Rosco DMG LION – Powerful Fresnel Light Prototype with Swappable LED Engines – First Look

by Jakub HanJune 8^th, 2023

Rosco DMG LION is a new, powerful LED fresnel light prototype presented at Cine Gear 2023. Featuring a large body with a built-in power supply, swappable LED engines (bi-color or full-color), motorized flood to spot between 70° and 15°, and an M18 accessory mount, the light should be available early next year for $8,000.

Another new interesting piece of gear presented during the Cine Gear Expo 2023 in LA was to be found at the Rosco booth. Lately, the US-based company has been known mostly for full-color LED panels such as the Rosco DMG DASH. This time they presented a new prototype of a powerful hard light. My colleague Graham met up with Nils de Montgrand from Rosco to find out more about the LED fresnel light Rosco DMG LION. Let’s take a look at the details.

Rosco DMG LION

As Nils told CineD, the company designed the light based on feedback from a number of people in the film industry. The DMG LION is a prototype fixture with a large 13-inch fresnel lens with a rather large, weather-sealed body. The size is due to all the components, including the power supply, being in the light’s head. Rosco says that the final weight of the light will be between 55 and 60 lbs (25-27 kg).

The module’s movement is internal, and the light’s “zooming” function between 70° (flood) to 15° (spot) is internal and motorized so it can be wirelessly controlled – for example via DMX or Rosco’s myMIX app.

The lamp has another cool feature: the ability to swap the LED engine. This means that the LED emitter unit in the light can be removed via the opening at the back of the lamp and replaced with a different one. Rosco claims this offers two main benefits:

• The light becomes future-proof because you can replace the unit with a newer, more efficient one as new LED technology becomes available in the coming years.
• Using different types of LED engines. At the launch, Rosco will offer two different LED engines for the DMG LION:
  • Bi-color LED engine (2700-6500K) for maximal output – roughly equivalent to a 5K tungsten fresnel.
  • Full spectrum LED engine with RGBLAW emitters for full-color flexibility with Mix technology (roughly half the output of the Bi-color engine).

In terms of connectivity, the DMG LION has both built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. On top of the back panel on the light itself, the Rosco DMG LION can be controlled via DMX or Rosco myMIX app. Additionally, there are RJ45 ports (in and out), XLR 5-pin (in and out), and Lumen radio.

A big advantage is that the front of the fresnel light will feature the M18 accessory mount (ARRI standard), so all the existing M18 accessories will be compatible with the DMG LION. Power consumption will be up to 1500W so the light will work on the standard 15A outlet.

Price and availability

This year’s Cine Gear Expo was the first showcase of the prototype of the DMG LION. Rosco wanted to collect feedback from industry professionals, and the company plans to build a few demo units this fall. Mass production should then start next year with the first deliveries in Q1 of 2024.

In terms of pricing, a fixture set with one LED engine and barn doors is planned to cost $8,000. To stay updated on the development of the DMG LION, you can sign up with Rosco and receive regular updates about any news related to the product. We at CineD will, of course, do our best to let you know when the DMG LION is available.

Do you use powerful fresnel lights for your work? What do you think about the teased DMG LION? Let us know in the comments section underneath the article.