At the Interbee trade show in Japan, Aladdin showed the latest incarnation of their ultra thin A-LITE. Although the A-LITE isn’t the cheapest on the market, it has proven to be very popular with shooters due to its tiny size, bi-colour ability and extremely good colour rendition with high CRI and TLCI ratings. While customers loved the light, many have been requesting a removable battery.
The original A-LITE had a built-in battery and once it ran out you needed to hook it up to a computer or USB power source before you could use it again (one simple solution was to simply velcro a small phone battery pack on the back of the light). As a response to user requests Aladdin have now incorporated a removable lithium ion battery that provides up to 70 minutes of use at full power.
The battery is charged using a small, lightweight charger that comes with the light. Extra batteries can be purchased.
Also new is a redesigned front diffusion panel that can now be flipped out of the way easily, or taken off altogether. It seems to be a lot sturdier than the original version which did not flip.
The A-LITE is probably the slimmest and lightest on-board light on the market for its output. The housing is made from aircraft grade aluminium. It has a standard 1⁄4-20” thread to mount to a range of mounting systems. The A-LITE produces a colour temperature range from tungsten (3000˚K) to daylight (6000˚K) and every point in between, and is completely dimmable from 5–100%.
The good news for shooters, is that the price of the A-Lite has not changed, despite the addition of the new features. The A-Lite has just started shipping for $499 US.
