Astera’s brand-new Helios range of LED tubes – smaller, lighter and more portable than ever – was launched at the Prolight+Sound expo last month in Frankfurt, and the first batches are now being delivered following record presale orders.
The fabulous new Helios lighting tube has all the features and functionality of the popular TitanTube utilising the stable and well-respected technology. It offers outstanding concept continuity in an even more transportable package - a neat and powerful little tube which can be mounted virtually anywhere.
Like all Astera products, Helios comes with an ingenious assortment of accessories to cover every rigging and positioning need, wish and necessity.
The super-convenient IP65 rated Helios has 8 pixels and is half the size with half the battery weight of the TitanTube, but with the same high CRI and TCLI of 96 for excellent skin tones and detail.
With up to 20 hours of battery run-time, it’s a perfect option for areas like pop-up dressing rooms, fashion show makeup stations and well as for the close-lighting of faces, and in larger quantities, for rooms, sets and other spaces.
The tuneable white range is from 1750K – 20,000K and can be very simply dialled in on the tube or set from Astera’s ground-breaking App.
Eight tubes fit into Astera’s super-neat Helios Case which can be used for charging and transportation. It holds the same useful and practical sets of accessories as the Titan Tube case (16 eyebolts, 16 holders, 8 x floor stands, 16 x bolts, all included with the case) together with eight Wing Plates.
There is even a compartment for an ART7 AsteraBox CRMX (which interfaces between the lights and the control App and can be used as a wireless DMX transmitter with CRMX technology) or other accessories. The case comes with the same PowerBox charging as TitanTube.
A handy soft-bag option enables four Helios Tubes - at 0.75kg each - to be carried over the shoulder – great for studio or location.
A Helios Handle can be screwed into the Helios Tube enabling the light source to be held and aimed at people or objects when filming, and it also has a ‘babyplug’ attached for mounting to assorted objects.
For maximum flexibility, Helios Tubes can also be wired into mains power and run via DMX ArtNet or sACN and a lighting console, and power can be distributed via the PowerBox on the unit.
An accessible, easy-to-read display on the back of the Helios tube offers quick access to DMX setup, colours, hue, saturation and intensity control.
The colours, brightness, battery life and other elements are perfectly matched to those of the TitanTube, so combining the two fixtures gives seamless lighting coverage and control in a single Astera environment.
This incredibly versatile product from Astera has been developed to benefit all areas utilising professional lighting and especially those related to filming and recording – from movies and TV shows, video promos and media shoots to YouTube and Instagram moments - plus events of all types and live performance shows.