Followspot suggestions

[fireball40k]

I've been asked by our local amdram group to suggest which followspots they should buy. These will be used in our 300 seat theatre that has a roughly 25-30m throw from the fs position to the stage. They need two to replace the frankly awful Selecon tungsten units that they bought a number of years ago. These ones just fall apart, particularly the irises, shortly after being fixed every time.

 

As the amdram group do three week-long performances a year, my initial advice to them was to hire, but they were insistent that they buy their own. The only followspots I know are the rubbish ones they've got (1200w tungsten) and the RJ Foxie that we have hired in the past, so I am turning to others here for advice on what to suggest.

 

When we used the Foxie, it did the job absolutely fine and felt well made. My only reservation in recommending some 2nd hand Foxie's to them (they won't be able to afford new Buxie's) is with reliability on older units due to the added complexity of the ballast etc. So would a recommendation of new/used RJ Crickets be better for this situation or do Foxie's remain reliable in the long term?

 

Or are there any other recommendations for suitable followspots in this situation?

 

Many thanks

[ianknight]

Talk to your local Eaton Cooper Controls dealer and ask them to arrange a demo of the LDR Canto followspot - they do a variety of lamp options in either discharge or tungsten that will work over your throw. Prices aren't silly either for a reasonably well made unit that will be durable enough for your environment.

[Ashley R]

a newer Selecon Followspot?

 

Which model do they have currently? As it sounds a tiny bit odd that they are falling appart as badly as you describe.

 

 

another +1 for the LDR Canto as well.

 

Get a few demo's and see what your volenteers prefer?

[paulears]

When budget was really tight a few years ago, I sourced a couple of Pearl River followspots, using what looks like the old Golden Scan cases. Very cheap. They've actually been rather good. Rear operation, which newcomers seem to get to grips with quicker than side mount, and no faffing around with sights. For 6 months of the year, they're off, and in a damp, open to the outside air room. One year, a birds nest was built on the top of one, and crud from bird poo had eaten through the steel inside - making a real mess, and it was wrecked. I replaced it with a different brand that looked the same, and the year after, a water leak drenched the ballast of the other one, and yet another different one was sourced. None have gone wrong on their own - all were things any make would not have survived, but performance has been very good. They are bright, and have nice clean light. Downsides are very minor. Two G clamps on the front sort the balance out to finger tip level, and there is a slight delay in iris changing speed from a manual iris. So you prod the slider and there's a tiny delay before the servo moves the iris. You get used to this in one show - then it's 'normal'. Benefits are of course price, but it has a colour wheel, and ours have CT filters too. These are very handy - a light pink and a light blue shift, but of course you get the usual saturated colours too. So when a visitor says - have you yellow gels, it's a simple prod of a button. If in a few weeks one or both have died again - as it's been terrible weather - I'll buy more of the same with no doubts at all. When I originally picked them it was also very handy because one spot op is left handed - if that makes a difference.

[fireball40k]

When budget was really tight a few years ago, I sourced a couple of Pearl River followspots, using what looks like the old Golden Scan cases. Very cheap. They've actually been rather good. ...

 

Thanks Paul (and Ian and Ashley - can't remember the model name of the existing spots, but they both fail on a regular basis)

 

Might the PR lights you mention (which aren't shown on the PR-lighting website) be similar to the Stairville Follow Spot 1200 listed on Thomann? (http://www.thomann.d...ot_1200_pro.htm)

 

Someone else has mentioned these to me and these might be interesting to try. At least with Thomann you get a 3 year warranty.

 

Cheers, Steve

[paulears]

yep- I think PR gave up making them, but the last one we got from Thomann - I'd certainly label them as good value for money, and to be fair to them - filling them with water and allowing birds to nest on them isn't really their fault!

[csg]

my vote for long term reliability and build quality goes with Lycian. They may well be viewed as old skool, but I've had superarc 400's in both long and short throw variants in stock for years, and they were second hand when I bought them. They are built like tanks, super reliable and optically excellent. The newer Starklte uses the cheaper 1200w HMI lamp over the expensive 400W HTI found in the Superarc's, but I prefer the very high CRI on the Superarcs.

Lycians pop up on ebay from tim to time, or talk to AC lighting who frequently have second hand units.

[kerry davies]

Seconded on Lycian, there is something about the light quality of the 400W that floats my boat. I wouldn't have thought they were cheap even today but they proved totally bomb-proof used by amateurs and students.

 

E2A, when they were thrown at me they were "spares or repair" from a West End basement in a terrible state and even I managed to get them working.

[paulears]

Amdram groups rarely have money to waste - having so many worthy departments wanting money. While the Lycians are excellent piece of kit, for a venue with 3 one week productions a year, the guarantee period will have long expired by the time they are worn/used to any real degree, so personally I'd find it difficult to recommend buying equipment where the final invoice for a couple of spots is likely to be in the 8 grand price range, against a couple of thomanns for maybe fifteen hundred quid!

 

Of course the cheap ones are not as good, but what would the actual benefits really be?

 

The Lycian Starklites use cheaper lamps, but cost a fair bit more, I believe.

 

If I had to be honest, the ancient Strand 765s that I kept going, and going, and going were better follow spots, but at the point my spares (thanks to Jim Laws) started to run out, I needed two, with at that time no budget at all - so there was no way I was getting ten grand for two 'proper' followspots - because that does seem to be the price from all the usual sources for the well known name brands.

 

I'm also convinced that follow spots are a very blunt tool, perhaps making very subtle differences in performance invisible to many users. So if an 8 grand budget was available, that would be a very handy £6,500 that could be spent on much more useful bits of kit.

[GR1]

If they are only being used for 3 x one week runs I would suggest that Fireball repeats his original advice to hire. It won't be more expensive, you don't have to worry about maintenance, storage or being out of warranty and you get to hire exactly what you want when you want it. For example : You might want 4 x followspots for one week? Ownership is a very appealing business model but not for things you use so rarely unless they fully pay for themselves within the guarantee period.

[csg]

Second hand value of a fully working and serviceable Lycian 1266 ( standard throw) super arc 400 is around the £300 - 400 mark. Ive purchased several around that value, some a little more, some a little less, but I've never had any problem with any. Yes, the lamp is expensive, but at am dram rates of usage, should run several years. I personally would prefer a second hand, but well designed and proven unit than an inexpensive new unit which has many more potential failure points. 3 year guarantees are great, but no good half way through the first act / number when something goes pop...

[paulears]

The prospect of second hand ones for that sort of money looks attractive to me too - They would have also been handy for me too, to be honest. Seems a sensible alternative.

[alistermorton]

We picked up a pair of Source 4 follow spots with dimmers attached and stands + irises and colour frame for (I think) 375 each used. Something like that might fit the bill on tight budget?

[MrBoomal]

We picked up a pair of Source 4 follow spots with dimmers attached and stands + irises and colour frame for (I think) 375 each used. Something like that might fit the bill on tight budget?

 

I'm a big fan of Source 4 follow's, However, I think that 25-30m is too far. I would spec a RJ Buxie, but, not cheap.

[alistermorton]

Yeah, I did wonder about the distance.