I recently wrapped a movie, Jonah, working with DP Helene Louvart. She insisted on getting Arri Skypanel Xs for the shoot. We had to get them shipped in. None of the region rental houses (Ohio) have the Skypanel X. (My rental company E+G in Lexington, KY does not have them either.)
We had a Skypanel X21 and a Skypanel X23. The way the name/number works are: X2 is the model and the second digit is the number of heads. An X21 is a single unit head. The X23 has 3-heads combined on one yoke.
I had never seen or worked with the Skypanel X before. Neither had any of my crew; many very experienced on movies including Superman. Unfortunately, none of the rental houses in the region have purchased the Skypanel X. I understand why. They are expensive, and rental house already have shelves of Arri Skypanels.
I am impressed with the Skypanel X. It is a superbly designed lights that is very bright with excellent color quality. With no diffusion, just the bare COB, the light is very soft and even, ideal for color washes and cyc walls. With the hyperoptic lenses, it has a 9-degree bean that is hard but still has some softness. The lenses are so efficient there is very little spill. At times I had to check that the light was even on. Off-axis with the hyperoptic lenses, it would appear the light was off.
Helene often used the X23 into a window with each panel a different color. The effect was interesting and something I am going to add to my repertoire. There was some color fringing but somehow it seemed natural. To think about a window, the light coming in has difference colors; you have skylight, maybe sunlight, but also light reflecting off trees, buildings, etc. It is not just one color.
Skypanel X23 lighting a window
Here is theX23, again, on a condor for night scene. Also, on the condor is an Aputure X52 into a bounce for a fill/moon light.
The Skypanel Xs is an amazing, sophisticated lights that should be on every shoot.