It’s true that we’ve seen a lot of lights at the IBC Show, many of which have been interesting updates. But it’s rare that you find a company prepared to completely reinvent things and come up with something totally different.
DIYP were excited to discover Pipe Lighting which was showing off its truly innovative lighting designs. We chatted to CEO and co-owner, Eduard Bochanov to find out more.
“We call it game-changing technology,” says Eduard, “it’s good for everyone in the filmmaking business. Our light is unique because it’s inflatable,” he adds.
Wait, what? Yes, you did read that correctly. Pipe Lighting makes inflatable lights! It’s somewhat similar to the flexible LED light mats that already exist, except that you can inflate the lights, creating an almost in-built softbox diffuser. You can inflate it using an air pump that you might use for a camping air mattress for example, so it needs very little extra equipment. It obviously takes up very little space and is quick to assemble and take down. You can also use it deflated as a light mat if you want.
“The unique selling point is the power to weight ratio,” says Eduard, “it’s extremely powerful and weighs very little.” The lights are also waterproof, and will even function underwater up to 2 metres! They can also be used on the surface of the water, like an inflatable mattress.
At the moment the lights are bi-colour, however, the company is planning to introduce an RGB version next year. The output power of the largest light is 1500W. That’s incredibly powerful for such a lightweight and quick-to-assemble light. In 2 to 3 minutes the light will be fully put together.
The quality of light is very soft, and accessories such as grids can be purchased separately. It also comes complete with a puncture repair kit.
The largest Pipe Lights are around 7 metres tall which is huge! A conventional light or modifier of that size would take up an enormous amount of space, even when packed down. But they also produce smaller versions of course. You can choose from 2 feet, 4 feet, 6 feet, 8 feet, 24 feet, and above. They come in two formats, the tube and the mattress.
Another very interesting version is a light tube that can be filled with helium rather than air so that you can have them floating in the sky!
It’s unusual to find a product that so completely upends everything that has come before it. These Pipe Lights are truly innovative and could yield some exciting new creative results in how they can be used in the near future!
If you’re interested in buying one of these lights then you need to contact the company via their website.
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