Caligri is a new German company set up by two friends who work in lighting and camera departments on commercial and small feature film/series shoots. AIRTUBE is their first product.
Some of the most innovative and interesting products I have come across over the years were developed by people who are working in the industry. Usually, these products come out of a need, and a DIY solution can quickly turn into a business.
Caligri’s first product is a series of AIRTUBE light modifiers for LED tube lights that will come in various sizes. For this review, I am going to be looking at the 1m tube that was designed for the Astera Titan, but it also fits the Quasar Science Double Rainbow 4ft. I also found that it works with other brands as well.
Caligri is selling versions from 0.5m long up to 8m long.
What lights will it work with?
The first AIRTUBE variant has a diameter of 19cm / 7.5” so it is suitable for use with LED tube lights such as:
- Astera Helios
- Astera Titan
- Astera Hyperion
- Kinoflo FreeSytle
- Digital Sputnik Voyager
- Quasar Science Rainbow, Double Rainbow, Crossfade
- Cineo Lighting LightBlade
- Vibesta Peragos
- TecPro LED Tube
- Nanlite Pavotube
- Ledgo AltaTube
- Came-TV Andromeda
Caligri will also be making AIRTUBE variants with a diameter of ~65cm that will be suitable for all LED panels with a width of 30cm. This means you
could use something as large a 10m/33ft AIRTUBE with 14 ARRI Skypanel S60-C‘s.
Concept
Essentially the AIURTUBE is an inflatable softbox for LED tube lights. It was designed to create a very soft flattering source and to increase the beam spread from LED tube lights.
Most LED tube light softbox solutions are quite limiting and some of them don’t massively increase the spread of light.
Inflatable softboxes are not a new concept and I have tried out a few in the past. 8 years ago I reviewed the Airbox lights inflatable softbox for 1×1 LED panel lights. This solution was quick and easy to use, however, it was mainly made out of plastic and it didn’t use proper diffusion material.
What is made out of?
If you think about an inflatable softbox, you probably presume it is going to be made out of some sort of plastic, but that couldn’t be further from the truth with the AIRBOX. The actual diffusion material being used is a combination of Magic Cloth and Ultrabounce.
Build Quality
The AIRBOX is well made and constructed and little details have been thoroughly thought out. A lot of attention to detail has gone into the product.
Even the inflation valve has a bleeder so air won’t come out while you are inflating the AIRTUBE.
Key features
- Very light and easy to breakdown and transport
- Made out of proven and well-known material: Magic Cloth and Ultrabounce
- Suitable for all common LED tubes from the film industry
- Enlarges the light aperture up to 5 times
- Allows you to use all the special features and effects of LED tubes
- Expands the application possibilities of already purchased LED tubes
- Includes mounting possibilities for different accessories like skirts, spill-light cover, and eggcrates
- Wide opening allows you to install one or two tube lights for even more output
- Additional eyelets offer different hanging possibilities
- Easy and fast setup with a common air pump
- Clean seam transitions for perfect reflections
- Made in Germany
- Custom lengths and diameters can be realized on request
What do you get?
Every AIRTUBE comes with the following items:
- 2 skirts, to block either one or both sides
- 2 spill-light covers
- Sufficient velcro straps for mounting your LED tubes
- A protective foil
- A transport bag in silver-grey
How easy is it to set up?
The AIRTUBE is reasonably straightforward to use and set up, but it is not a system that you can construct up in 2 minutes. Being an inflatable softbox you have to inflate it and that can take some time depending on how are doing it. You can use a hand pump, electric pump, hairdryer, or even your own mouth if you have a good lung capacity!
The inflation process is relatively easy and because the air intake valve has a bleeder on it air won’t come out as it is going in. This makes it a lot easier to inflate.
Caligri’s instructions suggest that you should place your tube light in the AIRTUBE prior to inflation, however, I found it easier to just add the tube light in once it was inflated. I think it really depends on what type of tube light you are using as to what method works best.
The tube light sits at the back of the AIRTUBE and you attach it via a series of velcro straps. These are nice and sturdy and it is fairly easy to secure a tube light to the AIRTUBE without any fear of it coming off. Caligri gives you quite a few of these velcro straps which come in handy if you really want to make sure it is very secure.
At first, I was a little concerned that velcro is the only thing holding the AIRTUBE on the light, but it works really well.
Caligri has put a series of loop hooks on the ends of the AIRTUBE, so if you need to further secure it, depending on how you are using it, you can.
Usability
Once you have the AIRTUBE inflated up it is super easy to use. As you can see above, the AIRTUBE creates a nice. soft, cylindrical lighting source.
With the AIRTUBE on you can mount your light in a variety of ways depending on your requirements.
What is also nice is that you can fit multiple tube lights into one single AIRTUBE. I tries using two Nanlite PavoTube II 3oX tubes and that solution worked well.
You might be thinking, but what if I don’t want all of that spill? Well, not to worry, Caligri has thought about that.
Included with the AIRTUBE are two very long skirts that you can use to flag the light. These attach via velcro. You can position these skirts in a range of ways depending on what part of the lighting source you want to flag.
They also give you a couple of smaller pieces so you can completely eliminate any spill coming from behind the light as well.
Price & Availability
- 0.5m € 290
- 1m € 398
- 1.2m € 465
- 2m € 719
- 4m € 1,480
- 8m € 2.849
Conclusion
The Caligri AIRTUBE is a well-thought-out solution if you use tube lights in your lighting arsenal. Yes, having to inflate it up can take a bit of time, but once that it is done it is easy to use.
Most importantly, the AIRTUBE can create a very flattering lighting source and it gives you a lot more control over how you use a tube light.
It is very well made and it is obvious that they spent a lot of time on attention to detail. The only real caveat is the price, as the AIRTUBES are not what a lot of people would classify as affordable. In saying that, lighting modifiers are products you can keep forever and the fact that the AIRTUBE wasn’t made specifically for one type or brand of tube light, certainly helps to justify the cost.
