Colour / gobo changers

[Mr Steve]

Hello,

 

This topic might be a bit "disco" so I apologise.

 

I have several Martin CX4 units which I use on nosier shows. I was considering replacing them with something bit brighter, but can't seem to find anything similar. What I like about these is although it's not the smoothest, these units have a dimmer, discharge lamp, and full DMX control. Looking around online, it seems that Martin don't do colour changers anymore, Clay Paky don't do their old CombiColors, and Robe don't do their fixed units. Disco sites seem to have lots of lightweight LED moving kit, but nothing fixed. A fixed colour /gobo changer can survive rougher handling than a mover (without a case), but it seems these sorts of fixtures don't exist anymore.

 

I suppose the cost of cheap moving tat has closed the market for a fixed colour changer. Unless I am looking in the wrong place?

[Ynot]

I suppose the cost of cheap moving tat has closed the market for a fixed colour changer. Unless I am looking in the wrong place?

My guess would be that you're probably right there, but also the fact that the market view may be that customers are becoming more used to lights moving as well as basic colour/gobo effects, and as such might be perceived as 'demanding' the more versatile moving kit (though personally I think they may be over-estimating the intelligence of SOME of their customers if they did so!! :D )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Don Allen]

I was told by a Robe agent a few years back that there was very little price difference between a full moving head and a fixed moving head, so you may have to look at scanners to get the gobos etc that you want, in a non moving head. you would need at least a 90W white LED scanner to get a similar brightness to a 150W discharge lamp.

 

I have been looking for a while for a high power RGBW led scanner, but they are only offering 30W at this stage. The advantage of RGB or RGBW is no loss of intensity in colour filers and no limitation in selection of colours or having your colour filter scroll through unwanted colours to get to the colour you want.

 

I ended up buying 150W RGBW LED profiles (moving heads) with twin rotating gobo wheels to get the features I wanted, but they don't have an iris or zoom yet in lightweight sizes, just focus.

 

I was told by a Robe agent a few years back that there was very little price difference between a full moving head and a fixed moving head, so you may have to look at scanners to get the gobos etc that you want, in a non moving head. you would need at least a 90W white LED scanner to get a similar brightness to a 150W discharge lamp.

 

I have been looking for a while for a high power RGBW led scanner, but they are only offering 30W at this stage. The advantage of RGB or RGBW is no loss of intensity in colour filers and no limitation in selection of colours or having your colour filter scroll through unwanted colours to get to the colour you want.

 

I ended up buying 150W RGBW LED profiles (moving heads) with twin rotating gobo wheels to get the features I wanted, but they don't have an iris or zoom yet in lightweight sizes, just focus.

[timsabre]

The LED manufacturers are going all-out to make high powered white LEDs for general lighting applications, it is much harder to find high powered RGBW LEDs. There is then the further problem of getting the colours mixed so that gobos project without colour fringing.