The Amaran 100d & 100x and 200d & 200x. A series of lights aimed at online content creators, photographers, live streamers and solo filmmakers who need consistent lighting for a fraction of the price of the professional units. Incredibly compact and lightweight. Weighing in at 1.4kg (3.086lbs), the amaran 100d has an ultra compact lamp head with built-in controls, perfect for on-the-go content creation. While remaining incredibly compact, it is also able to output a powerful 39,500 lux at 1 meter using the 55° Hyper-Reflector. The Amaran 100d has a CRI of 95, and the Aputure 120D has a CRI of 97. The difference between a light with a CRI of 80 vs 90 will be extremely apparent. And a light with a CRI of 95 will perform notably better than one with 90. The jump from 95 to 97 is only incremental, and we would need to be in a specific setup for it to become quite apparent. However, that being said, a 97 CRI is ultimately better and preferable than a light that has a 95 CRI. Surprise! Its Aputure! They have kept Amaran’s budget-friendly option and main professional-grade products separate. Still, they have always kept standards sky-high to innovate and bring the best products to the market regardless of the budget. There’s no doubt that the price to performance is there for the 100d, but its targeted audience is newcomers or budget-friendly users who need something reliable, portable and doesn’t break the bank. The 120D, on the other hand, is built for professionals or enthusiasts who can afford to pay for Apturue’s professional-grade products; they are the users who need the best when it comes to performance, mounting options and top-of-the-line build quality.

Featuring an all-new dual-blue LED chipset design, the 100d S has improved spectral continuity to achieve stunning spectral reproduction of an ultra-high SSI (D56) of 86, a 19% increase in SSI from its predecessor. The 100d S also features super And ultimately, this is the difference between the two lines, so consider that when you see future Aputure and Amaran products that share similarities but land at different price points. The main differences come down to build quality, CRI, and options to control the light. The Amaran 100d, as an example, uses a hard plastic material as its housing, while the Aputure 120d uses aluminium. One of these fixtures will survive much more wear and tear than the other (hint, it’s the aputure).I think this is fantastic for all of the solo shooters out there. Rather than having to get up each time you need to add more light you simply select the light on the app and with a swipe of your finger you’re all set.

You can also find well-priced accessories for the LED units they produce (though very limited in choice); these include soft boxes and light modifiers, cables and handles and grips. I grabbed a few measurements on my Sekonic C-700U Spectrometer to see how accurately the Amaran 100d handled color temp (kelvin) and output (lx) from a distance of 3 ft and with the included reflector attached. Here are my readings with a target of 5600K: Amaran 100d Sekonic C-700U results. Image Credit: Graham Sheldon This is even more prevalent when manufacturers seem to be producing similar items. In this article, we will compare and contrast two popular lighting manufacturers, Aputure and Amaran, to help you decide which company might best fit your needs. In 2014, the Aputure we now know and love was founded, and if you thought Aputure was just a form of misspelt branding like Lyft, the name combines the words “ aperture” and “ future.”Aputure are innovators and constantly pushing new features, products and options to its consumers. They have been the go-to for LED lighting products for years, and it’s always exciting to see the following new product they bring to the market. Not only have they perfected the product quality in both build and performance, but they have also gained a reputation for outstanding connectivity and building an eco-system that allows all Aputure products to work together efficiently. Sidus Link enables users to connect to each one of their Aputure products remotely, allowing them to have complete control over multiple devices and link them to all be producing the same colour temperature and power output or tell each unit a different parameter of options depending on placement within the scene.