Focusable Fresnel fixtures go Lite

Litepanels' new Sola LED series of portable on-camera and stand-alone lights brings the traditional Fresnel design up to date.

The Sola Fresnels offer variable beam angles from 10 to 70 degrees, full dimming and focus via an LCD touch screen or DMX control, while retaining the dramatic shadows and controllability of the Fresnel design.

The daylight-balanced lights offer instant dimming from 100% to 0 with no noticeable colour shift. Manual focus and dimming control is done via camera lens-style ergonomic controls. The Sola6 and Sola12 have on-fixture motorized control of focus and local dimming via a touch screen, but they are also remote-controllable via an integrated DMX interface. Output is flicker free, and is claimed to remain consistent as the battery voltage diminishes.

Thanks to their use of LEDs, the Solas can draw almost 90% less power than traditional tungsten lights, with very little heat generation. They also weigh only one-third as much as their HMI predecessors and need no external ballasts. The fixtures have a universal AC input and can be used on 85-245 volt power.

There are three models.

The SolaENG (pictured top) is designed for both on-camera and off-camera mounting, and runs from 10-20v DC sources such as camera batteries, or via an AC power adapter. It has a 3-inch Fresnel lens, weighs 285g, uses 30W of power (but with an output equivalent to a 250W tungsten)

The 75W Sola6 has a 6-inch lens and produces output equivalent to a  650W tungsten. It weighs 2.7kg.

The Sola12 has a 12-inch lens, draws 250W, with output equivalent to a 2kW tungsten, and weighs 6.4kg.

By David Fox