights out to remote shoots and the build quality has stood up better than I expected. Whatever plastic they are using it's a great quality plastic.
i didnt have any noise :D Its quiet. :D
Is anyone else having a hard time keeping a modifier locked in ?
Android user!!!!! ;). Nice vid..
lol thank you, sir!
Why you say the 200d has 200 watts? It has 250 watts..
Your light's fan is yellow and on all the review video of the first production they're black, so indeed it looks like they changed the fan.
I had a feeling. Thanks for the confirmation!