si_cole Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 All, Considering get some ETC Source 4 PARs. Reading the description, it is claiming the HPL575 W lamp is more than comparable (if not brighter) than a standard CP62 lamp. Also, with the 5 interchangeable lenses it is looking like a viable option to buy. Does anyone have an experience of these units and if so, how bright are they, how long do the lamps last roughly and any other issues I should be aware of? I seem to recall an issue with HPL575 lamps blowing if the lamps were warm. Not sure if there's any weight in that? TIA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 Hi Si, I've never actually got round to doing a shoot out with a HPL 575 + MFL lens and CP62 but it's certainly has to be close. There is defintely no competition if you use HPL 750s in your S4 Pars - they are bright! I've always found the lanterns get a trifle hot for my liking, but lets face it what doesn't. I couldn't really say how long the bubbles last in a 'normal scenario' as our as orchestra downlighters and therefore on quite alot of the time and therefore get through HPL 750s like they are going out of fashion. If your at all worried about the lamps blowing too quickly you can use the Long Life ones which takes the life from 300 to 1,500 hours, at the loss of some lumens. HTHStu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeStoddart Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 All, Considering get some ETC Source 4 PARs. Reading the description, it is claiming the HPL575 W lamp is more than comparable (if not brighter) than a standard CP62 lamp. Also, with the 5 interchangeable lenses it is looking like a viable option to buy. Does anyone have an experience of these units and if so, how bright are they, how long do the lamps last roughly and any other issues I should be aware of? I seem to recall an issue with HPL575 lamps blowing if the lamps were warm. Not sure if there's any weight in that? TIA.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> I love them. They are more expensive to purchase in the first place but (in theory) you can have a smaller lamp stock because you can change the lenses in stead of changing lamps to get the equivalents of the CP62/CP61/CP60. To be honest I tend to use CP62 most of the time and have only used CP60s in special circumstances so my personal lamp stock requirements are not great. The other financial advantage is that you might need less dimmers - four of these can be run from the same dimmer that would run two Parcans. What I like about the S4 Pars is that they are smaller, use less power and I can change the oval "focus" using the ring at the front rather than poking around in the back of the unit. The light output is very comparable to the CP62. I must say I was sceptical on this but once I tried them I was sold. Sorry I can't comment on lamp life I'm afraid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GridGirl Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 They respond much faster than ordinary parcans, which I've found to be a bonus. Just don't let idiots loose on them - I once spent quite some time prising out lenses which some muppet had put in the wrong way, despite the fact he'd had to use a fair amount of force to get them in.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 I agree, it can sometimes be hard to get the lenses out - especially if they've not been put in properly! Whenever I've used them, I've found them to be great units, certainly bright enough to compare to a standard Par64. I also like the fact that you don't have to mess around by the mains connector in order to change the focus. One other advantage is that they are more robust than a traditional Par, and they are only 575W - both good things if you're touring a lighting rig for a small touring company :D They are obviously shorter units than the standard Par - which is good for venues or applications with limited headroom. HTHBarney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnhuson Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 We have some in our hire stock and they are great! Most of the reasons to buy have been covered above. One thing I would say is that if you intend to use them as uplighters or with scrollers, then if you can afford the extra get the cold mirror versions. Your gel will last significantly longer as the amount of heat the comes out of the lens end is next to nothing. You can hold your hand in front of one after it has been on for an hour, try doing that with a CP lamp! Beam wise I find the S4 to be a softer edge and less noticiably elliptical than a standard PAR. As for brightness I did a shoot out with an MFL lens and a CP62 parcan and although the parcan is a little brighter it is a very small difference. Lamp life I can't really comment on as we are a hire operation so it's pretty much impossible to monitor lamp life. If it is an issue for you as mentioned above there is a long life version but there is a drop in output. Any other questions feel free to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slim_mcslim Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 I can't comment on the genuine S4 as I don't own any, but I do have a number of the cheaper clones, but AC are doing a good price on the genuine articles, and if I get some more I will probably buy the real ones, but what I noticed, and this was only last night (first time I have done a lighting job with my own kit for a while!) the wide lens does produce a very wide but quite narrow beam, a very different shape to a CP62, now this kinda worked for me, but a more uniform roundness would have been better, and as a side note the do get very hot, warmer than the average par can, but only about as warm as the S4 juniors I was using them with... paul... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 the wide lens does produce a very wide but quite narrow beamErrr .. what?! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slim_mcslim Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 the wide lens does produce a very wide but quite narrow beamErrr .. what?! :D<{POST_SNAPBACK}> yes indeed.... a sealed beam par lamp produces a beam similar to 11x24º (cp62) whereas the wide lens in the multi par produces a beam angle more approaching 12x40º which is "wide" in one direction but "quite narrow" in the other when compared to a standard cp62 - I stand by my unclear english... (as I am currently in the middle of a two day conference in french, so any english is good as far as I am concernced) paul... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_s Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 OK - a dissenting voice. My experience of using S4 PARS when relighting on tour to replace the CP62s used in the original rig was not good - I found that I had to replot adding 20 - 30% when the S4s were being used. (all other things being more or less equal in terms of throw distance, angle, etc.) almost made loading the disk a bit of a waste of time, as almost all the work lighting this show was done by the pros booms loaded with PARs - i.e. practically every state had to be replotted. I think this may be something to do with the quality of the light rather than the actual brightness in candelas. I'm not quite sure how to express it, but I found the real PARs to be somehow more penetrating. However, I'm a big fan of them in the right circumstances - the size, the interchangeable lenses, the low power (lots to a 2.5kW dimmer) are all really useful features. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PDD Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 From the few times I've used them/seen them I would definite go for them, for the reasons already listed above. However, I've spoken to quite a few lighting designers/technicians who say they shouldn't be considered as a replacement for the standard Par 64, but in addition to the Par 64 stock; as the posts above suggest, they can do very different jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormster Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 A Great Unit, they are similar but definately not as bright as a standard par, beware of the type of reflector you buy, makes a large difference in brightness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 I dunno really. I've always thought that the S4 pars are nice lanterns, well designed etc etc, but the name S4 Par implies that you'll get something similar to a parcan, but they're something different again, IMO. The "quality" of the light is quite different to my eyes, and the colour temp is different too. I think what I'm saying is that they're great lights, but they're a whole new type of light, not really a direct one-for-one parcan replacement. If I specced Pars and got S4 pars I'd be just as upset as the other way round! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
si_cole Posted April 13, 2005 Author Share Posted April 13, 2005 Thanks guys for your comments. Just like to pick up on something stormster said - I wasn't aware there were different reflectors - what are the opinions and/or advantages. Once again, thanx :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PDD Posted April 14, 2005 Share Posted April 14, 2005 Just like to pick up on something stormster said - I wasn't aware there were different reflectors - what are the opinions and/or advantages. You can get the unit with a standard reflector or a "cold mirror" reflector, which puts less heat out. I don't know if this affects brightness or not. Don't forget you can use them with a 750W lamp instead of the 575W lamp if you want an extra kick. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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