This is the lighting tool I’ve needed for a long time, and it’s not even a light.
Aputure has become the leader in budget lighting. So much so, that the company has moved into more expensive fixtures with the Aputure LS 1200D.
But where does a manufacturer go after developing such an iron grip on the market?
To power delivery, of course. The Aputure DELTA Pro is a portable power solution that will keep filmmakers mobile, all while keeping their batteries free to use for other things, like their cameras.
Why would you need one? Let’s take a look at what the DELTA Pro brings to the table and how we can use it.
Aputure DELTA Pro
The one thing I’ve been missing from my lighting kit (which is mostly Aputure lights) is the ability to make it mobile. Sure, I can power most of them off V-mount batteries, but I need those for my camera.
The Aputure DELTA Pro is literally the answer. The wheeled power pack looks more like a cooler, but instead of ice and cold drinks, you have a 3,600Wh Lithium Iron Phosphate battery inside. This will give creatives up to 3,600W AC power output.
This power capacity is divided among eight different outlet types, including a standard AC Outlet, a 30A AC Outlet, USB-C and Type-A ports, a car outlet, an Anderson outlet, and a DC5521 Port. As long as you don’t exceed the port limit or 3,600 watts, you can plug in as much as you want. Or anything you want.
According to Aputure, filmmakers can power one LS 1200d Pro and one LS 600d Pro simultaneously at full brightness for 1.5 hours, which is a lot of light. Separately, creatives will get over 2 hours and 4 hours, respectively.
While that might not be a lot of time when shooting for a full day, that’s a lot of power for one battery pack to support.
But even if you do run out of juice, you can refill this sucker in about 2.5 hours from a standard AC wall outlet. Aputure partnered with EcoFlow for the DELTA Pro, which uses the company’s proprietary X-Stream fast charging technology.
If you have an EV charging port, that’s also another option. Alternatively, creatives can also rely on the Anderson port to charge from a car of optional solar panels. There’s also a built-in LFP battery that Aputure claims will last up to 10 years.
Power on Location
A few years ago, I helped shoot a film for a Masters’s thesis. We ended up in a location up north, about an hour away from Los Angeles. Our tungsten-based lights were powered from a small battery pack used for camping, and while it did the job, it wasn’t really made for that purpose.
Even though it was a night shoot, we had to rush to get the shots we needed, as the battery pack could only last for so long. As we didn’t know how long it would really last.
I would have loved to have the Aputure DELTA Pro on that shoot.
But we’re in 2023. There’s a whole lot more I could get from this unit. The DELTA Pro also includes a companion mobile app, which allows users to not only control multiple power units at once but also get real-time energy economy data via Bluetooth or WiFi.
Is This Something You Need?
If you’re the creative who uses V-Mount batteries more on your lights than your camera, this is definitely a tool you should consider. For small projects that may be on the cusp of needing a generator, this tool is a must. Even if you’re on a big project, having a few of these instead of a big generator might be a better solution if you want to keep a small footprint.
While there are similar units on the market, the DELTA Pro is made for filmmakers and comes with features we’ll all need. That battery pack you bought for camping just won’t have the same feature set. If you want to pick one up, visit Aputure’s website.
The DELTA Pro really isn’t something that I thought I wanted from Aputure, but now that it’s out, I really need it.
But what do you think? Is this something you want in your kit? Let us know in the comments!
