joelbur Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Hi everyone,I am looking to purchase some intelligent lighting, I was originally looking at moving heads but have now decided they are out of my price range for the time being. However, for what I need, the CX range look like a bargain. Would you recommend me buying the CX-4's over the CX-2's, as the price is much cheaper for the CX-2's? The cheapest price I have found for the CX-2's is £272 from Thomann, does anyone know a cheaper company?I have also noticed that the lamp in the CX-2 is a 250w halogen, but the lamp in the CX-4 is a 150w discharge lamp. As the CX-4 is more expensive, wouldn't you expect the lamp to be brighter? And if so what is the main difference in brightness between Discharge and Halogen?Thanks for all your help in advance,JB <Edit> If any of my information is wrong, please feel free to correct me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomJ Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 This may (or may not) help these are copied from the martin website www.martin.dk It depends on what you want to use these lights for. I did notice that the halogen lamps can be brighter (by lumens) if you use a short life ELC lamp - did'nt know there was a choice. The discharge lamps may be more expencive to replace as well. Discharge lamps do not have an element and burn "rare earth" gases, they should be changed at the end of thier advised life, if they blow they will generally shatter - the bigger the lamp the bigger the bang, not to mention the mess inside the body of the light. They also have to cold start, the pressure of the hot gas will not allow them the re-strike whilst hot. CX4 Photometrics (Standard) Light output (w/ CDM-SA/T): 1110 lumens Illuminance (lux or fc): 29,400 cd/distance2 (m or ft) Diameter: 0.28 x distance Beam angle: 16° Measurement conditions: 230 V, 50 Hz; no effects applied Measurement source: Philips CDM-SA/T 150 Electromechanical effects Color wheel: 6 colors, 3 CTC filters, 1 multicolor, open; split positions Effect wheel: 6 colors, 4 beam reducers, 4 gobos, frost, open, closed; flash effects Dimmer: 0 - 100% CX2 Photometrics (Standard) Field angle: 16° Light output (with 97000104 halogen lamp, ELC, 24 V/250 W, 50 hr): 1460 lumens Light output (with 97000107 halogen lamp, ELC, 24 V/250 W, 500 hr): 890 lumens Electromechanical effects Color wheel: 15 full colors, 2 split-colors, open Effect wheel: 10 pattern gobos, 5 iris gobos, frost, open, closed Dimmer: Electronic, 0 - 100% Variable strobe: up to approximately 6 flashes per second Hope this helps Thom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelbur Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 Ah, so even though the CX-4 is the next model up, the lamp may well be duller and may cost more to replace? So am I right in thinking that for the price, the CX-2 would be better on lamp output and life?Thanks for your timeJB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 There is something odd about those figures. A filament lamp, as in the CX-2, gives out about 6.5% of it's input power as useful light, at an rate of 26 lumens per watt. A discharge source is about 31% efficient at around 95 lumens per watt. Given they both have the same beam angle, and I'd hope similar quality optics, I'd expect the CX4 to give out at least twice as much light - except it doesn't. Before choosing, I'd try and arrange a side-by-side shoot out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Tricks Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Hi, I hope these simpler facts may be of help.... The CX-2 Halogen lamp (known as an ELC, which is 24v, 250w) lasts for an amount of hours dependant on the version of lamp you choose. There are basically 3 variants - ELC3H which lasts for 50 hours, expect to pay about £6 - £8. ELC5H which lasts 500 hours, expect to pay £10 - £12 and the less common ELC7H which lasts for 750 hours, expect to pay £15+. For this sort of money you should expect to get a Philips branded lamp (a good, well known brand) and may even be able to pay a bit less for another brand, or even an unbranded lamp. The CX-4 Discharge lamp CDMT150 is again a philips lamp. Its lamp life is quoted as 6000 hours but you may get a bit more in practice. You should expect to pay £40 - £45. The main differences are the colour temperature - or the actual colour of the beam when the projector is in open white. A halogen lamp will be a little more yellow, meaning the colours will all look a bit warmer, which may suit lighting people. A discharge lamp will look a bit bluer, which can fool the eyes in to thinking the lamp is actually brighter as the beam looks clearer. Colours will be a bit cooler so will look a bit colder on people. Also, if you move a halogen lamp while its still warm you can damage the filament and drastically shoten the lamp life, or even blow the lamp. In terms of the insides of the fixture, there will be a few more components inside the CX-4, so it may require a bit more effort to fix if anything should go wrong. As far as light output goes, the 150w/250w thing is a little misleading. You should find some photometrics on the martin website which should give you the light output in lumens of each of the fixtures. In my opinion, you will find the CX-4 a little brighter, particularly over longer distance, where the discharge lamp will have a little more punch. Hope this helps.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttercreamt Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Hi there I,m only guessing so don't take this a gospel but the CX-4 is also a more sophisticated light as you will see on the Martin website...... 77colours compared to the CX-2`s........... !, loads of other functions witch you will either want or not but worth looking into ... I,m just giving my newbie opinion but they are quite different lights in spec............ buttercreamt :( . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelbur Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 Thankyou for all your help everyone, I shall probably try and go for the CX-4's. Thanks againJB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vl nick Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 the CX2 is very much a 'disco' light and like mentioned above the lamp life is not great. If your using them for a small bar or mobile disco they will be great if you looking to do more you might as well save your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ropelight Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 If you are looking for a disco lighting effect and want the image to move and change, the new range of Martin mania scanners are great value for what they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterOTea Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 the CX2 is very much a 'disco' light and like mentioned above the lamp life is not great.You're wrong. The 1000 hour lamp lasts an amazing, wait for it, 1000 hours. I think that's great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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