Luxli Timpani 2 Reviews
Build quality has improved a ton
By Curtis
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-03-12
I have a few of the older timpani's, and love them, except they're not really easy to handle or work with. The yoke locking handle wasn't great, the buttons feel kinda weak and easy to possibly break(haven't yet thankfully). The Timpani II has a lot of little improvements, including more accurate color rendition. The handle on the back makes it easier to work with when loading and unloading to a c-stand. Pretty happy with the purchase so far!
What a fantastic upgrade over the original Timpani!
By Curtis
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-07-16
Luxli really is making the right steps with this upgrade. They've addressed basically all of the critiques I had of the original Timpani(which I still own as well, along with a few Taikos and some of their smaller lights). The handle on the back, a much better power supply that has screw holes on the back to mount a v-lock for an easy quick release solution. The power cord is much longer(the Taiko had a 5' cord, seriously and the older Timpani I have has a 6' cord.)
It's a little brighter as well! I like having the v-mount battery plate on the power supply so I don't have to lift so much weight on the lightstand. Very happy with it, way underrated light.
Worth every penny!!!
By Steven Michael
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-07-12
As many people know, I have been a huge fan and user of
Luxli products for a long time now, owning two of their original Timpani's and several Cellos. The Timpani 2 is a great improvement over what I already used in my daily workflow.
Now sporting an upgraded, look and feel, the Timpani 2 is
much more streamlined.
Gone is the awkward Velcro tie that holds the connector from
the V-mount battery plate to the connector on the back of the panel. A new I/o is located at the bottom of the panel to prevent any bending of the connector pins.
A relocated V-mount is conveniently located on the ballast.
And speaking of the redesigned ballast... You now have to
option to add you own V-mount to C-stand clamp (two screw holes are provided on the back of the ballast) or use the hanging lanyard, which in my opinion is much better than some other brands, that only give you a plastic, thinly coated,
metal cable.
Having the ability to have full power on a V-mount battery and
the ability to hot swap the V-mount, from wall to battery power, without interruption, could be a life saver on those important shoots.
The new five dye RGB A/W (Amber/White) LED's puts the Timpani
2 in a class above other brand. You get full LED coverage from 2800K to 10,000K. Quick button access from 3200K to 5600K, plus minus green from +100 to -100, and a slew of other bells and whistles, which puts this panel in a class above a lot of other brands.
The Timpani 2 now has a very useful handle on the back as
well as several recessed operating buttons, in order to avoid any accidental bumps and changes in settings.
Besides some of the major design changes, you are going to
get their tried-and-true Luxli operating system. You get the same gels, SFX, HSI, and app control as you did with the original Timpani, plus a few added bonuses.
You now get 8-bit and 16-bit DMX and a new HIGH FRAME RATE
mode for those of you who wish to shoot in slow motion.
With the addition of the phone app, you get even more
control. Such as different color spaces controls, X/Y value controls and many other controls, too many to go in to in one review.
All in all, this is a fantastic update!
If you are looking to up your game or you are looking for a
quality professional panel, Luxli is a fantastic option!
And being a smaller mom and pop type company, like Luxli, I'm
happy to when I can support their work.
This light is worth every penny you will spend and is a
beast of a true 1x1 panel!
[I have received this product in exchange for my honest review]
Luxli do it again!
By Joe
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-06-27
I've been wanting to add a 1x1 rgbaw panel to my kit to suppliment the swit flexi panels I've already got and also compliment my Luxli Taiko. I held out for a very long time hoping for a MK2 Timpani and when I heard whisper pre NAB I knew it was time to purchase.
The other reviews here sum everything up nicely. As soon as this light comes back into stock, grab one. You won't regret it.
This light is awesome.
By Jim
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-04-29
Let me start off by saying I'm in love with this light. It is fantastic, well-built and the number of features are ridiculous. This light will pretty much do anything you could want from a 1x1 flat panel soft light and gives you an unbelievable amount of control and flexibility. The quality of the light it provides is fantastic. Nice and soft especially with the included diffusion sheet. I love the look this light provides when lighting a person. It has a fantastic LCD display that is super easy to navigate. That's important and makes it a pleasure to work with this light. In CCT mode it goes from 2,800 to 10,000K which allows you to dial in whatever color temperature you desire and makes it very functional in any environment. The HSL mode is also excellent. You can dial in any color you want in an intuitive way by seeing the color spectrum on the display. One feature I really love is the filter mode. It has 150 digital gel filters you can choose from. I'm old school, so having this feature and being able to just select a gel filter makes me happy. I just love the consistency that allows, without dealing with the hassle of bringing clothespins and a bunch of gels in your kit. I honestly can't express how much I love that feature, its excellent. The light also has a high frame rate mode. This is another great feature and fantastic in preventing banding and flicker in the footage when you shoot in higher frame rates for eventual slow-motion footage. It comes with 10 preprogrammed Effects modes (fireworks, police, fire etc..) which is fairly common nowadays, but the Timpani2 allows you to adjust the parameters of the effects which really separates it from other similar lights. That is a really nice feature and comes in very handy, by giving you more control of the effect. Now let's talk about the Luxli Composer App that partners with this light. It is by far one of the best light apps I've ever used. Very easy to learn, responsive and allows very precise controls. It even has an "eye-dropper" mode to match any color in the video or an image. You just choose the camera icon in the app and point at the color you want to match. This is great for color accuracy. Again, this app is very impressive. It does even more, in fact I could write a positive review just on the app, but I think you get the idea. Oh, one more thing about the app, when I first opened it on my phone, it told me there was a firmware update available. I chose to update, and it updated the firmware on the light quickly, right through the app. That was awesome, no need to download a file to a thumb drive and attach to the light or use a computer. This was super convenient and super easy. I'm telling you, this light and app are incredible. It also has DMX capability, which is very helpful in a studio environment, and allows for daisy-chaining. Let's move on to the build quality. It's very well built and feels extremely solid and sturdy. This is made to last with an all-metal housing (I think it's aluminum). The yoke is sturdy and holds its position rock solid when the light is tilted. The barn doors are well made and attach to the light with a "spring-type attachment" making it very easy to take them on and off, but they also attach solidly so there's no worry of them falling off. This light is also very quiet, I have yet to hear anything when it is on, even at full power. Finally, I love that it runs on AC or DC, again making this light extremely versatile and functional, are you seeing a theme..? As you can tell from this review, I'm extremely impressed with this light. It checks off all the boxes of things I would want in a light of this type for me and then some. It's just a great light. It's extremely versatile, super convenient and easy to work with. And makes people/things look great when lit with it, which is what we are trying to do right?. I'm super happy with this light in my kit and see me using it constantly. [I have received this product in exchange for my honest review]
Just...wow.
By Art Video
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-04-29
I am no stranger when it comes to LUXLI products. I use the Taiko, Fiddle, Cello 2 and now the Timpani 2. Since they all have the same software, LEDs and hardware, having these lights on a shoot as a group, ensures perfect color matching and a breeze in post to color grade.
When I received this light, there were no pictures anywhere online before the launching date. When I opened the box, my jaw dropped how beautiful this light is. I wasn't expecting so many changes comparing to the older Timpani. As you can see, they got rid of the V-mount plate and it's now mountable on a power supply which you can mount anywhere you like, thus, making the light's weight lighter.
And LUXLI also cares about the environment. Inside the box, you won't find plastic bags and other materials that harm the environment when discarded. All you'll see is cardboard inside. Well done!
This panel impressed me comparing to the older Timpani. The body is made of Cast Aluminum, very thick and yet weighing less than 9.5 lbs and a texture that is nice to touch. The yoke is also thick and will withstand the rigors of professional use. Don't forget to get a CASE for it!! B&H # LUORCTIMP2C
The Timpani offers both, performance and elegance, from the side locking knobs all the way down to the stand mount. And the LEDs are not the typical generic LEDs that you see in most lights, especially those pro sumer lights. On the LUXLI products, these are 5 die LEDs, which contains all 3 RGBs and 2 CCTs all in a single cell, with a special lens panel in front of them, which, when you remove the diffuser, it will act almost like a grid. And if that wasn't enough, they updated the 5 die LEDs for an even higher light output, put a Bluetooth 5, a new diffuser and design, updated heatsink and a new power supply with a V Mount slot.
It has everything one needs, from color accuracy to the most realistic FX you've ever seen, especially the candle light. You gotta see it. I placed a real candle to compare. The color and behavior is identical to the real thing. I don't really care for FX but this one is something I plan to use a lot for movie scenes. If FX is your thing, the Composer App will give you an amount of control that is equal to the Aputure Sidus Link. And the Composer App doesn't freeze, doesn't crash. It just works. and you can now update the Timpani 2's firmware right inside the App. Oh yes, there is more... You can even ROLL BACK the firmware, anytime.
The front panel is as beautiful as the back of the light and can be easily removed. And measuring the Timpani 2's at full brightness, at 1 meter away WITH the diffuser ON at ISO 100 (not 800, 1,000... I said 100 ISO) you get as bright as f4.2 and without the diffuser, you get f5.6.3.
Another great thing is, the brightness for your camera exposure remains the SAME when you dial from 2800K to 10,000K, which, to me is something I demand in a professional light instrument. Plus, it is a stepless, smooth gradation.
This light has so many important features that I can't talk about it here all day. Throw ANY V mount battery at it...14.8V? sure! 26V? Why not? it will take it and you won't fry anything.
And if you unplug the light when having a V-Mount battery installed, it will not shut off, blink ot interrupt. Plug it back into the outlet, remove the battery, same. No interruption. AND... how many lights have you tried using a V-Mount battery that will only let you use the ligh's power limited to 80%...sometimes 60%? The Timpany will give you a FULL BLAST, just like in AC mode.
Want more? I got you covered. I made a 45 minute micro detailed video on youtube, pretty much everything there is to know about this light, with all accessories there as well. The video is chapter indexed, so you can watch specifically what you're looking for. A video speaks more than 100,000 digits on a keyboard. You want to see it visually, right?
Here's the link: https://youtu.be/yO4WVWeIPik
[I have received this product in exchange for my honest review]
Great light, not so great power supply
By Steven
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2023-03-03
This is a FANTASTIC light with lots of output and versatility. Unfortunately, the power supply is large, very heavy and unsuitable to be anywhere but on the floor or a nearby table. Okay, yes, you could somehow strap or hook it to the light stand but that's just plain clumsy. The supplied power cable to the light fixture is too short for most applications, and the power cable to the the wall, unnecessarily long. Ideally, there should be a way to mount the power supply to the back of the light. The V-mount adapter on the back of the power supply is okay but I'd MUCH rather have the V-mount adapter mounted to the back of the light with a V-mount shoe on the power adapter. I'd be willing to forgo the back handle to have that feature. That way you wouldn't have to drag out the the power adapter just to power the light with a battery. Of course, a smaller. lighter power supply would also be great.
perfect light
By Bruno
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-09-14
Very good for the price.
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