In the process of creating my next tutorial, the Basics of Lighting, I have had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with number of what I would call the “next generation” of lighting kits.
Casting my mind back to when I was actively creating documentaries and training videos on (gasp!) VHS videotape, we had a real live studio with big lights on stands that used gels, and diffusers and things called gobos.
These lights used horrendous amounts of power, ran extremely hot, and I do mean HOT (a fire was not unheard of), and globe life was dodgy.
The new generation in contrast, uses LED lighting with rechargeable batteries, with a single charge lasting over 2 hours, and come with plenty of built-in smarts.
Take for instance the MC-4 Travel kit from Aperture I am currently using as a part of this tutorial.
This comes as a 4-piece LED lighting kit, with the case acting as a combo container and charging station. In addition to the four LED lights are a pair of silicon diffusers, tripod and magnetic mounts and a set of sticky pads per light plus USB-C charging cables and a power supply.
Operation is dead easy; with the light charged up, turn it on, and then a thumb wheel on the side of the light lets you switch between and set parameters inside each of the modes.
For example, in CCT mode, you can set the colour temperature and intensity, HIS mode adds being able to select from a 360° gamut of colours and saturation, FX mode has built in lighting effects, and BT model places the light in a Bluetooth connected mode with a smartphone app that gives you even more control per light.
It could not be easier or more convenient, and all from a case the size of a sandwich box and a bargain price of around $750.
The only issue I had in getting a complete set up and running to use in the tutorial (which should be available by the end of the week here by the way) was finding where the Bluetooth app was and how to connect, as the one page PDF manual was a little light on (pardon the pun), and important parts of this info, the apps name for example, were in teeny tiny writing down in the corner.
I also needed to search and find a YouTube article on how to Bluetooth connect as this does not use the “normal” method – at least using Android – with the app making the connection and not the device itself.
If you are looking at a portable and eminently useful lighting kit, I can heartily recommend this unit.
For more information, see the web page for the MC-4 Travel Kit at the Aperture website.
The sample unit was supplied by Sydney based Kayell by the way.