Fashion for Ladies
Caligri Airdome, Eclipse 40, & Airtube Switch Review
Caligri, who are well known for its inflatable lighting modifiers, recently unveiled new solutions for LED lights. Some of these new solutions include the Airdome, Eclipse, and Airtube Switch.
Essentially, the products from Caligri are inflatable softboxes for LED lights. They were designed to create a very soft, flattering source and to increase the beam spread from LED lights, including tube lights.
Most LED tube light softbox solutions are quite limiting, and some of them don’t massively increase the spread of light.
I reviewed the original Caligri AIRTUBE more than 4 years ago. Caligri is a German company that was set up by two friends, Luca Oltenau and Michael Matuschek, who work in lighting and camera departments on commercial and small feature film/series shoots, and AIRTUBE was their first product.
Some of the most innovative and interesting products I have come across over the years were developed by people who are working in the industry. Usually, these products come out of a need, and a DIY solution can quickly turn into a business.
Inflatable softboxes are not a new concept, and I have tried out a few in the past. 12 years ago, I reviewed the Airbox lights inflatable softbox for 1×1 LED panel lights. This solution was quick and easy to use; however, it was mainly made out of plastic, and it didn’t use proper diffusion material.
What are they made out of?
If you think about an inflatable softbox, you probably presume they are going to be made out of some sort of plastic, but that couldn’t be further from the truth with the Caligri solutions. The actual diffusion material being used is a combination of Magic Cloth and Ultrabounce.
Build Quality
The Caligri solutions are well-made and constructed, and little details have been thoroughly thought out. A lot of attention to detail has gone into the products. The products are made in Germany.
Even the inflation valve has a bleeder, so air won’t come out while you are inflating the products.
The inflatable lighting modifiers come in their own bags, which are also nicely made and clearly identify what product is inside.
The Caligri options are built for a maximum of ~12 PSI/0,83 bar. The seams of the textile will start to tear apart when exceeding the air pressure. Be careful when using an air compressor and always keep an eye on the air pressure when inflating. The transparent body can withstand a temperature of up to 212°F/100°C. Discoloration, deformation, or even holes can then appear.
In terms of maintenance, you can use warm water and gentle soap for the white translucent Magic Cloth, and for the black Ultrabounce, it is reccomended use a multi-purpose cleaner (e.g., Formula 409 Cleaner) or warm water with gentle soap. Also, a microfiber cloth is always very useful.
Eclipse 40 – small inflatable eyelight for different compact LED
The Eclipse can hold up to 2 LED panels, depending on the size, and features a 2-parted Snoot. Additionally, there is a firmly sewn lite grid cloth piece behind the Ultrabounce, in case you want to double diffuse your light.
It is an inflatable, lightweight, round softlight. It works well with compact LED panels, like Rosco Dash, Aputure MC, MC Pro, Astera Hydrapanel, Kelvin Play, Nanlite LitoLite 5C, etc.
You simply place your fixture at the back of the Eclipse 40 and then secure it using the velcro straps.
You can even use two of your small panels side by side. This works really well, and you can create a reasonably bright and diffused lighting source depending on the lights you are using.
The Eclipse diffusion is made out of the motion picture technical fabric Lite Grid Cloth from TRP worldwide; however, Calgiri also offers customized diffusions. You can ask them about it by emailing [email protected].
I would have liked to have seen a couple of inbuilt handles on the Eclipse 40 to make it easier to hold. In saying that, because it is lightweight, it is sill easomnably easy for someone to hold onto it.
If you wanted to mount it to a lightstand, you could, but you would arguably need to use some sort of arm that was attached to your fixture to create enough space to be able to angle it.
Included in every Eclipse 40 is also a two-part snoot, made out of black matte fabric to reduce spill light and to enhance your ability to control the light.
This is easy to attach, and it works well. I like how you can just use one half of it.
The Eclipse 40 solution works really well, and it creates a lovely catch light in your subject’s eyes. It is easy to use and produces a nice soft lighting source.
Because of its low weight, it can also be used as an overhead light, which can be handy.
Airdome for PavoSlim 240CL – inflatable lantern-style softbox
The Airdome for PavoSlim 240CL is an inflatable lantern-style softbox that was designed to soften the light and move the diffusion further away from the fixture. While Nanlite’s own pop-up softbox solution that comes with the light works reasonably well, the diffusion doesn’t sit that far away from the LED emitters.
Like anything that attaches with Velcro, the Airdome can take a few minutes to attach, and because it has an inflatable tube inside, you have to spend a little bit of time to make sure everything is lined up correctly. Because the PavoSlim 240CL already has velcro around its edges, the Airdome attaches securely. I would have liked to have seen Caligri include a small hand pump, as the Airdome is too large to inflate just using your mouth.
As the PavoSlim 240CL has a power cable protruding from one of its corners, the Airdome isn’t going to fit that well over one corner of the fixture. In saying that, this isn’t an issue, and you don’t need to be overly concerned about it.
The Airdome Skirt Sets allow you to cut the light, and they can be used in a variety of ways, which is very handy depending on what you might be trying to accomplish.
The Skirt Sets will not only fit their Airdome range, but they also fit the compatible LED panels.
Above, you can see a few quick examples of how the Airdome for PavoSlim 240CL looks. I am just shooting myself in these examples, and I am only using the Nanlite PavoSlim 240CL.
The Airdome also comes in different sizes. Some sizes are multi-compatible, like the Airdome M, which fits the Litemate 2L, Kinoflo FreeStyle Air, Exalux Punch 1×4, and Panalux Allegra 4:2, because the housings are similar size and they all have Velcro around to attach the Airdome.
Airtube Switch 60/2ft XL – bigger Airtube with changeable diffusions (Magic Cloth, Lite Grid & Quarter Grid)
The Airtube Switch XL is now ~30cm / ~11.8′ diameter (instead of ~20cm / 7.8″). It comes with changeable diffusions (Magic Cloth, Lite Grid, and Quarter Grid). Besides using it with up to 4 LED tubes, you can also use it with flexible mats like the Amaran f21. Four tubes are quite heavy, but even with one tube (or two), you now have a significantly bigger illuminated area compared to the small one.
One difference is the new Mesh Cover instead of the Spill light cover. Due to the heat of 4 tubes, Calgiri decided to offer a more breathable fabric.
I tried it out with four tube lights, two Nanlite PavoTube II 15Cs, and two of the smaller-sized Nanlite PavoTube II 6CPs.
Above, you can see what it looks like. This is the only light source I am using apart from the ambient light in the room.
This combination worked really well, and I used these lights with the Magic Cloth and an extra Lite Grid to create an even more diffused source.
You can also use the Mesh Cover to limit spill. You can move the Mesh Cover (you get two pieces) and position it anyway you want.
Snapgrid Airtube 60 XL – DopChoice Snapgrid for the Airtube
There is also a Snapgrid Airtube 60 XL – DopChoice Snapgrid for the Airtube that is a nice additional accessory if you need to control spill.
Above, you can see what it looks like when it is used.
This is cleverly designed and very easy to install on the Airtube Switch 60/2ft XL. There are cut-out holes to allow you to put it over the top of the air valve.
Pricing & Availability
- Airdome PavoSlim PS 120×30– 239.00 EUR
- Skirt Set PS 120×30– 82.00 EUR
- Eclipse 40– 126.00 EUR
- Airtube Switch 60/2ft XL– 469.00 EUR (Essential version 369.00 EUR)
- Snapgrid Airtube 60 XL– 199.00 EUR
Final Thoughts
Good quality and well-made lighting modifiers are going to outlive whatever fixture you may currently have. Yes, they are pricey side and like anything, you really need to weigh up whether they will work for you and whether you can see the value.
I enjoyed using the Caligri solutions. They are solidly made, easy to set up, don’t take up much space, and most importantly, they produce good results.