In this hands-on review of the Orbiter, we’ll put the light through its paces to determine just how revolutionary it could prove to be, especially in film and video ministry settings. For the purposes of this review, ARRI sent us the newly introduced "Orbiter Combination Set," which includes the light, mounting yoke, control panel, and 15-, 30-, and 60-degree lenses.
“Right out of the box, it’s obvious that the ARRI Orbiter is built like a tank.”
Features illuminated
The core technology that powers the Orbiter is ARRI’s new six-color light engine built around red, green, blue, amber, cyan, and lime LEDs for highly accurate color renditions. This unique combination allows the light to achieve powerful, highly accurate colors with tunable temperatures ranging from 2,000K-20,000K. The Orbiter features vastly improved electronics and software when compared to the previous L7-C and SkyPanel. Built around ARRI's new LiOS operating system, the Orbiter can now quickly adapt to a number of different filmmaking and studio standard approaches to lighting. The fixture’s new color modes help cinematographers adopt whichever onset lighting methodology they’re already comfortable with, with modes that allow users to dial in their looks via CCT, HSI, gel selection, source matching, color matching, or even special effects. While the Orbiter itself is an open-faced design, it incorporates a new interchangeable mounting system with a 5-pin digital interface connection for communication between the Orbiter and a specific lens or modifiers. This setup allows for quick and efficient switching between flood, spotlight, softbox, dome, and other lighting modifications. This versatility means that a cinematographer, armed with the right accessories, could easily wait until arriving on unique location before deciding what kind of light they need the Orbiter to be in any given situation.
The most obvious use case for the Orbiter would be church film teams looking for a key light with the power and accuracy to cover narrative films, documentary work, and even high-framerate projects for cinematic slow motion concept projects.
Another new standout feature is the Orbiter’s ambient color sensor that’s built right into the fixture’s body. This dedicated sensor evaluates the temperature and tint of the light already present in the room and instantly produces light to match it. The design imperative for flexibility is also evident in the Orbiter’s wide array of control protocols incorporated into the fixture, including 5-pin DMX in and out, dual LAN connections, three USB ports, and a dedicated input sync port for future coordination with cameras. Specific settings can also be adjusted via an included removable control panel that rests within the body of the light or can be tethered to a C-stand. Wireless DMX protocols and a dedicated iPad app further expand the fixture’s ability to provide users with portable, touchscreen control.
Hands-on review
Right out of the box, it’s obvious that the ARRI Orbiter is built like a tank. While it’s heavier than many LED lights on the market, it’s also clear that the Orbiter is built for battle. Little touches like the rubber feet on the bottom of the fixture, allowing the light to be arrayed on the ground or any hard surface that could support its weight, are some of the little extras that scream “designed for professionals to experienced filmmakers.” Given the investment, it feels good knowing the light is clearly engineered to handle whatever demands your project can throw at it, including inclement weather. We were also impressed with how cool that an LED this powerful could run, and at no time didn’t anyone on our crew feel worried about sustaining accidental burns or injury using the light. Upon booting up the Orbiter, we were immediately impressed by just how bright it is. With a 20K lumen output, the Orbiter is even bright than ARRI's popular L10 LED Fresnel. Within 10 minutes of powering the light, we were already taking advantage of that brightness by experimenting with bouncing, defusing, and even creating double-diffused book light setups. We were also extremely impressed with the new LiOS software at the heart of the Orbiter. We found the whole system to be extremely intuitive to use, making the process of switching between modes and dialing in exact modifications a breeze. We also appreciated the Orbiter’s ability to make micro adjustments to the lighting levels, allowing for adjustments of a single tenth of a percent. Another standout feature in real-world settings was the new automatic ambient light temperature and tint matching. We approached this tech a little skeptically at first, but the Orbiter was able to handle and effectively match most of the environments we pitted it against. And while most cinematographers won’t purchase the Orbiter based solely on its ability to produce special lighting effects, we were seriously impressed with what the Orbiter could accomplish on that front, as well. The fireplace and paparazzi strobes, along with a number of the other effects, were especially effective and would be great tools to have in any storytelling arsenal.
We appreciated the Orbiter’s ability to make micro adjustments to the lighting levels, allowing for adjustments of a single tenth of a percent.
In action
While the Orbiter certainly isn't the cheapest option on the market, few lights can match its ability to support just about any ministry application a church could throw at it. The most obvious use case for the Orbiter would be church film teams looking for a key light with the power and accuracy to cover narrative films, documentary work, and even high-framerate projects for cinematic slow motion concept projects. With that in mind, the light's rugged construction, high output, and its ARRI pedigree means it would also be equally at home in video studio or large auditorium settings. For dedicated church video studios, the ARRI Orbiter would provide an ideal solution for producing clean, accurate lighting, while protecting volunteer teams from the dangers presented by other lighting technologies that run at much higher temperatures. The brightness of the fixture also ensures that video teams could incorporate defusing setups for optimal skin tones and washes without worrying about not having enough overall illumination. From a stage lighting perspective, churches that invest in an array of Orbiters could definitely lean into the instrument’s flexibility by incorporating and changing out the different 60-, 30-, and 15-degree lenses for different staging setups. This flexibility also ensures that last-minute audibles can be adopted to in mere minutes, instead of hours. And finally, the Orbiter’s ability to produce a full array of colors and standard gel shades would make it a snap to incorporate into existing systems.
Final verdict
When we first reviewed the ARRI L7-C five years ago we declared it the future of LED lighting, and its wide adoption across multiple disciplines has demonstrated the truth of that (admittedly safe) prediction. With the release of the Orbiter LED Light, ARRI is once again introducing a standard by which all other lighting instruments will be judged against for years to come.
