As part of a move over to HD content, Finnish private broadcaster MTV3 decided to convert its studio lighting to LED technology.
“We tested a number of other manufacturers’ products and eventually decided in favour of Litepanels (a Vitec Group brand),” explains visual director Johannes Kantelinen.
MTV3 chose the Sola 6 Fresnel LED lights and three models of the 1×1 LED production light: Mono Flood, Bi-Focus and Low-Profile Flood. Kantelinen had high expectations for the new lighting system and the final result was even better than expected.
A major part of this project was the modernisation of the 100 m2 studio used for the popular morning show Good Morning Finland in Hel-sinki. First broadcast in 1989, this show is now the oldest morning show in northern Europe and the team broadcasts live every day for four hours.
Host Lauri Karhuvaara is absolutely delighted with the new studio lights: “I’ve been doing this job for 15 years. Now, every day is like Christmas for me! After three hours of broadcasting live, it used to get really warm in the studio. Doing interviews is now much more comfortable. Even the Finnish Prime Minister noticed the difference. Low heat generation and the soft light are the most important advantages for me.”
Altogether, 24 Sola 6 LED Fresnel lights with 15.24 cm (6 inches) Fresnel lenses now provide HD-friendly lighting in the morning show studio and the 36 m2 news studio.
Kantelinen reports: “The new lighting is brilliant and flattering for our news anchors. Even the studio furnishings now appear fresher on the screen.”
The proprietary Litepanels LEDs produce a bright and soft 5600°K daylight, the hallmark of Litepanels” products. In addition, the Sola 6 consumes only about a sixth of the energy of a conventional 650 watt tungsten spot. The light also focuses from 70 to 10 degrees and so provides the control and the single shadow characteristics that are such key elements of Fresnel lights. Like all Litepanels fixtures, the Sola 6 can be dimmed from 100 percent to 0 without producing a visible change in colour temperature. Both focusing and brightness can also be controlled via DMX, making them an ideal choice for a studio environment.
