Automated Fixtures - Martin or Robe moving lights

[sly512]

Hi All

My school is looking at buying some moving lights. I am just wondering which is a better make in moving lights, Martin or Robe. Personally i think Martin is a far superior make of moving light but some people tell me otherwise.

I would like to know which are the better moving lights. I would be nice to know peoples experiences with the different makes, what the running costs of the lights could be with the different makes etc.

It would also be nice to know what model of lights are really good, i.e. Martin Mac 600 Wash compared to the Martin Mac 300 Wash.

Thanks
Si

[soundlight]

What kind of space will these be used in? Is there someone at the facility who will be able to keep them maintained? What will be the throw distance? What console will you be using to control them?

Many people in Europe think that Robe is right up there with Martin. Robe fixtures were used on the recent Police tour.

I personally would take a Colorspot 700E AT over a MAC700 Profile for many applications because of the zoom range of the Colorspot. They both have very similar feature sets.

What about Vari-Lite, Coemar, or Clay Paky?

In the Coemar and Clay Paky ranges, both companies have recently released high-feature 300 watt fixtures, with zoom, CMY, and comprehensive gobo and effects packages.

[sly512]

They will be used in our school hall which is about 7 - 8 meters high. There is no one on site who will be able to maintain them we would have to send them off to Stage. The console we would be using would be the Strand Palette Classic which works very well with moving lights. We have only really looked at Robe and Martin.

Thanks
Si

[icewolf08]

I think that it is important to post the same caveat that I posted earlier in another thread about moving lights. MLs require a great deal of care an maintenance, before you go off buying MLs make sure that you have it in your budget to purchase the $100+ lamps. Arc lamps for MLs generally need to be replaced ever 750-1000 hours, so if you plan on using these fixtures heavily, the cost of lamps adds up fast. As you have said that you don't have people on staff to take care of the units you will also need to budget for sending units off for repair, which is never inexpensive.

As money is always hard to come by in the education world, makes sure that you really have the budget to maintain MLs before you invest in them. If you only need moving lights for one or two shows a year you may find it significantly more economical to rent as needed rather than purchasing. Then you don't need to worry about maintenance and all that jazz.

All that being said, I would consider Martin and Robe to be on even ground. I would also suggest looking at Vari*Lite, Clay Paky, and Elation. As an owner of Elation fixtures, they have performed very well since we purchased them. I like the VL1000T as the tungsten lamp blends really well with conventionals, and I have worked with Martin gear, which is also nice. If you can, get demos from your local dealer and see what works for you.

[len]

As has been said here and in other threads, more info is needed about your application and expectations.

But in general, I like Martin a lot. Never had a problem, except for the Mac 550s one place I worked at owned. They were always breaking down. Yet, everyone else I know who owned them never had an issue. Every other Martin product I worked with was great.

I did just see the new Robe LED moving head and their 3000 digital projector. Pretty cool stuff. Build quality seems pretty good. The place that had the demo said that their rental inventory is pretty solid, and they don't spend any more time in repairs than any other product.

Because the discharge lamp moving head is a fairly old product in R & D terms, I think that any decent mfg. (Martin, HES, Vari, Clay Paky, Robe, Coemar, even Elation) will be fine within a certain range. You always run the risk of a lemon, but that's just business. It's more about your needs than anything else.