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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

GROUP BUY - Digital Sputnik DS1

I've spent some time with mine (not enough though - too busy on other stuff)

They're very rugged and quite heavy, a pro and a con.

I think you could get longer cables made up from companies specialising in that. The connectors aren't proprietary.

The Soft Blade is an awesome idea but why make it out of metal? There is such an opportunity for a plastic lightweight version of this, something that collapses. And maybe different sizes.

But there's no off button really is there? You can take the intensity to 0 but the fans still operate. I think i must be missing something really obvious here...?

I am looking at other ArtNet apps to do things like animation of the lights - i've not been able to experiment yet. The wifi is a bit of a pain, wouldn't bluetooth have been better, if that had the range - maybe it doesn't. Strikes me that you really need infrastructure wifi to help them work better?

cheers
Paul
 
I just got my invoice, how did others pay for theirs? I got a credit card form similar to the Tilta Nucleus M GB not very secure. Also a 3% fee for using credit card or debit card? did not see that mentioned originally as that is another 112.00 bucks. No Paypal or online direct pay? I sent an email to them asking if there was another way to pay other than providing my drivers license and credit card info on a pdf form. Just curious how other handled purchase. Thanks!
 
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Jason Bodnar said:
I just got my invoice, how did others pay for theirs? I got a credit card form similar to the Tilta Nucleus M GB not very secure. Also a 3% fee for using credit card or debit card? did not see that mentioned originally as that is another 112.00 bucks. No Paypal or online direct pay? I sent an email to them asking if there was another way to pay other than providing my drivers license and credit card info on a pdf form. Just curious how other handled purchase. Thanks!
Click to expand...


Got my invoice this week. Told them I'd be paying via CC on Friday. They were happy to accommodate. I intend to send them my credit card info + ID as they've asked.

I've done this for several vendors, including the Tilta GB and Inovativ GB. These are small volume manufacturers that don't have an online storefront in place. Is it hanky? Perhaps if I'm comparing it to something like B&H. But I haven't been screwed yet.


Plus, for paper CC forms, I use a virtual card number that can only be run a specific number of times before it expires. And, all of the info on my ID is practically public information. Except for the weight... that's a bit inaccurate....

I like the product, they're offering one hell of a deal, I'm going to assume the risks associated with sending a credit card number and ID through email.
 
thanks Kaur & Travis - got mine the week before last and they are awesome. Can't wait to start using these on a regular basis.

_MS_3604-lq.jpg

_MS_3600-lq.jpg

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For those that have them how do feel about the output of these lights? I've looked at the metrics, just curious to hear from those that have actually used them.
 
James

I have been getting about 30-40 minutes I believe I wasnt really timing that. With the redbricks they last a lot longer. one thing I noticed is they dont really get dim and then shut off. they just shut off completely on battery with no warning or dim warning. I like this. I believe its max output with battery power but I am not sure.

Ryan

They are pretty powerful little LED modules. of course the more of these things the better but I can see the difference between the lens options and it gets pretty spotty without any lens. I will try the softblade soon.

here are some screens from the first thing I shot with them.

spider6_ipp2_philmcolor_base_heron.0000019.jpg
spider7_ipp2_philmcolor_base_heron.0000181.jpg
spider5_ipp2_philmcolor_base_parakeet.0000317.jpg
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spider2_ipp2_philmcolor_base_parakeet.0000012.jpg
 
Hello

1. Deliveries. Our sincerest apologies for the repeated delays - one of our subcontractor for metal parts was late in total for four weeks pushing everything back. Unfortunately, they kept telling us that in 2 days we will have the delivery. Now we have remedied the problem, and all the DS1 are available for delivery latest end of next week. So if You have an order and have not been contacted by Wednesday next week, please contact us Yourselves, and we will sort it out right away. We are a small company who are still learning how to do things properly - the only thing we can promise is we are doing our best to learn quickly and will not forget Your support on our way.

2. Short Power lead on the AC/DC brick - I don't know how to defend this, I would not be happy if I bought such product and understood the frustration. The reason behind this is UL certification, to be able to get equipment to the US we need to have the certification, and the companies who provide necessary AC/DC block are either with short lead or not certified. Currently, we are negotiating with Meanwell to get our AC/DC black custom made and certified.
Solutions:
1. As I am mostly in Estonia (read poor weather), then I make a knot into the power cord and hang it by it to the tripod (as I cannot leave it to the ground, otherwise it would get wet).
2. You can extend the cable it is the 18AWG 4C (cores) cable with two cores for + and 2 for -. The PSU itself is protected for polarity, and over voltage, so we will not void Your warranty for this modification.
3. I will look into making an extension cable a cheap as possible will report back

3. Documentation. Our main weakness at the moment and we are very hard at work to rectify the problem. We are making quickstart guides and videos as I write this. I hope the new homepage will be up next week and the documentation should follow soon.

4. Our communication needs a lot of work - again I have very little to defend the situation as I have been a client for such companies before and can relate to the frustration. Many things have changed since spring, and I hope to be able to bring new quality in the troublesome fields by fall. I am still overwhelmed by the support from You guys, and all feedback is welcome.

4a. There has been a miscommunication from our side stating that You need diffuser box to be able to use barn doors. The barn doors can be connected straight to light module, but as the source itself is area light and the flaps are only useful as spill suppression. You cannot shape DS modules with barn doors.

Thank You
Kaspar Kallas
CTO
digitalsputnik.com
 
pretty impressive kit...the software though is seriously lacking.

can anyone post a few tips on how to connect via WiFi?

EDIT:
answer is in the notes section of INFO screen
 

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What was the group buy price for 2 lights plus softblade/Pelican? Just curious! Thanks.
 
Curious to learn from those who've purchased or used Digital Sputnik units as to how they find the colour response in straight daylight and tungsten. I realise they're designed to do all kind of colour options however at times you want to shoot neutral. I haven't had a chance to get my hands on them in person however in a bit of research I came across the DS3 TLS figures and well, to be honest, they're the worst results I've seen. At 3200 a TLCI of 29, and at 5600 a TLCI of 47.

I realise numbers aren't everything however curious about first hand experiences.
 
Mark Broadbent said:
Curious to learn from those who've purchased or used Digital Sputnik units as to how they find the colour response in straight daylight and tungsten. I realise they're designed to do all kind of colour options however at times you want to shoot neutral. I haven't had a chance to get my hands on them in person however in a bit of research I came across the DS3 TLS figures and well, to be honest, they're the worst results I've seen. At 3200 a TLCI of 29, and at 5600 a TLCI of 47.

I realise numbers aren't everything however curious about first hand experiences.
Click to expand...

IMHO and i can't back this up by measurements

Precisely because you can tweak any colour then these tests are looking at 'default' settings for those temperatures where as other lights are fixed. So if your colour settings are slightly off then they'll produce off results. However unlike other lights you can adjust these to hit the targets perfectly if you spend the time - which in these tests are never done.

I found on the test that you got this from that actually the images look, to my eye, better than the other so called higher performing lights.

There was a good interview, i can't remember who, that pointed out that real life doesn't just have white light, most real light is tinted and it produces better, more natural images as well.

So i think this is a non issue

cheers
Paul
 
Kyle Jones said:
?? As far as I know there is no NDA on these group buys. I don't see why you'd want to conceal info from the RedUser community that was previously publicly visible.
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Hey Kyle. It's a courtesy to the companies involved to not discuss GB pricing once the limited time opportunity has concluded. Removal of pricing info is standard procedure, at least here on RU.

-A
 
Alexander Thomson said:
Hey Kyle. It's a courtesy to the companies involved to not discuss GB pricing once the limited time opportunity has concluded. Removal of pricing info is standard procedure, at least here on RU.

-A
Click to expand...

Weird, I've been involved in two RedUser Group buys and witnessed many more and I never saw a company or rep ask for that. I was under the impression that removing the price was to silence the endless streams of new (too late) people asking to get in on a deal that is long gone.

I'm not asking for that, I'm just curious. If anyone is comfortable with letting me know the price was of the 2 light kit with Pelican, I'd really appreciate a PM.

Thanks either way!
 
Kyle Jones said:
Weird, I've been involved in two RedUser Group buys and witnessed many more and I never saw a company or rep ask for that. I was under the impression that removing the price was to silence the endless streams of new (too late) people asking to get in on a deal that is long gone.

I'm not asking for that, I'm just curious. If anyone is comfortable with letting me know the price was of the 2 light kit with Pelican, I'd really appreciate a PM.

Thanks either way!
Click to expand...

Also, I'm not sure if they would do it or not, but it would be worth it to contact Digital Sputnik and ask if you donate money to the indiegogo campaign they have you could get you 20% off any of the Digital Sputnik products. They are offering a $40 contribution which gives you $50 on the Digital Sputnik site. So maybe they would allow people to spend $2000 in contributions in exchange for $2400 on their site?

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/voyager-photography-led#/
 
Kyle Jones said:
Weird, I've been involved in two RedUser Group buys and witnessed many more and I never saw a company or rep ask for that. I was under the impression that removing the price was to silence the endless streams of new (too late) people asking to get in on a deal that is long gone.

I'm not asking for that, I'm just curious. If anyone is comfortable with letting me know the price was of the 2 light kit with Pelican, I'd really appreciate a PM.

Thanks either way!
Click to expand...

Sent you a PM
 
Hello


We are open about our pricing, so we will not mind if becomes public. About the IndieGoGo Voucher, that is exactly it - we will not make any limits how many vouchers You can use for the single purchase. We will send out the vouchers within a week the campaign closes.

About the TLCI/CRI - we are on the low end for few reasons:
We get much better output low CRI 6000K white LED. The difference is how we make white - it is always composed of the mixture of RGBW elements. I like CIELAB CQS; this gives me visual representation what color "should be" and what it is. Having fewer lumens in the secondary color areas (Cyan, Orange, Magenta - is more complicated) result in higher saturation and some hue distortion. In real life test, we have seen some cameras struggle with fully saturated green and some shades of cyan become more green/blue than compared to sunlight. On the latest software, we have clipped the colorspace to sRGB (when fully saturated color), and this seems to solve the problem smaller colorspace cameras clipping (think of the original problem with Sony A7 - and even this was fixable with some LUT magic)

Thank You
Kaspar Kallas
 
Okay, I know it's slightly off topic, but those Voyagers are pretty awesome. I ordered the 2' early bird kit. Trying to decide if I need a 4' early bird kit as well. Too bad I couldn't order both at once to combine shipping.
 
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