Litepanels, a Vitec Group brand and innovator in LED lighting solutions for the film, photographic and broadcast industries, is pleased to introduce the Astra Soft Bi-Color LED panel. With a new diffused lens, the one square foot Astra Soft Bi-Color provides a soft light alternative to the original Astra 1x1 Bi-Color LED panel and mimics the effect of a softbox in a compact, portable design. Response from key industry insiders to the new light has been enthusiastic.
   

"With these new Astra Soft Bi-Colors, the diffusion that they have built-in on the front of them makes it like it's one nice, flat, soft source. It's fantastic! They've got pretty good throw... you can dim them and they are not going to change color temperature," said Emmy Award winning Director of Photography (DP) and Director Jody Eldred.

"Also, I can run these off batteries if I want. That's huge for me because it allows me to work much faster. And the faster I can work, the more creative I can be... the more coverage I can get out of my day."

The Astra Soft Bi-Color has an impressive output that rates among the highest of soft LED panels. This higher intensity illuminates a wider area, allowing the panel to compete with strong exterior light sources or illuminate a large area effectively with just a single fixture. These fantastic light output levels, combined with continuously variable color temperature settings mean there is no need to install expensive fixed color temperature plates.

Following the functionality of the Astra 1x1 Bi-Color, the pioneering Astra Soft Bi-Color panel features a high CRI that yields exceptional color reproduction and precise color temperature. The Astra Soft Bi-Color can conveniently adjust between daylight and tungsten to accommodate any lighting situation and supports smooth transitional dimming with no noticeable color shift and a flicker-free performance at any frame rate or shutter angle. Like all Astra panels, the design of the Astra Soft Bi-Color boasts custom-designed optics with superior quality surface mount LEDs, offering a light output that is four times higher light output than the original 1x1 fixtures and can therefore effectively brighten a larger surface area. Additionally, the internal microprocessor of the Astra Soft Bi-Color includes dual cooling modes - active and passive- manages the temperature of the panel and assures long panel life.

"Since their introduction, the response to the Astra family has been outstanding. We created the Astra Soft Bi-Color for our customers' who were looking to soften the Astra Bi-Color without having to purchase and set up a soft box for each shoot," added Alan Ipakchian, Product Marketing Manager for Litepanels. "Meeting that demand at an affordable price is just a small example of how we are listening and adapting our products to meet the needs of today's gaffers, lighting designers and directors of photography."

The Astra Soft Bi-Color uses the same technology as the rest of the Astra family so all the accessories can be used interchangeably. The new Astra Soft Bi-Color panel is also compatible with the new communications modules that allow the user to control the lights via 512DMX standard protocol with the DMX communications modules or wirelessly with the Bluetooth Communications Modules with your Apple device through the Litepanels SmartLite app. The app also lets users control multiple lights at once, with distinct controls for intensity, color temperature, fan, and more.