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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 - Litepanels Gemini

Please add me to the list for two.

2 - Litepanels Gemini
2 - Snapbag for Litepanels Gemini
2 - 40 Degree Eggcrate for Snapgrid
 
Quick update: There will be NO TAX on this purchase for everyone who lives outside of NY/NJ. That includes the fixtures and all Gemini accessories. Thought everyone would like to know the good news here.

Thanks!
 
Jason Bodnar said:
I guess I will put us into the 25% off bucket... Travis put me down for 1 and Thanks for throwing this together!!! This B&H review helped me make my decision based on the Gel mode and the FX, very handy to have in the toolkit... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiSbPy5pcOQ

One question, does this already come with the bluetooth dongle for remote app or will we need to buy that? Can we get one thrown in or a discount ;) video on app control over Gemini https://vimeo.com/261410194
Click to expand...

That was shot by the incredibly talented, Mark Raker, who also happens to be my very 1st cinematography instructor from way back in 1995.
Mark is active on the 'gram and FB if anyone is interested. Cheers.
 
Bill Totolo said:
That was shot by the incredibly talented, Mark Raker, who also happens to be my very 1st cinematography instructor from way back in 1995.
Mark is active on the 'gram and FB if anyone is interested. Cheers.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting Bill. I'll look for Mark on IG.
 
Add 1 Gemini fixture for me.

I'll add accessories to the order before the end of the group buy.

-Steve Smith
Los Angeles
 
I'm in for 2 Gemini's

I'll also need.

2 Snapbags for Gemini
2 40 degree egg crates for snapbag
2 blu-tooth dongles

Thanks for the group buy. I was thinking of going the S60 route but this looks like a better option.
 
Travis,

Have a couple of technical questions.
Searched the web and have been trying to reach Litepanels with no success.

1. Is the Gemini RDM compatible?

2. Does the bluetooth dongle provide full access to the DMX universe or are the features it can access limited to ____________.

3. If you have two units tied together, can they be synchronized as a master/slave?
(Thinking of the special effects such as strobes or emergency lights)

Thanks much!
 
Brian F Kobylarz said:
Travis,

Have a couple of technical questions.
Searched the web and have been trying to reach Litepanels with no success.

1. Is the Gemini RDM compatible?

2. Does the bluetooth dongle provide full access to the DMX universe or are the features it can access limited to ____________.

3. If you have two units tied together, can they be synchronized as a master/slave?
(Thinking of the special effects such as strobes or emergency lights)

Thanks much!
Click to expand...

Hi Brian,

Did you watch the video in the original post about the bluetooth dongle? That might be helpful for you. Yes, you can control the light via the bt dongle or use a wireless DMX module. Both have full color, fx and dimming capabilites.

Yes, the Gemini can by synced as master/slave.

I'm not familiar with RDM but it looks like it's another form of controlling the light fixture. I can look into this for you. How is RDM different than bt or DMX?
 
Travis, can you clarify the accessories as you have them listed below:

Gemini 60 Degree Honeycomb (MSRP $255)
Gemini 40 Degree Eggcrate for Fixture (MSRP $385)

Is the latter also a honeycomb like the 60 degree? Not sure what "for fixture" refers to here? Link to the item?
 
Charles Papert said:
Travis, can you clarify the accessories as you have them listed below:

Gemini 60 Degree Honeycomb (MSRP $255)
Gemini 40 Degree Eggcrate for Fixture (MSRP $385)

Is the latter also a honeycomb like the 60 degree? Not sure what "for fixture" refers to here? Link to the item?
Click to expand...

Sure Charles, there are two snapgrids. Both 40 degrees. One built to attach to the snapbag and one built to attach directly to the fixture itself. As you can use the snapbag snapgrid w/out diffusion simply by attaching the snapbag w/out diffusion and then adding the grid to that, I feel it's the most versatile and that's what I have in my kit.

Here's a link that will show the honeycomb, and both snapgids. Hope this helps!

https://www.adorama.com/l/?searchinfo=gemini+honeycomb
 
The RGB advantages of this light are immediately apparent to me, but does anyone know how the output of the Gemini compares to say their Astra 6x at the equivalent daylight temp? Or how the output compares to an Aputure Light Storm LS1s 1x1 Daylight? I'm looking at the manufacturer's stated specs for both Litepanels and Aputure and they seem to be nearly identical which is surprising as I thought the Gemini would be significantly brighter. Not sure if Aputure is inflating their numbers, though, or if real world usage beyond the 1 meter measured distance would reveal larger differences that can't be quantified by written specs alone. I'm tempted to pick one up, but I'm wondering for those on tighter budgets, if 2 Astra 6x lights or 2 Aputure LightStorms would give the same or better output if the RGB functionality isn't required for someone's shooting needs.
 
Last edited:
Mark Farag said:
The RGB advantages of this light are immediately apparent to me, but does anyone know how the output of the Gemini compares to say their Astra 6x at the equivalent daylight temp? Or how the output compares to an Aputure Light Storm LS1s 1x1 Daylight? I'm looking at the manufacturer's stated specs for both Litepanels and Aputure and they seem to be nearly identical which is surprising as I thought the Gemini would be significantly brighter. Not sure if Aputure is inflating their numbers, though, or if real world usage beyond the 1 meter measured distance would reveal larger differences that can't be quantified by written specs alone. I'm tempted to pick one up, but I'm wondering for those on tighter budgets, if 2 Astra 6x lights or 2 Aputure LightStorms would give the same or better output if the RGB functionality isn't required for someone's shooting needs.
Click to expand...
The Gemini has a beam angle of 90 degrees, the Astra 6x is 45 degress, and the LS1s is 25 degrees. The tighter the beam angle, the more light that will be hitting that spot, but the surface size of the spot will be smaller. As such, the Gemini puts out light in a large area that is of similar brightness to the Astra and LS1s which put out similar lux values, but only in a small area.

So, if you want to light up a large room, the Gemini will make things much easier. Also, if you're lighting up a say a 6 x 6, the Gemini would not need to be nearly as far away from the frame (perhaps 3-6 feet), whereas an LS1s would as a guess need to be 10-20 feet away from a 6x6 to cover it all. With the inverse square law, you loose, oh, I don't feel like doing math...you loose a lot of light having to make the light considerably further away from what you're trying to light.

The second thing that is making the Gemini have lower lux values is that, like the Astra SOFT (which also looses lux), it is pre-diffused, while the Astra and LS1s have no diffusion in front of their lenses. As such, both the Astra and LS1s in most cases need to be diffused, while the Gemini has less need to be diffused. I rarely use the regular Astra without diffusion (unless if I'm outside). If for example you're shooting an Astra through a soft box, and loosing a stop of light by doing so, that would likely be a similar light loss that the Gemini is loosing by going through it's in-built diffusion. However, since the Gemini can be used bare, you're gaining all that light.

So, the lux values don't take into account that the light can be positioned closer to the subject, creating a softer light, and no further light loss is as necessary by adding additional diffusion.

The Gemini is about 3-4 times the power of an Astra, and in practice you'll be gaining about that much light.

There are certain scenarios where you just want raw power, and don't care as much about softness, in which case a softlight like the Gemini is not necessarily the best choice. An Astra is smaller, lighter, and cheaper, and has a pretty equal punch to it.

The RGB modes on the Gemini are not nearly as bright as 3200k and 5600k; I think the Skypanel may not loose as much light in RGB mode, but I'm not sure.

I'd like to see a high powered 2 x 1 light like the Gemini and Skypanel that is not pre-diffused. While the Astra Soft is nice from a convenience factor, the regular Astras are more versatile since you start with a tight beam angle and can change it when desired with a softbox or other diffusion.

I'm not sure of the math, but I believe for example a light with a 90 degree beam angle and 4,000 lux at 10 feet would be putting out the same exact amount of light as a light with a 45 degree beam angle putting out 8,000 lux at 10 feet. So, a beam angle twice as tight results in twice the lux value but with a surface area half the size.
 
Travis Wears said:
I'm not familiar with RDM but it looks like it's another form of controlling the light fixture. I can look into this for you. How is RDM different than bt or DMX?
Click to expand...

Traditional DMX is one way communication between the control board and the fixture.

RDM stands for "Remote Device Management".
Introduced in 2006, it sits on top of a DMX layout.
Same wiring, same underlying protocol - just a lot smarter.

What it does is advance traditional DMX by adding two-way communication between the control board and the fixture.
Both need to be RDM compatible (as well as anything along the path such as optical splitters)

Look at it this way: With traditional DMX, when you move a fader on the board, a corresponding signal is sent to the address at the fixture.
Did the command work? Was the fixture even plugged in? You need to look for yourself.

Change that to a RDM enabled DMX setup.
Power up the gear and the control board and the fixture(s) begin talking to each other. Introducing themselves, the control board starts asking a question and the fixture reports that it is a Litepanels Gemini with a DMX address of 056. oops - the fog machine hidden under the manhole is using that address. Solution, change the Gemini to an unused address right from the control board. Two way communication makes that scenario possible. Otherwise you send someone to climb the ladder to get to where the Gemini is or lift the manhole to change the address on the conflicting unit.

Besides handshakes and configuration, there are numerous monitoring functions that RDM adds to the mix.

Here is a video that demonstrates RDM a little:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTceVJ4BNiQ

Worth mentioning the dongle they are plugging into the DMX universe is called a DMXCat.

Which will be part of my Hydrogen tool kit.
On Android, the DMXCat app will also enable the Hydrogen as a light meter and RF Spectrum Analyzer.


Last thought about RDM for now - it needs to be built into the fixture as part of its DMX interface (it is not an external accessory box).
It is an ANSI standard so the info is out there for manufacturers to implement.

Probably not in this generation of Gemini but I'm crossing my fingers....
 
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