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Astera tube LED lights

Tube LED lighting is gaining a lot of popularity and we saw a lot of them at IBC. Astera has a full line of RGB LED tubes with multiple ‘pixels’ that allow the lights to be programmed with several different colors.

This means you can have multiple colors at the same time through the tube. As a practical, it can add interest in the background of your shot or can be used for displays in retail and entertainemt enviroments.

Practical and flexible

While RGB is fun the Astera tube LED lights can also be used as a key light and fill. Astera has two main models. The original AX1 Pixeltube was designed for entertainment lighting as the CRI is a bit low at 88. The second model’s naming convention is based on the length of the tube.

The Titan Tube is 72W and 1035mm/3.39ft long. The Helios Tube is 36W and 550mm/1.8ft long and the new Hyperion Tubes are very long at 2031mm/6.66ft.

Power and control options

The Astera tube lights are all battery-powered and at full brightness will last about 1h45m. They can also be used with AC power. The lights come with basic mounting hardware to get you up and running quickly. Astera offers eight tube kits that include a lot of hardware options for mounting and a fast charger that lets you charge all eight tubes simultaneously.

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The Asteras can also be used as key and fill lights at more traditional colour temperatures.

The controls are designed to make it easy to predict how long the lights will last as you can set them for the length of time you need and the output will adjust accordingly. This can be handy since running out of battery power isn’t a good thing, however, you will have to deal with a lower output.

The tube LEDs are wireless and controlled with a iOS or Android device. This makes programming the color and effects simple and there are enough options to let you get creative.

Price and availability

Astera’s tubes are available individually or in kits. The smallest Helios tubes retail for around €450/$450 US each, Titan tubes €580/$580 US and the largest Hyperion tubes €980/$980 US.

An eight tube kit of Titan tubes and accessories costs €5,400.

DoP Choice also make a variety of Snapgrids and softboxes for the Astera range.

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