Digital Sputnik is pulling ahead of the pack with a colorful, waterproof, and remote-controllable LED bar for film and video.

All filmmakers have ever wanted is a light that's battery-powered, lightweight, waterproof, and has the ability to change color and volume remotely with an app. Oh, and one where you can program in animations. Is that too much to ask? For most of cinema history it has been, but now, with the Digital Sputnik Voyager lights, you can get all that in one tiny package for an indie-friendly price.

If you are looking at LED light bars, these offer a host of functionality at a price that is hard to beat. 

The Voyager comes in two lengths: 2 feet and 4 feet, with the 2-footer retailing for $390 and the 4-footer for $590. Both are waterproof to a depth of 2 meters (6 feet) for up to 30 minutes, which make them ideal tools for swimming pools and light work in the surf. This level of waterproofing is also great for wet weather work in the outdoors—though you should always be sure to waterproof whatever cabling you run to the lights if you aren't depending on battery power.  

Digital Sputnik is also coming out with deepwater variants for both lengths, which allow for 10-meter diving for up to 24 hours. ($540 for the 2-ft and $740 for the 4-ft.)

Color and dimming can be controlled with a normal smartphone app, allowing incredibly precise control of multiple units and the pre-programming of animations. This is especially powerful for creating elaborate multi-unit setups since a single app can be used to control multiple units at once to easily create dynamic lighting effects.

While the app allows you to map both the light color and light volume of the units, you might also want to use diffusion filters to alter the light quality. The Voyager makes this easy with slots for installing your favorite LEE or Rosco diffusion filter. The cutout strips can be mounted directly over the LED, or in an alternate slot that hugs the outside of the diffuser tube.

On top of the waterproofing, color, and volume animation, the Voyager also comes with a built-in battery allowing for a variety of uses, from rigging in cars, to performers, or for use in still photo light animation. An early version was already used to create the video for Apple's WWDC conference back in June.

Going the route of many established manufacturers, Digital Sputnik is launching the product with an Indiegogo campaign. Backers get a 25% discount over retail, and, of course, end up getting the first units shipped when the product is released.

Since Digital Sputnik units have been progressively showing up on Rogue One, Lion, and many more large productions in the last few years, the company has a track record of delivering units that stand up to the rigors of production. If you are looking at LED light bars, these offer a host of functionality at a price that is hard to beat.

The campaign is live now with a goal of shipping by December 2017. Pre-order your units now.

Tech Specs

2-foot

• 696x62x50mm (27"x2.5"x2")
• 1.1kg (2.43lbs)
• 39 pixel resolution
• 3000K RGBW base color
• 20W power draw
• 45Wh battery

4-foot

• 1292mmx62mmx50mm (55"x2.5"x2")
• 2.2kg (4.86lbs)
• 83 pixel resolution
• 3000K RGBW base color
• 40W power draw
• 90Wh battery