Intellytech MEGA

The Intellytech MEGA-6 LiteCloth 3.0 is a large, flexible LED light that has the versatility to be used for a wide range of lighting applications.

The LiteCloth lineup is a fast and effective way to get broad and soft lighting on set and they break down into a reasonable size for traveling. The MEGA-6 LiteCloth 3.0 is available in both bi-color and RGBWW. The previous version was only available in Bi-color.

The MEGA-6 LiteCloth 3.0 was first shown at NAB 2023. Above you can see our interview from the show. The light is CCT adjustable from 3000K to 9000K.

I have reviewed a few of the Intellytech flexible panel lights in the past on the site, including the Intellytech MEGA-LiteCloth 3’x 4.5′ Foldable LED Mat Kit back in 2020, and most recently their new Intellytech MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0. I have always been impressed by Intellytech’s offerings over the years and their lights continue to evolve and improve.

The new version looks to be much improved over the previous LiteCloth 2.0 offering. It features a much more robust frame, a more convenient tie-down solution, and a more compact power supply/controller. This is much more than just a small refresh. Intellytech has redesigned almost everything.

With most large lighting fixtures you can’t have your cake and eat it too. There is always going to be a compromise that you have to make, and this even applies to foldable and flexible light mats.

The MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 is essentially 6 1×1 panels that are combined to create a single large lighting source.

The Intellyech MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 folds down to a 14″ x 16″ x 1″ square. The design allows the user to create, broad, bright, natural-looking light in relatively easy to travel with package that can be set up quickly. It is a little bit smaller than the MEGA-8 LITECLOTH, however, some traveling crews may well find it big enough for their needs. It can also be run via two flight safe batteries, which is something you can’t do using the larger MEGA-8.

As I mentioned earlier in the review, even though it all folds down into a rather compact package, you still have to factor in the size of the frame and the weight and the size of the power supply. This is the caveat to owning one of these large foldable LED mats.

The MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 weighs in at 11.7 lb / 5.2kg (Fixture with Frame). The power supply/controller weighs 6.2 lb / 2.8kg. The entire kit in its case weighs 36 lb / 16.6kg.

So how does this weight compare to some other competing solutions on the market? Well, above you can see.

With the previous version, I actually ended up ditching the case it came in because it ended up breaking and I found it to be too big. Instead, I put the frame and diffusion screen in a padded lightweight light stand bag. I then put the flexible panel and the power supply/controller into a Pelican case.

If I was going to be traveling with the light and taking a lot of flights I would probably ditch the frame and simply use other methods to hold the light up.

The Intellytech MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 draws 320W.

You can run the fixture from two flight-safe batteries as it requires 320W. This is handy for anyone who travels a lot and needs to run the light remotely.

The competing Aladdin Fabric-Lite 350W Flexible Bi-Color LED Light draws 350W and the Godox 400Bi Bi-Color LED Light Panel draws 410W.

The lighting kit consists of:

The case itself is rather compact, however, you need to be aware that the case with everything inside it weighs in at 36 lb / 16.6kg.

The case it comes in is pretty well made, but I’m not quite sure how it would handle the rigors of air travel. That is something you would only find out over time. The case does come with the light, so you can’t really complain.

The case doesn’t have wheels like the case that comes with the larger MEGA-8 LITECLOTH. As the case is pretty heavy, it does make moving and transporting it more difficult.

I can, however, appreciate why Intellytech wanted to give customers a case that could fit everything in it. The nice thing is, you can use it if you want, or if you prefer another option you can decide what works best for you.

If you are going to use the case then I would put other items inside there to maximize the space. It is actually long enough that you could easily sneak in a light stand to have a fully self-contained lighting set-up.

The overall build quality of the MEGA-6 3.0 is pretty good.

The new power supply/control unit is robustly constructed and all of the connections are good. As I previously mentioned, Intellytech did a complete redesign of their power supply/controllers and they are a lot better than the original ones.

There is now a much larger color display which is easier to see. It does its job and it is easy to see what your operating parameters are and to make changes.

The buttons and dials are tactile and easy to use. They are also solidly made.

The fast frame has been designed to be lightweight and portable, however, unlike the frame that comes with the larger MEGA-8 LITECLOTH, this one does require a bit of assembly. I will talk about this further down in the review.

The light comes with a very robust mounting clamp that you can position anywhere along the middle section of the frame.

On the end of the mounting clamp, there is an attachment pin for putting into the angled mounting bracket that then attaches to a light stand. One of the problems I encountered was that if you are placing the light horizontally because there is a lot of weight and the middle supporting rod on the frame isn’t in the middle, the light would always end up leaning slightly to one side. This isn’t a huge deal, but it is something I noticed.

If you are mounting the light vertically instead of horizontally, the new mounting clamp can be moved along the center rail to create a better balance.

The other added benefit is that you can now also angle the light, by simply adjusting the mounting clamp.

The included mounting bracket is reasonably heavy duty and it does allow you to angle the light in a lot of directions.

The Intellyech MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 has a power supply/controller with a built-in AC adapter. It features the exact same design as the one that comes with the larger MEGA-8.

As I previously mentioned, the power supply/controller has gone through a complete redesign and it looks quite different from the older ones that Intellytech used to use.

The power supply/controller is reasonably intuitive and straightforward to use. You can clearly see all of the parameters on the display screen. It is much more intuitive and easy to see than the old version and the display is now on top of the power supply/controller instead of the side.

The power supply/controller also has a little V-mount style receptor quick-release plate on the side.

This allows you to mount the power supply/controller directly to a lightstand using the included bracket that comes in the kit. This works really well and it is a nice stable and solid connection.

It also has either two V-Lock or two AB Gold Mount battery plates depending on which version you choose.

While you can power the light from camera batteries, it’s important to note that two batteries are required to run it at 100% output. Each battery should be at least 160Wh and 10.5Ah or higher.

You need to be aware that you can’t use a single V-lock battery to power the light. It doesn’t matter what the capacity of that battery is, it won’t work.

In a nice touch, the power supply/controller has built-in circuit protection, so if you try and use it with incompatible batteries it will shut itself off to prevent any damage.

One of the appeals of the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 is that you can power it from two flight-safe batteries. If you are traveling a lot then this is a big deal. With the larger MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0, this is something you can’t do because of the higher power draw.

What is nice with the new power supply/controller is that it has a 3-pin 48V DC input so you could run it off something like the SWIT TD-R230S 48V 750W Light Stand Power Adapter and a couple of high capacity 28.8V V-mount batteries. This is a great solution because you can run the MEGA-6 at 100% output continually for more than 2.5 hours without needing mains power.

The power supply/controller isn’t too large or too heavy, especially considering it is powering what are essentially 6 1×1-sized panels. I weighed the power supply/controller at 6.2 lb / 2.8 kg.

Flexible and foldable LED mats are great because they are compact and lightweight, but they still require power like any other light. They can’t magically produce a lot of output without a fairly large power supply.

The Intellyech MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 is ready for worldwide use via its universal 110-240v AC power supply.

The Power Supply/Controller has the following inputs & outputs:

There is a 5-Pin XLR DMX In and DMX 0ut. Additionally, there is a USB-C Port that can power wireless DMX transmitters or any device up to 2W. You can also use it to update firmware.

The power supply/controller does have an in-built fan that you can turn on or off.

The fan noise is basically non-existent and I couldn’t really tell the difference when it was on or off. The light is extremely quiet which is fantastic.

Intellytech does sell optional 20′ or 32′ LiteCloth Extension Cables that go between the light and the power supply/controller so you can move the unit further away from the light if need be. I would recommend getting one of these.

The power supply/controller has separate dials for Color/Set and Dimming.

There are also four buttons:

You make adjustments by using a combination of the dials and buttons. This is all fairly intuitive and easy to do. There is no +/- G/M adjustment on this light.

The Menu button brings you to the above screen where you can toggle through and select the various operating modes, etc. You use the COLOR/SET dial to go between the various modes and then the SELECT button to enter that mode.

In the FX mode, you can choose between various lighting effects as well as change their speed.

If you choose BT Set, you can reset the Bluetooth ID that is used for the LiteSync+ app that I will talk about later.

DMX Set allows you to turn on/off DMX RF groups, adjust the DMX channel and choose how you want to use DMX.

Dimming mode, as its name would suggest, allows you to change the light’s dimming characteristics.

If you press the BLACKOUT button, the light turns off while it is still powered up.

The FAN button, just simply toggles the fan on or off. There are no other fan settings available.

As well as making adjustments directly from the power supply/controller you can also use the free LiteSync+ Andriod & iOS Bluetooth app to control the light remotely.

Now, I don’t like apps where you need to register and provide details. Unfortunately, that is what you need to do if you want to use the LiteSync+ app.

When you first launch the app you will need to add the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0. You do this by tapping on the large + button.

Once your light has been found, you can then click on it to access the settings.

You will then be greeted by the above screen. Here you can make changes and access modes. Now strangely, the app shows that you can set the light at 2500K, but the light only goes as low as 3000K.

You can quickly adjust CCT and brightness. There is also the ability to quickly press preset CCT settings.

If you want to there is also the ability to physically type in CCT and brightness values.

In the Scene Effects mode you you can choose between a select number of effects and adjust their speed.

There is also a Music mode, where the light will pulse along with included music tracks. You can also use your smartphone’s inbuilt microphone to get the light to do this with any music you are playing.

You can also save and recall lighting presets, which is also handy.

Overall, the app is pretty good. It is intuitive and responsive, and the UI makes everything clear and concise.

The biggest downside of using a lot of flexible or foldable LED lights is that they are a pain to set up. You normally have to construct up frames and mounts and then hook them up to controller units and power supplies.

The Intellytech uses a quick and intuitive frame, that while similar to the one that comes with the MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0, does require some installation.

The outside of the frame simply folds and unfolds into place, requiring no assembly, however, you do need to install the center supporting piece. You do this by lining it up and then clamping it down using the two clamps that are on the main frame. This does make it slower to set up than the larger MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 frame, so you need to factor that in. While I would have preferred to have a self-contained frame without the need for installation I can see why Intellytech did what they did. This was the only way it would fit into the provided case.

Unlike the larger MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 frame that only has one locking mechanism, on the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 there are 3.

The frame is lightweight, but also very sturdy and robust.

Because of the size of these frames, you can also get away with using the light without any lightstands if you have something to rest it on.

With the older frame versions, you needed to attach the LED Mat to the frame using bongo-style ties and grommets. This could be fiddly and time-consuming.

With the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0, Intellytech has kept the grommets but added integrated metal clips. You use these by passing one side around the frame and then locking it into the other side. These are solidly made and work well.

This certainly allows for a tighter connection and you can pull on the straps to tighten the LED Mat.

The MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 also has elastic on all four corners that you also use to help attach it to the frame.

As the light still has the grommets, you could use those for mounting purposes as well if you wanted to.

I found it quicker to attach the LED Mat to the frame when it was laid out horizontally or resting on the ground. The LED Mat, while still reasonably light, does have some weight to it and if you try and attach it to the frame by yourself when it is sitting vertically it can be a little difficult to do. If you are setting up the light by yourself it is easier if you attach all of the elastic straps to all four corners first and then work your way around and do up the clips.

If you are working by yourself or in a small crew you need to be able to set up lighting quickly. The MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 is not something you can set up in 60 seconds, you are going to have to factor in around 5-10 minutes to set it up, slightly longer if you want to attach the diffusion or honeycomb grid.

Speaking of the diffusion, it now needs to be attached to a fold-out mounting frame that you need to attach to the LED Mat using velcro. This adds extra time to the set-up process. Because it is also reasonably heavy, I found it best to attach it while the light was sitting horizontally on the ground. If you try and put it on when the light is already on a light stand and sitting vertically it can be tricky, especially when trying to do it by yourself.

Now, you may be wondering, why make this process of attaching the diffusion more complicated and time-consuming? Well, the main reason is that to get a nice soft source, the diffusion needs to be placed away from the actual LED source.

With the new system, Intellytech has created depth, which really helps in creating a lot softer source.

You also get a honeycomb grid in the kit. The honeycomb grid isn’t as rigid as the one that comes with the larger MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0. It still works well, but I didn’t find it as good as the one that comes with the MEGA-8 and it does have a tendency to sag if you are running the light on an arm horizontally. As the light has quite a broad spread of light, the honeycomb grid does a reasonably good job of limiting unwanted spill.

One of the downsides, as I mentioned earlier, is you have to carry around a frame, controller/power supply, the LITECLOTH, and a bunch of cables and accessories. The included case the kit comes with isn’t huge, but it is heavy. The nice thing is you don’t have to use that case if you don’t want to. You could take out the individual components and pack them separately if need be. This could be a good option for some people who want to reduce space and weight when they travel.

I found that you could use the light by just attaching it to one or two light stands and not use the frame. The position of the light will still stay fairly flat even without using the frame.

As the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 is reasonably large you can also fold it around into two sides so you can effectively light two different directions at once. I will show you how this works further down in the review.

The great aspect of flexible lights is your ability to shape them and manipulate them to create unique light sources.

A big factor for a lot of people when buying a light is how much output it can produce.

Intellytech claims that the light puts out around 10,300 lux @ 1 meter when it is set at 5600K. This is a lot of output for a light that draws just 320W.

Well, let’s put that output claim to the test. I tested the lights output at a variety of CCT settings both running on mains and battery power using a Sekonic C-800 at a distance of 1m (3.28ft) in a controlled environment; you can see the results below. With any diffusion or attachment, I measure from the end of it and not from the light source. I do this with all my measurements for lights.

Above you can see the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 recorded an output of 10,300 lx (957 fc) when set at 5600K and run off mains power. This is exactly the same as the claimed output from the manufacturer. 10,300 lx from a flexible LED light of this size is impressive.

As a comparison, the MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 RGBWW version recorded an output of 11,100 lx (1040 fc) when set at 5600K and run off mains power

The MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 produced a CCT reading of 5642K, which was a very good result.

Again, as a comparison, the MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 produced a CCT reading of 5531K

Above you can see the light’s output when it was set at 3200K. It produced 9,850 lx (915 fc), which is just 4.36% less than the 10,300 lx it produced at 5600K.

As a comparison, the MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 RGBWW version recorded an output of 10,500 lx (602 fc) when set at 5600K and run off mains power.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded a very good reading of 3256K. The light is more CCT-accurate at 3200K than it is at 5600K.

Again, as a comparison, the MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 produced a CCT reading of 3207K

Intellytech MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0

The light has a very consistent output when used at any of its CCT settings. The output across its CCT range only varied by 8.28%. From 4500K to 9999K it only varied by 2.85%. This was impressive and exactly what I want to see from a light.

The results also show me that the light is pretty accurate when it comes to CCT reproduction from 3000-8000K. Only at 9999K was it a little off. The CCT was no more than 72K off from 3000-8000K.

Intellytech MEGA-8 LiteCloth 3.0

As a comparison, above are the same results for the Intellytech MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0.

The light has a very consistent output when used at any of its CCT settings. The output across its CCT range only varied by 8.77%. This was impressive and exactly what I want to see from a light.

The results also show me that the light is pretty accurate when it comes to CCT reproduction from 3000-6500K. Only at 8000K and 9999K was it a little off. The CCT was no more than 79K off from 3000-6500K.

Above you can see that when the light had diffusion attached it recorded an output of 6970 lx (648 fc). This was 32.3% less output than when using the light open face.

Now, the diffusion does alter the CCT by quite a considerable margin. With the diffusion, the CCT reading was 5326K which was more than 300K different from the 5642K it recorded with no diffusion. This is something to keep in mind, because you may want to increase the color temperature slightly on the controller to compensate for this.

With this in mind, I decided to do some further testing to see what CCT I actually had to set the light to when using the diffusion to recreate an accurate 5600K source.

Above you can see that I set the CCT to 5850K.

After setting the CCT to 5850K, I got the above result. As you can see, I got a CCT of 5600K which was bang on being perfect. This shows you one of the advantages of owning something like a Sekonic C-800-U. I could take readings and then make adjustments to the light.

Above you can see the light’s output when it was set at 3200K and using the diffusion was 6470 lx (601 fc), which was 34.3% less than the 9,850 lx it produced when used open face.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded a very accurate reading of 3171K. Unlike at 5600K, the reading at 3200K when using diffusion didn’t get altered in a drastic way.

Intellytech MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 1/2 Stop Diffusion

The results show me that the light’s CCT accuracy when using the diffusion starts to get massively altered once you get to 5600K and above. Yes, anytime you put anything in front of a light it will alter the CCT, but nonetheless, this is something you need to be very aware of.

Ok, so now let’s see when I add another layer of diffusion to the front of the light so we now have 1.5 stops of diffusion.

Above you can see that when the light had 1.5 stops of diffusion attached it recorded an output of 4390 lx (408 fc). This was 57.37% less output than when using the light open face.

It was no surprise that two layers of diffusion ended up massively altering the CCT reading. With two pieces of diffusion, the CCT reading was 5149K which was 492K different from the 5641K it recorded with no diffusion.

Again, with this in mind, I decided to do some further testing to see what CCT I actually had to set the light to when using the diffusion to recreate an accurate 5600K source.

Above you can see that I set the CCT to 6150K.

After setting the CCT to 6150K, I got the above result. As you can see, I got a CCT of 5604K which was very, very accurate. Again, this shows you one of the advantages of owning something like a Sekonic C-800-U. I could take readings and then make adjustments to the light.

Above you can see the light’s output when it was set at 3200K and using 1.5 stops of diffusion was 4160 lx (386 fc), which was 57.76% less than the 9850 lx it produced when used open face.

As far as CCT accuracy goes, it recorded a reasonably accurate reading of 3139K. Again, unlike at 5600K, the reading at 3200K when using two pieces of diffusion didn’t get altered in a drastic way.

Ok, so let’s now see how it performs when using the optional Lantern.

Above you can see the MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 recorded an output of 3810 lx (354 fc) when set at 5600K and used with its optional Lantern. Now, please note that I am taking this measurement at a distance of 1m / 3.3′ from the end of the Lantern and not from where the LED mat is.

The MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 produced a CCT reading of 5126K when used with its Lantern which was a bad result. Just like when using diffusion, the Lanern massively alters the CCT. At 3200K it was fine.

Now, what you should always do when testing lights is to see if the CCT remains consistent when dimming the light. Just because you set a light at say 5600K, that doesn’t mean that the CCT will remain stable as you start dimming the fixture down. I also wanted to see how linear the dimming curve was.

I decided to do a series of tests at 100%/75%/50%/25%10% to see if the CCT being recorded changed. This was done at a distance of 1m / 3.3′ using a Sekonic C-800. These tests were done at 5600K with the light being used open face.

The MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 maintained excellent CCT consistency as you start dimming the fixture. My testing showed that the CCT readings varied by 45K from 100% to 10%.

As far as how linear the output is when you start dimming the light, at 50% output it had 49.41% less output than when used at 100%. At 25% it had 74.27% less output than when used at 100%. At 10% output, it had 90.19% less output than when used at 100%. This shows me that the light’s dimming curve is extremely linear.

So now that we have seen how much output the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 produces, how does it perform when it comes to replicating accurate colors?

Above you can see what Intellytech claims. So let’s put those claims to the test.

Above you can see that when the light was set at 5600K and used open face it recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 97.3 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 95.78. For replicating accurate skin tones it recorded 93.4 for R9 (red), 96.7 for R13 (closest to caucasian skin tones), and 95.8 for R15 (closest to Asian skin tones). These were outstanding results. Only R12 (Blue) was below 90.

The light when set at 5600K also recorded a TLCI score of 99.

As a comparison, I compared the color rendering of the Intellytech to the Aladdin Bi-Flex2 Bi-Color LED Panel 1×2 and the Intellytech MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 RGBWW. The Aladdin has excellent color rendering scores and I personally consider it to be a benchmark for flexible LED panels.

Above you can see a head-to-head comparison against the Aladdin Bi-Flex2 Bi-Color LED Panel 1×2 and the Intellytech MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 RGBWW when used at 5600K. The MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 stands up very well to the Aladdin, which, as I just mentioned, is what I consider to be the industry benchmark for flexible panel lights when it comes to color accuracy. The CRI scores were just behind those of the larger MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0.

Above you can see the scores for when the light was used at 3200K open face. It recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 98.4 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 97.07. For replicating accurate skin tones it recorded 95.1 for R9 (red), 99.5 for R13 (closest to caucasian skin tones), and 99.0 for R15 (closest to Asian skin tones). Just like at 5600K, these are excellent results. Only R12 (Blue) was just below 90.

The light, when set at 3200K, recorded a TLCI score of 98.

Above you can see a head-to-head comparison against the Aladdin Bi-Flex2 Bi-Color LED Panel 1×2 and the Intellytech MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 RGBWW when used at 3200K. Again, just like at 5600K, the Intellytech stands head-to-head with the Aladdin.

Above you can see that when the light was set at 5600K and used with its diffusion it recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 98.1 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 96.70. For replicating accurate skin tones it recorded 96.2 for R9 (red), 97.5 for R13 (closest to caucasian skin tones), and 97.1 for R15 (closest to Asian skin tones). These were outstanding results. Only R12 (Blue) was below 90.

While the diffusion does affect the CCT reading, it certainly doesn’t have any big effect on the color rendering performance.

Above you can see that when the light was set at 3200K and used with its diffusion it recorded an average CRI (R1-R8) of 98.6 and an extended CRI (R1-R15) of 97.22. For replicating accurate skin tones it recorded 94.8 for R9 (red), 99.1 for R13 (closest to caucasian skin tones), and 98.6 for R15 (closest to Asian skin tones). These were outstanding results. Only R12 (Blue) was below 90.

The diffusion does not affect the color rendering performance.

The CC Index displays the CC correction value and whether any magenta or green need to be added or subtracted. 1 CC corresponds to 035 Kodak CC values or 1/8 Rosco filter values. Any reading less than +1.00 or -1.00 and you’re probably not going to need to make any kind of adjustment. The ⊿uv is the value to show how much this light is away from being an ideal light source (black body radiation = incandescent lamp). As with the CC Index you want this number to theoretically be zero. Kelvin is not a linear value, so we need to convert from Kelvin to MK-1 to compare the values of color temperature. To calculate from Kelvin to Mired is MK-1= 1*1000000/Kelvin. While this may sound confusing, it is the only way of measuring if the Kelvin shift is significant enough to warrant having to use a filter for correction. Below are the results for the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0:

These figures might look confusing, but what it tells me is that the light is very CCT-accurate at all of its settings between 2700-9999K. Any MK-1 score that is under -9/9 means you wouldn’t have to use any color correction gels. The MK-1 scores for this light were excellent. Any MK-1 score that is under -6/6 is a very good result. The scores from 5600K to 9999K were particularly good.

Ok, now let’s look at the CC INDEX & ⊿uv.

These were very good results across the board. There was nothing here that anyone should be concerned about and the ⊿uv scores at 3200K and 5600K were outstanding. The light also doesn’t lean green or magenta in any noticeable way across its CCT range. The CC Index scores were right up there with some of the best lights I have reviewed.

TM-30 is a relatively new color rendering standard that was developed to deal with the limitations of CRI. TM-30 looks at 99 individual colors. These 99 colors are categorized into seven groups: nature, skin color, textiles, paints, plastics, printed material, and color systems.

TM-30 scores go from 0 – 100. The higher the score, the more accurate a light is at producing colors. Any TM-30 Rf score in the ’90s is considered to be good. What is interesting and something that you need to be very aware of is that two separate light sources with the exact same CRI scores can render colors very differently. A light with a high CRI rating could have a low TM-30 score. Conversely, a light with a good TM-30 score could have a bad CRI score.

Now, there are two measurements associated with TM-30, Rf and Rg.

Rf (Color Fidelity)Rg (Color Gamut)

With Rf value, ideally, you want a score in the 90’s.

With Rg value, a score below 100 indicates that the light source renders colors with less saturation than the reference source. So ideally you want this score to be above 100.

Above you can see the scores for the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 at various CCT settings. Below I have listed the figures as well.

Here are the results:

The TM-30 scores were excellent up to 6500K and it shows me that the light is very consistent at replicating accurate colors with full saturation. However, at 9999K the light did struggle a little bit to create full saturation.

SSI (Spectral Similarity Index) was developed by the Sci-Tech Council of the Academy. SSI gives me the ability to set any light as a standard, or use predefined standards (such as CIE D55), and then give other lights an SSI score based upon how well they will match standards such as CIE D55 measure spectral response and compare it directly against an ideal light source.

SSI is a much better way to judge an LED light than CRI or TLCI, although they don’t tell the full story of any light and you can’t judge a light by SSI scores alone.

SSI is useful to see how well different lights will play together. As the Sekonic C-800 Spectromaster can measure SSI, I decided to test out the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 to see how it performed.

Above are the scores for the light when used at 3200K. The scores show that the light does a very good job of accurately replicating a 3200K (Tungsten) source. Any score in the mid to high 80’s is outstanding for an LED light.

Above are the scores for the light when used at 5600K. The scores show that the light does a reasonably good job of accurately replicating a CIE D55 source. A score in the low to mid-70s is very typical for a 5600K LED light.

The main reason we want to record SSI scores is so we can see how well they match with other lights. I was curious to see how well the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 matched the ARRI Orbiter and Prolycht Orion 675 FS at both 3200K and 5600K. Below you can see the results.

As you can see the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 is a pretty good match with the Prolycht Orion 675 FS when used at 5600K. It isn’t quite as good of a match with the Orbiter, however, a score of 87 is still pretty good.

At 3200K the Intellytech is a fairly similar match to the Prolycht and ARRI as it was at 5600K.

Being able to measure SSI in advance and compare different lights you may be using together is a great way of finding out what lights will work together and what adjustments need to be made.

Because I like to be thorough, let’s have a look at how the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 when used open face matches itself when we use its diffusion.

As you can see the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 is a very close good match to itself regardless of whether you use diffusion or not. If you had two of these lights and you were using one open-faced and the other with diffusion, they would be virtually indistinguishable.

Now, here is where things get interesting and this is exactly why you can’t rely on one set of tests to make a conclusion about a light. Above I have compared the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 when used open face at 5600K against itself when I added diffusion. As you can see, the SSI scores are a very good match even though the CCT readings were vastly different. This is exactly why SSI scores alone can’t tell you everything you need to know about a light. While the spectral distributions almost completely match, the light will look different when used with and without diffusion because the CCT is going to be different.

Above you can see the spectral distribution of the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 when it is set at 5600K. The spectral distribution is decent and there aren’t any spikes where you wouldn’t expect there to be.

As a comparison, let’s compare that against the best LED light I have ever tested at 5600K, the Maxima 3.

Above you can see the spectral distribution of the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 when it is set at 3200K. The spectral distribution is nice and full and the light only has the slightest bump in green.

As a comparison, above you can see what the spectral response of a tungsten light bulb looks like.

As I always say, photometric scores only tell you part of the story. So do the scores from the MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 translate into real-world performance? The simple answer is yes. The quality of the light that is coming from the MEGA-8 is really nice.

As far as how the light looks, it really does produce a beautiful large soft source. With the included diffusion you get this lovely quality of light.

Above you can see a few frames where the only light being used on the subject is the MEGA-6 LiteCloth 3.0. It is positioned to the right of the subject.

I found that even without using any diffusion at all I could still create a very flattering light source. In my opinion, you just can’t beat a large source if your ultimate aim is to produce soft, even light with no shadows.

I also found it really nice to have a large source with lots of output. This light certainly punches above its weight and I found that it could easily be used instead of a powerful 2×1 LED light that is being punched through diffusion.

Above you can see what the light looks like when used with its optional Lantern.

You can also use the included skirt with the lantern to suppress spill.

The included diffusion isn’t super strong, but because it is now further away from the light source it is softer than when using the previous version. If you want to create even softer light I would recommend getting the optional 1 stop diffusion and using it instead or doubling it up with the stock diffusion to create 1.5 stops.

Above you can see a couple of quick shots when using the double diffusion.

You can create super soft light using the diffusion and placing it above your subject or over a table, etc. Above you can see a few quick frames where the light is placed directly above a table. You can see how nice and even the light is and how you get very soft shadows.

By using it with or without the honeycomb grid, you can choose how much spill you want.

As the light is a flexible panel, you can also bend it in half and have one side of the light facing one direction and the other side of the light facing the opposite direction. This makes for a very quick and easy solution if you need to light the interviewer and the interviewee with a limited amount of lights and time.

You can also put some diffusion over the top of it if you want to soften up the light.

I also found you could create a nice book light by punching the MEGA into a white/silver scrim and then back through the included diffusion frame.

The optional Lantern for the MEGA-6 works really well and I highly recommend it. You can create a very soft and broad spread of light using the lantern.

You create the lantern shape by connecting up little flexible poles that fit together.

The very wide beam angle certainly makes it a very versatile fixture. You can use it to indirectly bounce light into a ceiling or a wall and it produces a nice indirect lighting source. If you just need brute power it also works well.

I like that I can use the lights via mains power or through V-lock camera batteries without sacrificing output.

The MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 could be used for lots of different applications, but the light is certainly being targeted as a high-output, portable light source that could be used by a wide variety of shooters.

The MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 is likely to appeal to solo shooters and small crews who are looking for a travel-friendly and affordable large lighting solution due to the fact that can be powered via two flight-safe camera batteries. This alone probably makes it a better solution than the larger MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0 for anyone who travels a lot.

Other alternatives include the following lights:

Intellytech makes a few accessories for the MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0:

The Intellytech MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 Bi-color LED Flexible Mat (V-Mount) is available for $1,499 USD.

The MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 is well-priced and you certainly get a lot of value for money. If you think of the light as 6 individual 1×1 panels you are essentially only paying around $250 USD for each panel.

I personally think it offers good value for money considering its size and output.

The Intellytech MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 RGBWW LED Flexible Mat (V-Mount) costs $1,799 USD.

The Intellytech MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 is a good alternative to the slightly larger MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0, especially for those shooters who travel a lot.

Intellytech has done a good job of listening to feedback and making changes to its LITECLOTH range. If you are going to come out with a new version of a product, then it needs to be better. Intellytech has gone back to the drawing board and by changing the design and feature set they have come up with more than just a worthy successor to the original.

It produces a beautiful soft light, especially with two layers of diffusion. The extra output it has over the previous version is a welcome addition, and it is the extra output that really helps when you want to create a more diffused lighting source, but still require a decent amount of punch. Despite it being a bit smaller than the MEGA-8 LITECLOTH 3.0, it still manages to almost produce as much output.

As it comes in a lot smaller case and can be powered at 100% via two flight-safe batteries, the MEGA-6 is, at least in my opinion, a better solution than the MEGA-8 for shooters who travel a lot or work by themselves.

The optional Lantern creates beautiful light and it is very reasonably priced. I would recommend getting it if you plan on purchasing the MEGA-6. Yes, it is a little fiddly to put together, but it does produce great results.

The photometric scores across the board are impressive and the light has essentially the same output at almost all of its CCT settings. Just like with its big brother the MEGA-8, the biggest caveat is when it comes to using diffusion. You need to be aware of how much it alters the CCT and adjust the fixture accordingly. If there is one thing I would like to see Intellyteh improve on it is to come up with some better diffusion material.

It is well made and designed, and Intellytech improved on almost all of the aspects that I had issues with the older LITECLOTH versions. I like the new diffusion screen frame and the fact that you can now place the diffusion further away from the LEDs. The only downside to this new design, and the design of the main frame is that it does take slightly longer to set up the light.

It is a highly versatile lighting solution that can be used in numerous different ways and that is one of its biggest appeals. Being able to create such a broad lighting source from a fixture that doesn’t require massive lighting stands and numerous people to move it around only adds to its versatility. In that regard, it is a great solution for solo shooters and small crews.

With high output, good color rendering scores, and CCT accuracy, the Intellytech MEGA-6 LITECLOTH 3.0 ticks a lot of boxes. It is a very versatile lighting solution that can create beautiful soft light, and it still has enough punch to be used open face when you need it. This light, just like the MEGA-8, comes highly recommended.

Matthew Allard is a multi-award-winning, ACS accredited freelance Director of Photography with over 30 years' of experience working in more than 50 countries around the world.He is the Editor of Newsshooter.com and has been writing on the site since 2010.Matthew has won 48 ACS Awards, including five prestigious Golden Tripods. In 2016 he won the Award for Best Cinematography at the 21st Asian Television Awards.Matthew is available to hire as a DP in Japan or for work anywhere else in the world.