Creamsource’s Vortex8 is very light, and I have been wanting to review it for a while. Vortex8 is a 650W high-power 2×1 RGBW panel light fixture with a CCT range of 2200K to 15000K.
Vortex8 has been carefully designed to produce a narrow beam angle and high light output, and its color science is said to be able to truly reproduce skin tones and colors.
The luminaire has calibrated red, green, blue and white LEDs (RGBW), enabling it to produce white light at any CCT from 2200K to 15000K. It also has a green/magenta adjustment function, which is said to produce vivid, saturated colors.
The light is composed of 512 groups of RGBW LED light groups in 8 areas. Each area consists of 128 clusters of four LEDs (red, green, blue and white)
It can be used as a hard-punched light to reflect or push animation, or as a soft light for Creamsource Dome, including a diffuser panel, or a light regulator, such as DoP Choice Snapbag.
In the default configuration, the beam angle of Vortex8 is 20 degrees. You can use the included Diffusion panel to soften the light and increase the beam angle. You can also use the optional Creamsource Dome, which spreads the light to around 60 degrees.
The Vortex8 panel design allows you to quickly switch from strong light to soft light, allowing users to bring the lamp closer to the subject without losing space. Point light sources are great, but they require more room for diffusion, and panel designs like Vortex8 have been expanded, so you can move them closer to the subject and diffuse them there, and still be in narrow locations where other lamps are over-covered Use its deep footprint. On the contrary, Vortex8 can be used in places that need to provide more projection than traditional soft sources alone.
In some respects, Vortex8 is like a panel version of RGBW COB style lamps. Its narrow beam angle allows it to produce a hard light source, but it can then be diffused to produce a softer light source. Most LED panel lights are designed as soft light sources, and you cannot turn them into hard light sources.
The only other 2×1 size panel lights that I can think of that can be used as hard and soft light sources are Lupo Superpanel two-color and full-color 60 1×2 lamps. The two-color version of this lamp has a beam angle of 40 degrees.
Vortex8 can actually be used as an alternative such as the Digital Sputnik DS device array. Creamsource is developing a series of frameworks in which you can put multiple Vortex8s to create very large and powerful arrays.
According to Creamsource, when used at 5600K, Vortex8 outputs up to 73,500 lux at a distance of 1m (3 feet). At 3 meters (9.8 feet), you can still get an output of 13,900 lux. When you use this light open surface, what you need to remember is that its beam angle is very narrow.
“When you need to illuminate a large area, you may have tens to hundreds of lamps, and as you need higher lighting levels or greater coverage, the cost will rise rapidly. In dollars per watt, Vortex8 Its narrow beam angle and high wattage design can cover more areas with fewer units. Its narrow source is concentrated on a precision lens array, which can provide a beam angle of 20°. This is amazing at 3m/9ft at 5600K The 13,900 lux and a ratio of US$7.69 per watt per watt make it a high-value, extremely versatile lighting system and an accessible complement to the creative tools of light artists and cinematographers.”
This is a very heavy lamp, which is a fact that cannot be concealed. The weight of the fixture itself is 13.7 kg/30 lbs (excluding the bracket). As far as I know, the yoke weighs about 1.9 kg/4.18 lbs.
The power supply is integrated into the lamp, so you do not need to connect an additional power supply. Although I like the panel light with a built-in power supply, it does make the actual light heavier, so you need to make sure to use a heavy-duty light stand.
Another small problem I found on the luminaire is that because the light is offset from the yoke, the weight makes it difficult to carry. It can also make it a little tricky when you put the light fixture on the light stand. Or remove it. This is just something you need to pay attention to.
As you can see, Vortex8 is slightly heavier than Rotolight Titan X2 and lighter than ARRI S60-C Skypanel.
I don’t think I have encountered many well-made lamps like Creamsource lamps. They almost seem to be overdesigned. The design of the lamps is very beautiful and has a very industrial feel in many ways.
To say that they are built like tanks might be an understatement. On Vortex8, the entire fixture is made of aluminum/technopolymer, and all connectors, dials and switches are well made.
Vortex8 uses a detachable quick release egg yolk. This is a great feature, and I hope there are more lights.
When you use the provided T30 Torx tool to get the light for the first time, you need to assemble the Vortex8 quick release yoke system.
The standard bracket allows installation to a combination bracket with a standard baby pin receiver. You can rotate the yoke above.
You can place the included diffusion filter, optional diffusion dome, etc. here. The standard diffuser softens the native hard light and widens the beam angle. This modifier works well with domes and honeycombs.
Now, the only small problem I have when using the included diffusion filter is that it does not always slide to the very bottom of the rail. Sometimes you need to lift it slightly from the bottom to make it slide all the way down. You can see what I mean above.
These lights are designed for demanding on-site use and rental houses that require reliable and robust lights. Creamsource lamps come with a warranty of up to 5 years. This is very rare in our industry.
Vortex8 is an IP65 waterproof device, which eliminates external power supply to simplify rigging and wiring. This is a great feature because it allows you to use fixtures in the element without covering or protecting it.
High-power, high-output RGBW lamps generate a lot of heat, and this heat needs to be dissipated. The power of Vortex8 is 650W.
The fan does make noise when it is running. In quiet mode, it’s not bad, but once it is set to medium fan mode, the sound will be quite loud. In high fan mode, it is very noisy and not suitable for nearby audio capture. In automatic mode, the fan is almost always on, even if it is used at 100% output for a long time, it remains almost at a quiet/medium level.
Above, you can see the measurement taken at a distance of 30 cm/0.98 feet. Please note that these are not scientific measurements just made on my phone, but they will give you a good guide on how much noise the fan makes. These tests were done in an ordinary room, with the lighting set to 100% output.
For reference only, common items around 40db are libraries, bird calls (44 decibels), and the minimum limit for urban environmental sounds.
Depending on what you are doing and how close the lights are to the location where the audio is recorded, you may find that fan noise is an issue. Quiet mode is very suitable for recording interviews in a quiet room.
I would love to see what happens if I keep the light at 100% when the fan is in pause mode. Although it will remain silent for about 5 minutes (depending on the time you use the lamp and the temperature of the environment in which it is used), once the lamp detects that it has become too hot, the fan will automatically start.
Please note that in the pause fan mode, the fan will temporarily stop until the lamp heats up. You should not use this mode for a long time.
On the information page, I found that as soon as the temperature of the LED panel increases, the fan will start. It reached 70°C. When the fan starts, it seems to stay at the quiet mode level. If you then set it back to automatic, the fan will start at a high level to cool the lamp. Even if the temperature of the LED panel is lower than 60°C, it will remain automatic for a long time. This is a bit weird, but if you use lights, you need to be aware of this.
According to Creamsource, when operating at an ambient temperature of 25°C/77°F, the maximum surface temperature of the lamp cap is 60°C/140°F. The maximum ambient temperature for normal operation is 40°C/104°F. 40°C is not that high, so if you use lights remotely outdoors in hot weather, you need to be aware of this. If you plan to use it under these types of conditions, you may be advised to make sure it is covered.
The metal parts on the Vortex 8 are hot to the touch, especially after the light has been on for a long time. Creamsource stated that “lamps may become hot during operation. The maximum surface temperature Tc = 70°C. They continue to say that’Vortex8 is a high-power lighting fixture which can become very hot during operation, especially during operation. On the aluminum chassis, due to heat dissipation, care must be taken when handling Vortex8.
You really need to be careful about this, because if you grab certain areas of the light, you might end up burning your hands.
In terms of power, the lamp can handle any 48V DC, maximum 13A input, and can run at 100% brightness from the DC input. It can also use 100-240V AC, 50/60Hz, up to 8A. The lamp has a Neutrik PowerCon connector.
The fan system of Vortex8 is designed with the best thermal efficiency in mind. The placement of the fan system and radiator allows the core electronics to be sealed and isolated. What’s also good is the way that Creamsource develops the thermal system, no matter how you assemble the light, it will work properly. It can be upside down, side-mounted, etc., but still work with the same efficiency. This tells me again that when Creamsource designed this lamp, attention to small details is the most important.
As I mentioned before, the light consumes 650W, which does make it more power-consuming than some other high-end 2×1 RGBW lamps:
Yes, you can. Vortex8 can run directly from a 48V regulated DC battery power supply without additional hardware. The luminaire can also be hot-plugged between AC and DC power sources, and can run at 100% brightness while being powered by batteries. The battery must have enough capacity to continuously power the lamp with a current of 13.5A. You need to be careful not to exceed 50v, otherwise your Vortex8 may be damaged.
Solutions such as the Gen Energy 48v Monster suite work well, and BlockBattery also has some good options, such as D800.
Creasource will also add a feature in the upcoming firmware update that allows you to limit the power of the lights to match your battery system. This will provide it with a wider range of battery solutions.
Vortex8 has macro-level controls that allow users to manipulate up to 8 separate areas. In addition to a series of new features packaged in the new user interface, the latest CreamOS architecture also has built-in effects and color gels.
The screen display is quite straightforward, it only shows what you need to see. You can use a combination of buttons and dials to navigate the menu and make changes.
I like the way you can scroll through the various operating modes, which are represented by easy-to-understand graphical illustrations.
The main menu is not overly complicated, it allows you to quickly and easily change various operating aspects of the fixture.
Although I don’t mind the user interface, it is not as intuitive and easy to use as Rotolight Titan X2.
Vortex8 has a built-in LumenRadio, it has a DMX In and a DMX Thru. There is also an etherCON TOP connector and a Creamsource accessory port.
You can also go to the preset page, where you can select various preset Kelvin color temperatures. Although this is great, I personally find myself dialing in Kelvin color temperature faster than entering the menu.
The information page also allows you to view all relevant information about the fixture, including how many hours it has been used.
Post time: Dec-16-2021