Aputure STORM 400x Released – Compact and Powerful COB LED Light with BLAIR Light Engine

Lighting News

by Jeff LochJuly 23^rd, 2025

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Aputure released their third COB LED light featuring the BLAIR light engine: the STORM 400x. This compact unit features a CCT range of 2,500K to 10,000K, along with complete plus/minus green-magenta tint control. The light head and ballast are IP65-rated to endure the most challenging shooting conditions, and it features Aputure’s ProLock Bowens mount to attach lighting modifiers, such as the newly introduced CF7 Fresnel. So, let’s take a closer look at it!

In September 2024, Aputure introduced the STORM 1200x, their first COB LED light with the new BLAIR Light Engine. Then, during NAB 2025, the company introduced the STORM XT52, an extremely bright COB LED light capable of rivaling HMI fixtures in terms of output.

If you have never heard of the BLAIR Light Engine, it stands for Blue/Lime/Amber/Indigo/Red to produce white light. Compared to traditional bicolor, RGB, and RGBW LED lights, the five light emitters in BLAIR lighting fixtures are capable of reproducing a more color-accurate and high-quality light.

While the STORM 1200x and XT52 are outstanding LED lights, they have a couple of drawbacks. Indeed, both fixtures are pretty large, despite packing a substantial amount of output, and they come with a relatively high price tag. In a nutshell, neither fixture is designed for one-man-band filmmakers. To expand their lineup, Aputure released the STORM 400x, a more compact and “affordable” fixture for owner-operators.

Aputure STORM 400x – features

The STORM 400x is a 400W COB LED light powered by Aputure’s BLAIR light engine. The lamp head measures 23.9 x 25.3 x 42.4cm/9.4 x 10.0 x 16.7in and weighs 3.95kg/7.99lbs. The unit features an external ballast with dimensions of 13.6 x 14.1 x 24.3cm/5.4 x 5.6 x 9.6in for a weight of 3.00kg/6.07lbs. Designed to withstand the most demanding shooting conditions, both the lamp head and ballast are IP65-rated and made out of aluminum.

At the back of the lamp head, you’ll find a 5-pin power connector that attaches to the ballast. The lamp head also features a built-in fan with four fan settings: Silent (0 dB), Medium (29 dB), High (33 dB), and Smart (36 dB).

At the front of the fixture, you’ll find Aputure’s Pro Lock locking Bowens Mount. This “PL-Mount” style mount is a locking, anti-rotation Bowens mount that can hold heavy lighting modifiers such as the DoPchoice 5′ Octa in heavy wind conditions without any play in the mount.

All of the lighting controls are located on the ballast, but you can also control the STORM 400x via the SidusLinkApp, Sidus Link Pro App, 5-pin DMX/RDM in and out ports, CRMX, and etherCON. According to Aputure, the Sidus Link and CRMX (TimoTwo) wireless control range is 100m/262.5ft. Last but not least, the ballast features a built-in V-Mount/Gold Mount battery plate to power the light, which is very handy.

Light output

Let’s now enter the STORM 400x’s main selling points: the light quality and light output. First of all, in CCT mode, you can adjust the color temperature from 2,500K to 10,000K with full plus/minus green and magenta adjustment. Aputure claims to achieve incredible light quality results, with a CRI and TLCI of over 95, an SSI (Tungsten) of 87, an SSI (D56) of 85, a TM-30 RF (Average) of 95, and a TM-30 RG (Average) of 100.

In terms of photometrics, the results above are also relatively high, both with and without a lighting modifier: 27,100 lux at 1 meter (5600K) when using the included 35º reflector is plenty bright. This should provide you with ample output for most shooting scenarios, including interviews, music videos, and corporate shoots. Furthermore, you can dim the STORM 400x from 0.1 to 100% in stepless increments.

In color mode, Aputure claims that the BLAIR light engine can also output saturated colors across more than 70% of the Rec. 2020 color space using Limited HSIC+ and x,y control modes.

Aputure CF7 – features

Alongside the STORM 400x, Aputure also released the CF7 fresnel lens. This 7-inch Bowens Mount fresnel attachment comes with 8-leaf barn doors and offers a beam range of 15º to 40º. Inside the Fresnel are multiple lens elements, and the dual-expanding focusing system helps maintain a reasonably small and compact form factor: 22.4cm diameter x 10.5cm/8.81 x 4.13in, weighing 1.35kg/2.98lbs without the barn doors. As always with Aputure, the CF7 Fresnel comes in a nice transport and carrying case.

Price and availability

The Aputure STORM 400x is available now for $1,059 in either V-Mount or Gold Mount versions. The Aputure CF7 Fresnel and barn door kit is also available now for $230.

For more information, please visit Aputure’s website here.

What do you think about this new 400W Aputure fixture? Would it be a nice addition to your lighting kit? Have you ever used a BLAIR-powered LED light? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!