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Astera has moved its compact QuikBeam Fresnel into a track light housing, creating the QuikBeam Connect, a version built for permanent indoor installation with the same 13 to 60° zoom, RGBMA color mixing, and a CRI rating of 96 or better. At IBC 2026, we spoke to Astera’s Sebastian Bückle at the booth about the new fixture, the three Quik models it sits alongside, and how a QuikBeam somebody already owns can be moved into the new housing.
We have followed this range since the QuikBeam was announced and then started shipping, and we have also covered the larger QuikSpot and QuikPunch. The Connect is a different kind of addition. It is not a fourth light in the family but the same light in a different body, aimed at ceilings rather than stands, and Astera describes it as the first product in a new Connect series for fixed installations.
Sebastian started with the family itself. The QuikBeam is the smallest of the three, rated at around 200W tungsten equivalent from a 20W draw, with a Fresnel zoom and the swappable QuikBrick battery he pulled out of the fixture during the conversation. As he pointed out, that battery can also be left out entirely if the light is going into a fixed position, for example in a small broadcast setup, or swapped in seconds for a fresh one when the fixture is working on location.
The QuikSpot sits one size up at 300W equivalent from 38W, and the QuikPunch is the largest, a 5in (127mm) Fresnel rated at 650W equivalent from 75W, which Astera also describes as comparable to a 200W LED PAR for stage work. All three share the 13 to 60° zoom range, the RGBMA color engine, and CRMX wireless DMX alongside wired DMX and AsteraApp control, so what separates them is size and output rather than capability.
That shared behavior is the point Sebastian returned to most often. According to him, the company’s preference is to avoid selling one product for one use, and to keep adding accessories, software features, and add-ons to fixtures people already own instead.
Rather than lay the fixtures out on a table, Astera built a working set on the stand and reconfigured it live during the interview. The same space went from a podcast setup to a two-person interview area, with the levels dropping and the balance shifting as a second person sat down, and then into a broadcast look with a visibly different mood. Each change took seconds rather than a re-rig.
The set itself was lit entirely with Astera fixtures. QuikSpots sat overhead behind panels, a QuikPunch provided punch from the front, QuikBeams came in from the sides, and the company’s practicals filled in the rest, with SolaBulbs at the very top and LunaBulbs hanging in frame. Everything ran from a Blackout lighting console over wireless DMX, which is what made the transitions possible within a single take.
For anyone whose room has to hand itself back and forth between formats, that demonstration is the argument Astera is making with the range. One inventory of fixtures, several looks, and no repositioning between them.
Podcast and interview environments keep the microphones live throughout, so we asked how the fixtures behave acoustically. Sebastian said most Astera lights have no fan at all and rely on the housing to move heat, and that the models which do have one carry settings that determine how hard it runs.
His explanation came back to efficiency. A 20W draw producing a 200W tungsten equivalent leaves comparatively little waste heat to get rid of, so the cooling requirement is lower to begin with. Efficiency, as he framed it, is one of the areas the company works on deliberately rather than a byproduct of the LED choice.
Before showing the new fixture, Sebastian mentioned Power over Ethernet as something customers have been asking for recently. A QuikBeam can be installed with PoE on runs of up to 100m (328ft), which means the battery can come out and a single cable carries both the data and the power.
The QuikBeam Connect is the QuikBeam in a track light housing. The adapter drops into standard lighting track, with Astera listing EUTRACK MultiAdapter and H-Type versions, and the AC supply integrates into the adapter’s power compartment so there is no external brick or trailing cable. Pan, tilt, and zoom can be locked once the fixture is aimed, and the housing is available in black, white, or a matte RAL color finish, with barndoors as an option.
The optical and color specifications carry over. Astera quotes up to 2,294 lux at 3m (9.84ft) at 20W, the 13 to 60° zoom, RGBMA mixing with tunable white from 1,750K to 20,000K, and a CRI rating of 96 or better. Control runs over Bluetooth, WiFi, IR, UHF, and wireless DMX from LumenRadio.
The question that matters for anyone already invested in the range is whether existing fixtures can move into the new housing, and according to Sebastian they can, without going back to Astera. The housing is sold separately as the TracklightAdapter, and fitting a QuikBeam into it involves opening a few screws and inserting the light, with a manual supplied for the process.
He described it as a relatively affordable separate item, although no figure for the adapter on its own was given at the booth. For rental and event companies, it also means the fixtures bought for shows can be repurposed into installation work rather than sitting in a case between jobs.
Sebastian put the QuikBeam Connect at around €500 list price, with the first shipments expected in about a month, which he confirmed as October. US pricing was not given at the booth.
For more information, please visit the Astera website.
Would you put fixtures like these into the ceiling of a space you shoot in regularly, or keep your lighting on stands? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!
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A camera was put in my hands at 16, and I’ve been taking photographs ever since. Before moving to Vienna, I worked as a photographer on film sets, telling stories as they unfolded behind the scenes. Since then, I’ve focused on immersive theater, both as a photographer and an actor. I am the photographer for the award-winning Nesterval ensemble, documenting the energy and atmosphere of their performances. I’m a teller of stories. Stories hold my interest. I’ll take on any project with a story to tell.