Litepanels Sola6 6" LED Fresnel Light (Multi-Voltage 85-245VAC)

Comments about Litepanels Sola6 6" LED Fresnel Light (Multi-Voltage 85-245VAC):

I travel a lot for work (Both internationally and domestically),
Trough the years I shaved off weight and access luggage by leaving my Bulky ARRI kit's and Kino's at home and lighting mostly with 1x1 litepanels and jokers.
The SOLA 6 is a perfect companion to the 1x1 as far as color (same "off shift" that u can correct with sometimes 1/8 plus or minus green)
It doesn't feel as robust as an ARRI or K5600 fixture, which makes it lighter so booming it in is very easy for a Cross key fan like myself.
It can be punchy if you want it to be as you spot it in and gives you a nice wide spread at full flood.
For me it feels like something between a joker 200 and 400W just without bulbs to change and waiting for lights to cool when you wrap.
It does have a quiet fan but so far all the sound mixers I worked with had no problem with it.
Over all for someone that is used to mixing HMI's and litepanels, this light is a natural addition to the tool bag.

Comments about Litepanels Sola6 6" LED Fresnel Light (Multi-Voltage 85-245VAC):

Well, the second unit I received worked properly - no blown circuits this time. Was that too much to ask? Litepanels needs to watch their Quality Control checks quite a bit more closely, IMHO.

The Sola6 offers a decent throw distance - something lacking in the flat LED panels - and, as expected, produces very little heat. I am hopeful that the cast plastic end pieces are rugged enough to last but only time will tell.

While I appreciate the attempt to limit weight through the use of high-tech plastics I remain cautious of giving a rousing endorsement until I see how it holds up in normal use. I have a lot of location and air travel this month so I'll give the Sola6 a thorough shakedown and see what's happens when the airlines have had a chance to toss around my checked-baggage lighting kit.

At this point, the Sola6 is the only game in town if one wants a Fresnel-Style fixture in LED. Competitive products are sure to follow and I hope their arrival forces the price-point to a place more in line with the unit's level of construction.

Comments about Litepanels Sola6 6" LED Fresnel Light (Multi-Voltage 85-245VAC):

After this unit arrived, we promptly connected the AC cord and plugged the unit into a 120 wall outlet. Zero function. Lots of playing with the dimmer and on-off switch produced zero function. We then tried another circuit with the same results. We then swapped to another AC cord and another circuit. Zero function. We discovered that the Sola6 unit was kicking each wall circuit's GFI during the testing process. Unfortunately, someone forgot to reset one of the circuits and that resulted in my our chest freezer defrosting over the weekend and ruining a very expensive side of prime beef and many other items. Now the place smells like garbage. Bummer. So far this little exercise in Beta testing for Litepanels has cost me about $1500 in lost meat and other frozen items along with the hassle of clean-up and orchestrating a return to B&H...I like using LED sources and the idea of a fresnel version sounded good. My initial impression was that the plastic construction was rather cheap feeling and looking but for me, function can trump aesthetics. Given the nosebleed-high asking price, I expect quality materials and flawless quality control. I'm very disappointed so far. Despite my misgivings, we decided to [...] so we could give another unit a chance before I pass final judgment but as of now I am NOT impressed with this product. Zero stars, so far, but the form offers no option to rate it as such...