Support Centre
At Rotolight, we want to make sure you don’t need to worry about your kit so you can focus on getting the results you need. That’s why we’ve compiled all of the resources you need to answer our most frequently asked questions.
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Q&A / Troubleshooting
The primary difference essentially is that Aeos is a ultra portable location LED light, ideal for portrait, location and event photography as well as smaller scale video productions and interviews. Anova PRO is an extremely high quality professional light source, ideal particularly for studio applications, portrait/ fashion photography and larger scale video productions. In general terms, if photography is your main application and you value portability and form factor, as well as flash power, then Aeos is the light for you. If your main application is video and you value outright power, special FX capability (Anova PRO has a lot more CineSFX modes, and the ability to control third party lights over DMX) and functionality, then Anova PRO is the light for you.
Power : In terms of power/ light output, in continuous light mode, Anova PRO produces 7200 lux at 3 feet vs 5750 in continuous mode, so is 25% brighter than Aeos when used this way. In flash mode however, Aeos is currently brighter the Anova PRO, so if flash photography and HSS is your primary inteneded use, then AEOS is the better option.
Form Factor : Aeos also features a unique ultra thin design concept, weighing in at less than 1.4Kg, making it one of the lightest LED panels on the market. This make it great for location work, where you to keep the weight of the gear you have to carry to a minimum. In comparison, Anova PRO is better suited to studio work, and weighs closer to 4kg.
Battery Life : Aeos will last longer on battery (3 hours vs 2.5) and will consume less energy also, again making it ideal for location.
Feature set: Anova PRO features a larger suite of CineSFX for video, and also has the capability of being a DMX master to control third party lights. Anova PRO also inclludes a Yoke for studio/ C-stand mounting as standard, whereas for Aeos, this is an optional accessory.
The comparison to watt seconds is a little challenging for LED as a ‘watt’ is actually a measure of how much power something consumes, rather that how bright it is. LED is 96% more energy efficient than a typical flash bulb so the wattage Aeos consumes is very low (42 Watts), yet it is still very bright, indeed Aeos is 5750 Lux at 3 feet making it one of the brightest LED lights on the market. That being said, Jason Lanier who is a professional photographer and Sony Artisan of Imagery has said he believes the Aeos to be equivalent in his opinion to a typical 350 Watt seconds strobe if that helps for comparison.
The best thing though in terms of definitive measurement is to review the attached a Fstop table for you so you can get a very good idea of what exposure settings are achievable, as you will see AEOS will work very well at a good distance of say 9-12 feet (for example at ISO 400, 9 feet, 1/60th you would be at F5.6, same settings at 12 feet F4.0) which is more than enough light, and is perfect for portraits, group shots, etc which would be typically shot on a prime lens at say 1.4/1.8/ 2.8 etc for separation of background.
Compared to say a Profoto B2 (which the Aeos is brigher than) it can do 250 flashes before the battery pack is dead, whereas Aeos will flash 150,000 times on a single battery before it needs to be charged!
We do include a power supply so you can run Aeos from mains power, but no a battery is not included (this is an LED industry standard), but it is a V mount so you don’t have to buy our battery(although we do make a nice one, available here :https://rotolight.com/product/rotolight-95-wh-v-mount-lithium-ion-battery/ Do bear in mind that one major advantage of Aeos over a typical strobe is battery life – a typical strobe will last somewhere between 250-400 full power flashes before the battery pack is empty. Aeos is incredibly efficient on power and can do 150,000 (!) full power flashes before the (optional) Rotolight RL-95-BATT is empty so instead of needing to buy 3-4 to cover a days shooting, one battery will last the entire shoot!
Aeos will work with any HSS trigger/receiver combo, where the receiver has a PC sync or 3.5mm mono jack flash sync port. The only thing that matters is that it is high speed sync capable trigger/receiver (HSS), that your camera is capable of HSS (not all are – particularly Fuji’s) and that the receiver has a PC sync or 3.5mm flash sync port on it, so you can connect it to Aeos, which has a 3.5mm mono jack flash sync port. You can also just use a wired PC sync cable to 3.5mm mono jack cable (for AEOS) for a much cheaper option if desired.
We have tested and would specifically recommend:
Pixel King PRO (Approx $120-140 per set of 2, depending on camera type)
For Sony (King PRO S): Link
For Canon : Link
For Nikon : Link
Other options we like :
- Phottix ODIN II (Canon/ Nikon) (approx $300 for trigger + receiver)
Trigger : Link
Receiver : Link - Sony : ($450)
Trigger:
Sony FA-WRC1M
Receiver:
Sony FA-WRR1
- Wired PC sync cable
The vastly cheaper option (although obviously a little less flexible than wireless triggers) is to buy a PC sync cable, IF your camera has a PC sync port on it. Not all of them do, but if it does then you can just use a long PC sync cable like this : Link
Aeos offers a number of advantages over a traditional strobe. Firstly, as a continuous light Aeos allows you to ‘shoot what you see’, compose your model and shadows/highlights on your model exactly as you want them, and to easily adjust exposure settings on your camera. Unlike a strobe, Aeos can also be used for video (eliminating the need for a separate purchase if you do both) and indeed has a number of great additional features like designer fades to finish an interview and special FX for film making also. For photography Aeos offers some incredible advantages over traditional strobe – it is High speed sync capable(1/800th) and literally has NO recycle time unlike every other strobe meaning you can ‘freeze action’ and never miss a shot, can be used for both photo and video. Aeos is also the first strobe in the world that can change the colour of the strobe, electronically – this allows you to achieve the exact skin tone you want on the model, and/or to match to your ambient lighting conditions (i.e. a beautiful sunset – you want a warmer light, rather than just a bright white light from a strobe which kills that beautiful ambient light). It is also super portable and lightweight, which can be a real bonus on a shoot. One major advantage is also battery life – a typical strobe will last somewhere between 250-400 full power flashes before the battery pack is empty. Aeos is incredibly efficient on power and can do 150,000 (!) full power flashes before the (optional) Rotolight RL-95-BATT is empty. That means you can do an entire shoot on a single battery, and can save money on buying multiple spare batteries, and carry less gear with you on shoot. Finally, Aeos is considerably lighter and more portable than conventional strobe and the countless modifiers required, Aeos weighs just 1.4kg (<3 pounds) which makes it great for location shooting where portability is key.