Get ready to see a lot more light mats on your next studio shoot, with the compact, versatile format quickly gaining traction among cinematographers and gaffers. Aputure dipped its toe into the space with the amaran F21 and F22 series, and is now jumping all the way in with the new, game-changing INFINIMAT system. INFINMATs can be used as traditional thin mat lights or expanded with included inflatable diffusion airbags. The units are full RGB and modular, meaning you can connect them together to make huge, customizable sources controllable from Sidus Link. Sidus has also gotten an upgrade, with an expanded Pro version that lets you control any DMX fixture, as well as a Sidus One transceiver that works with DMX, CRMX, sACN, Art-Net, and Bluetooth Mesh.
Light mats are going to be an increasingly popular form factor for video, since they’re able to provide large, soft, accurate light with a minimal footprint and manageable power draw. Aputure’s new INFINIMAT system embraces those benefits while adding a few new ones, most notably inflatable diffusion airbags that connect via strong Velcro flaps for easy assembly and disassembly. Yes, they basically look like blow-up mattresses, but Aputure promises they’ll be incredibly effective for diffusing and softening the light out of the mats, while being much smaller than traditional soft box solutions, so much so that they can be deflated and left attached to many of the mats during storage.
INFINIMAT sizes include 1’x2′, 1’x4′, 2’x4′, 4’x4′, 8’x8′, and a massive 20’x20′. The mats can be easily mounted together and rearranged to create larger or non-traditional shapes, with their Control Boxes able to power and configure multiple units. That means simplified setups, aided by an included reversible air pump that can quickly inflate or deflate the airbags. Keep your INFINIMATs small for specialty lighting and pops of color, size up for totally customizable key or fills, and merge them together for unique backgrounds or overhead lighting. Though studio use will be the primary application, the mats are IP65 weather rated and can be run off professional batteries or power stations for field work.
That versatility extends to their very structure, since each size includes a mounting frame or bracket, while the airbags can also function as a frame for smaller sizes if you want to take them off a stand. Aputure promises these mats will have industry-leading wattage and brightness, but exact specs are still to be announced. Control options include DMX, CRMX, ArtNet, sACN, and ethernet. The mats feature 1×2 or 2×2 pixels depending on which size you get, and these pixels are field-replaceable and controllable via Sidus Link Pro.
The Sidus Link Pro, an upgraded version of the popular Sidus Link app, was Aputure’s other big announcement this week. Sidus Link Pro expands your control options past Aputure and amaran products with its ability to connect to any DMX-enabled fixture. That means you can control lights from hundreds of other manufacturers and dramatically simplify your interfaces, even creating sophisticated trigger and cue sequences across all your lights. Sidus Link Pro utilizes the same intuitive UI as the standard app, also maintaining that app’s low latency by communicating over WiFi to DMX nodes that command the lights.
To complement Sidus Link Pro, Aputure also announced the single-universe Sidus One transceiver. With a wireless range of 1000′ for CRMX, 600′ for Sidus BT, and 400′ over Wi-Fi, the Sidus One can act as a CRMX transmitter, CRMX receiver, Bluetooth mesh extender, or wireless router for up to 18 hours with its built-in battery. A single unit can create a robust, fully featured CRMX universe, while up to four Sidus Ones can be used independently on the same set for four universes and endless possibilities. No matter what protocol and networking option you prefer, the Sidus One should cover your bases for innovative, integrated lighting environments.
For more information, including additional features, specs, and highlights, check out the detailed product pages for the Aputure INFINIMATs and the Sidus One. Or drop us a line below, and we’ll do our best to reply to your comments and questions.
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