3-in-1 (or better yet, 4-in-1) will get my money from here on out.
I just purchased some Blizzard Lighting Rocklite RGBAW units. I liked the idea of white *and* amber LEDs in the fixture (in addition to RGB). Figured I'd get better control over the color temperature that way and it would make things more flexible (I do concerts, don't really need super tight color temperature control, but if you can get it, why not?).
To date, I'd heard that there was some "rainbow fringing" when using separate LEDs (versus "n-in-1" LEDs), particularly if the subject was close to the can. I could live with that, just another "effect" for the types of shows I do. However, when I first fired up the Rocklites, I found another problem with the separate LED colors -- you don't get the same coverage angle from all the colors. In the Rocklite, for example, the Red LEDs are clustered in the center so you get a very tight (and bright) beam from those (probably around 15 degrees). The white and amber are around the edges, so they go very wide (probably the 25 degrees the specs claim). The blue and green aren't quite as wide as the whites, but certainly wider than the red. If you turn them all on, on order to get maximum luminosity, it's a lot warmer (and brighter) in the center.
There are two ways to solve this problem -- put a lot more LEDs in the can so that the colors are evenly spread throughout (typical of the smaller cans) or go to n-in-1 LEDs. They're making 4-in-1 LEDs now (RGBW). Would love to see 5-in-1 (RGBAW). The RGBAW capability (well, plus the great price) is what drove me to the Rocklites in the first place. In the future (assuming I stick with Blizzard Lighting fixtures), I'd probably go with their ToughPAR Quads (that use 4-in-1 RGBW LEDs).
The Rocklight RGBAW isn't a *bad* light (at least for concerts), and I've yet to use it at a concert (my first four arrived just this week). But I suspect I'll be moving them off the front truss and off to the sides with my next light purchases.
cheers,
Randy Hyde
P.S. I always wondered why someone would buy Rocklite AW cans rather than RGBAW cans as the RGBAW fixtures would seem to be more flexible even if all you really need is white. I now have my answer.
Saw something on youtube about the rainbow fringing; never considered it was from the LED's, and yeah, it seems more acceptable (maybe under certain circumstances); however, the strong color area "moving around" where the spot should be placing the light could be a problem. Had never heard of that issue before...
Thanks again for the info this!
