Genaray 120W Twin LED Bi-Color Panel

This review is for the Genaray 120W Twin LED Bi-Color Panel which is the 2x1 version. I also have the 1x1 model. They are both made of metal and the construction is rugged and yet lightweight. The larger option, and somehow being lightweight, regardless of the solid metal construction, you can easily hold this 2x1 panel by the yoke on the sides in your hands for a while and move it along with the subject on production set take while your camera's operator is on a gimbal or Steadicam. What for? This insures perfect exposure as the subject is in motion and equidistant from the light source as you are also walking with the light panel. (I wish it had built in handles though but grabbing the yoke on the sides is fine) Can be useful indoors and outdoors which brings up next, these panels are DC V-Mount capable, but don't forget to apply the CORRECT power and amperage. Don't be putting those 99 watt batteries here. The 2x1 is a 120 watt panel so it requires more power. I recommend the Watson VM-144-Mn V-Mount battery. It's a 144 watt-hour battery, which can power your panel for 1 hour and 20 minutes cranked up continuously at 100%. Watson brand, if you are not familiar with, it's a brand sold exclusively, the store we all trust. I have many Watson batteries and chargers for V-Mount and Sony. This panel comes with barn doors and it is easily removable. Simply press down and it comes off. The barn doors upon unpacking out of the box, they are nice and rigid. No play. But I would love to see general making an actual honeycomb type aluminum grid for their panels. That is my preferred way to control light spill over barn doors. With a grid there are no light leaks. One thing I really love is the metal teeth to lock the tilt of the panel. Just a tiny little tighten is enough to lock this panel. There are no cafter thought d rubber washers in between. Just teeth against teeth for that secure LOCK. That alone is another star rating because I can't with panels that feature that rubber crubbish d in between the locking assembly. Great job, Genaray. Did I mention, even the locking knob piece is made of metal? Yes, it is. NO PLASTIC. Just in case you're looking for App information in these panels, There is no App available for it but you can control it via DMX / 5 pin XLR jacks. Brightness: BOTH the 1x1 and the 2x1 panels, the 1% dim is like a cnight light d dim. This is SO USEFUL for Astro Time Lapses when you need just a tiny little bit of a light source to light up a tree or something at a 30 second exposure. GREAT!! Another thing you'll LOVE is the fact that the exposure on your camera or light meter remains pretty much the SAME when changing the CCT from 2700K to 6500K. Ahhhh that's really nice. The difference is at the warmer colors from 2700K to 3200K at a mere 0.2 f stop brightness difference. And at 4400K, cheap panels will always be at its brightest when both warm and Cold LEDs are on, at around 44 4200K which I hate. Genaray 's firmware makes sure that even if you set the panel in the middle color temps, the exposure STILL remains the same across the CCT range. What else could you want??? Now, the other extremes / 100% power: Using a light meter, and I'm guessing most people would be using this panel for filmmaking but you can certainly use it for photography as well. With a light meter, 5600K at 1 meter (3 feet away) set to ISO 400 / 24fps at f4 aperture = f8.9 . That's technically f/11. 6500K at 1 meter (3 feet away) set to ISO 400 / 24fps f4 aperture = f11 4200K at 1 meter (3 feet away) set to ISO 400 / 24fps f4 aperture = f11.1 3200K at 1 meter (3 feet away) set to ISO 400 / 24fps f4 aperture = f11 2700K at 1 meter (3 feet away) set to ISO 400 / 24fps f4 aperture = f8.9 I was testing using a Canon 24-105 f4, which is a darker lens. Most of you will also use wider apertures such as f2.8, f1.8, for extra depth of field, great for interviews, which will give you 2 additional f stops of brightness comparing to the 24-105 darker f4 aperture limitation. IMPORTANT!!! And this is a thing that I find in some panels: The Genaray 120 and 60, it will NOT remember your last settings if you go on break and turn off the panel. HOWEVER If you wait 30 seconds before adjusting to a new color or brightness, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS WAIT 30 seconds. THEN, it WILL remember the new settings you just applied. So, next time you power it back up, all your previous settings are there. So, there's a little bit of waiting but its not too bad. Great panel and it satisfied my needs.