Up close with the new Astra IP series

10 years on from their original release, Litepanel's well-regarded Astra lights have had a serious revamp.

Michael Herbert, Head of Product for Lighting at Videndum Production Solutions, runs us through some of the main updates on the new and expanded Astra IP range of lights.

Obviously, the IP appellation in the new lights' name gives a clue as to one of the main updates, IP65-rated water resistance, which is going to be handy for a lot of different shoots. 

As becomes pretty obvious in this video shot back at NAB 2024, though, that's a long way from being all. 

"One of the main requests that we had was compared to the old Astras you can now see everything that's going on," he says pointing to the display. "You have a dedicated colour temperature encoder, a dedicated intensity encoder, and then you have a menu encoder where you can kind of go through everything and customise it and set what you need. And you can also go through presets there as well.

Have a look at the video below to see the new lights in all their glory.

"The whole thing has been designed to be very, very focused on ENG crews, field crews, and the camera operator market to give a range of products that are bicolor, high quality, white light, and give you everything you need, but nothing you don't need, so they remain at a very, very accessible price point as well," concludes Herbert.