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[Phil Lewandowski]

Art Welter wrote on Wed, 30 December 2009 13:52

Jeff Wheeler wrote on Wed, 30 December 2009 09:47 James Feenstra wrote on Wed, 30 December 2009 01:47 people will drink at a bar without music playing people won't drink at a bar if there's no lights on in the bar During a powerful wind-storm here a couple years ago, there were no lights in the bar for most of the day.  As luck would have it, the cash register was open when the power failed; so the bartender continued selling booze for about 4 hours "in the dark."  The lack of power did not discourage anyone, and a customer even brought his generator (and lots of home depot cord) to run the big screen TV so we could watch football. Could anyone tell me about the functional differences between the Show Designer 1 and 2? Flash memory so the software can be updated from a computer. 48 fixtures of up to 32 channels each compared to 16 for the Show Designer 1. 1024 DMX channels compared to 512. 4 data wheels compared to one. With LED lights, you could have lit the whole bar as well as run the big screen TV. It amazes me how bright 9 LED lights, drawing only 315 watts total are. Before I got LED lights, I used four 300 watt halogen construction flood lights with very pale gells for basic plug and play stage lighting. The LED lights are a narrower beam, but brighter at 1/10 the power consumption. The color range is fantastic. I never thought that I'd see the day when a decent looking light show could use less power than the sound system. Art Welter

Hey Art,

If I may ask, what LED's do you use?  Pretty much trying to get an idea of what are some other good bang-to-buck compact LED Pars, as only several actual products have been mentioned.

Thanks,
Phil

[Adam Whetham]

Phil Lewandowski wrote on Wed, 30 December 2009 14:01

Hey Art, If I may ask, what LED's do you use?  Pretty much trying to get an idea of what are some other good bang-to-buck compact LED Pars, as only several actual products have been mentioned. Thanks, Phil

From his post from the previous page.

Quote:

I use an Elation Show Designer 1 to control nine Elation Opti RGBs.

[Phil Lewandowski]

Adam Whetham wrote on Wed, 30 December 2009 15:07

Phil Lewandowski wrote on Wed, 30 December 2009 14:01 Hey Art, If I may ask, what LED's do you use?  Pretty much trying to get an idea of what are some other good bang-to-buck compact LED Pars, as only several actual products have been mentioned. Thanks, Phil From his post from the previous page. Quote: I use an Elation Show Designer 1 to control nine Elation Opti RGBs.

Thanks Adam, I caught the Show Designer but some reason missed the Pars.


I apologize,
Phil

[Adam Whetham]

Not an issue. I'm interested too as I've had quite a bit of experience with the Opti-RGB's.

Art are you using the standard 15? degree lens? or the option wider one? I don't remember what degree they were, but we sold a few of them to the local high school theatre as they wanted the wider spread.

-Adam

[Art Welter]

Phil Lewandowski wrote on Wed, 30 December 2009 13:01

Art Welter wrote on Wed, 30 December 2009 13:52 Jeff Wheeler wrote on Wed, 30 December 2009 09:47 James Feenstra wrote on Wed, 30 December 2009 01:47 people will drink at a bar without music playing people won't drink at a bar if there's no lights on in the bar During a powerful wind-storm here a couple years ago, there were no lights in the bar for most of the day.  As luck would have it, the cash register was open when the power failed; so the bartender continued selling booze for about 4 hours "in the dark."  The lack of power did not discourage anyone, and a customer even brought his generator (and lots of home depot cord) to run the big screen TV so we could watch football. Could anyone tell me about the functional differences between the Show Designer 1 and 2? Flash memory so the software can be updated from a computer. 48 fixtures of up to 32 channels each compared to 16 for the Show Designer 1. 1024 DMX channels compared to 512. 4 data wheels compared to one. With LED lights, you could have lit the whole bar as well as run the big screen TV. It amazes me how bright 9 LED lights, drawing only 315 watts total are. Before I got LED lights, I used four 300 watt halogen construction flood lights with very pale gells for basic plug and play stage lighting. The LED lights are a narrower beam, but brighter at 1/10 the power consumption. The color range is fantastic. I never thought that I'd see the day when a decent looking light show could use less power than the sound system. Art Welter Hey Art, If I may ask, what LED's do you use?  Pretty much trying to get an idea of what are some other good bang-to-buck compact LED Pars, as only several actual products have been mentioned. Thanks, Phil

I was one of those that mentioned what I used before

I use an Elation Show Designer 1 to control nine Elation Opti RGBs.

I don't know if they still are the best bang for the buck, but good LEDs last pretty much forever, and the Elation units are well made.

As has been said before, compare beam width and light output on anything you consider. If there is no data available, the unit probably does not have adequate light output to light a performance.

For instance, I bought a pair of Elation LED pin spots, using a lot of standard type LEDs. They use almost the same electronics package as the Opti RGBs, yet cost only about 1/4 the price. They are useless for lighting anything further than about 2 foot away.

In sound, you  compare output in dB SPL and coverage angle, rather than watts.
In lighting, compare lumens or foot candles, coverage angle, and build quality.

[Lester Moran]

Tom Young wrote on Wed, 30 December 2009 12:14

On the internet, no one can hear how you pronounce Fresnel...

As I recall, I could pronounce it first, learned not to adjust beam on BTLs when "lit" second (oops!)... and finally learned how to spell "Fresnel" some time after all that...

I suspect I'm not the only one who got his Fresnel "education" in that very same progression...

Les

[Tom Young]

It was a long time ago  

.... but I think I heard it and then cracked a few dictionaries until I found it.

(this was at least 2 decades before the first "public" appearance of the internet)

[Rick Powell]

The Elation Opti RGB's are about $350-400 street price and have 24 1w elements, 8 each RG and B.

---------------

The ColorKey 1 watt LED par 64's are about $235 street price and have 36 1w elements, 12 each RG and b.

The Wiedamark Tri Color cans are $380-440 street price and have 18 3w elements, which combine and color-mix RG or B in each element.  

These are the leading price contenders I have seen out there that offer higher performance than the garden-variety weak LED wash.

I see the whole industry going to more tri-color LED elements over the next few years for pro applications, due to their better white light mixing, avoidance of LED shadows, and avoiding the pixelated RGB look for back-lighting.

[Duane Massey]

ADJ Pro Par RGB 56 street price is $ 330 or so, 36 1w. I've used the 46HD (18 1w) and have had great results as long as you can get 10' or so away from the stage.

[Richard Rajchel]

If you already have a laptop the easiest controller is a USB to DBX box. I got a basic Entec for about $60 or $70 if I remember. Freestyler software is a free download and relatively easy to use. If you are the tinkering type you can even do programs and set them to a tap delay so they go to the beat.