HMI Manufacturer K5600 Dives Into LED

by Graham SheldonJune 10^th, 2019

K5600 Lighting, an HMI based company that has previously shown a hesitation towards LED tech, is now diving head first into LED lighting with three new lights: a panel, fresnel and Joker style LED. 

With the new Joker 300 LED, Alpha 300 and LED panel we now have a complete LED based ecosystem from K5600. Both the Joker 300 and Alpha 300 have similar internals built around a Bi-Color matrix LED chip and both boast a 95+ CRI. Kelvin is adjustable using the new ballast system from 2700 to 6500 degrees kelvin. Both lights are also compatible with wired and wireless DMX using Lumen Radio’s protocol.

Let’s break down each of the new lights below and their features starting first with the Joker 300.

The Joker 300 head has a familiar Joker2 matte black look. Image Credit: Graham Sheldon

Joker 300: 

If you’ve used a Joker HMI fixture before you’ll find lots of familiarity with this new LED version. Four light shaping options are available including parabolic beamer, lenses, soft box and an ellipsoid spot. This light is also compatible with all Joker 400 lenses and the barndoors. Depending on configuration you’ll find a similar output to the Joker 400 HMI from the Joker 300 LED according to the manufacturer.

Alpha 300 head from K5600. Image Credit: Graham Sheldon

Alpha 300: 

Based on the Alpha 800 HMI, the Alpha 300 has the crisp highlight and shadow qualities that you’d expect from a fresnel and you can adjust the beam angle from 5 to 55 degrees. The front lends is 6.9″ in diameter and uses PlanoConvex optics.

The new K5600 LED panel lights shown here in 4×4 formation. Image Credit: Graham Sheldon

K5600 Panel Lights: 

The company showed off a 4×4 connected version at Cine Gear, but the system is modular and comes in 4′ x 1′ (300W), 4′ x 6′ (150W) 2′ x 1′ (150W or 2′ x 6″ (75W) panel sizes. Each of the sizes are less than 1.35″ thick. Like with the Alpha 300 and Joker 300 you can expect an adjustable Kelvin range from 2700-6500 here too. The system has an interlocking male/female design allowing for multiple units to be connected. There are also corner holes for connecting to drywall and 3/8″ positive locking pins for additional mounting options. All panels include a 3′ Head Cable that are backwards compatible with past head cables from K5600. All panels are DMX controllable using the same Lumen Radio protocol.

K5600 additionally debuted two LED ballasts and a splitter at Cine Gear that seem very easy to control based on my short demo time on the show floor. The company also teased that the ballasts will allow for a full color upgrade sometime in the future, but notes that output will be affected with a full color solution.

What do you think? Are you surprised that K5600 decided to move into the world of LED lighting or is that a natural evolution for the HMI manufacturer? Comment below!