Astora has unveiled a new line of LED lighting panels which aims to offer high brightness and accurate colour reproduction for both photographers and videographers. The Astora lights are available in three ranges, Power Spot (PS), Wide Screen (WS) and Super Flood (SF), each with their own strength and capabilities.
All of the lights announced are Fan-Less and operate silently with the metal housing acting as a heatsink with air vents. Interestingly, the number two button is also marked as “Fan Speed” and the display also has markings for low and high. We asked Astora about this and they told us that the lights are Fan-Less and the button doesn’t do anything. They did say that future models may have a fan which will use the button.
The control panel for the Astora lights looks simple to use with channel control, four preset buttons and separate colour and brightness dials.
The lights are also flicker-free, have built-in wireless control and come with a carrying bag, removable barn doors and remote control.
Let’s have a closer look at the three ranges of Astora lights.
Wide Screen (WS)
The Astora WS is the most portable light in the range with a 16:9 ratio and can output up to 7381 lux at 1m. It has a 50-degree beam angle. The light is available in either Daylight (WS 840D) or Bi-C0lour (WS 840B). To power the light, it uses NP-F style batteries.
It weighs 2.6kg/5.0lb and is 500 x 93 x 345 mm in size.
The daylight panel will retail from $550 USD and the bi-colour from $650 USD.
full specifications are available on the Astora website.
Power Spot LED Panel (PS)
The Astora PS is the brightest in the range, also available in daylight only or bi-colour. The daylight version can output up to 16,629 lux at 1m. It is rated at 86.4W so you can use regular V-mount batteries to power the light. It has a wide 30-degree beam angle
It weighs 3.4kg and is 423 x 93 x 441 mm in size.
The daylight panel will retail from $799 USD and the bi-colour from $899 USD.
Super-Flood Soft Panel (SF)
The Astora SF series is available in three sizes and have built-in diffusion panels to produce a bright and soft light without having to use additional modifiers or softboxes. They have a 120-degree beam angle and are powered by V-mount batteries.
The SF series is only available in bi-colour versions. In addition to wireless control, the SF series also has DMX 512 built-in.
SF 100 – $899 USD
2.6kg/5.0lb – 500 x 93 x 345mm
98W
12-24V V-Mount Battery
SF 120 – $989 USD
3.4kg/7.0lb – 423 x 93 x 441mm
115W
12-24V V-Mount Battery
SF 200 – $1,099 USD
4.6kg/10.0lb – 632 x 93 x 441mm
191W
24-36V V-Mount Battery
Competition
For similar LED panels, you can also look at the F&V range of panels, Aputure LS 1/2w, Lupo Superpanel 1×1 Soft which Matt has reviewed and Kihnotehnik’s new Practilite 802 half-panel. There are many others depending on which model of Astora light you are considering.
We’ll be checking in on Astora at the NAB Show 2018 next week, let us know if you have any questions about the lights.
More information on the lights can be found on the Astora website.
