Aputure Mini20 at DVinfo.net

Craig Seeman · April 25th, 2017, 08:54 PM

Dan Brockett · April 26th, 2017, 07:23 AM

Can't wait to pick up a few of these, so useful!

Dan Brockett · April 30th, 2017, 11:26 AM

Did a little digging, these lights do not have the Aputure wireless remote system that the rest of my other Aputures do and they are only 20 watts. Not really as useful to me so it's pass. Still a great little light for the money but wish it had more wattage and wireless for $100.00 more.

Craig Seeman · April 30th, 2017, 09:11 PM

The only other light that seems to be in this class are CAME-TV Boltzen 30W ($258) and 55W ($298). They have a remote and wifi app as well I believe. Some of the comments about them though are that the barn does don't cut the light as much as some would like and the side "mounts" don't tighten well.

Dan Brockett · May 1st, 2017, 08:05 AM

I had a chance to play with the CAME TV lights in person. Pass. The cuts with the barn doors are not very good and the build quality is not something that would excite me. Guess my Arri 150 and 300s will live on in my kit for the time being. Cannot find a reasonable cost LED fresnel with the same features.

Craig Seeman · May 1st, 2017, 08:18 AM

Aputure has heard a fair amount of feedback on the lack of remote control. Given the progression on the Amaran line from 528, 672, now the 888, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a Mini40 next year with remote or wifi access (Aputure has hinted that they are working on a phone app control).

Aputure has certainly been hearing about barn door request for the Amaran series but their response, so far, is the EZ Box. Interesting that even the LS 1/2 doesn't have bard doors either while the LS 1 does.

Given the price and 20W is still useful to me, I may buy them to get a season's use out of them.

I'm also avoiding the Boltzen for the same reason you mention. If the barn doors can't cut sharp it kinda defeats a key feature of a fresnel.

Dan Brockett · May 1st, 2017, 06:37 PM

Funny, the more I use LEDs, the more I am considering going back to tungsten for at least some of my projects. Anywhere I can shoot and light where it doesn't cause the room to overheat, they are just more useful in many ways than LEDs. I am in production on a music documentary, we did a couple of days in a recording studio in Brazil and I lit all of the scenes with Arri 650s and 300s, had a couple of Velvet 2s for low, soft fill and that was it. And it looked really good, exactly what I told the director and producer we were going for, a jazz club feel, even though we were shooting in a recording studio. Nice pools of light on the musicians, lots of red, blue, green and magenta gels, worked like a charm. All LEDs would have been terrible.

Same with interviews, tungsten obviously results in better skin tones than any LEDs, it's just a matter of if you have a room that will not overheat and if you have enough circuits to where you aren't popping fuses. Other than those two factors, tungsten is still great.

April 25th, 2017, 08:54 PM	#1
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Aputure Mini20 NAB 2017: Aputure Mini 20c - Bicolor Portable LED Light - YouTube

April 26th, 2017, 07:23 AM	#2
Dan Brockett Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 2,109	Re: Aputure Mini20 Can't wait to pick up a few of these, so useful!

April 30th, 2017, 11:26 AM	#3
Dan Brockett Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 2,109	Re: Aputure Mini20 Did a little digging, these lights do not have the Aputure wireless remote system that the rest of my other Aputures do and they are only 20 watts. Not really as useful to me so it's pass. Still a great little light for the money but wish it had more wattage and wireless for $100.00 more.

April 30th, 2017, 09:11 PM	#4
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Re: Aputure Mini20 The only other light that seems to be in this class are CAME-TV Boltzen 30W ($258) and 55W ($298). They have a remote and wifi app as well I believe. Some of the comments about them though are that the barn does don't cut the light as much as some would like and the side "mounts" don't tighten well.

May 1st, 2017, 08:05 AM	#5
Dan Brockett Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 2,109	Re: Aputure Mini20 I had a chance to play with the CAME TV lights in person. Pass. The cuts with the barn doors are not very good and the build quality is not something that would excite me. Guess my Arri 150 and 300s will live on in my kit for the time being. Cannot find a reasonable cost LED fresnel with the same features.

May 1st, 2017, 08:18 AM	#6
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Re: Aputure Mini20 Aputure has heard a fair amount of feedback on the lack of remote control. Given the progression on the Amaran line from 528, 672, now the 888, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a Mini40 next year with remote or wifi access (Aputure has hinted that they are working on a phone app control). Aputure has certainly been hearing about barn door request for the Amaran series but their response, so far, is the EZ Box. Interesting that even the LS 1/2 doesn't have bard doors either while the LS 1 does. Given the price and 20W is still useful to me, I may buy them to get a season's use out of them. I'm also avoiding the Boltzen for the same reason you mention. If the barn doors can't cut sharp it kinda defeats a key feature of a fresnel. Last edited by Craig Seeman; May 1st, 2017 at 11:27 PM.

May 1st, 2017, 06:37 PM	#7
Dan Brockett Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 2,109	Re: Aputure Mini20 Funny, the more I use LEDs, the more I am considering going back to tungsten for at least some of my projects. Anywhere I can shoot and light where it doesn't cause the room to overheat, they are just more useful in many ways than LEDs. I am in production on a music documentary, we did a couple of days in a recording studio in Brazil and I lit all of the scenes with Arri 650s and 300s, had a couple of Velvet 2s for low, soft fill and that was it. And it looked really good, exactly what I told the director and producer we were going for, a jazz club feel, even though we were shooting in a recording studio. Nice pools of light on the musicians, lots of red, blue, green and magenta gels, worked like a charm. All LEDs would have been terrible. Same with interviews, tungsten obviously results in better skin tones than any LEDs, it's just a matter of if you have a room that will not overheat and if you have enough circuits to where you aren't popping fuses. Other than those two factors, tungsten is still great.