Al Jazeera English, the 24-hour global English language news channel that is part of the renowned Al Jazeera network, has been using Litepanels products since 2010, and has recently placed orders for a significant number of the company’s products, including the new daylight balanced LED Fresnel fixture, the Sola 6, and several Hilio LED fixtures.
The orders were prompted by the channel’s experience with a range of other Litepanels products, including the popular 1×1 units, which are now deployed by many of Al Jazeera’s field crews across its 27 worldwide bureaus, as well as the Litepanels MicroPro.
The Litepanels 1×1 panel fixture is a versatile production light that features Litepanels’ hallmark LED technology in a slim, sophisticated housing. The revolutionary modular lights provide 1’x1′ of soft, full spectrum, quality light. The lightweight MicroPro is a daylight balanced, on-camera lighting fixture that runs off 6 standard AA batteries, so camera operators no longer need to worry about top lights running down the camera battery.
Paul Quinn, acting manager News Operations, Al Jazeera English, Quinn explains the impact that Litepanels products have had on the channel’s news production, “Our relationship with Litepanels started a couple of years ago when we bought a handful of 1x1s. The reaction from our cameramen was so positive that we had to place more and more orders. We now plan to have at least one available to each of our global staff crews.”
“That prompted us to try out the new Sola 6 as part of the kit for some of our multi-camera interviews, and also a number of Hilio units to provide the lighting for our studios and down-the-line live positions in our Paris, Berlin and Baghdad bureaus. The benefits of Litepanels products, from the compact and lightweight design to the low power draw and battery operation ability, have really impressed us.”
Al Jazeera English purchased a sample number of the Sola 6 lights to evaluate as part of the network’s fly away ENG kits. The daylight balanced Sola 6 combines the advantages of LED technology with the controllability and light shaping properties of a Fresnel light. The fixtures draw a small fraction of the power required by conventional Fresnel fixtures, and provide Litepanels’ famous soft light quality. The Sola 6 units will be used alongside their three-camera mini outside broadcast kits to conduct interviews with prominent political figures, filming on location for the Talk to Al Jazeera programme.
Since the Al Jazeera English news channel launched in November 2006, it has taken the global broadcast news arena by storm and now boasts an audience reach of over 260 million homes worldwide. Part of the channel’s mission is to try and report from places that other networks don’t or can’t, and preserve the exclusivity of the network’s news coverage.
“As a channel, we go to some of the most obscure, remote and hostile parts of the world,” said Quinn. “We have to travel and report from some fairly extreme locations so it is important that we have the right equipment in terms of both portability and performance.”
“Previously, we were relying on top lights only, running off the camera battery. These new fixtures have given us far more flexibility to do recorded pieces or live transmissions without having to lug around generators or run cables halfway through a remote village to an isolated electricity point.”
The Al Jazeera crews have also commented on the consistent quality of light that can be achieved from Litepanels products. The lights offer infinitely dimmable daylight or tungsten balanced output with virtually no colour shift by simply turning a knob. In addition to the colour quality, more of today’s broadcasters are choosing Litepanels because of the cost saving benefits derived from using 95% less power than conventional lights and advanced thermal dynamics which keep the fixtures cool.
