A seven-year project finally hitting Kickstarter
Maven Filters, the magnetic-filter company built around "Michael the Maven," is releasing its first lighting products on October 13 via Kickstarter. The Talon series — Mini, Pro, and Max — is a set of folding LED panels that open out into light sources "significantly bigger than their closed form suggests," as the company puts it. Early-bird pricing starts at $125 for the Talon Mini, with MSRPs of $249, $299, and $299 after the campaign.
PetaPixel covered the announcement yesterday, citing NewsShooter for the spec sheet.
Why fold a light at all
The premise of the Talon is straightforward and physical: small lights make hard shadows. Soft, flattering light needs a larger source. You cannot miniaturize the look of a big light — but you can make a big light that collapses. Michael the Maven has been working on this problem for seven years, calling it "the hardest design challenge" of his career. The Kickstarter funding comes from the original Maven Filter lens-filter business.
It is a clever wedge into the lighting market for a company whose name is synonymous with a $104 circular polarizer.
The three models, in plain numbers
Talon Mini weighs 178 grams (0.39 lbs). Talon Pro and Talon Max each weigh 0.72 kg (1.6 lbs). The Mini folds to a baton shape — 5.5 cm in diameter, 36.5 cm long — and opens out to over two meters (6.9 ft) tall on its optional stand. The Pro is bi-color (3200 to 5600 K) and delivers 2,210 lux at one meter. The Max is daylight-balanced and more powerful at 4,170 lux at one meter. All three have built-in batteries and accept USB-C PD input.
Where the Talon actually fits
The Talon is positioned for content creators and photographers who do not want a separate lighting case — or the baggage fees that go with one. Bi-color on Pro covers indoor video-ambient white-balance; daylight on Max handles outdoor fill. Whether the build quality survives the rigors of travel is an open question; Maven is taking pre-orders via Kickstarter rather than direct sale, which is the company's first hardware bet outside its filter line.
The October 13 launch matters because it sets a price floor: $125 early bird for the Mini is genuinely cheap for an LED of that size. After campaign, $249 MSRP is competitive with the Aputure MC Pro and similar pocket lights. It is a serious product, with serious competition.