Here is some technical info I’ve collected about the excellent and affordable LED lights from Aputure / Amaran. I spent some time with the Amaran P60c RGBWW LED Panel and the Aputure LS-60x point source light.
Amaran P60c RGB LED panel
Also see my guide to disassembling the Amaran P60c LED Panel. It’s a bit hard to open, so maybe my pain can be your gain!
Power Testing
- Specs say voltage range via DC input is 12.5 – 16.8 V, but the tested low-voltage cutoff is 11.3 V.
- Battery metering is not available via DC input (only NP-F batteries, see below)
- Power adapter supplies 15 V
- Specs say input power: 78 W max (Output: 60W)
- Specs say operating current: 4.5 A
- Tested @ 3200k, 100% brightness: 4.7 A @ 15.2 V (71.5 W)
D-Tap Battery Runtime via DC Input:
With a 98 Wh V-lock battery (Hypercore Neo 9 mini) I got these runtimes at 3200k, 100% brightness
Runtime | Remaining time (actual) |
Remaining time on batt LCD |
Remaining % on batt LCD |
batt Voltage |
|
0 | 1:10 | 1:21 | 100% | start | |
:15 | :55 | 1:00 | 80% | ||
:30 | :40 | :45 | 60% | 14.35 v | |
50% | 14.15 v | ||||
:45 | :25 | :30 | 45% | 13.8 v | |
35% | 13.55 v | ||||
25% | 13 v | ||||
20% | 12.25 v | ||||
1:00 | :10 | :10 | 15% | 11.75 v | |
1:10 | 0 | :05 | 10% |
11.3 v |
turned off |
NP-F Power Input:
Battery metering isn’t available when powering through the DC input, and I want to avoid NP-F batteries because 1) They are a pain to manage, and 2) I want to keep the weight of the batteries lower on the light stand. So I investigated injecting external (D-Tap) power into the NP-F mounts instead:
- The NP-F input has a much higher low-voltage cut off: 12.7 v (compared to 11.3 for the DC input jack) This makes is basically useless for me.
- The battery plates are wired in series, but there’s a center tap for cell monitoring (like the balance connector on RC batteries). The light won’t work if you leave the center taps disconnected. I tried several voltage divider techniques and settled on the one below. (Resistor values are derived from a 500k potentiometer, but a similar ratio (.0724) could be made from fixed resistors, as long as the total resistance is pretty high to avoid power loss. Untested example: 33k / 470k)
Power Connectors
- The P60c power connectors are from the Chogori “Standard Series Push Lock” family. Chogori Weatherproof connector catalog (PDF)
- I bought the parts below and I can confirm that they’re direct replacements for the P60c, except for the color…
- P60c power connector (on cable): “STANDARD SERIES PLUG PUSH LOCK, MALE PUSH LOCK – FEMALE PINS” Chogori 22002231-01 (Digi-Key)
- P60c power connector (on light): “STANDARD SERIES SOCKET PUSH LOCK, REAR PANEL MOUNT – MALE PINS” Chogori 22002535-03 (Digi-Key)
It’s not too hard to take apart the light and replace this connector if it breaks.
Mounting:
The P60c has no yoke. It has 1/4-20 mounts with an included umbrella mount for tilting. This seems totally unsafe. I asked Aputure and they said they don’t plan on making a yoke.
-
- In 2023 Aptuture referred me to this ridiculous option: https://cinemilled.com/p/amaran-p60c-p60x-double-yoke/
- The ProAm Aluminum Yoke Mount for Amaran P60c and P60x looks affordable and well made.
- I eventually made my own custom yokes, but it was a real pain. Maybe one day I’ll post all the steps.
Aputure LS-60x bi-color point-source light
Power Testing
- My lights shipped with Firmware 1.7 in 2023
- Specs say max draw: 80 W (6.5A)
- Tested @ 3200k: 5.1A @ 15.1V (77W)
- Specs say 6-19 V input voltage (Voltages < 13 v require active NP-F adapter which sends signal to limit power.)
- Power cable is different than the P60x. The extra pins interact with the active NP-F plate (to put the light into low-power mode if only 1 battery is connected.)
- Unlike P60c, this light is designed for battery powering through the power connector, so the onboard battery meter works with D-Tap batteries. BUT, the tested low-voltage cutoff is 13 V (which leaves a lot of unused energy in the battery!) I asked Aputure and they said the cutoff should be 12.5v and they don’t plan on changing anything via firmware.
- My 94 Wh D-Tap battery only lasted 45 minutes @ 100% brightness before cutoff
- Power adapter supplies 18.75 (19) V