I used to be all about power back in the day (can i beat the sun today?), but I find myself using lights where I don't even use their full capacity. I like to use battery-powered lights for quick setups and break down. I have a Luxli Takio and only used the colors twice since I had the light. My Lupo Superpanel is still going strong since it first came out.
A great review Curtis! Always impressed with your overviews of lights and other equipment. I am really torn between this and the evoke 1200b! Already having the daylight evoke means that I know what I'm getting with the 1200b, but I could really see the orion being just amazingly useful in tons of circumstances. Not to mention, it will certainly wow the DP's and even producers that hire me and my kit. So many wonderful tools nowadays. Cheers.
@@curtisjudd Sound like a cliché phrase, but i don't know anyone who deserves it more than you in this CZcams niche of Video/-Audio-Gear. Many years of great content, always being helpful and kind to your audience. So much that you have become a legend in this space. All the best and on to 250K in 2023!
Just catching up on some of your content Curtis, awesome work as always. Though this light is beyond the realm of what I need and what is practical for me, I sure as hell would love to have one. Love what you say at about 3:25 about the Bowens mount on 'standard' lights being really loose and not that satisfying to use, what Prolycht have done here with the lock system is really awesome. I bet it's quite satisfying to fit the lightboxes, cones and barn doors on there.
The B&H listing says 5K tungsten equivalent, which makes me think the HMI equivalent is 1200 PAR, not straight 1200. The fresnel accessory is very interesting, but the spot/flood mechanism is hidden unfortunately. I think I’d want to physically examine it. Ooooo! The party gel feature! Theatrical gels are expensive. That makes this unit more cost effective, for sure.
I just got my fresnel for my Orion 675 this week and I’ve been very impressed with it. Light years better than the fresnel they designed for their Orion 300. Absolutely worth the higher price point of $580. I was skeptical about how significant the spot/flood range would be given the pancake design but it’s great. Floods out nice and wide and spots tight enough to throw pretty damn far across a large theater. The focusing mechanism itself is quite nicely designed too. Like most LED fresnels, the front extends as you spot it up, but it extends wayyyy less than the F10 fresnel from Aputure which means it’s still very nicely balanced even at full spot with the barn doors attached. The rotation feels silky smooth, much better than the rough rotation of the f10 fresnel that I find frequently seizes up. It’s hard to tell just from pictures but the fresnel is super well built. Surprising dense. Almost feels like a Zeiss lens. One interesting quirk, the Barndoors attach in the opposite way of traditional tungsten or HMI units. Ie, there are 4 tabs (1 spring loaded) in the back of the doors that clip onto the rim of fresnel instead of the other way around. A little funky, but actually feels quite secure. Plus with the PL style locking bowens mount, the whole thing is just rock solid. The last great feature is the fact that both the fresnel and Barndoors fit in thie same relatively compact case. Only took a couple jobs to completely jack up my Aputure F10 barn doors since I can’t easily store them in a case.
Hi Curtis. Love your reviews, it's all about the performance of the product rather than the shiny casing. Any chance you've got the Zoom F2-BT or the new Deity V-mic D4 in the queue for reviewing?
@@curtisjudd Oops, how did I miss that one? Really looking forward to your DIETY D4 video. It seems to tick all the boxes for me, but it has to pass your rigorous testing first. Fingers crossed!
Thanks for another terrific video. This is a bit off topic, but I've been meaning to ask you which of these two lights you'd recommend (eliminating price & build as factors): the Amaran COB 60x bi-color or the Godox ML60Bi? More in terms of performance, color accuracy, ease of use. They seem so similar based on your individual reviews. It's hard to tell. I'm guessing the Amaran has better color accuracy out of the box.
Hi Curtis, I have been looking forward to this review for 6 or 7 months now! I didn't like the Prolytch Orion 300 Full Spectrum light very much, but this one looks awesome! For me to like a light enough to buy it, the design has to be done right. I want to be a Gaffer, and I think that lighting equipment is beautiful, and I need my lighting manufacturers to think that too! Meet the Gaffer had a note worthy episode on his channel a little while ago. I don't remember the title of the episode, but it was something like this: "Why Bi-Color?". Luke built the key light, (I think he used an aputure 1200D for the key light), and showed it to the DP, (Director of Photography), and the DP said, "Great, can we warm it up a little?". Luke said, "Then it hit me; we have all gotten used to all lights being Bi-Color!". But Bi-Color is just a middle step, Luke says that pretty soon all lights will be Full RGB, (Red, Green, & Blue), Units. In another episode, Luke talks about the Blackout Lighting Console and using Lumen Radio as another part of our future but I don't want to go into that right here; I have talked enough for this comment. Talk to you later, Mathew
I noted and appreciate the difference in tone/modesty between how you approach this video ("satisfying your curiosity about why pros use this light") versus ones about stuff that's more in your professional wheelhouse, like high-end recorders. It adds even more to your credibility IMO. I used to work as a professional color & imaging engineer (I refuse to say "color scientist", because most of it isn't really science), though more on the hardcopy and then capture end, and I think that the way that you (briefly) described the motivation for lights like this was well done. I have to admit being tempted by this light purely from [ex-]professional curiosity, though I'll never get one.
What would interest me: to what extent does this and similar RGBACL lights make sense particularly for digital film? Sensors record RGB and monitors reproduce RGB… isn't the advantage mostly lost then? (Compared to RGBWW light, that also tracks the whitecurve and offers an accurate white point)
I find it is in the nuances - there are some colors that RGBWW lights just cannot produce very well, like yellows. Does everyone need that level of color reproduction, no, especially not people just lighting for CZcams videos. And yes, the RGB sensors can capture the wider color gamut these lights can produce.
There are a bunch of reasons why RGBACL is cool but I think the extended gamut is actually one of the least interesting advantages of it on a day to day basis. The biggest pro to me is that it’s brighter when producing white light vs RGB/RGBW/RGBWW lights (all other factors being equal), effectively erasing the primary advantage of daylight LEDs (other than price). This is because the light makes (roughly) equal use of all 6 diodes to vector in to white, vs an RGBW light that would barely be sending any power to the R, G, and B diodes. The other big advantage of RGBACL lights is the greater control over the spectrum of light. Not so much the larger gamut, but the ability to more closely match/mimic the spectrum of other light sources, especially those that produce really spikey, discontinuous spectrums. Even the most expensive cameras are essentially color blind and make an educated guess about what color any given pixel should be based on the voltage being measured at each photo site and coming up with a new weighted value based on the specific color filter that sits on top of it. Every camera makes these interpolations differently and because of that, some types of lights might look identical to eye, but look completely different between cameras. So having a light that can more closely match the weird spectrum of a sodium vapor light or an old ugly fluorescent lamp means a greater likelyhood of them matching across different sensors. Absolute color accuracy is less important than making sure all the lights visually match and blend together nicely in the scene.
Lets seen an umbrella be put on this "pl mount style" bowens with one hand... since you need the second had to twist the lock. And I LOVE PL mount, but theres why no other lights use it for bowens.
@@curtisjudd Yes thats why this mount lacks from a bowens mount, i guess it this had some auto lock feature like the sachler locking tripod heads... but great review!!!
Do you mean a soft box? Open the rear of the soft box a little so that you can grab it in the center, hold it up to the mount and then use your other hand to twist the lock. Seems pretty easy to me.
@@cfl4286 all I’m saying is that it is easier with the locking mechanism on the Prolycht. With big softboxes, I spent a lot less time getting them mounted to the Prolycht vs Aputure lights.
@@curtisjudd yes I agree. The orions locking mount looks amazing. I was responding to original comment about the pl style mount not being workable. It seems pretty easy to me. One hand to hold the soft box and the other to lock the mount.
I got the camera and audio I need my lights are good I just need a few more but I stick with Aputure (LOL) what I need is a cart now because the last shot I did it took 8 trips and at 63 that alot of trips... I was in a studio that have lights like this and yeah that like going from a Sony A7S3 to a FX6. It a weird industry you can get a light for $100, $1000, or $10,000. Camera from $1000 to $50000...
@@curtisjudd I see what you mean, Huge difference in price. Since most of what I do is for non-profits and foundations I go with the cheap one too! I did buy myself a Sachhtler Flowtech w/head for Christmas (Huge Black Friday Sell) and the missionary I was recording could not believe they made tripods that cost $2500. I didn't dare tell him they go up to 10K... I assume you saw the NEW Sound Devices A20-Nexus?
@@curtisjudd I see a lot of companies that make niche lights and cost a lot... maybe its being "gatekeeper" though to think if its not arri its not pro. That mount is cool and your reviews are incredible.
Yes, and lots of video people don't bat an eye at spending more than that on a new camera every other year. 👍 Ironically, for many of them, the investment in a good light would probably make a bigger difference to the quality of their output.
Well you and pro level equipment go well together like peanut butter and jelly. Please share more experiences and comments like this.
LOL!
I used to be all about power back in the day (can i beat the sun today?), but I find myself using lights where I don't even use their full capacity. I like to use battery-powered lights for quick setups and break down. I have a Luxli Takio and only used the colors twice since I had the light. My Lupo Superpanel is still going strong since it first came out.
👍
A sensible approach :)
Another great review of the light is on Gaff and Gear. This guy goes in to a really deep dive of the light.
Thanks for the tip 👍
As far as I can see he hasn't published a review of this light yet, but he does have a review of the smaller Orion 300.
@@sebastian_trzaska same, I went looking but haven’t found it yet.
A great review Curtis! Always impressed with your overviews of lights and other equipment. I am really torn between this and the evoke 1200b! Already having the daylight evoke means that I know what I'm getting with the 1200b, but I could really see the orion being just amazingly useful in tons of circumstances. Not to mention, it will certainly wow the DP's and even producers that hire me and my kit. So many wonderful tools nowadays. Cheers.
👍💡
Congratulations to 200K subs Curtis!
Thanks, Steven!
@@curtisjudd Sound like a cliché phrase, but i don't know anyone who deserves it more than you in this CZcams niche of Video/-Audio-Gear.
Many years of great content, always being helpful and kind to your audience. So much that you have become a legend in this space.
All the best and on to 250K in 2023!
Just catching up on some of your content Curtis, awesome work as always. Though this light is beyond the realm of what I need and what is practical for me, I sure as hell would love to have one. Love what you say at about 3:25 about the Bowens mount on 'standard' lights being really loose and not that satisfying to use, what Prolycht have done here with the lock system is really awesome. I bet it's quite satisfying to fit the lightboxes, cones and barn doors on there.
👍 More than I need as well. 😂
7:21 That is impressive how it doesn't have color fringing when cut. Especially considering it doesn't have any dedicated "white" LEDs.
Exactly!
So far out of my league on this one, but still a pleasure to watch and maybe learn a thing or two.
🙏
Nice light. Was it cold in that room ? Asking because of the gloves and jacket
Yes, definitely. Sub-freezing outside (6000 feet altitude in the Rocky Mountains) and that's an unheated basement space.
@@curtisjudd Take a look on YT for a Vevor diesel heater. Might be just what you need at only $140
wonderful light, thank you!
👍
The B&H listing says 5K tungsten equivalent, which makes me think the HMI equivalent is 1200 PAR, not straight 1200.
The fresnel accessory is very interesting, but the spot/flood mechanism is hidden unfortunately. I think I’d want to physically examine it.
Ooooo! The party gel feature! Theatrical gels are expensive. That makes this unit more cost effective, for sure.
I'd bet that the B&H specs are incorrect. I appreciate the gels more than I expected.
I just got my fresnel for my Orion 675 this week and I’ve been very impressed with it. Light years better than the fresnel they designed for their Orion 300. Absolutely worth the higher price point of $580.
I was skeptical about how significant the spot/flood range would be given the pancake design but it’s great. Floods out nice and wide and spots tight enough to throw pretty damn far across a large theater. The focusing mechanism itself is quite nicely designed too. Like most LED fresnels, the front extends as you spot it up, but it extends wayyyy less than the F10 fresnel from Aputure which means it’s still very nicely balanced even at full spot with the barn doors attached. The rotation feels silky smooth, much better than the rough rotation of the f10 fresnel that I find frequently seizes up. It’s hard to tell just from pictures but the fresnel is super well built. Surprising dense. Almost feels like a Zeiss lens.
One interesting quirk, the Barndoors attach in the opposite way of traditional tungsten or HMI units. Ie, there are 4 tabs (1 spring loaded) in the back of the doors that clip onto the rim of fresnel instead of the other way around. A little funky, but actually feels quite secure. Plus with the PL style locking bowens mount, the whole thing is just rock solid.
The last great feature is the fact that both the fresnel and Barndoors fit in thie same relatively compact case. Only took a couple jobs to completely jack up my Aputure F10 barn doors since I can’t easily store them in a case.
What iPad software / hardware combo are you using to control the light's CRMX/ Lumen Radio? A video on CRMX would be great.
I used the Prolycht app via Bluetooth in the video here.
Hi Curtis. Love your reviews, it's all about the performance of the product rather than the shiny casing. Any chance you've got the Zoom F2-BT or the new Deity V-mic D4 in the queue for reviewing?
DEITY D4 is coming up. ZOOM F2 is over at czcams.com/video/2y51ptCAOdI/video.html
@@curtisjudd Oops, how did I miss that one? Really looking forward to your DIETY D4 video. It seems to tick all the boxes for me, but it has to pass your rigorous testing first. Fingers crossed!
Thanks for another terrific video. This is a bit off topic, but I've been meaning to ask you which of these two lights you'd recommend (eliminating price & build as factors): the Amaran COB 60x bi-color or the Godox ML60Bi? More in terms of performance, color accuracy, ease of use. They seem so similar based on your individual reviews. It's hard to tell. I'm guessing the Amaran has better color accuracy out of the box.
They're quite similar - basically neck and neck. I'd look more at features and ecosystem to make a decision.
Hi Curtis,
I have been looking forward to this review for 6 or 7 months now! I didn't like the Prolytch Orion 300 Full Spectrum light very much, but this one looks awesome! For me to like a light enough to buy it, the design has to be done right. I want to be a Gaffer, and I think that lighting equipment is beautiful, and I need my lighting manufacturers to think that too!
Meet the Gaffer had a note worthy episode on his channel a little while ago. I don't remember the title of the episode, but it was something like this: "Why Bi-Color?". Luke built the key light, (I think he used an aputure 1200D for the key light), and showed it to the DP, (Director of Photography), and the DP said, "Great, can we warm it up a little?". Luke said, "Then it hit me; we have all gotten used to all lights being Bi-Color!". But Bi-Color is just a middle step, Luke says that pretty soon all lights will be Full RGB, (Red, Green, & Blue), Units.
In another episode, Luke talks about the Blackout Lighting Console and using Lumen Radio as another part of our future but I don't want to go into that right here; I have talked enough for this comment.
Talk to you later,
Mathew
Hi Matthew, it is a beautiful light. I wish I had one.
Thank you for sharing this pro gear!! informational and educatiional!!
👍
I noted and appreciate the difference in tone/modesty between how you approach this video ("satisfying your curiosity about why pros use this light") versus ones about stuff that's more in your professional wheelhouse, like high-end recorders. It adds even more to your credibility IMO.
I used to work as a professional color & imaging engineer (I refuse to say "color scientist", because most of it isn't really science), though more on the hardcopy and then capture end, and I think that the way that you (briefly) described the motivation for lights like this was well done. I have to admit being tempted by this light purely from [ex-]professional curiosity, though I'll never get one.
Thanks, Patrick. Also thanks for refusing to use the term color scientist. Seems the term scientist is being overused these days.
@@curtisjudd I deeply believe that if you feel the need to call something a science, then it probably isn't.
@@patrickchase5614 My wife has a doctoral degree in paleontology. I call her a scientist.
What would interest me: to what extent does this and similar RGBACL lights make sense particularly for digital film? Sensors record RGB and monitors reproduce RGB… isn't the advantage mostly lost then? (Compared to RGBWW light, that also tracks the whitecurve and offers an accurate white point)
I find it is in the nuances - there are some colors that RGBWW lights just cannot produce very well, like yellows. Does everyone need that level of color reproduction, no, especially not people just lighting for CZcams videos. And yes, the RGB sensors can capture the wider color gamut these lights can produce.
There are a bunch of reasons why RGBACL is cool but I think the extended gamut is actually one of the least interesting advantages of it on a day to day basis. The biggest pro to me is that it’s brighter when producing white light vs RGB/RGBW/RGBWW lights (all other factors being equal), effectively erasing the primary advantage of daylight LEDs (other than price). This is because the light makes (roughly) equal use of all 6 diodes to vector in to white, vs an RGBW light that would barely be sending any power to the R, G, and B diodes.
The other big advantage of RGBACL lights is the greater control over the spectrum of light. Not so much the larger gamut, but the ability to more closely match/mimic the spectrum of other light sources, especially those that produce really spikey, discontinuous spectrums.
Even the most expensive cameras are essentially color blind and make an educated guess about what color any given pixel should be based on the voltage being measured at each photo site and coming up with a new weighted value based on the specific color filter that sits on top of it. Every camera makes these interpolations differently and because of that, some types of lights might look identical to eye, but look completely different between cameras. So having a light that can more closely match the weird spectrum of a sodium vapor light or an old ugly fluorescent lamp means a greater likelyhood of them matching across different sensors.
Absolute color accuracy is less important than making sure all the lights visually match and blend together nicely in the scene.
Aputure purchased Prolycht this year so that tech is coming to the lower end market or Aputure are going tinto the high end market 😀
👍
Lets seen an umbrella be put on this "pl mount style" bowens with one hand... since you need the second had to twist the lock. And I LOVE PL mount, but theres why no other lights use it for bowens.
I need three hands for putting most big soft boxes on other Bowens mount lights. So 2 hands is easier. 😉
@@curtisjudd Yes thats why this mount lacks from a bowens mount, i guess it this had some auto lock feature like the sachler locking tripod heads... but great review!!!
Do you mean a soft box? Open the rear of the soft box a little so that you can grab it in the center, hold it up to the mount and then use your other hand to twist the lock. Seems pretty easy to me.
@@cfl4286 all I’m saying is that it is easier with the locking mechanism on the Prolycht. With big softboxes, I spent a lot less time getting them mounted to the Prolycht vs Aputure lights.
@@curtisjudd yes I agree. The orions locking mount looks amazing. I was responding to original comment about the pl style mount not being workable. It seems pretty easy to me. One hand to hold the soft box and the other to lock the mount.
I got the camera and audio I need my lights are good I just need a few more but I stick with Aputure (LOL) what I need is a cart now because the last shot I did it took 8 trips and at 63 that alot of trips... I was in a studio that have lights like this and yeah that like going from a Sony A7S3 to a FX6. It a weird industry you can get a light for $100, $1000, or $10,000. Camera from $1000 to $50000...
I think carts are wildly under-valued and under-appreciated.
@@curtisjudd got any recommendations ?
@@mattwruff On the more affordable end, I use the Rock'n'roller Stealth. What I'd really like, but cannot justify, is an Innovativ cart.
@@curtisjudd I see what you mean, Huge difference in price. Since most of what I do is for non-profits and foundations I go with the cheap one too! I did buy myself a Sachhtler Flowtech w/head for Christmas (Huge Black Friday Sell) and the missionary I was recording could not believe they made tripods that cost $2500. I didn't dare tell him they go up to 10K...
I assume you saw the NEW Sound Devices A20-Nexus?
Ok, but does it record 32 bit float?
LOL! Only if you have the right camera.
Your basement is cold!
I feel that!
They use orbitor instead of this
Yes, of course. This just launched. I suspect you'll start to see these at rental houses soon.
@@user-zv7lm8uk7h How do you figure? Are you saying this light isn't capable enough for use on set?
@@curtisjudd I see a lot of companies that make niche lights and cost a lot... maybe its being "gatekeeper" though to think if its not arri its not pro. That mount is cool and your reviews are incredible.
I want one! Or two
LOL! Me, too!
$3,500 doesn’t sound that bad. There’s audio recording equipment that costs more than that. You can get 3 prolychts for the cost of one Sony c800G.
Yes, and lots of video people don't bat an eye at spending more than that on a new camera every other year. 👍 Ironically, for many of them, the investment in a good light would probably make a bigger difference to the quality of their output.