Relio is an Italian lighting company that is focused above all else on accuracy and flexibility.
They make small units that are designed for either lighting the whole scene if doing macro, tabletop, or insert work, or being part of the overall lighting plan (a special light on a key prop, say) in a bigger setup.
But they go far beyond what we normally expect with a tiny light, with exceptionally-high color accuracy, the ability to load a 3D LUT into the unit to dial in precisely the light you want, and flicker free performance at 10,000 FPS.
While the Relio² has been available for a few months now, the 2020 kickstarter is all about accessories that make the units more functional for filmmakers. Available in a filmmaker focused studio kit, Relio² now also makes power easier with the "six pack," a unit that allows you to power up to six lights off of a single Sony NP battery.
This should make life easier for filmmakers who want to build an on-camera lighting setup or otherwise use the powerful little units to build in a special lighting element to the scene; it's much easier to swap out a single, affordable Sony NP than it is to constantly be changing batteries for six separate units.
They even have a new 2700K "Tungsten" unit meant for sunset lighting situations. While Tungsten light was nominally 3200K, tungsten units were regularly lower, and if you put them on a dimmer they would often shift down to a beautiful 2600-2800K warm glow. This is something that has been missing with modern light units, and having the option of creating that classic sunset glow with the new Tungsten should have a variety of applications.
They even have a polarized attachment for their emitter to allow for controlling reflections when doing product work.
By getting all the light waves in in alignment coming from the unit, filmmakers and photographers can get more power out of on on-unit polarizer to cut down on distracting glare.
Tech Specs
- 98 TLCI, 100 with LUT
- Tiny 35mm x 35mm units
- MicroUSB connector
- 1A at 5V DC draw
- IP53 water resistance with magnetic microUSB plug-end inserted, otherwise IP42
- Creative Commons CC-BY-4.0 license for 3D printed accessories
- Wavelengths available 3500K, 4000K, 5700K, 660nm, 590nm, 520nm, 470nm, 450nm, 850nm, 1050nm, full- spectrum IR850~1050nm, 360nm, 395nm
- ARM Cortex M0 32bit 40MHz, with integrated Bluetooth® LE 4.2 antenna CPU
- 50,000 hour predicted lamp life
- User swappable lens, 10º, 25º, 60º, 90º, 10×70º
- AL 6082 “Anticorodal“ aluminum alloy, AISI 316L low-carbon stainless steel alloy body
As with all Kickstarters, we do want to warn that Kickstarter is a funding process and not a shopping center. Relio has been making lights since 2015 and have a pretty good track recorder of delivering on units.
Pricing starts at $222.
Head over to the Kickstarter for more.
