Aputure Light Storm Ls 1s High Output LED Light at a Bargain Price. Hands on Review
At NAB 2015 I went to visit the Aputure booth and was blown away by how many cool products they have in the works. The DEC wireless adapter and new monitor just to name a few, but the new high output LED lights really stand out. I’ve been using Aputure lights for the last year since I found them. The Aputure HR672S panels are very good LED panels. Bright and very color accurate. CRI is 95. I set my white balance to 5500K and it looks great. No green spike or magenta shift. The Aputure HR672S (spot version) are a great value too at $279. They also include 2 batteries plus AC cables and a wireless remote. The build is all plastic and very light making the HR672 series a versatile light but not one you throw around.
Now available on at B&H
Aputure Light Storm LS 1s LED Light with Sony V Battery Controller Box
Aputure Light Storm LS 1s LED Light with Anton Bauer Battery Controller Box
Now Aputure has the new Light Storm line. These are a big upgrade in build quality. All metal housing with heat fins for heat transfer and barn doors attached. When the barn doors are closed the fixture is very thin and they also protect the LED bulbs during transport.
Here is my my Hand on Review
The LS 1S model packs 1536 lamp beads for approximately 1K output and has a CRI of 95. It’s bright but with the dimmer on the controller you can dial in just the right amount of light. The beam angle is more of a spot at 25 degrees. Great for punching through a silk or pulling the light away to get it out of the shot. The throw is pretty good with a shadow pattern that feathers out softly.
The kit comes with 10 sheets of diffusion and clips to attach them to the sturdy barn doors. More testing needs to be done but I like what I see so far.
Some of the features that stand out are the ones that make the Light Storm LED panels very “pro” like. Locking Lemo connectors, controller with DMX and wireless remote, V-Lock or Gold Mount battery options. All have a nice build quality.
Main Features
1. 30300 lux@0.5m(1.64ft)extremely powerful
2. CRI 95+, which is a guarantee of the LEDs
3. Tough and professional aero-aluminum
4. Super quiet heat dissipation
5. Exceptional light efficiency experience
6. Unique light-control separation design
7. Dual power solutions
8. Tri-way control makes changing lighting setups easier
9. User-friendly accessories (U-frame, barn door, hook, diffusing paper, clamp)
10. Size of a panel is about the same as a MacBook Pro.
Approximately 15”x12.5”x1.5″
Specifications
Model Specification |
LS 1s |
Operation Current |
8A |
Power Supply |
DC 15V |
Power Input |
120W |
Beam Angle |
25° |
Color Temperature |
5500K |
Average Lifespan |
≥100,000 hours |
Cooling Mode |
Natural convection heat transfer |
Remote Frequency |
2.4GHz |
Channels |
1/2/3 |
Groups |
A/B/C/D |
The light quality is just great. Spot on at 5500K with now off color spikes. I have been using the Ligh Storm for some time now and they have performed perfectly. Here is a spot that I used the Light Storm as a fill with a Mathews Bounce board. Yes it does work well outside in shaded areas.
Weather Team 7 from Erik Naso on Vimeo.
Oh and I almost forgot. The Aputure Light Storm LS 1s is going to sell for $695. This is an amazing price for a fixture with this build quality and high output. I think I might need to pick up a couple more!
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Filed in: Aputure • Equipment Reviews • Featured Post • Lighting • NAB • New Release • Production
Really looking forward to this review Erik. Fingers crossed in the quality of this light with skin tones.
Yep! Can’t wait to see the quality of the light output either. Been so disappointed with LEDs and their color casts. Hoping this will be a pleasant surprise.
Hi Erik, you wrote 30300lux@0.5m, but how much at 1 meter ?
These are from Aputure. I need to do a lot of testing. Much more coming.
And I will be more than happy to read it…
Thanks…
10500lx at 1M
I’ve been waiting to purchase the LED lights for a while and it seems to be it. I love to read your articles and I just can’t wait to read this one!
Looking forward to this as well. Can’t tell how the power block is attached to stand..kind of a weird artifact of even expensive LEDs. It’s like they get to that part of design and their energy drink wears off…”Eh..give ’em this..”
Any plans to test for high speed flicker?
Lets do that!
I can’t wait for a follow up post, Erik. I’m really interested in these.
BTW – We have the same curtains in that last picture 😉
seems like a lot of us are waiting for this review… this will be handy for live events hopefully.
Working on it. Things are a little crazy right now but I promise I will get it out. They are shipping to dealers and will be available soon.
common! where is the review???!
Now that you’ve had experience with the Aputure LEDs, how would they compare to BBS, Cineo or Zylights?
I haven’t used BBS, Cineo or Zylights yet. we have so many great option now in LED lighting.
Hopefully they will come out with some sort of softbox!
Hi Erik,
still happy with these lights?
I’ve got some aputure amaran 528 ‘daylight’ which are just around 4400k, is the daylight color temperature of the lightstorms correct?
Thanks,
Michael
You bet I am! I have one LS 1S and two HR672S’s (Spot Version). I use them all the time.
great! So daylight color temperature on 672 and lightstorms is 5500k?
Thanks, Michael
My school has this light and it’s fantastic. Thanks for the review.
I was wondering if there is a softbox and grid attachment that can be used for this?
thanks
Check these out Inexpensive Softbox Solution for the Aputure Lightstorm LS 1S PLUS DEC LANC Cable Triggers Record!
I first heard of this softbox on DVXuser.com’s Lighting forum and ordered one up to try it out. For $59.99 I figured I couldn’t go wrong. Well…. …
LS 1S,LED,A6000,Sony,Sony UWP-D,Lightstorm,Aputure
https://eriknaso.com/2016/03/12/inexpensive-softbox-solution-for-the-aputure-lightstorm-ls-1s-plus-dec-lanc-cable-triggers-record/