Kelvin Play is the first ever RBGACL LED panel light

I want to warmly welcome the new Kelvin Play (link) – an RGBACL panel light. Of all the many LED panels I have seen in the market, I don’t recall a single panel using the RGBACL technology.

The Kelvin Play was announced at NAB 2023 last week and received quite a bit of excitement. While we are not new to colored RGB panels, seeing an RGBLAC in the wild was an exciting discovery. If you are new to RGBLAC technology or want to learn why this is a big thing, hit the jump.

RGB, RGBWW, and RGBLAC

Most colored LED lights on the market are RGB lights, meaning they have three LED chips: Red, Green, and Blue. Some are more advanced and are RGBWW, with two extra LED chips for warm-white and cold-white, totaling five LED chips. The additional chips provide more accurate control over color subtleties and the option to produce purer white than their RGB counterparts. The most advanced systems are RBGLAC and have six LED chips: Red, Green, Blue, Amber, Cyan, and Lime. This multitude of LED chips allows them to output even more accurate colors at a bigger range.

According to Kelvin:

The advantage RGBACL has over RGBWW is that it is capable of giving you a larger CCT range and it can produce more saturated colors with more output. RGBWW lights tend to struggle to create saturated colors like yellow and they don’t always have as much output when generating saturated colors. They can also have a large drop-off in output at different CCT settings.

Now, most RGBLAC lights so far were COB lights like the Orion Prolyct 675 or Nanlite 60c, where there are some optics to defuse the different colors. Kelvin Play is the first small panel with RGBACL, with 18 separate chips. I hope it paves the way for more RGBLAC lights.

Kelvin Play’s key features

While Kelvin Play is a new device, it draws some technology and some design elements from the other Kelvin lights: the Epos 300 and the bigger Epos 600. The Epos series are all COB lights, but you can see that Kelvin kept the light engine, IP rating, and aluminum housing.

• 18W full spectrum LED pocket light
• Cantastoria™ RGBACL Six-Color Light Engine (patent pending)
• CRI 98 | TLCI 99 | CQS 97 | SSI 86 @3200K | SSI 74 @5600K
• 2000K to 20000K CCT
• IP rating 65
• Bluetooth, Kelvin Narrator App for iOS/Android
• 2 x 1/4″-20 Female Thread Mounting
• Kelvin MagTech™ for accessory (proprietary)
• 3-Hour Runtime at Maximum Brightness without charging
• USB-C
• Sturdy aluminum housing

Kelvin Play control options

There are two ways to control Kelvin Play:

Bluetooth App Control

Built-in Bluetooth 5.0 allows you to control the Play panel from up to 328′ away using the Kelvin Narrator App. The app is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. Select between preset gel and creative effects and create your own lighting effects.

Onboard Control

Use the two integrated dial controls with the 1.3″ TFT LCD display on the back panel of the Play light for onboard control. Toggle between the CCT, HSI, and RGB modes and adjust dimming and color temperature.

Kelvin Play Light Modifier Kit

Kelvin Play can be extended with a Light Modifier Kit that includes a complete set of modifiers:

• 40 and 60° Honeycomb Grids
• Heavy, Medium, and Thin Light Diffusers
• Magnetic Spacer

There is a total of six elements that you can mix and match to achieve different light focusing and diffusion. The only missing element I would love to see is a focusing lens add-on that would allow for a longer throw.

Kelvin Play Price and availability

On pre-order, the Kelvin Play costs $174, though once they start shipping in September 2023, I assume they will revert to the list price of $249. The accessory kit costs $199.00 at B&H and, while in the pre-order state, $159 at Kelvin.