I sincerely appreciate your honesty and desire to educate others on your experience. Plus, you didn’t try to be funny and entertaining, like so many UA-cam people. You just gave the facts and your experience. I’ve been a DP now for almost 40 years. Yes, I am old. But, one thing rarely changes…people in our industry are always looking for the next “big thing” that they can purchase and make all their dreams come true and their problems all go away. It rarely happens. Thank you so much for your straightforward review.
Thanks for the happy comment! My main key light now is a Hudson Spider Mozzie, and it DOES solve all my problems and save the day. But that’s for another video……
Aputure does incredible good marketing and I like them for that because they bring also a lot of value with it. But having someone used the gear professionally and talks about it is waaaaay more valuable that Tech UA-camrs getting Lights for free! and than talk about how fancy their new lights are. This influencer marketing is starting to piss me off. I watched your “You buying the wrong lights” video and liked your core idea behind it. I’m looking for a keylight myself right now for filming interviews. I got 2 Nanlite Forza 60 and a Aputure Al-MX. But we don’t have Quasars or westcott in Europe. At the moment I’m thinking about a Nanlite Forza 200 (80% output of a 300dii) Not sure... Anyway- Thank you for that honest video! Take care
Thanks for the thoughtful feedback. Yeah, I fell for the influencer marketing when several of the UA-camr I trusted swore by their 2 day old Aputure lights. It’s tough to find trusted opinions out there, I’m glad mine was helpful. Not sure if you have Titan Tubes in Europe, but they’re similar to quasars and I have personal friends that love them and swear by them. Litepanels Gemini is also a favorite by working DPs.
I was an early adopter, which may have lent to the above-average problems I've had, but Aputure does a great job of giving lights out to people and getting good favor from reviewers. There isn't a ton of content from people who've been using them consistently for a while.
THANK YOU!!! I've been battling Aputure to this day a year later. C120D ii light worked for 3 months and now it shuts off almost immediately at anything above 80% brightness. Radio Silence from customer support after providing proof of purchase and a video demonstrating the problem (as requested by them). Ridiculous. I now have B&H trying to intervene on my behalf to try to get them to move. 😕
I don't know if Hive Lighting and Quasar lighting are SO good with their customer service, or if it just seems that way after my personal experience with Aputure, but I've been very impressed. At my request, Hive just loaned me a few modifiers to compare and test. They absolutely didn't have to do that, I'm a tiny channel. They're just nice people. :-) And after a few reviews, Quasar also reached out and asked if there was anything I needed. Such tiny, simple things, but they have a massive impact. Good luck with B&H, I switched to Adorama after two incidents with B&H Customer Service. And I didn't mean for this to be such a negative comment! I swear I'm a happy guy who loves 95% of my gear and vendors!
dUUUuuuuude you really got those points on table. I'm just wondering, if I should start with an Aputure 300D or just a Godox UL150. I'm planning to create some YT content and I sometimes I get some gigs from music videos, so Aputure ecosystem has really cool FX's for music videos but If I have to make some interviews that "ultra Silent" option of Godox it really catch me. Should I start with a low investment/less risk option? when you said that your lights weren't so reliable I got shocked
1) I’ve used the Aputure lights for years to do interviews. Even the 300D doesn’t make enough noise to make it to the microphone. I wouldn’t see a need for an ultra silent mode. 2) for effects, the Aputure’s have some blinking and strobe options, but I’d encourage you to check out the effects from HIVE and Quasar. Their lights are Omni color, so instead of having just different flashes of light, they can do fire effects, cop cars, rainbows, etc. check out the Quasar Rainbow ($350-$500) and the Hive Wasp CX ($700). 3) I should share that Aputure has reached out to me (after seeing this video) and said that the reliability issues I had were a known issue with the first generation of lights and have since been fixed. Furthermore they’ve said their support process is better than it was for me in February 2020. I cannot vouch for those changes personally, but that’s the full story.
Wow same thing happened to me. While shooting a real commercial my aputure 120d broke. And I only had it for like a month. That’s the reason I don’t want to invest on the 300d ll or the Nova p300c
Happy to hear that! If there are any reviews, tutorials, or feedback that you'd find useful, please let me know. I'm always trying to guess what would be helpful.
colonelshaun my question is this compared to the sl60w i don’t know why it’s so hard for me to pull the trigger on a light even the vl150 seems out of reach, u using a v mount battery on this yet?!
I've used v-mount batteries on the 120D (before I sold it). They worked fine. I made a video about this that might be helpful: ua-cam.com/video/n8wk0KP-ahA/v-deo.html
As a Sony guy, I'm not tempted by the R5. :-) The best thing anyone can do for themself is make things. Your channel is awesome: full of videos. That's so much more useful than a new camera. You've got experience and perseverance. It seems like you've already invested in yourself without an R5 as it is!
You just prevented me from buying LS C300D II in a black friday deal. Looked to upgrade from a godox sl 60w (bang for bucks) but your points are absolutely spot on, should better look for alternatives from godox (since I only have good experiences with it) or Nanlite. Great video dude!
Yes, the modifiers always moved around a little bit, and the hinge seemed to struggle as the lamp got older. However, I assumed this wiggle was just a part of the Bowen's mount, and not something unique to other Bowen's mount lamps. I have not used any Bowen's mount lamps other than the Aputure, so I can't say if it was a normal or excessive amount of movement.
I will! I’ve done a few audio equipment demos, but for most lights there isn’t much to demonstrate. Are there any products in particular you’d like to see demos for?
colonelshaun I’m not sure. I was interested in Aperture but your review was not promising. I’d like lights for corporate interviews any recommendations?
I absolutely love my quasar LED tubes. They have bi-color tubes for $75, and four of those will give you a key light that’s STRONG, high quality, and less than half the cost of an Aputure. I love my quasars.
Don't be sad! Unless you bought it used, the newer versions ship with better cables and I've heard they're service has gotten a lot better. It IS a great light and it does great things. Don't be sad!
They made it the UA-camr goto light by giving them away for free for people to "review." So there's a flood of subjective reviews out there claiming they're perfect when the reviewers tend to say what they do so they can maintain their free stuff (but toTAlLy nOT spOnSoReD BY) relationship with Aputure. Kinda annoys me how much of that is out there in the UA-cam cinematography world. This review listing these cons seem like some pretty egregious ones as well. These are some major problems that shouldn't be happening on any light but especially at this price point and from the poops gold Aputure. 😂
I should add: I appreciate your honesty. Especially as someone who's trying to figure out what lights to get next as an upgrade to my little Amaran 200xs. I don't want to go Aputure and GVM has some cool, cheaper stuff but the color science still seems to bad even on GVM's PRO line. Will check the other brands you mentioned. Thanks again.
Yeah, I know people love them, but I'm just not on board. It's VERY expensive, but I invested in a Hudson Spider Mozzie (~$4K), and it's amazing. Super portable, super versatile, super durable. It's not for everyone, but for what I do, it's the best light ever. And all three of my quasars have had loose screws in the past six months. Don't know what that's about... Thanks for the lovely comment!
I sincerely appreciate your honesty and desire to educate others on your experience. Plus, you didn’t try to be funny and entertaining, like so many UA-cam people. You just gave the facts and your experience. I’ve been a DP now for almost 40 years. Yes, I am old. But, one thing rarely changes…people in our industry are always looking for the next “big thing” that they can purchase and make all their dreams come true and their problems all go away. It rarely happens. Thank you so much for your straightforward review.
Thanks for the happy comment! My main key light now is a Hudson Spider Mozzie, and it DOES solve all my problems and save the day. But that’s for another video……
Aputure does incredible good marketing and I like them for that because they bring also a lot of value with it. But having someone used the gear professionally and talks about it is waaaaay more valuable that Tech UA-camrs getting Lights for free! and than talk about how fancy their new lights are. This influencer marketing is starting to piss me off. I watched your “You buying the wrong lights” video and liked your core idea behind it. I’m looking for a keylight myself right now for filming interviews. I got 2 Nanlite Forza 60 and a Aputure Al-MX. But we don’t have Quasars or westcott in Europe. At the moment I’m thinking about a Nanlite Forza 200 (80% output of a 300dii) Not sure... Anyway- Thank you for that honest video! Take care
Thanks for the thoughtful feedback. Yeah, I fell for the influencer marketing when several of the UA-camr I trusted swore by their 2 day old Aputure lights. It’s tough to find trusted opinions out there, I’m glad mine was helpful.
Not sure if you have Titan Tubes in Europe, but they’re similar to quasars and I have personal friends that love them and swear by them. Litepanels Gemini is also a favorite by working DPs.
colonelshaun thanks for your suggestions. I never heard of Litepanels Gemini before - I will check them out.
Very interesting to hear, especially about the reliability issues. Almost no one in youtube talking about that
I was an early adopter, which may have lent to the above-average problems I've had, but Aputure does a great job of giving lights out to people and getting good favor from reviewers. There isn't a ton of content from people who've been using them consistently for a while.
THANK YOU!!! I've been battling Aputure to this day a year later. C120D ii light worked for 3 months and now it shuts off almost immediately at anything above 80% brightness. Radio Silence from customer support after providing proof of purchase and a video demonstrating the problem (as requested by them). Ridiculous. I now have B&H trying to intervene on my behalf to try to get them to move. 😕
I don't know if Hive Lighting and Quasar lighting are SO good with their customer service, or if it just seems that way after my personal experience with Aputure, but I've been very impressed. At my request, Hive just loaned me a few modifiers to compare and test. They absolutely didn't have to do that, I'm a tiny channel. They're just nice people. :-) And after a few reviews, Quasar also reached out and asked if there was anything I needed. Such tiny, simple things, but they have a massive impact.
Good luck with B&H, I switched to Adorama after two incidents with B&H Customer Service.
And I didn't mean for this to be such a negative comment! I swear I'm a happy guy who loves 95% of my gear and vendors!
@@ShaunHautly Thanks for the reply! I understand about the tiny channel thing (as you can see). Good luck!
dUUUuuuuude you really got those points on table. I'm just wondering, if I should start with an Aputure 300D or just a Godox UL150. I'm planning to create some YT content and I sometimes I get some gigs from music videos, so Aputure ecosystem has really cool FX's for music videos but If I have to make some interviews that "ultra Silent" option of Godox it really catch me. Should I start with a low investment/less risk option? when you said that your lights weren't so reliable I got shocked
1) I’ve used the Aputure lights for years to do interviews. Even the 300D doesn’t make enough noise to make it to the microphone. I wouldn’t see a need for an ultra silent mode.
2) for effects, the Aputure’s have some blinking and strobe options, but I’d encourage you to check out the effects from HIVE and Quasar. Their lights are Omni color, so instead of having just different flashes of light, they can do fire effects, cop cars, rainbows, etc. check out the Quasar Rainbow ($350-$500) and the Hive Wasp CX ($700).
3) I should share that Aputure has reached out to me (after seeing this video) and said that the reliability issues I had were a known issue with the first generation of lights and have since been fixed. Furthermore they’ve said their support process is better than it was for me in February 2020. I cannot vouch for those changes personally, but that’s the full story.
Wow same thing happened to me. While shooting a real commercial my aputure 120d broke. And I only had it for like a month. That’s the reason I don’t want to invest on the 300d ll or the Nova p300c
Exactly. I feel like they've marketed themselves SO well that people aren't aware of the downfalls of their products. They're simply not that durable.
omg you really becoming my favourite youtuber! :D
Happy to hear that! If there are any reviews, tutorials, or feedback that you'd find useful, please let me know. I'm always trying to guess what would be helpful.
colonelshaun my question is this compared to the sl60w i don’t know why it’s so hard for me to pull the trigger on a light even the vl150 seems out of reach, u using a v mount battery on this yet?!
colonelshaun just wanna get in the mindset of investing in yourself rather than a new camera like R5
I've used v-mount batteries on the 120D (before I sold it). They worked fine. I made a video about this that might be helpful: ua-cam.com/video/n8wk0KP-ahA/v-deo.html
As a Sony guy, I'm not tempted by the R5. :-) The best thing anyone can do for themself is make things. Your channel is awesome: full of videos. That's so much more useful than a new camera. You've got experience and perseverance. It seems like you've already invested in yourself without an R5 as it is!
You just prevented me from buying LS C300D II in a black friday deal. Looked to upgrade from a godox sl 60w (bang for bucks) but your points are absolutely spot on, should better look for alternatives from godox (since I only have good experiences with it) or Nanlite. Great video dude!
I nabbed another 2' Quasar Rainbow on Black Friday. Did I need it? No. Is it awesome? Yes.
@@ShaunHautly Think gonna get the godox VL200 instead :)
Did you notice an issue with reflector/barns sagging/wiggling in the mount? Or other modifiers? I've seen this mentioned some place.
Yes, the modifiers always moved around a little bit, and the hinge seemed to struggle as the lamp got older. However, I assumed this wiggle was just a part of the Bowen's mount, and not something unique to other Bowen's mount lamps. I have not used any Bowen's mount lamps other than the Aputure, so I can't say if it was a normal or excessive amount of movement.
Thx for saving me money 😉
Any time!
Thanks for your review. Will you do videos on gear you recommend with demos?
I will! I’ve done a few audio equipment demos, but for most lights there isn’t much to demonstrate.
Are there any products in particular you’d like to see demos for?
colonelshaun I’m not sure. I was interested in Aperture but your review was not promising. I’d like lights for corporate interviews any recommendations?
I absolutely love my quasar LED tubes. They have bi-color tubes for $75, and four of those will give you a key light that’s STRONG, high quality, and less than half the cost of an Aputure.
I love my quasars.
colonelshaun thank you!
colonelshaun I’ll look into it. You cannot use light modifiers or softboxes with them tho to soften skin?
nice
I just bought this light 😞
Don't be sad! Unless you bought it used, the newer versions ship with better cables and I've heard they're service has gotten a lot better. It IS a great light and it does great things. Don't be sad!
They made it the UA-camr goto light by giving them away for free for people to "review." So there's a flood of subjective reviews out there claiming they're perfect when the reviewers tend to say what they do so they can maintain their free stuff (but toTAlLy nOT spOnSoReD BY) relationship with Aputure.
Kinda annoys me how much of that is out there in the UA-cam cinematography world.
This review listing these cons seem like some pretty egregious ones as well. These are some major problems that shouldn't be happening on any light but especially at this price point and from the poops gold Aputure. 😂
I should add: I appreciate your honesty. Especially as someone who's trying to figure out what lights to get next as an upgrade to my little Amaran 200xs.
I don't want to go Aputure and GVM has some cool, cheaper stuff but the color science still seems to bad even on GVM's PRO line.
Will check the other brands you mentioned. Thanks again.
Yeah, I know people love them, but I'm just not on board. It's VERY expensive, but I invested in a Hudson Spider Mozzie (~$4K), and it's amazing. Super portable, super versatile, super durable. It's not for everyone, but for what I do, it's the best light ever.
And all three of my quasars have had loose screws in the past six months. Don't know what that's about...
Thanks for the lovely comment!