Cantata & Optique

[Biskit]

Hi Guys,

 

My previous post (Old Profile Brightnesses) threw up a response which reminded me of a trivial question...

 

Cantata and Optique: Aren't they actually the same? Yes I know Cantata includes F and PC versions, and different angle range profiles from the Optique, but apart from that, they look identical in design! As if the Optique 15/42 might as well be called Cantata 15/42, ditto for 8/17. I've used Cantatas and Optique profiles but never side-by-side.

 

It just seems odd to me that Strand had two seemingly competing models on the market at the same time. Even if its just the beam angles that are different, surely they could have reduced the 5 condenser profiles into, say, just 3 or 4 models, all under one name? Or are the optics actually quite different?

 

Not life-and-death... its just niggled me for ages!

 

Ben.

[PDD]

AFAIK, the Optique had condenser lenses, the Cantata range did/does not.

[Wuddy]

>SNIP<

Cantata and Optique: Aren't they actually the same? Yes I know Cantata includes F and PC versions, and different angle range profiles from the Optique, but apart from that, they look identical in design! As if the Optique 15/42 might as well be called Cantata 15/42, ditto for 8/17. I've used Cantatas and Optique profiles but never side-by-side.

>SNIP<

 

No, they are not the same, they are two completely different animals although external casings appear similar.

 

Cantata is a standard profile spot with episoidal reflector and basic lens system

 

Optique is a profile/projector with hemispherical reflector and condensing lens and higher optical quality lens system, far superior for projecting gobo images.

[Biskit]

Cantata is a standard profile spot with episoidal reflector and basic lens system

 

Optique is a profile/projector with hemispherical reflector and condensing lens and higher optical quality lens system

 

Thanks for the responses guys. Just to clarify though... it sounds like the Optique essentially had superior optics over the Cantata range, but given this, what was the point in Strand continuing to produce the Cantata profiles, when the two Optique models superceded them, covering overall a wider angle range but with just two models. Presumably the Optiques would equal or out-perform the appropriate Cantata for any given beam angle in general use, not just for projection purposes?

 

Or were the Optiques significantly more expensive? Current second hand prices suggest this.

 

Ben.

[paulears]

Spot on - decent optics are expensive, so most people would run Cantatas, with Optiques for gobo use. They also use the smalle size gobos than Cantatas, and are rather heavy!

[Biskit]

Spot on - decent optics are expensive, so most people would run Cantatas, with Optiques for gobo use.

 

Thanks Paulears, consider my curiosity satisfied!

 

Ben.

[J Pearce]

Heavier than a Cantata! :)

 

Are they packed with lead?

[paulears]

I really like them, but there's a lot of weight, and extra length at he front which makes them quite difficult to focus, as the yoke is nowhere near the COG, so you undo the lever, and the thing drops suddenly. It also puts a twisting mment into the bar it's hung on - enough to twist a triangular truss! Damn hard to get up a ladder.

[mr_cahonjes]

I really like them, but there's a lot of weight, and extra length at he front which makes them quite difficult to focus, as the yoke is nowhere near the COG, so you undo the lever, and the thing drops suddenly. It also puts a twisting mment into the bar it's hung on - enough to twist a triangular truss! Damn hard to get up a ladder.

 

You want hard to focus, been in a venue where for no reason a cantata had been over rigged on some triangular truss, as soon as my hand touched the lever the bloody thing slammed round into the truss, knocked out all the cabling that hadn't yet been taped down and almost threw me off my ladder on the otherside.....

 

scary sh*t.

[Biskit]

I really like them, but there's a lot of weight, and extra length at he front which makes them quite difficult to focus, as the yoke is nowhere near the COG

 

On Cantatas certainly (and I imagine the same would apply to Optique) you can move the yoke position to the lens-tube rather than the lamphouse. This meams you can get them perfectly balanced on their COG... Trouble is, you lose the ability to focus them steeply or vertically downwards (because the top of the yoke hits the back of the lamphouse).

 

However for most FOH positions, I doubt this would be a problem, and if you did need to focus one steeply down, just use it with the yoke on the lamphouse - I doubt it would be much problem (I find the balance issue is only a problem when trying to focus between, say 45 degrees and horizontal). I once worked for a hire company who kept half its Cantatas 11/26s permanently with yoke on the lamp-house (for steep downward focussing), and the other half with yoke on the lens-tube (for near horizontal focussing). It worked well - customers liked having the option.

 

Ben.