Aputure Amaran Spotlight SE 19º Lens Kit Projection Lens Modifier for Amaran 300C 150C Amaran 200X S 60X S Aputure 300X and Other Power not Exceeding 300W Bowens Mount Lights

I’m not a lighting technician myself but I requested this spotlight lens kit to review as I thought it could be a great addition to my school’s stage lighting for our productions and a good way to give it a good evaluation.The spotlight lens kit comes with a universal Bowens accessory mount and works with Bowens Mount point source lights that have up to 300W output. It can also be used with other Amran products though, as long as the power output isn’t above 300W.Anyway, I handed this over to our site manager who has installed this with our existing lighting equipment, and it works really well. The different lens options allow you to change the coverage of the light beam, and you can also switch quickly between the beam strength and angles using the metal shutter feature. It gives a much more professional look and feel to our productions, rather than just having a static light beam.To sum up, we are really impressed with the lens kit and from what I can find, it seems to be priced well.

This 19° Amaran Spotlight SE arrives in its case, with just a simple, nice looking, cardboard sleeve over it.Inside the case is the spotlight lens itself, a gobo holder, and 15 different gobos.The case itself is made from a foam material, which given its size (approximately 35.5cm x 30.5cm and 17cm thick), makes it nice and lightweight, whilst offering a good level of protection to the lens inside. Whilst this should be fine for controlled environments such as your own studio, if you are working in environments where the case is likely to be moved around a lot, or likely to be bashed against sharp edges and corners, and/or you are going to be pulling the lens and gobos in and out of the case frequently, I can see it soon becoming damaged.The body of the lens is an all metal construction. It seems well made and feels quite robust.Although the lens is said to be 'optimized' for Aputure’s own range of lights, the universal Bowens mount means that it should be compatible with any LED COB light (up to a 300W rating) that has a standard Bowens mount, no matter the brand.The lens is much smaller and lighter than traditional spotlight lenses, making it much easier to use, and much more useful as a result. Where as traditionally you would attach the lens to its own sturdy yoke mount, and attach the light to the lens, this more compact lens instead attaches to the just the light and doesn't require its own mount. This does result in your light becoming more front heavy, so you will need to make sure the light is mounted on something that can hold them both securely.Focus and defocus is controlled by a thumb screw on the side of the lens, near the front. This screw locks the lens in place. Loosening it allows you to manually slide the lens forward and back in order to focus or defocus the light however best suits your shot.The gobo holder allows you to easily slot in any 'M' sized Gobo (66mm). 15 gobos come in this kit, however as one of them is Aputure’s own logo, only 14 will probably be of use. It should be noted that the gobos can get hot when in use, so should be handled with care when removing them from the holder.There are 4 built in metal shutters (or cutters) that can be used to ‘cut’ very distinct lines into the light output, allowing you to shape the light how you want and angle it to whatever angle you need.The lens on the spotlight in the kit I got was 19°. Although there is a 36° kit available, should you want both lenses, there is the option to just but the 36° lens section separately and use it with this kit, rather than having to pay extra for a second complete kit. You can also get a separate 18-Leaf Spotlight SE Iris, which once slotted into the lens allows you to easily shrink/expand the area of the light that's shone on the fly.In use this spotlight lens kit worked really well. It was quick and easy to attach and detach from the lights I used, and proved simple to use during shoots. It is also extremely versatile, being useful for a number of different use cases, from lighting a specific subject; to adding atmosphere and ambience to a scene using various lighting effects (such as creating the effect of sunlight hitting the wall through Venetian blinds, or a shaft of light reflecting off something to create a highlight in a low light scene, etc.), or for creating out of focus textures and patterns to throw onto backgrounds during interviews, streaming setups, etc.Apart from the before mentioned issues with the case and the fact the gobos get hot, the only other negative I can think of is that the cutters can at times be a little fiddly to get in the right spot whilst also preventing light from leaking. That being said, that is an issue commonly found with a lot of spotlights similar to this one.The only other issue to be aware of, is that this kit does not have a gel holder. However, given the quality and availability of RGB LED lights these days, with their own built-in multi-colour capabilities, this is far less likely to be an issue than it once may have been.In conclusion this is a very well made, versatile, shapeable spotlight lens kit. It’s smaller, lighter weight form factor makes it far more useful and easy to use than its larger, heavier counterparts. And as such I fully recommend the lens itself. However, as a kit, I can't quite give it a full 5 stars. This is because, unless you are only going to be using it it in a carefully managed studio environment, you will most likely have the additional cost getting a more rugged case to store and transport it in. Something you shouldn't have to do, given its price point.~ Ethics Statement: Amazon provided me with this product and asked that I give my honest and impartial opinion about it. That’s what I’ve set out to do in this review, so I hope you found it helpful. ~

I purchased an Amaran light and was initially impressed, but it malfunctioned within months. When I reached out for a replacement, Amaran refused to honor the warranty because I didn’t buy directly from their website.This policy is unfair, as many rely on reputable third-party retailers. Their customer support was dismissive, leaving me without options.While the lights perform well at first, I can’t recommend them due to poor warranty support. Unless you buy directly from Amaran, you’re taking a big risk. Look elsewhere for better customer service.