Lighting Hardware

B09 gave you the principles — when to use continuous vs strobe, why 4 light positions, what Freemask needs. B10 puts your hands on the actual hardware: which specific Fomei LED panel to install, which Broncolor Siros mode to choose, how to pair a strobe over WiFi, what to do when the modeling light won’t turn off. Operational depth, not concept.

1. Where B10 fits

B09 (Lighting Setup) was the concept module — fundamentals every operator must understand. B10 (this module) is the hardware module — operational depth on the specific units PhotoRobot supplies. If you’re a hardware specialist, B10 + the linked manufacturer manuals are mandatory; you’ll operate this hardware on every studio install. If you’re an operator, skim B10 + bookmark the troubleshooting sections — you’ll need them when something disconnects mid-shoot.

This module covers three hardware families:

• FOMEI LED DMX series (150B / 300B / 600B) — continuous lighting for video + handheld
• FOMEI Digital Pro X series (300 / 500 / 1200) — entry/mid-tier strobes
• Broncolor Siros series (400 / 800) — recommended strobes for production

The FOMEI Ceiling System (rails + pantographs) was covered in B09 Section 5 — installation details live in the manufacturer’s manual.

2. FOMEI LED DMX 150B / 300B / 600B

The Fomei LED DMX series is PhotoRobot’s recommended continuous lighting line. Same control schema across all three power levels — only the wattage and output change.

2.1. Models

All three use a COB (Chip On Board) LED at 5600 K daylight color temperature with CRI 96 (excellent color rendering — studio-grade). Bowens mount enables the standard ecosystem of softboxes, beauty dishes, gels, snoots, etc.

2.2. Three control modes

The Fomei DMX series exposes three control modes via the rear control panel:

1. CCT mode (default) — direct dimming control. Press ENTER to select parameter, Up/Down to adjust intensity 0-100%. This is the daily operator mode.
2. Scene mode — preset light effects (lightning, fire, TV flicker, etc.). Press MENU to switch into scene mode, then ENTER to select effect/speed/intensity, Up/Down to adjust. Useful for video work with mood lighting.
3. DMX mode — networked control. Press MENU → select DMX, set the channel number, set fan ON/OFF. When fan is OFF, intensity is capped at 50 % (heat dissipation limit).

2.3. Wireless control

In addition to the front panel, lights can be controlled wirelessly via the DESAL Light+ app (iOS / Android). Bluetooth pairing to the light, then app controls intensity / CCT / scene.

For PhotoRobot integration, DMX over the studio’s lighting network is the canonical path — Bluetooth is for ad-hoc shoots / testing.

2.4. Installation notes

• Mount via Bowens to either floor stands or FOMEI ceiling rails (B09 Section 5)
• Power: AC 220-240 V (region-specific)
• Fan OFF is option for silent operation but caps intensity at 50 % → only use silent mode for low-intensity scenarios
• Daisy-chain DMX cables between fixtures for networked control. Each fixture has DMX In + DMX Out. Final fixture needs a terminator on DMX Out.

For the full operation manual, refer to:

• FOMEI LED DMX 150B · 300B · 600B

3. FOMEI Digital Pro X (300 / 500 / 1200 W)

The Digital Pro X series is FOMEI’s entry/mid-tier strobe line. PhotoRobot considers this an acceptable strobe family for budget-conscious studios; Broncolor (Section 4) remains the recommended choice for production studios that need maximum integration and reliability.

3.1. Models

3.2. Control panel

The Digital Pro X uses a rotary encoder for power adjustment:

• Turn right — increase power by 0.1 F-stop
• Turn left — decrease power by 0.1 F-stop
• Press once — maximum power output
• Press twice — minimum power output
• Press four times — restore last user-set value

A second encoder controls modeling light brightness with the same gestures (single-press for max, three-presses to turn OFF entirely).

3.3. Group / Channel mode

For studios with multiple Digital Pro X strobes, the XB Group/Channel system prevents cross-firing between adjacent setups. Each strobe belongs to:

• A Studio group (e.g., “A”, “B”, “C”, up to 10 group names)
• A Channel number within the group (10 channels per studio)

This allows two adjacent studios to fire independently — e.g., Studio A on Channel 1, Studio B on Channel 1 — without one’s wireless trigger triggering the other’s strobes.

Setup sequence:

1. Press XB button on the strobe panel, hold for ≥3 seconds
2. LCD enters group-name change mode
3. Turn dial to scroll group names, press XB to confirm
4. Repeat for channel number

The wireless receiver (mounted via the rear cover) must be set to the matching Studio + Channel.

For full operation guide, refer to:

• FOMEI Digital Pro X User Guide

4. Broncolor Siros 400 / 800 — the recommended strobe

PhotoRobot’s recommendation for production strobes is the Broncolor Siros 400/800 series with WiFi/RFS 2. Two power levels — Siros 400 Ws or Siros 800 Ws — both with WiFi management built in.

4.1. Hardware

• Siros monolight with built-in WiFi module
• Broncolor RFS 2.1 transceiver (2.4 GHz) mounted on the camera hot-shoe for shutter sync
• AC power to each Siros via standard kettle cable
• No additional drivers — CAPP communicates with Siros directly once paired

4.2. Two principle WiFi modes

Siros lights operate in one of two modes:

Private mode — the lights themselves create a WiFi access point. SSID = Bron-Studio1 (or Bron-StudioN), password = bronControl. Smartphone/tablet/computer connects to the strobe’s network to control it. Use Private mode for small studios without infrastructure, or for initial setup before transitioning to Enterprise mode.

Enterprise mode — the lights connect to the studio’s existing WiFi network (router). Strobes appear as devices on the network alongside computers, cameras, and other equipment. Use Enterprise mode for production studios with infrastructure.

PhotoRobot’s recommended setup is Enterprise mode on a separate subnet for lighting — isolates from corporate WiFi to avoid 2.4 GHz interference.

4.3. Initial pairing — Private to Enterprise transition

The Broncolor Siros pairing procedure (from the PhotoRobot Broncolor Lights Management manual):

1. Reset the Siros to factory defaults. Press TEST button, hold for 10 seconds. Verify no Bron-Studio1 SSID is visible on a phone before continuing.
2. Power cycle the Siros (off → on).
3. Enter the main menu by pressing the rotary controller.
4. Navigate to “wifi” by turning the rotary controller.
5. Confirm WiFi mode — display starts blinking.
6. Select “SY” (Studio with year identifier) by turning the rotary controller.
7. Confirm. Siros now functions as Private WiFi access point with SSID Bron-Studio1 + password bronControl.
8. Install BronControl on a client device (Mac, Windows, Android, iOS). Available from CAPP Downloads section or Broncolor’s downloads page.
9. Connect client to Bron-Studio1 SSID with password bronControl.
10. Open BronControl, select Bron-Studio1.
11. Click cogwheel → Network settings → Enterprise mode → Select network.
12. Choose studio’s WiFi (e.g., PhotoRobotNet) from the SSID list.
13. Enter password, confirm with Enter (Windows/Mac) or tick (Android).
14. Verify color change: Siros WiFi icon turns from blue to steady magenta = successful Enterprise mode connection.
15. At this point, CAPP can manage the Siros directly. BronControl is no longer needed for daily operation.

4.4. Recommended network configuration

For studios with multiple Siros, the recommended infrastructure (from manual):

• Mikrotik RB1100AHx4 router as the lighting subnet edge
• TP-Link TL-WR802N WiFi module connected to a LAN port as the Siros access point
• Mikrotik configuration:
  • ether13 = WAN, DHCP client
  • ether1-ether12 = LAN, all in a switch
  • WiFi Radio = OFF (Mikrotik built-in WiFi is disabled; only the TP-Link AP carries Siros traffic)
• TP-Link configuration:
  • Mode = Access Point
  • WiFi mode = 802.11 b/g/n mixed
  • Channel = 9
  • Channel width = 20 MHz
  • Security = WPA2-PSK, AES

Critical: boot the Mikrotik + TP-Link fully before powering on the Siros lights. If the Siros boots first and can’t find the AP, the connection state may need a Siros reset before retry.

4.5. CAPP integration — what’s exposed

After Enterprise mode pairing, CAPP shows each connected Siros in Hardware Configuration > Lights. Per fixture:

• Power — 0-100 % or in F-stops
• Modeling light — ON / OFF / power level
• Standby — saves power between captures

Operator adjusts these from CAPP keyboard / mouse — no walking to the fixtures.

5. RFS 2.1 transceiver (camera-side trigger)

The Broncolor RFS 2.1 (Radio Flash System 2.1) is the wireless trigger that lives on the camera hot-shoe and fires the Siros strobes when the camera shutter triggers.

• Frequency: 2.4 GHz
• Range: ~10-20 m line-of-sight (more than enough for any reasonable studio)
• Battery-powered (typically AA cells)
• Pairs with Siros via the strobe’s own menu — see manufacturer manual for current sequence

Important: the RFS 2.1 doesn’t connect to CAPP. It’s purely a wireless shutter trigger. CAPP controls Siros over WiFi (Enterprise mode); the RFS 2.1 handles the millisecond-precision fire signal.

6. Troubleshooting checklist

The most common lighting hardware issues, in rough frequency order:

6.1. Strobe won’t fire

1. Check RFS 2.1 battery — empty battery = no trigger signal.
2. Check RFS 2.1 ↔ Siros channel pairing — both must be on the same channel.
3. Check Siros standby state — power-saving mode silently disables firing. Wake via CAPP or BronControl.
4. Check camera-side issues — see B08 Section 8 (Electronic Shutter, Live View on DSLR, EOS Utility, Silent Shutter, Speedlite control).

6.2. Modeling light won’t turn off

• Digital Pro X: press the modeling encoder three times to turn off. Single press resets to maximum; not the same.
• Broncolor Siros: in CAPP, toggle Modeling light to OFF. If the fixture doesn’t respond, check WiFi connection — magenta = connected, blue = disconnected.

6.3. Siros disconnects from CAPP every few minutes

• 2.4 GHz interference on the lighting subnet. Confirm channel isolation — Broncolor recommends channel 9, 20 MHz width. If corporate WiFi is on channel 6 or 11, change one of them.
• Router/AP reboot — Mikrotik or TP-Link may have crashed. Power-cycle the network gear, then power-cycle the Siros after AP is back up.
• Siros firmware — check Broncolor’s website for current firmware; update if behind.

6.4. LED panel intensity capped at 50 %

• Fan is set to OFF. Enable fan in DMX settings to unlock full intensity.

6.5. LED panel color looks wrong on captures

• CCT mode dimming doesn’t change color temperature, only intensity — should match other lights at 5600 K. If you see warmer/cooler shift, the LED chip may be degrading (older panels) or another light in the scene is at a different temperature.
• Re-calibrate the white balance in CAPP against an X-Rite ColorChecker target.

6.6. Adjacent Digital Pro X studios cross-fire

• Group + channel mismatch. Set each studio to its own Group + Channel pair (see Section 3.3) so wireless triggers don’t bleed between rooms.

7. Maintenance schedule

• Quarterly: white-balance check with X-Rite ColorChecker. Detect color drift early.
• Annually: clean all light fixture lenses / reflectors with microfiber + standard glass cleaner. Studio dust accumulates and changes light output.
• Strobe tube replacement: Broncolor tubes are user-replaceable. Schedule replacement at ~80 % of rated flash count (typically 50,000-100,000 fires depending on power level). Fomei Digital Pro X tubes are also replaceable; consult FOMEI documentation.
• Firmware: check Broncolor + Fomei websites annually for firmware updates. Test against a known-good capture before resuming production.

8. For full reference

This module is the operational summary. The canonical references on photorobot.com:

• PhotoRobot — Broncolor Lights Management — full Siros operation, network setup, BronControl pairing
• FOMEI Digital Pro X Studio Flash User Guide — full Digital Pro X 300/500/1200 operation
• FOMEI LED DMX 150B · 300B · 600B — full LED operation per model

When troubleshooting a specific fixture, open the manufacturer’s manual — they update faster than this module.

Module check

When you’re ready, take the module knowledge check for this module. It’s not graded for certification — it’s diagnostic.

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