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Rotolight Titan X1

Rotolight has announced the Titan X1, which is essentially a 1×1 sized version of their Titan X2.

I reviewed the Titan X2 earlier in the year and found it to be a very well made, color-accurate 2×1 light that featured a lot of innovative technology and a really impressive control interface.

07 Titan X1 rear screen

The Titan X1 is in direct competition to lights such as the ARRI SkyPanel S30-C and Litepanels Gemini 1×1.

Rotolight is touting the Titan X1 as being the ‘ultimate 1×1‘. The Titan X1 features the same world first SmartSoft electronic diffusion technology that is found in the Titan X2. SmartSoft allows you to control diffusion, focus, and light spread without the need for gels. The light also comes with a full-color touchscreen display and the same processor found in the X2. The fixture also has a High Speed Sync RGB flash, built-in wireless connectivity (Bluetooth/wDMX), and class-leading energy efficiency,

Design

Screen Shot 2020 10 30 at 10 35 43

The Titan X1 features an almost identical design to the Titan X2. The X1 is made out of the exact same materials as the Titan X2.

Rotolight has added a very innovative yoke ( available with the standard yoke configuration), which acts as both. a 16mm baby socket (i.e. standard TVMP), whilst the outer diameter of the mount is a 28mm junior stud. This enables the same yoke to be used on either a standard light stand or a heavy duty C stand without any adaptors. To my knowledge, this is the first time this has been done.

Size & Weight

08 Titan X1 Standard Yoke Swan Neck

The Titan X1 does have some weight to it. Below is how much it weighs (excluding power supply):

  • Titan X1 body: 6.8kg / 14.9 lbs
  • Titan X1 + standard yoke: 8.6kg / 18.9 lbs
  • Titan X1 + pole yoke: 10.2kg / 22.4 lbs
  • Titan X1 + swan-neck: 7.9kg / 17.4 lb

The light with the standard yoke tips the scales at 8.6kg / 18.9 lbs which makes it very heavy for a 1×1 fixture. That weight also doesn’t include the power supply unit.

As a comparison, the Litepanels Gemini 1×1 weighs in at 5.31 kg / 11.71 lb and the ARRI Skypanel S30-C  weighs 7.8 kg / 17.2 lb / (Including Yoke). The power supply for the Skypanel is 5.5 lb / 2.5 kg. The Aputure Nova P300C weighs 10.35 kg / 22.82 lb (Including Yoke, Cable, Frame, Mount, Receiver).

As far as physical size is concerned, the Titan X1 body is 400 x 145 x 360mm (15.7” x 5.7” x 14).

Output

06 Titan X1 music video

According to Rotolight, the Titan X1 is the brightest 1×1 light on the market. Rotolight states that even at standard 50% diffusion it is more than twice as bright as the Litepanel Gemini 1×1 and ARRI S30-C.

Above you can see a photometric output comparison between the Titan X1, ARRI SkyPanel S30-C, Litepanels Gemini 1×1, and Aperture Nova P300C. Please note that I cannot individually verify these results.

Power Draw

09 Titan X1 in action on photo shoot

The Titan X1 draws 230W which means you can’t run it off a single flight safe battery, but that is no different to most high-powered 1×1 fixtures. However, the Titan X1 will happily run using the Rotolight 2 way battery adaptor (V mount or Gold mount) on 2x standard 95/98 wh batteries, providing just under at hour of run time if the light was at 100% output.

As a comparison, both the Litepanels Gemini 1×1 draws and the ARRI SkyPanel S30-C both draw 200W. The Aputure Nova P300C draws a whopping 360W.

You can power the X1 at 100% remotely via the Titan 4 way (X2 & X1) or 2 way (X1 only) regulated 24V battery adaptor.

Screen Shot 2020 10 30 at 10 20 54

Above you can see a comparison graph that was supplied by Rotolight that shows the brightness output in relation to the Watt consumption of various competing lights.

It is good to have matching 1×1 and 2×1 fixtures and this is something Litepanels did with the Gemini 2×1 and then subsequent Gemini 1×1.

Just like the Titan X2, the X1 features six lighting modes: CCT, HSI, RGBW, XY, Filter, and SFX. The Gel Library has over 1,300 industry-standard gels.

DMX & Bluetooth

04 Titan X1 music video

The Titan X1 contains the latest integrated Lumenradio with DMX and Bluetooth module. With the ARRI Skypanel S30-C for either app control or wireless DMX, a $510 USD “Skylink” module is required per light, as well as a $1800 USD base station to get the same functionality out of the box as the Titan. The Litepanels Gemini 1×1 requires a $260 USD wireless DMX module per light and a $110 USD Bluetooth module per light, all of which is included as standard on the Titan X1.

How does it compare to the competition?

Screen Shot 2020 10 30 at 10 27 09

Above you can see a comparison table that shows what features the Titan X1 has compared to its direct competitors.

Accessories

Rotolight has a whole range of new accessories including a 2-way V-Lock battery adapter that will enable the light to run at 100% power out in the field, as well as rain covers, DOP Choice Snapbags, a new range of high capacity batteries (155wh and 310wh), and honeycomb grids.

Price & Availability

The Rotolight Titan X1 is available for pre-order now from Rotolight.com, B&H Photo, and other leading retailers. It will begin shipping later this month. 

You can currently Save up to $1000/ £600/ €650 on the regular retail price with launch promotions starting from $2999/ £2399/ €2649 excluding tax,. This offer will be valid until December 31st, 2020.

How does the price compare to the competition? Below you can see:

PRICE
Rotolight Titan X1 $2,999 USD
ARRI SkyPanel S30-C$4,710 USD
Litepanels Gemini 1×1$2,104 USD
(currently on special for $1,775 USD)
Aputure Nova P300c$1,699 USD

Thoughts

The Titan X1 gives you all of the functionality of the Titan X2 in a smaller sized fixture. This is a high end 1×1 RGBWW light that comes with a high price point, however, it is quite a lot cheaper than an ARRI SkyPanel S30-C. It is also utilizing technology and features that are not found in its closest competitors.

Both the ARRI SkyPanel S30-C and the Litepanels Gemini 1×1 have been around for quite a few years now.

The Titan X1 isn’t going to be suitable for everyone given its weight, price and power draw, but if you are looking for a fully-featured, well-built high-end 1×1 fixture it is definitely going to be worth a look.

The larger Titan X2 is a very impressive fixture and one of the best lights I have ever reviewed on the site, so I have high expectations for the X1.

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