Aaron-Hill07 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Afternoon All, My question is, has anyone used any moving lights powered by LED light engine's that are actually worth their salt? I have a few projects coming up that require low power consumption but great visual effect, so LED moving lights seem like a good way to go. I don't want this to turn into a conversation about making shows look good without moving lights, or other ways of doing things. I want to know if anyone knows of any good LED moving lights that are £1000 or below in price. It's obviously very ambitious, but I have seen a few bits and pieces from Elation, ADJ etc which are reasonable quality, have good features and would be ideal for what I would be using them for. They'd be mainly used for posh weddings in London hotels for example, maybe a few conferences and other bits and pieces including live music applications. I'm looking for good intensity, good price (£1000 or below), Rotating Gobos, Prisms, smooth dimmer curves (as smooth as LED can get!). Must be a SPOT, not WASH fixture Obviously this rules out things such as the MAC 350 Krypton, so what have you guys used/heard of that you think are any good? Aaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niclights Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Before this turns into yet another discussion that's been done to death I think you should clarify whether you are looking for wash or profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron-Hill07 Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Yep, would have thought the rotating gobos, prisms features would have ruled out wash.. but I've just put it into the description. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxjones2000 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 A touring show last year had 6 of these, and I have to say that they are MUCH better than the Mac 250 entour's I'm used to (at school). They're really bright (seemed brighter than a mac 550 that I was using the week before at school) and are really punchy. The colouring is quite impressive, although the colour wheel is mainly made up of saturated colours, which look great in fairness. The rotating gobo wheel is impressive, very smooth rotation and VERY crisp and clear gobo's (similar to the ones in a mac 350), and they also have a prism which works as expected. The dimmer curve is VERY impressive (presumably it uses a mechanical dimmer), and it took us a while to try and work out if they were actually LED, because of having such a smooth dimming curve! The shutter is also very fast - part of the show had all 6 on a random strobe and it was crazily fast! The movement is pretty average, probably about the same speed as a mac 250 (maybe a little faster), and reasonably smooth. However, they're quite noisy from what I remember, and the build quality isn't brilliant - the plastic is thin and cheap, and the XLR connectors are horrible too - one of them had an XLR stuck in it as the lock had got jammed. Although it is pretty cool that they use PowerCon.... http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif Only thing is that I haven't found anywhere that distributes them... If you're interested PM me, and I'll hopefully give you the name of the touring show and their lighting guy (should be in the tech rider somewhere...) http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niclights Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 That company make some 'interesting' products, much like many companies from that province ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron-Hill07 Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 I'm always a bit worried from buying direct from China like that, and to be honest I simply wouldn't. I want something I can buy from the UK preferably.. with a brand of some type on it as opposed to a random Guangzhau title they made up in the spur of the moment and plastered all over them.. But, thanks for the idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_the_LD Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Chauvet Q-Spot 260 LED. It's as bright as a 250 Entour/Krypton, has a slot 'n' lock rotating gobo wheel, static gobo wheel, rotating prism, dichroic colour wheel and motorised focus. They also have UK staff and support. A company near me has a load and I'm sure would be willing to give you a demo/hire some to try them out. Let me know if you want any more details, Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossmck Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Showtec Indigo 4500 (Which is the same as the Chauvet Q-Spot 260) I've got two of them, likely to soon become four, used alongside Mac 250 Kryptons regularly and they compete well.. The build quality isn't anywhere near that of a Mac 250 Krypton but then again they're a fraction of the price and there's no lamp cost. (In the interests of full disclosure I sell these things from time to time.... so I'm maybe a little biased, but I'll admit I'd rather have more kryptons but I can't afford them ;)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron-Hill07 Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Ross, I did think they're identical! That's two people who agree they can compete against a 250w Discharge fixture, and they have great features too so it's looking good for both of these fixtures. and the Showtec's are cheaper! (I'd be interested for you to give me a price for some too, maybe by PM! if you sell them..) Build quality isn't expected to be as good for that price... but they aren't going to be touring and going into and out of trucks day in day out so that's not a huge problem to me Thanks for the ideas so far guys, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossmck Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Ross, I did think they're identical! Yep, I just was able to get the Showtec one cheaper ;) That's two people who agree they can compete against a 250w Discharge fixture, and they have great features too so it's looking good for both of these fixtures. I think some of Showtec's newer (more expensive) offerings allegedly compete with a 575... but I've not had a chance to get them to play with yet ;) Build quality isn't expected to be as good for that price... but they aren't going to be touring and going into and out of trucks day in day out so that's not a huge problem to me Definitely don't feel as good, but that said flightcased my Indigos have been about to a few places now (had them since they were launched) and they're still in pretty good condition - and work perfectly. The 'advantage' of the lower build quality is the weight.. they're less than half the weight of a Mac 250 Krypton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Johnstone Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Another yes for the Chauvet units! They out performed Robe club spot 300's (or what ever its name is!, there's so bloody many!) As others have said they have Chauvet Pro UK with good lads that will look after you! There easy on the maintenance side as well! I've also heard some ok reports on American Dj stuff too, there Phillips 5r lamps instead which you may not be interested in but there small fixtures!I've not actually had a good look at them, just saw them in a rig a HSL Stoke were supplying! They seem to like them a lot.Of course this may not be what your after at all, but it is another option thrown in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Another +1 for the CHauvet Q Spot 260 and all copies. a brilliant fixture on a tiny budget, and if your willing to buy direct from China they are about AUD$500 each! (Or what's that 350ish pounds) Some of the New stuff from Elation is also very good, most of it uses the Platinum 5R lamp, but there is one that uses an LED, and they have an Iris which no one else seems to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProtecAV Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 have you had a wee peek at the Lanta midi spot 30? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I had a load of the Indigo versions from Viking lighting during the late summer. I too was quite impressed - but I wonder if the brightness is simply a product of the narrow angle. However, they were bright, very quick moving and for effect, very useful. They're really beam lights I think - rather than the standard profiles or washes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossmck Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 The published beam angle of the Indigos is 15º and the Kryptons are 17.5º ... so yes, the Kryptons are probably brighter but they both *appear* very close, and there's not that much in it beam angle wise... The Elation stuff with the Platinum 5R lamps is nice too, but they're a bit more pricey than the Showtec / Chauvet range One word of warning against buying direct from China... It seems that even though Showtec / Chauvet is made in China some of the chinese lanterns are actually 'clones' of the Showtec / Chauvet stuff - I've seen a chinese clone (no idea what one) of the Indigo 4500 that had a far inferior (uneven) LED source and looking inside it was even more cheaply put together (and that's saying something ;)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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