Aputure LS C300D LED Light (V-Mount)

2019-02-08T12:40:18

We had 2 120s before but recently upgraded to these 300s. What a world of difference. Really upped the professionalism in our shoots. Very happy we upgraded.

Francis D.

2018-12-25T07:01:52

I have a number of the standard LED rectangular shaped format lights which saw limited use I believe because the didn't have a feasible light modifier attachment system. The battery draw on the let say, iKan 576's was good, and well yes it lit up an area needing to be recorded. Nonetheless, I say that to say this. I setup the Aputure 300d and well, nothing was any surprise until I was able to put on a non-aputure bowens connectible light modifier. That was key for me. Now any bowens mountable softbox, snoot, beauty dish and even a trusty umbrella all can be fitted to this light. Now, one thing I will say is that they design regarding the power adapter, and the light controller and cables all see a bit chaotic. Why? And I'm not the first to say this, but Aputure thought to give you a nice long power cable to get you to the power adapter from the AC outlet. Then, they give you a long cable to "couple" between the power adapter and the light controller. Now, from the controller to the light itself, that is where the cabling problem starts. The supplied cable is only about five feet long. That means, the large controller now has to basically be so close to the actual fixture which if you use a boom from your C-Stand to angle it toward your subject, the controller box now needs to be attached somehow along the boom pole area where it attaches to the C-Stand. Having that controller box needing to be fixed at 5 feet from the fixture itself if very very bad design and makes me wonder who the heck designed that? When your in the field, and there is wind blowing your C-Stand mounted lighting source, well, having another 5 lbs and piece of valuable electronics raised so high (remember it has to be close to the fixture) up in the air causes mechanical setup problems. So, in terms of lighting capabilities a 5. Design a 5 but, take away a star because the design is short circuited by way of the need to have the controller box so close to the fixture due to only being supplied a five foot cable. Note, the controller box to fixture cable is a "five" prong xlr connector which is not the "long" connector cable offered online so beware. I believe a letter to Aputure asking them to include a longer cable in the box is in order here. At least 10 to 15 foot long cable to address this issue. Remember, the C-Stand is 8 foot, the boom takes it out another 3-4 feed. So that right there is 12 feet just to get the controller box to the base of the C-Stand. Now, I've heard of the fan making noise, well, my productions are not that sensitive so I can't remark on that. You'll need around at least three of these lights (main, fill and hair) and another two lights for background illumination and effect. You could use the Aputure 120's for this background lighting. You will also need plenty of batteries for each of the lights. And that means you'll need at least 4 batteries per 300d (two batteries per light). That takes care of the actual battery need while shooting, and a set in reserve/charging. With the ability to interchange light modifiers, to include recycling modifiers from your existing gear is the VIP capability here. It is a result of the non-rectangular LED design used by this light. Get some, and upload your experience here.

MICHAEL U.

2018-10-31T10:23:53

I turned this light on in my living room around midnight during a power outage in my neighborhood. If felt like daytime. This light is absolutely amazing. I found the remote control to be more useful than I could have imagined when on a shoot outdoors at night running off batteries. I could have it 20' high on a stand, and turn it off and on as needed to save batteries, and could also increase/decrease the power as needed. All without having to take the whole thing down and put it back up every time. The light itself is very light and really compact for the amount of power you get out of it compared to similar wattage fresnel LEDs I've seen. A few things to be aware of, or that could use improvement: The light is a little too heavy for most regular light stands. A C-stand or something heavy-duty would be best. I have found it's even a bit too heavy for the light stand Adorama shipped with it (ESPECIALLY with the lightdome softbox). The control pack that is separate from the light is really large, and can get very unwieldy when moving as it just dangs from the stand, especially with two large v-mount batteries attached. Best practice would be to figure out a good way to secure it to the light stand so it doesn't swing and twist and slam against the pole when the stand is moved. Also, I'd love an optional longer cable do go between the controller and the light (it comes with an long extension cable to go between the power converter and the control box, which is nice). I hope in a future version they figure out how to combine the controlbox and power converter box like they did with the new 120D II lights. (but hopefully they can make it even smaller in size at the same time somehow.) It would be nice if it was bi-color, of course, as long as it remained as bright, but the additional barn doors and the new softboxes that you can order for it come with handy gel holders. The bag it comes with is really solid, well padded, and sturdy feeling.

Tristan C.

2018-07-15T12:38:10

This light has replaced a pair of Kino Flo 4x4's for our studio. We will likely be purchase another C300D and 2 C120Ds to complement this. We use this light shoot food videos by putting it through a 6x6 white diffusion scrim. The remote control is a very welcome feature that allows us to dim or kill the light when prepping the set. It would be nice if they cord that connects the ballast to the light were longer. There's plenty of length from the power supply to the ballast, but another 4 to 6 feet for the secondary cord would be very welcomed.

Matt G.

2018-06-12T17:38:36

The quality of this light is amazing definitely this is worth it and I will buy a another one!!

Jorge A.

2018-05-04T15:47:36

Overall this thing is amazing. So much light. Having said that, with all of the hype I was expecting even more light. I am anxious to see if they incorporate some of the same changes to the 300 they are making to the 120 to help with the portability. The box with the power out is a little goofy in design though. Good purchase. I highly recommend it.

Braden B.