Aptolux MP-1 Modular Lights: Hands On (IBC 2022)

During IBC 2022 we had a chance to meet a new lighting company from Latvia called Aptolux which recently introduced its first product – the Aptolux MP-1, a modular LED light that can be connected in various shapes and controlled and powered in a multitude of ways. We talked to the founder of the company Alvis Rozenbergs who showed us some of the MP-1 features.

Modular LED light

The idea behind the MP-1 came to the creators of Aptolux from the simple fact that when using lights on location you often take too many (or sometimes too few) lights and need to also consider batteries and chargers, adapters, etc.

So they decided to create a modular lighting system that will have lego-like panels that you will be able to connect together to create different shapes and different light outputs as needed for the task but also make them work together and use shared power sources.

Aptolux MP-1

The Aptolux MP-1

The MP-1 panel is comprised of a 20W panel with 39 individual LEDs and a 2000 lumens output with 3000-6000K temperature range and full RGB tuning. It has 4 1/4″ 20 threads, passive cooling a small OLED display in the back and it can be powered by AC or NP-F style battery.

The single panel might not sound that special, but when you start connecting several units together you get the potential of this system. On IBC we saw a set of six connected together and the output was extremely bright (Aptolux claims up to 12,000 lumens for max power of 120W).

Two MP-1 units connected and sharing a single NP-F battery and contol

While you won’t be able to power 6 panels with a single NP-F battery, you will be able to save some batteries when connecting all six panels and you should be able to hot swap batteries, as well as each panel, has a plate that is another nice advantage. You can of course control all lights connected together from a single panel.

Each unit can have a diffuser or a beam focuser which gives you a more directional output and you can switch between them very quickly.

Make your own light shape – Aptolux MP-1

Pricing and Availability

Aptolux informed us that the next batch of units will be ready in Feb 2023 and a full kit with 6 lights, grids, and lens arrays will sell for $990.

For more of our coverage on LensVid from IBC 2022 – please visit the following link.

Iddo Genuth

Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.