Carpetlight’s Foldable Fabric LED Fixtures

In addition to such accessories as softboxes, battery adapters and snap grids, Carpetlight — based out of Hamburg, Germany — is offering a selection of uniquely designed LED lights. Housed within a ripstop, dust- and water-repellant nylon outer layer, the wireless diodes lay flat, like a carpet, in a fabric-like design that also has an efficient weight of between only 1-2 grams per square meter. Not only does that make Carpetlights easier to carry than a traditional fixture, but they can be taped up or clipped to pretty much anything, even with Velcro. Or it can be knotted on itself around objects or stuffed into nooks and crannies wherever needed. 

Dimmable with an overall CRI of 95 at 6000°K and 97 at 2800°K and handcrafted with environmentally friendly materials, Carpetlights are capable of a variable white balance of 2800-6000°K. With two-channel control over brightness or color temperature, the monofilament fibers are also DMX-controllable. Run on passive, silent, convection-cooling and pulse-width-modulating dimmer, Carpetlights can be made in custom sizes can to any specifications.

At 630mm x 230mm in floor length, the Carpetino model has a light-active length of 560mm x 170mm and includes 288 individual LED diodes. Weighing 180g, the 120-degree light spread can be converted to 40 degrees via SnapGrid, and unfiltered measurements are 1,096 lux at 1 meter. Consuming only 40 watts, the Carpetino can be powered from one V-mount battery and are flicker-free up to 2,700 fps. DC voltage of between 12-36 volts via battery or an AC/DC power supply can be used.

Sized for traditional 4 x 4 gear, the CL44 model (kit seen in top image) expands across 1235mm x 1215mm with a perfectly square 1135mm x 1135mm field of illumination. Weighing 1,220 g and consuming 180 W, there are 1,152 LEDs for 3,800 lux at a meter with the same 120-degree spread. 

The largest model in the line, the CL84, roughly doubles these specifications while consuming only 220 W. Carpetlights currently offers models of up to 8,000 lumens. On the other end of the spectrum, for very tight interiors or accents, the 310mm x 100mm 6-volt model is only 50 g, consumes 6 W, and illuminates at 760 lux. 

The company quotes cinematographer Pawel Edelman (known for The Pianist, Ray and The Ghost Writer) as saying, “Carpetlight is the most used lamp on our set. It’s lightweight, quick to build, very powerful and with good colors. We were using  in sunny exteriors as a fill light and for night exteriors as a key light.” 

Bojan Bazelli, ASC (The Ring, Pete’s Dragon and Mr. & Mrs. Smith) used them recently on his film A Cure for Wellness. “I used the Carpetlights first in Germany. The flexibility and handling is incredible and makes hard-to-light sets easy to be lit. We used them in almost any set. They made our shooting in the cars and the train much easier and faster.”

Though Carpetlights are still looking for U.S. distribution, the inventory is available for rental at 40 different worldwide locations, including the U.K., Czech Republic and Poland. See a list here. 

Data sheets for available models can be found here.

Find out more at www.carpetlight.com and contact them to order directly. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook.