Gerry Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 Beside for large price difference, is there any significant difference between S4 Parnells and the Showtec multipars as sold by Thomann?Also any differences using a GKV 600w lamp or a HPL 575W lamp?CheersGerryb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James S Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 Re; Parnell/ multipar We have some of the studio beam fresnels as well as ETC Parnells. The dimensions/ design etc are almost identical - barndoor/ colour frames/ scroller plates fit in either. IIRC, the studio beam ( I think this is the same as the multipar) is only rates at 575 (a 750W HPL will fit though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 The major differences are build quality, brightness and support. The HPL lamp is significantly brighter than the GKV, and putting an HPL in a Showtec enters questionable territory as far as patents go. The overall build quality, reflectors and lenses on the S4 are much better than the Showtec, so the units last longer and give you a brighter beam. ETC tech support is pretty good as well. Because of this, S4s are considerably more expensive. Whichever lantern you choose, I'd advise shopping around as you may be able to find them cheaper from a different dealer - especially if you want to buy a lot of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James S Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 It really depends on what type of use they'll - Think about how often they will be moved around etc Surprisingly, the differenc in output seems fairly negligible as far as we are concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredBear Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I've quite always designed the back lights for concerts with PAR64 cans. I'm interesting in trying MultiPAR as white is whiter than standard PAR. I've to use a color changer to meet my design requirements. I've looked and fund color changers for PAR64 but not for MultiPAR. In addition, I don't have one physically so I've not been able to find on Internet what are the dimensions of the color frame holder. Have anyone these informations? Or better, know which color changer could be fitted on a MultiPAR ? Thanks! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokm Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Or better, know which color changer could be fitted on a MultiPAR?Have a look at the ChromaQ Plus scrollers from AC Lighting >> Link. If you purchase any, ask for S4 Par back plates. They'll allow you to fit them onto both S4 pars & multipars. HTH, T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skdean Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 We are using the Kupo Multipars and they have a very similar output to the Source 4's. In fact the instruction sheet that came with them called them Source 4's in one of the sentences. Me thinks they may come out of the same factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Some Bloke Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 We are using the Kupo Multipars and they have a very similar output to the Source 4's. In fact the instruction sheet that came with them called them Source 4's in one of the sentences. Me thinks they may come out of the same factory. Very often when a Chinese factory knocks off a product, they buy one of the originals, copy the unit then copy the manual, remembering to change the name. I think perhaps they missed one! I'd be very surprised if it was the same factory making both. As Tomo says, build quality is excellent on the ETCs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jexjexjex Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I've quite always designed the back lights for concerts with PAR64 cans. I'm interesting in trying MultiPAR as white is... You may be aware of this, but you won't get the same effect with S4 PARs/MultiPARs that you get with PAR64s as the lenses seem to give much softer beam edges and don't correspond to the normal CP61, CP62, etc lamp angles and patterns. Consequently, although they're great for colour washes, I'm finding it much more difficult to get the traditional "light beams through haze" effect that I'd get with PAR64s when using my S4 PARs (The real things, not copies). Where they do score is with the lower power draw which is great if you're working in small venues with not-a-lot of power. Now, if ETC would just make a "CP62 pattern" lens then I would be a very happy bunny... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamtastic3 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I use Showtec Multipars as blinders and for that purpose they are great! Very bright output, but as said before, the beam angles differ to normal par beam angles. Even barndoors sometimes become useless. It's only with the ETC PARnel (think that's the model) that the light is fairly even because the lens has more of a unique 'frosted' design to relate the way the beam is narrowed or widened. On a Multipar, you have to change the lenses to get the angle (which cannot be altered apart from spread direction) whereas on the PARnel, it's a fix lens where you twist a dial that makes the beam narrow or wide. So yeah the big difference is that a Multipar acts like a par and a PARnel acts like a fresnel.... both to extents. I use HPL 575W in my Showtecs and never had any problems with build quality and lamps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredBear Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Consequently, although they're great for colour washes, I'm finding it much more difficult to get the traditional "light beams through haze" effect that I'd get with PAR64s when using my S4 PARs (The real things, not copies).I will not be a problem for since I don't use (only for these gospel concerts) haze. So I've "only" to design beautiful washes. I will use 750W version. Are they really powerful? On the ETC website it's written that's recommended to use high temperature gels. Do you agree with that (for 750W version)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 The 575W lamp puts them just below a 1k PAR64 in my opinion. The 750W lamp puts them in a similar territory to a (not brand new) 2k fresnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredBear Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 The 575W lamp puts them just below a 1k PAR64 in my opinion. The 750W lamp puts them in a similar territory to a (not brand new) 2k fresnel.Wow! That's a good thing. :( But, about the beam: if I understand well, it's comparable to a fresnel one?! The "edges" of the beam are not well defined. Can you confirm that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 Halfway between fresnel and PAR, not as intense and punchy as a PAR but not as soft edged as a fresnel. I find them incredibly good at toplight and sidelight washes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliveybaby Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 Be careful with the showtec multipars as the plate that the thumbscrew lock off clamps to isheld to the body with 2 little bolts that work loose very easily with a colour changer on they will be even more stressed the studiobeams seam a lot better built for some reason they all have their place CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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