Maxima 3 LED spot announced – Maxima 7 sunlight simulator LED spot finally available to buy
Apr 16, 2021
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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This one’s taken a while. Initially announced in February 2020 to much fanfare, the Maxima 7 LED spotlight is now available to buy. And it’s brought a little one with it, the Maxima 3. All the specs of the Maxima 7 were previously released at launch, and you can see those here, so let’s talk about the new Maxima 3.
The Maxima 3 is a 300W COB LED light with a CRI of 96+ and a TLCI of 97. It’s available in two versions that are either tungsten or daylight balanced, with a COB LED life of 50,000 hours. As with the Maxima 7, the Maxima 3 LED contains a focusable 8″ Fresnel lens and accepts Bowens mount modifiers.
The Maxima 3 has a unibody design with analogue controls and uses just a single power cable, so there are no external ballasts or dangly bits to worry about. It weighs 3.9kg and offers 300 Watts of LED power with a CRI/TLCI of 96+/97. It’s a hard, single point light, with an 8″ borosilicate Fresnel lens, that’s zoomable to provide a 15-60° beam of light.
| Light source | 300W daylight (5600K) or tungsten (3200K) COB LED |
| Luminous output | 104lm/W (daylight) or 101lm/W (tungsten) |
| CRI | 96+ |
| TLCI | 97 |
| Cooling | Full copper heatsink, CPU controlled forced air |
| Modifiers | Focusable 200mm (8″) borosilicate glass Fresnel lens, Bowens S-Type modifier mount |
| Processor | ARM Cortex-M7 |
| Brightness levels | 10-100% flicker-free, high frequency CPU controlled output |
| Beam angle | 15-60° |
| Noise level | 19dBa at 1 metre |
| Power supply | 500W Integrated PSU |
| Voltage | 90-250v, 50-60Hz |
| Power consumption | 20-250W Max (Regular mode) / 220-350W Max (Boost mode) |
| Remote control | Bluetooth 4.2 via mobile app, Priprietary 2.4Ghz radio, micro USB wired |
| Weight (with Fresnel) | 5.1kg |
| Weight (without Fresnel) | 3.9kg |
Like the Maxima 7, the Maxima 3 has a built-in ARM Cortex M7 processor, that controls all of its functions and can be remotely controlled via Bluetooth (iOS or Android), 2.4Ghz radio or USB cable. Everything is contained within a carbon-reinforced body, with an “extra-matte” finish for maximum weather protection (it’s AC-powered, though, remember) and to eliminate unwanted reflections.
It offers three different power modes, which are Silent, Regular and Boost mode. In Silent mode, the Maxima 3 runs in the 10-180W Watt range, emitting only 19dBa of noise for when you really need your lights to be quiet. In regular mode, the light offers 20-250W of power, bumping up the noise level slightly to 26dBa. In Boost mode, you get the maximum output, with a 220-350W range for when audio isn’t required or the light is very far from the scene (handy for sun simulations with long straight shadows).
The Maxima 3 LED is available to buy now for €1,899 with the S mount locking ring or for€2,499 with the Fresnel lens in either tungsten or daylight white balance. Also available from today is the Maxima 7, which you can buy now for €3,990 with a carbon-kevlar body or for €4,990 with a metal body.
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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