Aladdin MOSAIC Lighting Review – RGBWW Flexible Lighting Fixture

by Graham SheldonJuly 4^th, 2023

Aladdin Lights, a lighting manufacturer based out of South Korea, primarily creates flexible LED fixtures for filmmakers. Their RGBWW MOSAIC line initially caught my eye at Cine Gear 2022. I’m excited to finally get my hands on the unique 600W MOSAIC 4×4 RGBWW for a detailed review. Here we go!

The Mosaic line at Cinegear 2022 drew my attention because of its RGBWW color and large format (available in 3×6′ and 2×4′, alongside the Aladdin 4×4′ version I tested for this review). I’m always looking for large, soft sources that set up quickly and can fit in tight spots (for example, near a ceiling), without the need for complex rigging or expensive equipment like speed rails or menace arms. At first glance, the 140-degree beam angle MOSAIC looks like it might be the ticket. But first, we need to zoom out a bit and talk about where the MOSAIC fits into the overall LED lighting picture in 2023.

You can break down most of the current LED lighting spaces into a few simple segments:

1. Soft Panel Lights
2. Hard Lights
3. Tube/Cube Lights
4. Thin or Flexible Fixtures

Regarding the Thin or Flexible category, Litegear and Intellytech immediately spring to mind as competitors to Aladdin with their Spectrum/LiteMat/Auroris in the case of Litegear, and LiteCloth in the case of Intellytech. Lately, Aputure as amaran and Nanlite have also dipped their toes into the flexible LED fixture space, but with generally smaller overall dimensions, a relative lack of built-in DMX control, and lower price points.

Aladdin’s MOSAIC finds its niche in this space by giving us flexible color-capable lamp heads and larger dimensions. Let’s start by opening the box.

Initial impression

The Aladdin MOSAIC 4×4′ ships in a long, wheeled hard case that will fit perfectly in your compact car, grip truck, or SUV. In fact, I was surprised by how small everything breaks down (the lamp head only takes up about a third of the case). There’s some minimal padding in the case, but nothing about the MOSAIC seems particularly fragile, which adds to its overall appeal. There isn’t a reliance on glass, and where plastic is used, I don’t see it being a common impact point for drops or external bumps.

Aladdin ships the MOSAIC with a few items to get you started:

• Flexible Lamp Head
• Power Supply
• Power Supply Holder
• Extension Cable (16′)
• Basic Head Cable (9.8′)
• Frame
• Diffusion Material with Solid Skirted Sides
• Grid
• 2 x Small Inner Bag
• Hand Controller
• 16 “Bungee Balls”

This all feels like a complete kit; you may never need any other accessories beyond this list.

At first glance, the frame, in particular, looks a little daunting. Still, it all assembles quickly with no need for me to consult any setup materials or manufacturer videos available online. Everything connects quickly and is locked into place by small silver twisting knobs. In the standard configuration, you are essentially building a lightbox with skirted sides. As a DP, I have shot a few episodes of a series called VICE: Informer with a single soft overhead source precisely like this. Maybe this will become my go-to fixture for projects like that.

Upon opening the box, take note. The frame only fits in the case one way. Once you’ve figured it out, putting everything back into place is easy. Rental house owners might want to take a picture of how everything packs away, laminate that photo, and leave it in the case for future renters. It isn’t complicated once you know how, but if you don’t, the hard case doors may not shut.

Connecting the flexible lamp head to the frame requires the use of 16 bungee balls, which are included. If there is a potential weak point in the setup, it’s here. The bungee balls take more weight than you would expect, and you have to use all sixteen to evenly distribute the weight of the lamp head throughout the frame. Connect too few, and the weight of the lamp head will pull a given bungee ball free from the frame if it’s raised off the ground. This means you’ll have to tie them together again using the friction point in the bungee ball itself.

Although I didn’t find any issues with the lamp head breaking free or drooping once everything was up and running, I wonder if there could be another solution other than the bungee balls. Some advice: connect all the bungee balls to the lamp head on the ground first before trying to raise everything off the ground.

Of course, one of the advantages of the Aladdin MOSAIC being a flexible mat design is that you could easily disregard the frame/bungee ball system by connecting the lamp head directly to the ceiling (with a wall spreader) or a grid with sturdy zip ties or safety chains using the grommets that ring the LED mat. Doing so would mean the diffusion accessory wouldn’t be compatible. Still, plenty of other standalone frames on the market provide useful diffusion in a pinch. Lately, I’ve been working with sound stage grids that have weight limits. The MOSAIC 4×4′ is low weight enough that I wouldn’t be concerned mounting one or several over talent with the proper safety chains in place.

Let’s talk about that diffusion for a moment – it’s essentially a full grid, and the sides utilize solid black material to prevent light leaks. The diffusion slides into place, and the frame’s dimensions keep everything taut with the help of cloth bands on the corners. Unfortunately, if you want to use another strength of slip-on diffusion in these dimensions, you’ll have to wait. The Aladdin team mentioned they are in active conversations with DoPChoice (3rd party maker of quality lighting accessories). I hope this will lead to other types of diffusion with the same slip-on design.

You will want to use the included silver baby pin accessory to connect the frame to a stand of your choice. Once everything is put together, the overall weight is impressively low. I could easily carry the whole lamp head + frame around in a way I can’t with Skypanels, for example. Still, I found I preferred to use a rolling combo stand to move the fixture around the set a bit faster, given the larger dimensions. I wish Aladdin had gone for a Kino-style back mount here – I’m just so used to that system, and a lollipop or wing mount style would have been nice and would have led to a bit more flexibility when panning or tilting the fixture. Without a Kino-type mount, use a grip knuckle and tilt up and down as needed.

Another pin adapter that’s included is useful for connecting the power supply to your stand. Still, you won’t find the clicking-in mechanism here that has become popular with brands like Aputure or Nanlux. I highly suggest purchasing a mafer clamp and leaving it in your Aladdin hard case to keep the power supply off the ground and affixed to the stand. A little mechanism to click the controller into place on the power supply would also be nice, as opposed to having to hook it over a stand. These are minor quibbles with the included accessories. Still, every quality-of-life improvement means less time between setups on location.

Competitors

You can learn a lot about where a brand thinks its product will compete based on the chosen price point. All three of the currently available Aladdin MOSAIC flat fixtures (tube versions are shipping soon) sit in a premium place in terms of cost but don’t quite land at the top of the market when compared to the newly announced rigid Litegear Spectrum 8 with its roughly $9000 price point or the more flexible $14K 5×10′ Auroris.

Here’s the current pricing for the Aladdin MOSAIC line:

• MOSAIC 2×4′: $5,464
• MOSAIC 3×6′: $7,701
• MOSAIC 4×4′: $7,483

One of the key differences out of the gate between the Spectrum 8/Auroris and Aladdin’s MOSAIC line is the use of pixels. Litegear’s 5×10′ Auroris features 12 large format programmable pixels, giving the Auroris fixture the ability to do more movement-based effects. Aladdin’s MOSAIC fixture doesn’t have integrated programmable pixels, but for me, this isn’t a deal breaker, as my need to use pixels isn’t great. Your answer might be different if you often work on music videos, stage shows, or flashy product and fashion shoots.

Remember that although the Spectrum series from Litegear has color, it isn’t bendable like the Aladdin MOSAIC line or Litegear’s own Auroris line. The newer Spectrum updates also make their lamp heads a little thicker than previous generations of the Litegear Spectrum. Food for thought!

As I alluded to earlier, Intellytech makes some flexible lighting fixtures. Still, their new LiteCloth 3.0 line currently tops out at 400W, and it likely wouldn’t be able to compete with the 600W MOSAIC 4×4′ in terms of pure output.

Control

The Aladdin MOSAIC is controllable with a hand controller, rear lamp head controller (minimal control options), and over Bluetooth using the All In App, built-in Lumen Radio, or a 5-pin DMX input which provides additional options with your favorite DMX accessory.

In practice, the hand controller is very easy and intuitive to use, and I also found the app to be one of the better mobile applications from a lighting company. It all just works. Plus, the 4×4′ MOSAIC connects quickly to my iOS device with a multitude of options for dialing in any favorite colors or Kelvin temperatures.

The rear lamp head controller doesn’t provide a ton of options for changing settings. Still, it’s a fast solution to audition a different color or Kelvin temperature. As you can see from the image below, you don’t get any indication about exactly which Kelvin temp or color you’re at in a given moment, but it is a fast way to eyeball things on the run by just watching the colors change on your subject.

In general, I’m never going to complain when it comes to more options for controlling a lighting fixture. More is always better.

The All In App also presents you with various effects such as Fireworks, Flicker, Welding, Fire, Police Car, and more. You do have a few pre-set digital filters like Leaf Green, Urban Sodium, Sunset Red, Hi Sodium, and others, but they aren’t locked to well-known and numbered common gel types from the likes of Rosco or Lee.

Output & Kelvin handling in CCT mode

I went ahead and tested the output using lux and Kelvin handling of the Aladdin MOSAIC 4×4′ at a distance of three feet with my Sekonic C-700U Spectrometer. Here are my results, starting with a target of 5600K with no accessories or modifiers attached. I recorded an excellent CRI of 95.6 throughout testing.

A result of 6574K is a bit further than I would like from the 5600K target and a so-so overall result when it comes to Kelvin accuracy. Later in testing, I address that on my particular fixture by finding the optimal settings for hitting 5600K daylight.

Now for a target of 3200K:

A result of 2993K is closer to the target of 3200K when compared to the results at the daylight end of the Kelvin range. Output remains about the same.

Finally, I wanted to determine the optimal controller settings for getting the closest to true 5600K as possible, so I kept metering with my Sekonic Spectromaster C-700U until I set the controller to 5030K and got the results below:

As you can see, it is possible to get to a very accurate Kelvin temperature if you use a Spectrometer and don’t necessarily follow the controller menu numbers 1:1. One of the nice things about the Mosaic 4×4′ is that the output remains relatively consistent as we move through the CCT range.

Conclusion

Aladdin’s MOSAIC line is an impressive large-format soft-light source that is flexible enough to mount in various places or bend to fit an existing location. It sports a premium price tag and may be a rental-only item for some, but there are few competitors when comparing watt to watt, flexibility, and dimensions.

The bungee ball design takes some getting used to, the Kelvin accuracy isn’t perfect, and I wish the frame mounting solution were a bit more versatile. However, the overall setup time is low, and transport is easy in the wheeled hard case. If we’re talking quality of light, this is a bi-color fixture that will remain a go-to for me as a gorgeous soft key light in a variety of situations. Plus, my Gaffers will appreciate the multitude of DMX options available over the 5-pin port or built-in. I know I’ll be using the All In App on smaller shoots where Bluetooth works as a perfectly acceptable option in a pinch.

There’s much to love here about the MOSAIC series, and I look forward to seeing how Aladdin continues to help expand the line with additional fixtures and new 1st and 3rd party accessories.

What do you think? Will you be adding the MOSAIC to your future shoots? Let us know in the comments below!