60W LED moving profiles, opinions?

[norty303]

Having had a few enquiries this year to provide LED/low power lighting for some jobs, and at least one of my clients expressing a desire to move to solar power for one of his festival stages next year, I've been looking into buying 6 or 8 moving spot fixtures to add to the inventory. I currently have Robe XT Scans and Miniscan HPE's.

 

They definately need to be in the 50-60W bracket (250W discharge region of brightness) and have at least 1 gobo wheel, a prism (preferably rotating) and remote focus (preferably).

 

These will not be toured on a grand scale, nor require any specific 'brand' to be visible. So I'm looking at things like the Showtec Indigo 4500 and it's competitors (although this fixture now appears to be on its way out, and more expensive than its more recently released competitors)

 

The Eurolite TMH-60 in particular looks very good value (2 gobo wheels, remote focus, rotating prism, small fottprint) although I can find very little info or feedback on it. At ~£430 a unit for a single, it does look to have a lot of bang for buck.

 

Things that I've noticed are the wide difference in beam and optics quality. As an example, there is a comparison video on youtube between an Indigo 150 and a Stairville MH-X25 and the Indigo has a much more even spot (although both are better than the equivalent discharge units) and is brighter. And I understand that some fixtures are now putting out more light, despite using lower power light engines, so it feels like a bit of a minefield!

 

I didn't think I was going to be able to go, but I think I'm going to have to make a visit to Plasa, so I can sample and compare some fixtures first hand - and also be aware of what is about to hit the market. LED tech is just moving along so fast right now, it's scary!

[rich_lambe]

Slightly off topic, but it is worth noting LED wattage is not a very good guide for output.

Different manufacturers may be using identical leds but get very different results mostly dependant on the efficacy of the heatsink.

In the flesh is the only way to compare.

[timsabre]

Different manufacturers may be using identical leds but get very different results mostly dependant on the efficacy of the heatsink.

And the optics, and the driver.

Led wattage is not a good guide for output from the LED emitter itself, much less the whole fixture. I don't understand why it is so widely used when it really means nothing useful.

[Joe Bleasdale]

Mac 350 Entour is the replacement for the now discontinued 250 spots from Martin. They are pretty good units, I had some on a TV show last year and myself and the LD loved them. They would be worth checking out for sure.

 

Thanks.

[J Pearce]

The Chauvet Qspot 260LED units are pretty good. Bit narrower than a mac 250 entour, but a bit brighter. Reasonable gobo selection which I believe is user-changeable, colours on a wheel, nice sharp focus, dead light and around 60W power consumption.

 

I believe they also do a bigger brother that's meant to compete with 575W discharge units.

[norty303]

I think we can reasonably rule out the bigger name units (Robe, Martin, etc) as being overkill in this particular instance. Nice as they may be for TV, they will never pay for themselves in my world (small festival stages and clubs mainly).

I believe the Qspot 260 is the same unit as the Showtec Indigo 4500, which I'd previously mentioned I think is outgunned (both on price and features) by newer fixtures to the marketplace.

[greenalien]

I think I'm going to have to make a visit to Plasa, so I can sample and compare some fixtures first hand

 

If you register via the Pulsar website http://www.pulsarlight.com/ you can get a free Plasa ticket...

[norty303]

Ah great, thanks for that, I knew some freebies were available, but couldn't remember where!

[Ynot]

Ah great, thanks for that, I knew some freebies were available, but couldn't remember where!

Most exhibitors will have some freebies available (even if they actually pay for them themselves and offer them to customers as freebie).

[paulears]

I've had some 50W Stairville MH-X50s and found them really good - I'd estimate equally as bright as my 250W discharge ones.

[norty303]

I've had some 50W Stairville MH-X50s and found them really good - I'd estimate equally as bright as my 250W discharge ones.

 

I experienced some of the x25's at a festival earlier this year and I was very impressed when I heard how much they cost. It was only when I saw them next to the indigo 150 that I saw their shortcomings. But I guess you pays yer money... Thomann 3 year warranty... Mmmm The x50's are definately on my short list but not sure how I'm going to get to audition some.

[bigclive]

The LED marketing industry has used wattage in the same way the cordless tool industry uses voltage. Just because something has a higher "level" doesn't mean it's better. The quality of the LED and the optical path in the light will determine the actual light output.

 

Another common cheat is to say things like "Fitted with a 100W LED!" but neglect to mention that it's only running at 10W.

 

As for solar power..... Forget it. In the UK you would need a MASSIVE array of panels to get any useful amount of power, even for efficient LED lighting.

 

If you were to build a genuine solar powered lighting rig it would be best built from scratch just for that application. That would include customised lights designed to run directly at the chosen battery voltage, and preferably with a generously rated battery bank with the facility to charge it on cloudy days from a generator or fixed power source.

 

On the other hand you can fake it like most of the solar promoters do and have some panels on prominent display and some token gesture LED downlighters. Then add a sign that says "This event uses solar powered lighting.".

 

You could probably get a big fat grant from the governments department of clueless eco-power handouts for that.

[norty303]

Sorry bigclive, I think you misunderstand me. I'm not building the solar array, I'm doing the lighting.

How they achieve the solar power is not my concern, as long as I know what they can supply, and I'm within the limits.

For what it's worth we did actually run the lights during the night time hours at a festival this year off the solar charged battery banks, but again, I'm not all that interested in how or why, but more interested in can I produce a light show with limited power resources.

[hollowsphereaudiovisual]

Norty - For effect and high light output have you considered the Acme LED Beam 300's ? - 8500 lumens at 5 metres, although they are narrow beam.

They do have a prism and rotating gobos, auto focus.

 

http://prolight.co.uk/images/media/GENE03/GENE03-wf0.jpg

 

 

http://prolight.co.u...m.php?id=509317 Link to product, look under the specification tab for photometrics.

 

Here is a video of them in action

 

Approx cost for one is £599.00 inc VAT, we may be able to offer discount on bulk purchase, we are a Prolight dealer.

 

Norty....sure I've seen you're name on a popular audio forum...

 

Good luck with finding the lights.

[norty303]

Thanks for that, another one on the 'to check out' list. I'm not sure they're quite as versatile as I might like on the beam angle, but never say never... ;)

 

Norty....sure I've seen you're name on a popular audio forum...

 

Correct, was admin/moderator at speakerplans for a few years, and member for much, much longer... (see the grey heirs?)