[Music] A couple of years ago, we reviewed the Amaran 200d, which is a fairly affordable single-point light from Amaran… …by Aputure. And this new version is the 200x S. So there’s a daylight version as well. I got the bi-color version here, Aputure was kind enough to send that over. Second generation: what’s unique about it? The big upgrade here is that the second generation lights use 2 different colored blue LEDs to achieve more accurate color scores. Whereas the original 200d had an SSI score- which is spectral similarity index- of 73 at daylight, so 5500 Kelvin, the new version here actually achieves a score of 90. That’s a substantial improvement. And the way it does that, again, is it takes those two different blue LEDs and it’s spreading it out because typically what you had with blue LEDs was a massive, massive spike that stuck out way beyond all of the rest of the colors in the spectrum on LED lights; now they’ve brought those spikes down and spread it out over that cooler end of the spectrum.
You see these improved scores across all of the different metrics. So if you’re more into TM-30 or TLCI, CRI, all the scores are higher. CRI is not so much, because CRI is not as sensitive a test from my point of view. It uses relatively few color chips to make its measurements, but you’re going to definitely see this in SSI, TLCI, and TM-30. But the big question is, what’s the practical result? How does that change what this light can do in a real world setting? So we made this shot here. It’s not cinematic at all. It’s purely a test shot. We had 6500 Kelvin light streaming in a window. We measured that actually with the Sekonic C800 and then we dialed in the light to 6500 Kelvin and you can see it’s pretty much a perfect match. So here’s an example. I filmed a color chart. I found that the 200x S landed right on the skin tone line on a vectorscope while an LED light from GVM didn’t fare quite so well, and this is a light that has a CRI of 95 or so.
To do this test, I used a light meter to make sure the exposure was spot on and the Sekonic C800 to confirm that our white balance was just right as well. So that’s the big difference with the second generation lights, and that’s a huge difference from my point of view. I’d love to see this technology brought over into the professional grade lights from Aputure as well. I imagine we will see that over time. This is a innovative approach. You’re starting to see other manufacturers do similar things where they’re using RGB ACL, like six different LED colors to generate light, to cover a bigger part of the spectrum. What’s interesting about this is that they’re more focused here on white light, which is what we’re using for our key lights most of the time anyway.
And so I think this is a really nice step forward from Aputure. Now, the 200d had a couple of issues that I cited in my original reviews. Good light, but a couple of things that I wasn’t super fond of. And the biggest thing was probably the fan which had sort of a mechanical growling noise to it. The new one still has a fan, but it doesn’t have that mechanical growl to it. Instead, it’s just more of a whooshing sound. One thing we’re seeing from most of the manufacturers of single point LED lights is that they’re using these hyper reflectors. And what a hyper reflector does is it creates this really intense hot spot in the middle of the light as opposed to a very even flood. Now when Aputure first introduced their single point lights, they actually shipped with a reflector that created a very even flood. And then probably 3 years ago, or maybe 4, they switched to these hyper reflectors that have this massive, really intense hot spot in the middle and then kind of fall off from there.
And if you don’t want that, then they do offer their standard reflector, which you can purchase separately. But this one, again, if you’re going for that hot spot look and you want a a very intense beam right in the middle that falls off at the edges, this will do the job. Now the build quality is still all- well, not all plastic. It’s mostly plastic. It does have some metal reinforcement at the stress points, so, I never had issues with my original 100 or 200d, and this seems like it’s equally well constructed, so I don’t foresee any issues. Now, if you’re really tough on your lights, if you’re taking them on location all the time, they’re getting dropped, kicked, shipped and bounced around a whole lot, I don’t know that these are the right lights for you. You probably need to be looking at the the higher end lights from Aputure, but if you’re working mostly in a studio or at home, don’t move them around a lot, or you put it in a padded case and you’re gonna use it for maybe a light that you can put up on a boom arm somewhere, which, actually, these are really good for because they’re small and light, then I think it’ll be a good fit.
Overall, I don’t recommend using soft boxes larger- well, Aputure doesn’t recommend larger soft boxes or any sort of modifier larger than the Light Dome SE. In this case, I’m using the Light Dome II and I definitely wouldn’t go bigger than that. It’s just going to put too much stress on the yoke. So first, let’s run through the pros. This is the best color quality results I’ve seen in an LED light, as far as white light is concerned, ever. Even including the RGB ACL lights that I’ve tested, they’re still not scoring quite as high both on SSI or TM30. And it just was a dream to try and match this to actual daylight. The bicolor temperature ranges from 2700 Kelvin to 6500 Kelvin. Here are the photometrics. You can look at these both in terms of the results on the color accuracy tests and also the light output. So for the bi-color model here, the X, we’ve got about 55,700 lux at one meter when we were at 5500 Kelvin with the reflector.
And then without the reflector, that’s 7,400 lux at one meter, again at 5500 Kelvin. So to put it in context here, I’m lighting this whole thing right here. This is the key light, which is the 200x S. It’s about a meter and a half from me with the Light Dome II on it, and we have the dimmer at 10%. I’m shooting at ISO 800, 23.976 frames per second, 180º shutter angle, f2.8, and this is what we get. It’s plenty of light for a key light. Overall, as I mentioned, the build quality is pretty good with metal at the stress points. It does have the integrated controls and screen. It is also Sidus Link capable- that is to say, you can control it with your iOS or Android device, and that’s probably the best remote control system for lighting I’ve seen ever.
It has a separate AC adapter that includes a wire for hanging it on a stand, and it does have overall a 3 meter cable, although the part that goes from the power adapter to the wall is relatively short. So just be aware of that. You may need an extension cable in some cases. But that power cable is a locking IEC cable, which is nice, so less likely to pull that out accidentally. Of course, it has a Bowens mount, which makes it so that you can use almost any medium to small light modifier out there on the market. It also has an umbrella holder for affordable diffusion. So if you don’t want to invest in a, you know, $100 or maybe a $150 light modifier, you can just use an umbrella. You can get those for probably $40 or so. The fan is quieter than the previous generation, although it’s still there, still a fan.
And it can also be powered via its 48V DC power input port. So if you have the Aputure power station with a couple of cinema batteries, you can power it via battery as well. It does have a one year warranty, which you can extend to two years by registering your light, and then it is priced initially at $349 USD. If you want to see the prices for all of the other models, there’s a 100 model, both daylight and bi-color; likewise, there’s a daylight 200 watt version and there’s also a 60. So you can get it at various sizes and various price points. Now, there are a few cons. First of all, that separate AC adapter, it’s okay, but the cable from the power adapter itself to the wall is relatively short, so you may still need an extension cable. That hyper reflector, again, it’s a pro or a con depending on how you’re looking at it. If you want something with a really intense hot spot in the middle, it does the job nicely. If you were looking for an even flood, this is probably not it.
You’ll need to add that additional standard reflector. Now, unlike their older Amaran lights, it doesn’t come with any sort of carry case. It doesn’t come- the 200 doesn’t come with a battery plate. It doesn’t come with a hardware remote. So all those things are out, but the box it comes in you could use for transport or storage if you need to do that.
It’s largely plastic, as I mentioned before, but again, I’ve never had any problems with mine. So just something to keep in mind. Overall, the new Amaran lights, from my perspective: really, really impressive step forward in terms of color quality and ease of use, to be able to match existing light, is so much easier now that they’re able to produce a more accurate color spectrum from the light itself. So, hope that was helpful for you, if you have any questions, go ahead and leave those down below. If you’ve not already subscribed, make sure you do that. And we’ll be sure to get you more videos on how to improve your lighting and sound for video. Talk to you soon..
