Treatro Comma 16/28 - not impressed

[BenEdwards]

Sorry me again;).

 

Is it me or are these profiles rubbish. I have replaced the lamps and the lenses are clean and reflectors look ok. They are pathetically dim. We have 2 crossed over to create a centre spot from a FOH bar a couple of meters back. A single prelude 16/30 around 6 meters away creates massively more light. The 2 Comma on full are not bright enough and the prelude is and does not even have to be on full. Impressively rubbish would be my take on them.

[timsabre]

Are you sure they have the right lamps in (wrong lamp can mean filament is out of position), and that the lenses have not been incorrectly replaced during previous cleaning (have seen some ineffective lanterns where lenses have been put back the wrong way round).

 

Having said that I used to have some Teatro 1K fresnels which were fairly dim...

[BenEdwards]

Laps areGE 88469 T26/T27 Lamp 240V 650W GY9.5.

 

In terms of putting lenses in wrong way round that's a good point and strangely the beam shape is elongated on one of them. One a lot more elliptical.

 

So there are 2 lenses, how do I ensure they are the correct way round. There is a back and front one. Where should the bulge be (if that makes sense). The only diagram of the inside of a profiles I can see the flat bit is front back and bulges are pointing at each other.

 

front |) (| back/lamp

 

One does seem a little dimmer but there are 2 so they should be able to compete with one over twice as far away (using n squared rule).

 

Ben

 

PS I love ascii art;).

[jonathanhill]

I have not used the Comma range, but I have had the misfortune of using both Tratto and Acuto (?) ranges. Both were horrible, inconsistent and dim.

 

The Tratto units had problems with the reflectors that burned and became pitted soon after first use.

[BenEdwards]

Laps areGE 88469 T26/T27 Lamp 240V 650W GY9.5.

 

In terms of putting lenses in wrong way round that's a good point and strangely the beam shape is elongated on one of them. One a lot more elliptical.

 

So there are 2 lenses, how do I ensure they are the correct way round. There is a back and front one. Where should the bulge be (if that makes sense). The only diagram of the inside of a profiles I can see the flat bit is front back and bulges are pointing at each other.

 

front |) (| back/lamp

 

One does seem a little dimmer but there are 2 so they should be able to compete with one over twice as far away (using n squared rule).

 

Ben

 

PS I love ascii art;).

 

Just foud this http://www.theatrecrafts.com/pages/wp-content/gallery/pages-types-of-lantern-4/32.jpg

 

sp maybe it is |) |) with convex bulges both pointing forward.

[eamon]

Hi Ben

 

You are correct.

 

The teatro comma lantern range are without doubt one of the worst (or best...) examples of how to design utter crap. I can say this with experience of these units.

I used to have approx 8 comma profiles and 6 comma F/PC's.

 

You would get more light out of a biscuit tin with a candle and an ashtray as a lens...

 

They were built in the days before chinese knock off's became second place.

Preludes, whilst of the same generation, are infintely superior. They were old hat when the source 4's started coming onto the market.

 

The lanterns are actually built relatively well and are ideally placed to be used in a studio environment but the optics are appalling, just terrible.

 

In fairness, the PC unit was actually ok.... but still outmatched by rivals etc.

 

 

You may sense a pattern of contempt for this product.....Far better to get rid of them and buy something else (anything).

 

I cannot remember the lens orientation. I would hazard a guess at it being standard aka ▪ )). It will not matter that much, as the unit brightness is so poor. TBH, I would not waste much time on them. Just not worth it.

[BenEdwards]

Thanks for that. I have a couple of Prelude 28/40 but they are far to wide. Was looking for ireses but cant find any. Think I need to get some 16/30s and sell the 28/40s.

 

Or maybe quartet zoom. We have one and did not realise they could have shutters, will see if I can get some. Are they a good option or is there any other used stuff not too expensive I should consider?

 

ben

[Yorkie]

Not sure if this thread may help you source irises suitable for Preludes http://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=63256

[alistermorton]

Bear in mind that irising down reduces the amount of light in the spot (the light from the umbra is just lost), whereas zooming to a narrower beam gives the impression of increasing the amount of light in the spot (same amount of light, smaller spot).

[BenEdwards]

Bear in mind that irising down reduces the amount of light in the spot (the light from the umbra is just lost), whereas zooming to a narrower beam gives the impression of increasing the amount of light in the spot (same amount of light, smaller spot).

 

Yes I realize that. Well it reduces the total amount of light but does it not keep the same amount at a given point, or have I missed something. They are zoomed to there narrowest.

[alistermorton]

Yes, when you iris down you're just masking out the light outside of the required spot. The light inside the required spot is the same. You're better, if you can, to use a narrower beam to get more of the light into the smaller spot, hence why, ceteris paribus, using a zoomed 16/30 instead of an irised 28/40 gets you more light on the subject if the 28 degree beam is too wide.

[adam2]

The comments made by others suggest that these are a poor quality lantern, it might however be worth checking the supply voltage at the lantern.

 

The UK supply voltage is still in reality about 240 volts most of the time in most places, so 240 volt lamps are normally the correct choice. If however a rather low supply voltage and some long cables were resulting in only 220 volts at the lamp, then that would significantly reduce the light output, which sounds as though it is underwhelming at full voltage.