SoftSun

Overview

SoftSun (brand name SoftSun®) is a family of daylight spotlights from the US manufacturer Luminys Systems Corp. (formerly Lightning Strikes, Inc.) based in North Hollywood, California. Its characteristic feature is an elongated plasma/xenon lamp in combination with a large-area reflector: the light emerges from the unit as a soft, natural source without additional diffusion. SoftSun thus positions itself as an alternative to large HMI units when a single, very bright, and simultaneously soft daylight source is needed on set.

The technology originates from the multi-award-winning Lightning Strikes system; Luminys cites technical awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Technical Achievement Award) and an Emmy from the Television Academy for the Lightning Strikes/SoftSun product line.

Technical Features

• Lamp Type: proprietary plasma/xenon lamp (referred to by Luminys as "Enhanced Spectrum Plasma"), daylight-balanced.
• Color Temperature: approx. 5400 K (manufacturer's specification; individual data sheets mention 5000 K).
• Color Rendering: CRI 96 or better (manufacturer's specification).
• Dimming: dimmable over a wide range down to a few percent of maximum output, with only minimal shift in color temperature according to the manufacturer.
• Start & Flicker: Instant start with no warm-up time; flicker-free even at high frame rates (high-speed).

The values mentioned (color temperature, CRI, dimming range) are manufacturer specifications from marketing and product documentation and should be confirmed for a specific model based on the current data sheet.

Models / Power Levels

SoftSun is offered in several power levels, from small units to large spotlights. Variants carried by rental houses (e.g., Cirro Lite, Attitude Specialty Lighting) include:

The 200K SoftSun is advertised by the manufacturer as the brightest single-source spotlight in its class; the number in the model name corresponds to the nominal power in watts (e.g., 100K ≈ 100,000 W). Luminys also refers to systems with up to several hundred thousand watts from a single source.

On-Set Use

SoftSun units are primarily used for large-area illumination in daylight quality – for example, as an artificial sun, for lighting large exterior and night sets, for soft panels without additional diffusion, and for high-speed shots where flicker-free operation is crucial. Due to instant start and stable color temperature across the dimming range, brightness and day-night transitions can be controlled without changing lamps or noticeable color shifts. The large models (50K–200K) practically replace bundles of several large HMIs; the smaller linear variants (e.g., 10K) are used as soft key or fill lights.