daithi12 Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Hi all. Im looking at purchasing some new Fresnels. My requirments are to light bands on a regular basis and some theatre work also, ill be buying 6 to start with and another 6 down the line. My budget is tight probably in the line of 100 to 200 per fixture. What recommendations have you or what is the popular fixtures to have a look at. Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistermorton Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 I take it with that budget you're looking at traditional tungsten halogen lanterns? Minuettes are right in the middle of that price range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Theatre style Fresnels are great for lovely soft edges, but not particularly good for bands, where it's more usual to have much narrower beams to put light into the air, that can be enhanced with a hazer. £200 Fresnels on wide are not that bright. Bands often mean saturated light too, so bright colours that can flash against each other if the need arises, so if you have a 3 colour wash, only a third of your light is on at any instance, and to avoid dark 'holes' you need quite a few light sources, or rather bland wide beams. This is what makes PAR cans, in the 56 or 62 varieties more useful as they're cheaper to buy, much punchier and perhaps better value. If you are dead set on Fresnels, then research some of the 1K/1.2K Chinese types if the budget is tight, and get more of them. Tightened down, then the beams do warm up nicely. 650W lanterns are probably by modern standards, a bit dim. 6 Fresnels just seems a bit 'thin' to me. Fine for theatre, but a bit limited for music. If you are up for a bit of work and don't need ultimate hardware quality, then look at something like these. Chinese 1K Fresnel I've got a pile of these and the light quality is pretty good. However, you need to be able if necessary to replace the mains cable (two of mine were supplied with decent 3 core rubber to the switch, but the final metre to the lamp house was 2 core and there wasn't an earth. Easy enough to replace and test. The barn doors are effective, but a little soft - mine all have bashed and bent doors now. They stay where they have been put, but the metal is just softer than I'd expect. They work well for me, better than the usual box shaped Fresnels. They are cheap too, so you can perhaps get more than you planned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 I prefer a pc for band work,the harder edge allows then to almost be a spot whilst opening them up gives you a wash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daithi12 Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 thanks for the replies. We have a lot of Par 64's and par 56's but still like to use a Fresnel when lighting a band. Was looking at these http://www.highlite.nl/Shop/Products/Showtec/Theatre-Stagelighting/Stage-Theatrebeams/Stage-Beam-MKII-650_1000W-PC?product_id=128175 from showtec. The Chinese ones that look like an Arri look ok. Any issues with the Lens on these. The last units we got from china a few years back, when they arrived all the lens holders had broke in transit. That was my first and last dealings direct with china. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 The PC you linked to looks fine, other than that it's a gamble, as product lifespan on the shelf is often very short - sometimes months. I haven't given my Chinese ones any special treatment and seem to be decent enough - except the barn doors - they use the circular system for attachment to the three lantern contact points, so rotate easily - but if you have run a flight case over one, bending the thing back to a circle that won't fall out is interesting! These are the only Fresnels I have ever secured to the barn doors with a bond. On the 650W ones, I did damage the lead screw on one by not believing the guy up the ladder, instructing him to "turn the damn thing a bit more" which he did, enthusiastically, bending the lead screw so badly it popped out of the extrusions. I fixed it, but taking them apart needs care and time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
top-cat Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Out of interest is there any reason you have to buy new? To be honest a lot of hire companies have tons of unused stock of old conventionals, you can usually get things like Preludes or Cantatas for less than £100 a unit, and I actually I find the build quality of old Strand kit is still better than that of new chinese-made copies. On a completely different path, I am hoping to get some of these, I have been really impressed with their other kit. They are about £350-400 each, which I appreciate is double the budget... but with LED sources you do get the benefit of never having to change lamps, not needing dimmers, consuming less electric, and also putting less heat on the performers. They do a warm white and a cool white, I've linked to the WW on the grounds it's more like tungsten so perhaps what you want. EDIT: Link here. Sorry all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinntec Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I suspect he means these http://www.seleconlight.com//index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.p1&category_id=184&product_id=10438 from selecon we have several and they are brill (in shoot out about same as 500w Acclaim fresnel white and tints brighter beyond medium colour like L111.) If interested check if a dealer can demo or come and visit us in Winchester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daithi12 Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 I would consider second hand, but would the reflectors not be burned out on them, Is there any burning that go on with the lens? Someone messaged me there with some stock that are selling so ill look into that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
top-cat Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I've put a link in now! https://prolight.co.uk/PRO/item.php?id=509434 in any case. Should be cheaper than the Selecon equivalent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 They're still quite expensive, though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
top-cat Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 As I said before, approx double the OP's budget. Knowing their output though, and their reliability... I think you more than get what you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LX-Dave Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I would personally avoid the showtec PCs (if they're anything like the fresnels anyway). My high school who I still help out on shows with have several. The focus mechanism is poor (on about half the school's units, it either doesn't move through the full travel when turning the screw, or slips a fair distance without input). They also have 3 / 4 units where the locking nut inside the yoke has worked loose, meaning the tilt can't be locked. Granted they are around 8 years old, but they've had very minimal use and the light output is (has always been) noticeably poorer than an equivalent wattage, 20+ year old, strand/cct fresnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daithi12 Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 They would be a better option although I would only be able to afford 4 at the moment being at that price but as you say, no carrying of spare lamps and dimmers, the link in and out is very nice also. Im not sure about the 500w similarity though. it may not be strong enough for what I will need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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