Thanks so much for this review. This seems to be an amazing light and one that I've had my eye on for a while now. Ever since being on set with Lightpanel's Gemini and Arri's Skypanel I always thought how awesome it would be to have something like this. Kudos to Lupo for making something that is very comparable in many ways! However, I could never convince myself to pull the trigger without seeing a few videos of it being tested. Yours and a few others really do a great job of showing the capabilities of such a light source. Cheers!
What a fantastic tutorial! I'll have to watch it a few times to really get the theory burned into my brain. :-) I was in the same boat as you regarding LED lights. I think in the beginning, they were either junky or the light just didn't look good. But the last few years, they've come a long way. I saw the Arri Skypanels at PhotoExpo last October and was blown away by them. By both light quality and price! In fact, I was in B&H Photo this afternoon browsing around and went into the lighting department. I specifically checked out the SkyPanel and how impressive they looked. Yes, there sure is a difference in light quality. I personally love using certain brands of equipment because I can tell the difference. Sometimes you have to spend the money to get it. Just happy that quality isn't as expensive as it used to be. Keep up the great work!
Lupo looks like a great choice and a much less expensive alternative to the Quality of a Arri or others Professional lights. Best part was your lesson or colour science and the understanding of the many standards and how they're measured. Thx Curtis
Great Video, thanks. I do really like this light. As a side note, I saw a video by Kino Flo which goes into how each camera renders colors and how they are addressing them. We're definitely in an interesting time for LED tech.
I have been considering getting the Lupo Dual Color 60. I also have Aputure 120D II and 300D II lights. You mentioned you also have Aputure lights. Does your Lupo Dual Color 60 work well with those lights? In 5600K mode, does it swing towards magenta or green if you white balance for your Aputures?
Hi jaggedtoothX, the great thing about the Lupos is that they have a green-magenta balance control so you can match the Aputures precisely. The bigger concern would be matching the 120D II with the 300D II. My copy of the 300D II was pretty much perfect on green-magenta balance while the 120D was off by about .3 as I recall. But as noted, you can dial in the green-magenta output of the Lupo so they'd be a great match.
Hi Curtis: I finally set up the Lupo Superpanel Dual soft color 60. Other than the frame being screwed on upside down, and the frame missing one knob, it works great. What is the ideal balance of tungsten vs white light that I should use for my talking head interviews? There is a knob that I can turn. I think I use this as a key light (the main light that I use to shine on me). Also, I've heard you say that you usually keep the intensity under 10%. So I assume 9% is best, correct? Also, I assume that I should close my blinds (on the window) and turn off the lights in my office, correct? Thanks again.
Eeek - that sound very wrong - I hope Lupo get those issues addressed for you! If you are lighting an area with existing light, the general idea is to match the color. So if you have light streaming in a window, you'll want to be in the 5500K range as a start, and go higher if needed to get the Lupo and existing light to match. Yes, I would definitely turn off overhead lights. If you block all the light from the outside, then you can use the warmer settings like 3200K. There's no magic intensity setting because it depends on distance from you. I'd do some exposure tests. First set up your camera. I'd start with ISO 400, f/4, shutter at 180 degrees or 1/48th of a second (depending on your camera) when shooting at 23.976 frames per second. Then shoot a series of tests at different intensities until it is where you need it (I don't remember which camera you're using and which exposure tools it has, but use what you've got there.)
It was a test and while it makes me smile, several have pointed out that it doesn't quite fit the vibe of my channel. I agree. So we're going to keep tweaking until we land on one which fits.
Great video Curtis! SSI is very interesting. It might be possible for light manufacturers to provide spectrum correction LUTs that we could then apply to our video in camera or in post to have a better color rendition.
Was that a boltzen andromeda rgb tube light in the background? I was planning on getting some 4’ quasar science crossfade lights with a kino shell, but the 3’ andromeda rgb lights look more versatile and less expensive overall. Btw for context I plan on using them for a sci fi pic set in space, Mars, and a pirate ship (don’t ask).
Curtis, can you clarify which model and what settings you got the lux figure of 47,800? There are actually three models of the dual color 60 ( RGBW, dual color soft, and dual color with no diffusion panel) according to this newshooter article: www.newsshooter.com/2019/03/19/lupo-superpanel-dual-color-60-review-the-new-output-king/ Your BHPhoto links only have the RGBW and the dual color (not soft) versions and the latter was measured at 67,000 lux. I'm curious what the photometrics are for the RGBW vs the dual color soft when set to the same white light Kelvin? Thanks for all of the great and thoughtful work you put into these review and overview videos. They just keep getting better and better.
Hi Omid, the 47,000 lux was with the non-diffusion dual color model. I can’t speak to the spec that shows higher output than my measurement but sometimes they measure at shorter distances. I measured at 1 meter.
@@curtisjudd Hmm, such huge variance in results. The other review specifically mentions 1 meter. They DID get similar results to yours when using batteries vs mains power. Also, there are three linearization modes for the output control, and some of them have less total output. Maybe that's the answer? Too many questions! ; ) I'm VERY interested in these lights, but on the fence about which to get. I don't really need RGB and built in diffusion is super practical for speed. My main thing, though, is that I want to be able to shoot in offices with windows in frame WITHOUT having to go HMI. These are the first panels that seem to have enough power for that, but not the RGB version. The question is whether to go soft or no diffusion. Thanks again.
Yes, I cannot explain the variance. I measured the distance carefully. I will say that I find that most of the measurements I make do not match the manufacturers specifications for light output levels and in the majority of cases, they report more output than I measure. This is with two separate meters (c-700 and c-800 from Sekonic). I don't think there is a systematic issue with my measuring devices. but I suppose it is possible.
I'll second, I would love to see more panels and how they stack up on SSI measurements, considering it appears to be a more accurate measurement system.
@@curtisjudd If you do a TH-cam search for SSI you litterly get 3 videos, no one else has been doing this test unfortunately on any panels, other than yours. 👍
That light looks so beautiful! For the longest time, LEDs could never match the quality of tungsten light and you put up with the heat. Now that is just no longer true. Does it have "built-in gels?" The Kino Select 30 has the standard names and gel colors, so you can match with actual gels on a tungsten/HMI light. Wondering if it has this or similar presets. Thank you for the explanation on SSI! It's great to hear/see an explanation, instead of just reading about it. The SSI section of this could be edited as its own video; there's still a lot of confusion about this. I have LEDs from several years ago that had a high CRI rating, but "to my eye" just didn't look good on camera and I just stopped using them. I'm sure they must have a lower SSI rating. If you ever wanted to create another video on LEDs under $100 with SSI.. and another less than $1000.. thanks so much!!
Thanks! Unfortunately, the 60 series do not have gel presets. The presets are just generic colors. With the user presets and a colorimeter, one could create the color you're looking to reproduce, but that's an extra expense - and this C800 was about $1500! Good idea on a future episode - thanks for that!
Hi Ismael, Lupo makes a soft box for it. I don't find that I need it for the full color 60 because it already has a diffusion panel on the front and the soft box does not make the apparent size of the light larger - which is generally what I look for when I want to soften the light further.
@@curtisjudd well I'm just used to a very calm mood on your videos so yeah this new loud intro surprises me in a "not good" way of you want to put it like this. I can't say it was a bad thing, just something new I wasn't expected. :)
@@curtisjudd It definitely doesn't fit the style of the videos. I've always liked the background music in these videos. The music is techie but mellow giving the videos a classy feel, but this intro was loud and in my face. In my opinion it was overly energetic compared to the rest of the video.
@@curtisjudd Do you find the Regular soft enough for talking head (even a 1x1) with just a diffusion cloth clipped on? Or do you prefer the Soft? If choosing only one, which would you take? I'm still debating whether to go COB (120D or SL150II/VL150) or a panel light for first more powerful light for talking head work. I've started with just a small Aputure F7 and small cheap ~25W panel bi-color soft light, but clearly need more power and gladly better quality (both build and light). Thinking a Lupo Smartpanel and a Superpanel could be nice. But being used to a big softbox on stills, it's a little hard to dismiss it, but other the other hand it's a monster to work with size-wise... You great videos have been a huge insight and inspiration throughout years, and nice to getting more and more into it myself now. Thanks again for sharing.
It will be interesting to see. Aputure still needs to deliver, for one. ;-) Aputure also claims that their RGB panel light will have bluetooth sig mesh wireless, an app to control it remotely, and a probe to sample and match other lights. Those are some pretty compelling features. I think, though we'll see when it ships, that the Aputure is a little smaller so it won't necessarily be quite as soft. But again, this is all conjecture until we see what Aputure actually ships, hopefully later this year.
if I may add, the output of these is likely much higher than the soon-to-be apurture light panel. Apurture stated that their light panel is going to compete with the Sky Panel S30 which is Arri's 1x1 Sky Panel rather than the S60.
Hi Kevin, yes and yes. I'm not a big camera reviewer so I won't be going into depth on dynamic range and details like that, but more focus on using it as a tool for BTS shoots like this.
@@curtisjudd ah yes, the insta 360 is a BTS dream. Currently my biggest gripe is that there is no way to adapt a microphone on it. But honestly for the price it's an amazing tool!
Have you seen the Rayzr MC series ?? the cheapest is around 600€!!! I've looked on Lupo's website (which has a very poor user interface) and their prices are ridiculous for the products they're offering!! 3 000 € for a plastic LED panel that requires two separate power supplies, who does that? and 388€ for the egg crate that covers their 489€ soft box!! for a light this small it's ludicrous...
Hi Thomas, the Rayzr MCs look nice. I was not aware that they make lights with as much output as the Superpanel 60 Dual Color? The Dual Color 60 puts out up to 47,800 lux vs. up to 5000 lux on the Rayzr MCs on the specs I saw. Not sure they're in the same league. The Rayzrs look like nice lights, don't get me wrong, but it seems sort of an apples vs oranges comparison. Totally understand that the Lupo 60s aren't priced for self-funded passion projects. Really made more for money making studios and production companies or rental houses.
@@curtisjudd Oh yeah I was just curious about the price/performance offered by the Rayzr products. It was the overall design and the dual power bricks that made me wonder at how a product that looked so much like a prototype could be priced so high
@@Thomasm-x7r Makes sense. Perhaps I'll be able to get my hands on one of the Rayzrs at some point. The dual power adapters on the 60 struck me as odd at first as well. When I learned that the 60 draws 400 Watts via the two AC adapters - which have a shared AC mains cable so you don't have to plug in two cables, didn't specifically call that out in the video - or can be powered by two 160Wh cine batteries, I didn't find it to be a problem. The two adapters are still smaller than the single adapter for the Arri SkyPanel 60 series. So I didn't call that out as a problem.
Green background?! Yes, in honor of our green friends - Yoda, Kermit, etc.
And Mike Wazowski too!
Yes, MIKE!
Nice job, Curtis! I enjoyed the SSI breakdown. Very useful. Cheers!
Cheers Gerald!
@@curtisjudd Curtiss and Gerald...my go-to guys for video/camera/lighting info!
@@timbeaton5045 Thanks Tim!
That was a SUPER helpful explanation of SSI. Thank you. AND....Holy crap! That intro!! What?! Awesome!!
Thanks BFM! Getting a little cinematic. Made me chuckle and I like that it is short.
@@curtisjudd Me too! i like when unexpected stuff just slaps you in the face. Well done!
Thanks so much for this review. This seems to be an amazing light and one that I've had my eye on for a while now. Ever since being on set with Lightpanel's Gemini and Arri's Skypanel I always thought how awesome it would be to have something like this. Kudos to Lupo for making something that is very comparable in many ways! However, I could never convince myself to pull the trigger without seeing a few videos of it being tested. Yours and a few others really do a great job of showing the capabilities of such a light source. Cheers!
Thanks Caleb!
Excellent explanation of SSI! Also, I love my full color 60. Huge and beautiful.
Thanks Tommy, agreed. Nice for so many situations.
You deserve an Oscar for this video. Loved it.
Hahaha! Thanks Levi
What a fantastic tutorial! I'll have to watch it a few times to really get the theory burned into my brain. :-)
I was in the same boat as you regarding LED lights. I think in the beginning, they were either junky or the light just didn't look good. But the last few years, they've come a long way. I saw the Arri Skypanels at PhotoExpo last October and was blown away by them. By both light quality and price! In fact, I was in B&H Photo this afternoon browsing around and went into the lighting department. I specifically checked out the SkyPanel and how impressive they looked.
Yes, there sure is a difference in light quality. I personally love using certain brands of equipment because I can tell the difference. Sometimes you have to spend the money to get it. Just happy that quality isn't as expensive as it used to be.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks Ricardo!
Thanks for the overview and the explanation of SSI.
You bet and thank you for the feedback!
Nice to know about SSI, thanks for that Curtis. We've been needing a better measurement for quality of light for a while now!
👍🏻
Lupo looks like a great choice and a much less expensive alternative to the Quality of a Arri or others Professional lights. Best part was your lesson or colour science and the understanding of the many standards and how they're measured. Thx Curtis
Thanks Richard
Great Video, thanks. I do really like this light. As a side note, I saw a video by Kino Flo which goes into how each camera renders colors and how they are addressing them. We're definitely in an interesting time for LED tech.
Thanks Rashad. Sounds like an interesting piece from Kino Flo.
I have been considering getting the Lupo Dual Color 60. I also have Aputure 120D II and 300D II lights. You mentioned you also have Aputure lights. Does your Lupo Dual Color 60 work well with those lights? In 5600K mode, does it swing towards magenta or green if you white balance for your Aputures?
@CurtisJudd i also have aputure lights and am interested in this as well
Hi jaggedtoothX, the great thing about the Lupos is that they have a green-magenta balance control so you can match the Aputures precisely. The bigger concern would be matching the 120D II with the 300D II. My copy of the 300D II was pretty much perfect on green-magenta balance while the 120D was off by about .3 as I recall. But as noted, you can dial in the green-magenta output of the Lupo so they'd be a great match.
Hi Curtis:
I finally set up the Lupo Superpanel Dual soft color 60. Other than the frame being screwed on upside down, and the frame missing one knob, it works great.
What is the ideal balance of tungsten vs white light that I should use for my talking head interviews? There is a knob that I can turn. I think I use this as a key light (the main light that I use to shine on me).
Also, I've heard you say that you usually keep the intensity under 10%. So I assume 9% is best, correct?
Also, I assume that I should close my blinds (on the window) and turn off the lights in my office, correct?
Thanks again.
Eeek - that sound very wrong - I hope Lupo get those issues addressed for you!
If you are lighting an area with existing light, the general idea is to match the color. So if you have light streaming in a window, you'll want to be in the 5500K range as a start, and go higher if needed to get the Lupo and existing light to match. Yes, I would definitely turn off overhead lights. If you block all the light from the outside, then you can use the warmer settings like 3200K. There's no magic intensity setting because it depends on distance from you. I'd do some exposure tests. First set up your camera. I'd start with ISO 400, f/4, shutter at 180 degrees or 1/48th of a second (depending on your camera) when shooting at 23.976 frames per second. Then shoot a series of tests at different intensities until it is where you need it (I don't remember which camera you're using and which exposure tools it has, but use what you've got there.)
Curtis Judd
I use the Sony ZV1 and heard that the intelligent video has awesome settings out of the box.
What do you recommend to fasten the rode vidmic NTG extension cable to the boom stand pole?
@@RealJustinZiegler two sided velcro/hook tape does a nice job of that.
Curtis Judd thanks!
Woah! new intro! Nice!
Thanks Dave!
Whoah! Epic intro!!
It was a test and while it makes me smile, several have pointed out that it doesn't quite fit the vibe of my channel. I agree. So we're going to keep tweaking until we land on one which fits.
Great video Curtis! SSI is very interesting. It might be possible for light manufacturers to provide spectrum correction LUTs that we could then apply to our video in camera or in post to have a better color rendition.
Thanks Juan!
Was that a boltzen andromeda rgb tube light in the background? I was planning on getting some 4’ quasar science crossfade lights with a kino shell, but the 3’ andromeda rgb lights look more versatile and less expensive overall. Btw for context I plan on using them for a sci fi pic set in space, Mars, and a pirate ship (don’t ask).
Hi Kevin, it is indeed! It's in the review queue, coming soon. It's been great so far.
Great video. The one thing is skypannels won’t go on a c-stand. The light is too heavy and has a junior pin so you need something like a combo stand.
Good to know - thanks ryandsilber!
Curtis, can you clarify which model and what settings you got the lux figure of 47,800? There are actually three models of the dual color 60 ( RGBW, dual color soft, and dual color with no diffusion panel) according to this newshooter article:
www.newsshooter.com/2019/03/19/lupo-superpanel-dual-color-60-review-the-new-output-king/
Your BHPhoto links only have the RGBW and the dual color (not soft) versions and the latter was measured at 67,000 lux. I'm curious what the photometrics are for the RGBW vs the dual color soft when set to the same white light Kelvin?
Thanks for all of the great and thoughtful work you put into these review and overview videos. They just keep getting better and better.
Hi Omid, the 47,000 lux was with the non-diffusion dual color model. I can’t speak to the spec that shows higher output than my measurement but sometimes they measure at shorter distances. I measured at 1 meter.
@@curtisjudd Hmm, such huge variance in results. The other review specifically mentions 1 meter. They DID get similar results to yours when using batteries vs mains power. Also, there are three linearization modes for the output control, and some of them have less total output. Maybe that's the answer? Too many questions! ; ) I'm VERY interested in these lights, but on the fence about which to get. I don't really need RGB and built in diffusion is super practical for speed. My main thing, though, is that I want to be able to shoot in offices with windows in frame WITHOUT having to go HMI. These are the first panels that seem to have enough power for that, but not the RGB version. The question is whether to go soft or no diffusion. Thanks again.
Yes, I cannot explain the variance. I measured the distance carefully. I will say that I find that most of the measurements I make do not match the manufacturers specifications for light output levels and in the majority of cases, they report more output than I measure. This is with two separate meters (c-700 and c-800 from Sekonic). I don't think there is a systematic issue with my measuring devices. but I suppose it is possible.
I'll second, I would love to see more panels and how they stack up on SSI measurements, considering it appears to be a more accurate measurement system.
👍
@@curtisjudd If you do a TH-cam search for SSI you litterly get 3 videos, no one else has been doing this test unfortunately on any panels, other than yours. 👍
That light looks so beautiful! For the longest time, LEDs could never match the quality of tungsten light and you put up with the heat. Now that is just no longer true.
Does it have "built-in gels?" The Kino Select 30 has the standard names and gel colors, so you can match with actual gels on a tungsten/HMI light. Wondering if it has this or similar presets.
Thank you for the explanation on SSI! It's great to hear/see an explanation, instead of just reading about it.
The SSI section of this could be edited as its own video; there's still a lot of confusion about this. I have LEDs from several years ago that had a high CRI rating, but "to my eye" just didn't look good on camera and I just stopped using them. I'm sure they must have a lower SSI rating.
If you ever wanted to create another video on LEDs under $100 with SSI.. and another less than $1000.. thanks so much!!
Thanks! Unfortunately, the 60 series do not have gel presets. The presets are just generic colors. With the user presets and a colorimeter, one could create the color you're looking to reproduce, but that's an extra expense - and this C800 was about $1500! Good idea on a future episode - thanks for that!
Thank you Curtis. Is there a way to get soft boxes on this light?
Hi Ismael, Lupo makes a soft box for it. I don't find that I need it for the full color 60 because it already has a diffusion panel on the front and the soft box does not make the apparent size of the light larger - which is generally what I look for when I want to soften the light further.
Got a jumpscare with this new loud intro
Good, this was a test. I can't tell from your reaction whether that was good but I suspect you mean "not good?"
@@curtisjudd well I'm just used to a very calm mood on your videos so yeah this new loud intro surprises me in a "not good" way of you want to put it like this.
I can't say it was a bad thing, just something new I wasn't expected. :)
@@monster410 I think it is cool, but I'm not sure it fits my channel and your comment helps to confirm that. So thank you for being honest!
@@curtisjudd It definitely doesn't fit the style of the videos. I've always liked the background music in these videos. The music is techie but mellow giving the videos a classy feel, but this intro was loud and in my face. In my opinion it was overly energetic compared to the rest of the video.
Have you tried panels from
Velvet?
Hi Henrik, I haven't but would like to work with them.
Is it the Soft or regular Superpanels you’ve used?
The full color was soft, the bi-color was the regular.
@@curtisjudd Do you find the Regular soft enough for talking head (even a 1x1) with just a diffusion cloth clipped on? Or do you prefer the Soft? If choosing only one, which would you take? I'm still debating whether to go COB (120D or SL150II/VL150) or a panel light for first more powerful light for talking head work. I've started with just a small Aputure F7 and small cheap ~25W panel bi-color soft light, but clearly need more power and gladly better quality (both build and light). Thinking a Lupo Smartpanel and a Superpanel could be nice. But being used to a big softbox on stills, it's a little hard to dismiss it, but other the other hand it's a monster to work with size-wise...
You great videos have been a huge insight and inspiration throughout years, and nice to getting more and more into it myself now. Thanks again for sharing.
when using batteries, light output will be reduced by half?
When using 1 battery, output will be reduced. When using 2 batteries, full output.
@@curtisjudd wow, thx!
How do you think these compare to aputure rgb panel coming out soon?
It will be interesting to see. Aputure still needs to deliver, for one. ;-) Aputure also claims that their RGB panel light will have bluetooth sig mesh wireless, an app to control it remotely, and a probe to sample and match other lights. Those are some pretty compelling features. I think, though we'll see when it ships, that the Aputure is a little smaller so it won't necessarily be quite as soft. But again, this is all conjecture until we see what Aputure actually ships, hopefully later this year.
if I may add, the output of these is likely much higher than the soon-to-be apurture light panel. Apurture stated that their light panel is going to compete with the Sky Panel S30 which is Arri's 1x1 Sky Panel rather than the S60.
@@calebhoenshell2865 Ah, good to know, thanks Caleb!
IS THAT THE INSTA 360 ONEX you use to film BTS? IS A VIDEO REVIEW COMING?
Hi Kevin, yes and yes. I'm not a big camera reviewer so I won't be going into depth on dynamic range and details like that, but more focus on using it as a tool for BTS shoots like this.
@@curtisjudd ah yes, the insta 360 is a BTS dream. Currently my biggest gripe is that there is no way to adapt a microphone on it. But honestly for the price it's an amazing tool!
@@KevinLin145 Yes, much more useful for BTS lighting setups than a GoPro.
Here's hoping that new opening was a one-off.
Hahaha! Ok, thanks for the feedback!
Have you seen the Rayzr MC series ?? the cheapest is around 600€!!!
I've looked on Lupo's website (which has a very poor user interface) and their prices are ridiculous for the products they're offering!! 3 000 € for a plastic LED panel that requires two separate power supplies, who does that? and 388€ for the egg crate that covers their 489€ soft box!! for a light this small it's ludicrous...
Hi Thomas, the Rayzr MCs look nice. I was not aware that they make lights with as much output as the Superpanel 60 Dual Color? The Dual Color 60 puts out up to 47,800 lux vs. up to 5000 lux on the Rayzr MCs on the specs I saw. Not sure they're in the same league. The Rayzrs look like nice lights, don't get me wrong, but it seems sort of an apples vs oranges comparison. Totally understand that the Lupo 60s aren't priced for self-funded passion projects. Really made more for money making studios and production companies or rental houses.
@@curtisjudd Oh yeah I was just curious about the price/performance offered by the Rayzr products. It was the overall design and the dual power bricks that made me wonder at how a product that looked so much like a prototype could be priced so high
@@Thomasm-x7r Makes sense. Perhaps I'll be able to get my hands on one of the Rayzrs at some point. The dual power adapters on the 60 struck me as odd at first as well. When I learned that the 60 draws 400 Watts via the two AC adapters - which have a shared AC mains cable so you don't have to plug in two cables, didn't specifically call that out in the video - or can be powered by two 160Wh cine batteries, I didn't find it to be a problem. The two adapters are still smaller than the single adapter for the Arri SkyPanel 60 series. So I didn't call that out as a problem.
Oh my God that new intro is aggressive. Please no more.
Thanks for the feedback, agreed. This intro has been cancelled. It’s cool but doesn’t fit here.
@@curtisjudd Ooooh a celeb talked back on TH-cam I'm all a flutter.