THE APUTURE STORM XT52 SETS A NEW BENCHMARK IN HIGH OUTPUT LED LIGHTING

Aputure is making waves in the lighting industry once again with the introduction of its new 5200-watt STORM XT52. This powerful LED fixture, which Aputure claims is the brightest COB (Chip-on-Board) light available, promises an output that rivals some traditional 9000W HMIs. Designed for professional cinematographers and gaffers, the XT52 aims to deliver unprecedented brightness, precise color control, and remarkable portability for its class.

The Revolutionary BLAIR Light Engine

At the heart of the STORM XT52's capabilities is Aputure's innovative BLAIR Light Engine. This advanced LED technology offers a truly tunable white light color spectrum with a wide CCT (Correlated Color Temperature) range of 2500K to 10,000K. It also provides precise +/- Green adjustability and x,y coordinate tunable colors, giving filmmakers extensive control over their light's color characteristics.

The BLAIR Light Engine is a direct result of Aputure's acquisition of Prolycht. Aputure states that this new engine aims to produce the highest quality white light, an ultra-wide CCT range, full +/- Green control, and extreme color-accurate dimming.

Unlike common RGBACL (Red, Green, Blue, Amber, Cyan, Lime) or RGBWW (Red, Green, Blue, Warm White, Cold White) LED configurations, the BLAIR Light Engine uses blue, lime, amber, indigo, and red emitters. Aputure chose the "BLAIR" name to avoid the "alphabet soup" confusion often associated with other LED variants.

The Power of Indigo

A key differentiator for the BLAIR Light Engine is the inclusion of an Indigo emitter. This is quite innovative because Indigo light is right at the edge of the human visible spectrum (below approximately 420 nanometers, where most LED lights produce little to no information). Aputure engineers discovered that by adding Indigo, certain materials and objects retained their natural brightness and color more accurately, especially when lit with daylight CCT settings. This subtle addition enhances the "natural fluorescence" of real daylight, resulting in a higher quality white light that better matches natural sources like the sun and black body sources such as tungsten quartz. This attention to spectral detail leads to excellent photometric scores:

• CRI: ≥95

• TLCI: ≥95

• CQS [CIE D5600]: ≥96

• SSI [P3200]: 87

• SSI [CIE D5600]: 87

• TM-30 Rf (average): 95

• TM-30 Rg (average): 100

  
  

Aputure also notes that a version called BLAIR CG (with additional cyan and green emitters) is being developed for their new STORM C fixtures. These will focus on high-quality tunable color with full saturation.

Best-in-Class Output and Dimming

The STORM XT52 lives up to its claim as the brightest point source LED in the industry, delivering impressive measured output:

• 48,000 Lux when paired with its 35° reflector at 5 meters (measured at 5600K).

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• 29,000 Lux when paired with its 50° reflector at 5 meters (measured at 5600K).

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The fixture also offers an incredibly wide 10,000:1 dimming ratio, allowing users to precisely control output down to a mere 0.01%, providing fine granularity for subtle lighting adjustments.

Engineered for the Field: Size and Weight

Despite its immense power, Aputure designed the STORM XT52 with practicality for on-set use in mind. Aputure states the XT52 lamp head is light enough for a single person to set up and operate on a standard crank stand. This is a significant advantage for crews looking to maximize efficiency without sacrificing output.

• XT52 Lamp Head: 29kg (64lb), measuring 550 x 353 x 362mm (21.7 x 13.9 x 14.3″)

  
  

• XT52 Control Box: 13kg (28lb), measuring 411 x 159.5 x 388mm (16.2 x 6.3 x 15.2″). The control box is compact, roughly the size of a briefcase.

Competition and Market Position

The STORM XT52 enters a competitive landscape, going head-to-head with fixtures like the recently announced Nanlux Evoke 5000B. In terms of raw output, the XT52's claimed 48,000 Lux (with 35° reflector) surpasses the Nanlux Evoke 5000B's claimed 22,210 Lux (with 45° reflector). Furthermore, the XT52's total combined weight (lamp head + control box) of 42kg (92lb) is notably lighter than the Nanlux Evoke 5000B's 46kg (101lb) (with yoke), reinforcing Aputure's focus on manageable size and weight for its output.

The XT52 joins Aputure's existing Electro Storm series, which includes the XT26 (a 2,600W tunable white lamp). However, the XT52 benefits from the newer BLAIR light engine, setting it apart from its smaller sibling.

Aputure's Vision for High-Output Lighting

Ted Sim, President and Co-Founder of Aputure, emphasized the company's commitment to pushing boundaries: "We gave ourselves an immense challenge to produce the brightest LED light in the industry with the best spectrum and tunability while making it small and lightweight enough for single-person set up and operation on a crank stand. Last year we launched the STORM lights with the amazing BLAIR light engine. Customers around the world asked us to bring our BLAIR light engine to higher wattage fixtures. So we did. Our engineers knocked it out of the park, putting that technology into such a powerful fixture and designing new cooling and control systems to keep the size and weight manageable."

The Aputure STORM XT52 stands as a testament to this vision, offering filmmakers a powerful, versatile, and user-friendly high-output LED solution that aims to redefine expectations for brightness and color quality in the industry.