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Old October 25th, 2007, 12:17 PM
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Default Re: Optima Matrix 575?

The thing about low end fixtures is that they can be quirky and fragile. This one actually looks pretty good, but here's the deal: If you only have a couple and you are handling them yourself, its a big bang for the buck, and you can deal with the quirks if any. However, if you were to be traveling with 40 of them mounted in a truss, doing city after city, these same problems would drive you nuts and probably create a lot of crew friction when things broke. So, it's all about the intended usage.

One gripe I have about some of the low end equipment is that support is very thin. (I have a button on a cheap DMX controller that even the manufacturer can't tell me what its for!) Another problem is weight. Most of the low end equipment uses transformer ballasts and the units are heavy compared to higher cost units that use solid state ballasts. So, again, it all comes back to your intended usage.
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DAE Concert Lighting
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Intelligent Lighting Solutions
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