Fathom Third Hand and Corner Guides for Aputure Amaran F21 and F22 Flexible LED Mats

Lighting News

by Jeff LochMarch 15^th, 2023

A small American company, Fathom Camera, have just released an exciting tool for Aputure Amaran F21 and F22 flexible LED mats: the Third Hand. This tool lets you quickly and safely assemble and disassemble your flexible light panels without bending and reshaping the mounting arms. Also included in the kit are corner guides to prevent the ends of each arm from snagging on the velcro in each corner when assembling. So let’s take a closer look at this!

The Aputure Amaran F21C/F22C and F21X/F22X were released at the end of March 2022. If you missed it, watch our review of the first Aputure Amaran flexible LED mats to learn more about them. In a nutshell, the F21-series are 2x1ft, while the F22-series are 2x2ft. The X models are bi-color only (2500°K to 7500°K), and the C versions stand for Color and are RGB flexible LED mats.

If you have ever shot with flexible LED mats, you probably know that the most frustrating point is the foldable mounting arms. Indeed, to reduce the footprint of the mats and pack the light/ballast/accessories small, most manufacturers include a foldable mounting bracket. Unfortunately, these brackets have arms and can quickly be a pain to set up.

At CineD, we love to find small accessories and innovative tools that make filmmakers’ lives easier, so I was interested to learn about the tool American filmmaker Sam Sielen developed with his company called Fathom Camera: the Third Hand and corner guides for the Amaran F21/F22.

Fathom Camera Third Hand – features

The Fathom Camera Third Hand is a 3D-printed guide for the Aputure Amaran F21/F22 mounting bracket arms.

How does it work? The video above explains it perfectly. First, you insert the Third Hand into the bracket’s locking knobs, then unfold the arms from the bracket and place them into the LED mat corners. When everything is in place, twist the Third Hand, and voila, you’re ready to go!

You can also use the Fathom Third Hand to disassemble your Amaran F21/F22 LED mats. This accessory will save you a lot of time and expand the life of the mounting arms because you don’t have to bend/reshape the arms manually.

This kind of accessory always makes me think: “why doesn’t it come standard with the light?” Two versions of the Third Hand are available: one for the F21X/F21C and one for the F22X/F22C, as the mounting arms differ between both LED mat models.

Corner Guides for Aputure Amaran F21/F22 LED Flexible Mats

With each Third Hand, Fathom Camera includes four corner guides for the Aputure Amaran F21/F22. According to the company, “the primary purpose of the Corner Guides is to prevent the ends of each arm from snagging on the velcro in each corner when assembling.”

To install the Corner Guides, you’ll need to unscrew the four plastic corners of the fixture, install the Corner Guides, and put it back together. However, this is a “one time and forget” modification, as the Corner Guides will remain installed permanently.

Price and availability

The Fathom Camera Third Hand for the Aputure Amaran F21/F22 is available now for $33.99. As mentioned previously, each Third Hand comes with a set of Corner Guides. Also, don’t forget to choose the F21 or F22 Third Hand model, depending on your fixture.

For more information, please visit Fathom Camera’s website here.

What do you think about this cool tool to save time and preserve your Amaran F21/F22 fixtures? Do you already use the Amaran F21/F22 LED flexible mats? Don’t hesitate to share your opinion in the comments down below!