Aputure Amaran HR672S LED Video Lights First Look
I recently picked up several Aputure lights. My first two were the Aputure Amaran AL-198.
I wanted to see how clean the light was before I went up to the larger panels. They had no green spike and wow do these little lights put out. Very handy for back, hair and accent lighting. In a jam you could use them as a key too if you put two together with the supplied adapters.
I recently got a pair of the Aputure Amaran HR672S has 672 LED bulbs. The “S” model is a 25 degree spot. I like spot LED’s. In the past I bought the flood versions most of the time and I felt I couldn’t control them. If you need a broad beam and don’t want to diffuse the light then a broad beam is a good choice. I tend to soften my lights most of the time so a narrow beam is better.
Last week I used these on a shoot exclusively and was very happy with them. The output is very high. Aputure states they emit 4636.8 lumens of light, about equal to traditional 400W incandescent light. Thats a pretty good and yes they are bright. I’ll do some testing soon.
I used them a lot outside at night and on a cloudy day. This sample was around noon on a cloudy day. They really filled very nice.
This is a frame grab from a C300 in C-log. No grade. Set white balance to 5500K since thats the color temp of the Amaron HR672S. I didn’t see any green spike and the overall balance looks great even on this cloudy day. Very nice color too.
I shot several night scenes too all with only two of the Aputure AmaranHR672S.
So far I like these a lot. They have some cool features like a remote control for dimming and can be used with several panels that you can assign, so you have full control of them individually all with a single remote. The kit comes with two big batteries that will charge while the lights are being used with AC and mounting hardware and two filters. One tungsten and one diffusion. The lights are a good value too at around $275 per kit. No bad at all.
Who are these for? I think they fit nicely in the budget conscious filmmaker who isn’t going to abuse them. They are all plastic and very light in weight. Rarely do I see a product that is affordable yet delivers and I think the Amaran HR672 do. Just dont throw them around and keep them in a case to protect them and they should serve you well.
I’ll have more as I continue to use them. The spot version are still hard to find and should be available soon at Amazon.com . I purchased these direct from Aputure. Look for them to available by mid February.
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Filed in: C300 • Canon • Equipment Reviews • Featured Post • Lighting • New Release
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Thanks for sharing Erik. I’ll make sure to buy through your affiliate link to help support your helpful blog.
Hi Erik, what’s the diffuser you are using in front of your LED light?
That’s a Matthews Knife Blade frame 18×24. You put some snot tape on it and it holds the gels. Very heavy duty.
Very useful review of the 672s. I also want/need to diffuse but I need to travel with minimal gear so I’m looking for a softbox. I noticed Airbox Softbox fits the 528 so should fit the 672. That seems to be the only softbox that’ll fit. Do you know of any others?
I have a CAME 876 LED because I wanted the option to not use a diffuser and have it pretty soft. Plus it follows the rule I have, buy the biggest panel that will fit in your bag. However, I almost always use a diffuser with it. It took me awhile to figure out how to do it and I came up with a method that would work for this light also. Basically you make a folding 4-sided cone out of foam board that’s about 10 inches deep. Each side of the cone is a trapezoid with the smaller side attached to the light. It attaches to the edges of the light with velcro and then diffusion attaches with velcro on the front of the cone. You can expand the dimensions of the panel about 8 inches in each direction. For me, it makes the 10×16 panel an 18×24 and it folds up flat to 10×28, weighs less than a pound, stays solidly attached to the light, and costs only a few dollars (mostly in velcro).
Thanks for sharing Erik! I’ve been looking at getting some of these since you did this first look with them. They look great my only hesitation is the power supply. It doesn’t seem to be a standard connection and finding a replacement if it happens to go out could be a huge headache. Whats your thoughts on the power supply/port?
Thanks,
I’m not sure about that. I dont think it’s proprietary but If you have concerns contact Aputure to see if they are available and how much they would cost.
Hey,
Is the S in the model name for spot? I think they have three models S, W and C. As in spot, wide and color adjustable. Link of tech detail bellow. I was considering buying two. One S and one C. Are you still using them how are the batteries that came with these? Could you use the S model as key light in situations where you would use the old 1×1 LitePanel?
Cheers
http://www.aputure.com/Amaran-HR672-Spec
These look great, Eric. Thanks for the review. Do you think they’re hard edged enough of a light to cut a cookie? I’m looking for something that I can use for backgrounds as well.
Hey Erik,
I bought 3 AL-H198’s but have noticed them flickering with Sony batteries, have you ever had this problem before?
All three flicker? I have had some batteries not work. The Watson brand dont seem to connect for some reason with the HR672s. I just use the ones that came with it. Send them an email and see whats up.
Is there fan noise with these lights?
No fan. No noise. 😀
Hi Erik, great review – thanks! I’m looking for a key light to use out on location and these seem perfect. Would you recommend the S or the W model?
Depends how you use it. S is spot W is wide. If you need coverage then wide is best. If you are shooting through diffusion the spot is a good choice. I have 2 spot models.