Adaptalux is a patent pending adaptable miniature lighting studio. It allows for an infinite amount of lighting environments to be created, in an effortless and adaptable way all under one product. This gives lighting control and creativity back to the user, allowing you to create fantastically unique lighting for images and videos with complete freedom. Adaptalux has been designed to make macro photography, macro videography and product photography lighting easy and accessible to photographers of all ability. The only limit, is your imagination.
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Adaptalux has been created utilising modular design. This allows the user to ‘build’ the lighting environment, making the product completely unique for each user based on their lighting preferences and subject requirements.
Adaptalux is split into three main parts:
The Control Pod is the hub of the modular design and the command centre for all electronic aspects of the product.
The Lighting Arms contain incredibly powerful light sources for your lighting environment, which allow for high shutter speed shooting. Simply connect to the Control Pod using our patent pending magnetic connector and unleash your lighting creativity.
Effect Components expand the lighting capabilities of Adaptalux immensely. The exciting thing is, we have loads more ideas that will expand Adaptalux’s capabilities and the prototypes we have shown here, are just the beginning.
Because of this approach, Adaptalux allows the user to easily control the following all under one product:-
Adaptalux has also been designed to be used anywhere, whether in conjunction with a camera via a provided cold shoe connector or, within an indoor space, separate to the camera. Adaptalux is designed to suit you.
Continuous lighting means macro videography has never been so accessible thanks to Adaptalux:-
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The Control Pod is the command center for Adaptalux. It controls all electronic aspects of your lighting environment using our patent pending magnetic connector design and intelligent software. By utilising an innovative program that detects how many Lighting Arms are connected, the Control Pod digitally pulses the LEDs independently to each other at 4 million times a second. This gives very accurate brightness control whilst retaining a long battery life.
Adaptalux provides light in a continuous form with incredibly bright LEDs. This allows for constant direct visual feedback of how the lighting is affecting the photography subject, allowing for quick and precise changes to be made. It also makes macro videography accessible to everyone.
Key features of the Control Pod include:-
All of this is packed into a small, stylish design that compliments your existing photography equipment.
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The Lighting Arms contain the light source for your Adaptalux lighting studio. They have been designed around an incredibly powerful LED chip that can output up to 165 lumens… or in other words, they are unbelievably bright. This allows for high shutter speeds to be used when needed!
The Lighting Arms have been engineered to dissipate heat from the LED throughout the Arm. This means the LEDs are extremely stable with regards to colour and brightness and ensures the LEDs have a long life. It also makes the LEDs more efficient, resulting in a better battery life.
There are 5 lighting colors currently available to the user, standard white, blue, red, green and amber. The Lighting Arms are fully flexible and stay in the users desired position, giving 360° light direction control. They also have beam angle control from 120° down to 24°. A specially designed ring magnet has been incorporated into the head of the Lighting Arm, allowing for quick attachment and detachment of Effect Components.
To use an Adaptalux Lighting Arm, simply connect to the Control Pod via our patent pending magnetic connector.
Key features of Lighting Arms:-
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Here at Adaptalux we are constantly seeking new ways to expand the capabilities of the product. Below is just the start of some amazing Effect Components we have created, adding new dimensions and possibilities to your Adaptalux lighting set-up.
Adaptalux provides an easy way to add diffusion and filtered colour to your lighting environment. Simply snap onto the end of the Lighting Arms. Mix different colours with coloured Lighting Arms to create unique colour tones. A quick and easy way to add creativity and unique lighting to a photograph or video. Let your imagination take control!
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The Adaptalux stage provides a surface to place a subject. It can be snapped onto a Lighting Arm to provide an illuminated plane, removing all ground shadows around a subject. This attachment utilises the light from the Lighting Arms, meaning 5 illumination colours are currently available.
To use, simply snap onto the Lighting Arm, easy.
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The Adaptalux Backdrop Setter has been designed to provide the user an easy way to change the backdrops to photos or videos. Simply snap onto any coloured Lighting Arm to use.
The backdrop setter is broken down into three main parts, allowing for great customisation. To use, simply place a desired back panel into the front panel and place onto of the back drop housing. Built in magnets will self align and fix your chosen backdrop into position.
We have plans to offer a laser cutting service for users to send in their back panel designs via the Adaptalux web space which we will make and send to you. This will allow for limitless background design to suit your needs.
The Backdrop Setter currently allows for the following elements of studio backdrop control:-
We have already designed and made 4 back panels for you and we will design many more before launch.
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Although Adaptalux can be balanced by flexing the arms to self support when used independently to a camera, the Adaptalux Stabiliser has been designed to remove unbalanced set-ups completely using the power of physics!
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Adaptalux isn’t just about the product. We believe in something much greater, the experience to be able to share your lighting set-ups around the world within one place. We are busy working on Adaptalux L.E.D, or the Adaptalux Lighting Environment Database (see what we did there?). This is going to be a web space built into our website alongside an App for iPhone, Android and Windows phones.
The app can be used to take pictures of lighting set-ups created with Adaptalux, which translates the set-up into a easily readable configuration for other people to follow. This set-up can then be uploaded privately or publicly onto the L.E.D, for yourself and others to use.
So picture this, you create a brilliant Adaptalux set-up for taking photos of red apples. You create a ‘lighting set-up’ using the App and upload it publicly onto the Adaptalux L.E.D. Through tagging, others can then search, “apple lighting”. Your set-up will then appear among others with ratings, to download to their lighting library to use. They might even find improvements and upload there own versions.
On top of this, you will be able to share your photos and videos created using Adaptalux. We are busy drawing up the final concepts for this and we have the necessary people on stand by to build it. We are confident this will be done by the product launch.
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These Effect Components are just the beginning of the Adaptalux product range. We already have new ideas in conceptual development for future Effect Components that will expand Adaptalux’s capabilities even more.
We are currently working on an electronic turn-table for videography that can be controlled through the Control Pod, flash module attachments and we are also experimenting with laser lighting effects… I know, pretty cool right?! These are just a couple of examples of some of the exciting new products we have planned for Adaptalux.
We will keep you up to date with the design progress of all new parts via a special blog section on our website and via social media.
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Adaptalux is going to be sold as ‘packs’ and as individual parts. You get to choose your desired colour of Lighting Arms and Colour Filters when purchasing a pack. Support us on Kickstarter to get Adaptalux at a heavily discounted price.
You will be able to buy the Lighting Arms and Effect Components individually so you can build up your Adaptalux collection to suit your specific photography or videography requirements. All prices are suggested RRP.
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We need your help to fund the expensive tooling costs associated with mass producing a product, so we can manufacture our first batch. The volumes will then be able to go up, allowing the product to become cheaper, simple! The money will also help us make the minor improvements necessary to the product over the next few months.
Some money will also go towards paying our App developer so we can crack on with the L.E.D app and webspace. We would also like to hire an experienced Electronics Engineer to aid refining the PCB and integrate aspects such as intelligent USB battery charging.
We are also looking to expand our team with talented people. So if you have a passion for photography and videography and you have a set of skills that you think can contribute, then drop us a line to sg@adaptalux.com
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With more funding we can afford to get more manufactured and ready for the Adaptalux launch towards the end of the year. Details below:-
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Written by Samuel Granger, Creator of Adaptalux:-
Photography and design have always been a great passion of mine since I can remember. I love it, I always have a camera with me… even back in the 90’s…
As I grew up, I developed a passion for Product Design. I love developing an idea, into a tangible object that has a purpose and use. Therefore, I went off to study Product Design at Bournemouth University, which shaped me into the designer I am today. About 5 years ago I started getting into the world of macro photography. It is amazing been able to see something you cannot see with your naked eye. As I learnt macro photography, I found that lighting is challenging to learn and it can also be cumbersome and expensive. Without good lighting it is very hard to produce a good macro photograph. I tried all sorts of lighting equipment ‘designed’ for close up shooting, however they all shared similar problems so I eventually resorted to a DIY lighting set-up, which was not ideal.
Shared problems with existing lighting equipment:-
This got me thinking, why does it have to be like this, and the idea for Adaptalux was sparked.
When I graduated from University, Adaptalux had taken the shape of a basic prototype with a basic PCB board and its core functionality was there through work done throughout my final year. However, I knew it could be improved upon and I had barely scratched the surface of its capabilities, so I continued developing it. I analysed that prototype, made some improvements over the summer and assembled a 3D printed prototype which had much better aesthetics and functional capabilities.
August 2014, I went down to Suffolk to see my good friend. Over dinner one evening, I got talking to his dad (Martin) who is a keen photographer. He loved the idea of Adaptalux, shortly after that I returned with my 3D printed prototype. He liked it so much we agreed to go into a partnership and try and get this product on to the market.
Through the next few months we completely stripped the prototype apart and reviewed it. From there we re-designed areas of the design and implemented them into the CAD model. We also added new features, new abilities and designed some new effect components. We established relationships with manufacturing companies so we could optimise all moldable and machinable parts for mass production. From this, another prototype was then made, the one used for this campaign. This prototype uses all of the materials that will be used in the final product and the parts have been manufactured using techniques that resemble mass production techniques… so we know it can be mass produced. We have also established a relationship with a PCB manufacturer and suppliers for out-sourced components.
So March 2015 is upon us and through lots of work and sleepless nights we have established the following:-
Its been a long and exciting journey, and we are really excited about its future!
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Many thanks for your time, don’t forget to share this project with your friends via social media. Any questions then please leave us a message and we will get back to you ASAP.
Check out our Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram, Google + and Youtube pages for all of the latest Adaptalux information!
Also, please support our Thunderclap campaign, so we can all clap together with some thunder for Adaptalux towards the end of the campaign!
The Control Pod, Lighting Arms, Diffusers and Colour Filters are shown as a master prototype on this page, assembled by hand. The last piece to the puzzle is to find an assembly factory that we know will assemble the product to the high quality we expect. We will be doing this over the next few months alongside trial production runs. We will give you regular updates on progress.
The Control Pod PCB needs some further work to aid with assembly and USB power management aspects. We are looking to hire an experienced electronics engineer to help us complete this work.
Other Effect Components:- The Stage, Stabiliser and Backdrop Setter need to be master prototyped and optimised for production. The first prototypes (shown on this page – they are 3D printed) have given us a great insight into their functionality and we have already implemented any improvements needed to the designs. We are very confident these will be ready for manufacture in the next few months.
The Adaptalux L.E.D. is still very much in a conceptual but approved state, we know it is possible to achieve. We have programmers for app and web development at hand, ready, and work will begin on this straight away after the Kickstarter campaign.
We have worked hard on producing a solid production plan. However, if delays do occur we will keep you informed, and let you know what we are doing to get things back on schedule as quickly as possible.
Supply chain risk – We have worked very hard in establishing good relationships over the last year with manufacturers and suppliers. However, component delays and unexpected shortages can occur. Again we will keep you informed and work quickly to get the problem solved.