Elation Powerspot 575E

[jeffheart08]

does anyone own any of these fixtures? Elation Powerspot 575E.

For more than the past decade I have been subjected to what I consider top of the line brands Lightwave Research, Martin & Varilite. In my career, these are the fixture among moving heads that appear on every show and in every large scale production/rental house in the USA (including the ones I worked at). You NEVER see magazines like PSLN listing fixtures on major tours that are not from one of these brands. I have not been doing too much intelligent lighting research for the past 3 years now. However, I now see that the competition is quickly advancing, patents are expiring and others are eating up the design specs to create tons of moving head fixtures with new companies. With that said, I am now uncertain if companies like Elation are putting out worthy products or if the 3 I mentioned above still rival anything that the other companies are putting out. I am looking over the Elation Powerspot and Design Spot 575's (mainly the powerspot) and wondering if this fixture can stand the rigors of rentals and if it's optics and build quality are up to par with the fixtures I have come to be so accustomed to. And if they have, it makes me wonder why you still never see any big concert tours using any of these newer brands (the top ends of the brands).

I am skeptical about purchasing the Powerspots instead of a Mac 700's or Studio Color 575's, etc...... I know Elation has a converted Martin engineer now, but is that knowledge embedded into the powerspots or only the newer powerspot 700? I'm gonna get some demos for an upcoming show so I may decide I like the output and build quality after getting into the fixture, but it still won't answer my question about durability. My main concern will be if it can stand the test of time.

any thoughts or anyone who knows where i can find reviews and/or comparisons will be greatly appreciated

thanks,
Jeff

[Pie4Weebl]

there is a thread a while back about the powerspot 700, probably worth reading, but in short it was well recived by those who tested it.

[icewolf08]

Originally Posted by Pie4Weebl

there is a thread a while back about the powerspot 700, probably worth reading, but in short it was well recived by those who tested it.

That was my thread, here is the link. I can tell you, that we have been using them now consistently for almost 3 months in Les Mis, and we have not had any problems with them at all. If you read the thread, I talk a little about the perceived differences between the $5k fixture from Elation and an $8k fixture from Martin. I can also tell you that the two major rental shops here in Salt Lake both carry Elation fixtures and haven't had any complaints about them.

[JD]

China is learning how to make a good light. (Elation, Chauvet, Etc.) I recently bought some Q-spot's and did an investigatory strip down. I was impressed at some of the details they had looked at. (dab of GE Silicon on each connector to keep it tight, etc.) I think they could take a few lessons on bulb efficiency design from Vari*light (such as the use of short-arc lamps) but you get a lot of bang for the buck. So far so good. Now, if they hold up long term, we will have some winners. I am sure some people will turn their noses up at the 3 pin DMX connectors, but hey, the audience doesn't care. Mind you, I am not saying they are on par with Martian or Vari*lite, only that you get some good bang for the buck.

[jeffheart08]

thanks for the input so far. Still would like to see some more if anyone else has it. I did check out that thread on the power spot 700 in which this thread reffered too. However I am assuming that since the price range is upwards of $7000 on the 700, that it is still in a different class than the 575's which fall in the $2000 range. From specifications point of view, it appears that the powerspot 575 is geared as a competitive peice against the Mac Entour 250's, Studio Spot 250's (which we've actually had many issues with oveer the years). What gets my brain working in overdrive is the fact that the price point on the 575's is still far under what those similar fixtures went for brand new at one time. Granted some years have passed and perhaps manufacturing costs have lowered due to newer cheaper but better technology. I guess ultimately I will be able to tell when I get my hands on the demo and see if the parts are all plastic or metal, the types of motors, belts, gears, etc.... I would expect the PS700 to be as described above in an earlier reply but it still leaves much wondering about the 575's until I get a hold of it. If it appears as bright as a Lightwave Research Technobeam, I would be happy with the optical output all though I would expect it to be much brighter since it is rated at more than twice the output in lamp wattage. If not, then I will assume the optics and size of the dichros and gobos will need some improvement and perhaps one reason for the lower price point.
I would love to find a site that has side by side comparisons of features between similar moving head fixtures from the major players. As well as some positive and negative factors on each. I know I know.....a lot to ask!

[jeffheart08]

thats good to hear. 3 months however is a very short time frame and if anything went wrong that qucik, then i'd definitely think twice. Hopefully that 3 months will turn into 3 years without a problem for you! Some of my Technobeams and Mac 2000's have not had a problem yet in 5 years!! That's the kind of durability im wondering if these $2000 fixtures can stand up to during rental use (but still maintained extremely well). Like I said, typically I would think, no way! but I don't want to count out new players in the game of intelligent lighting without giving them at least a chance to prove themselves. Elation, being part of American DJ, gives them a bad first impression since for so many years AMDJ has had the reputation of being the low end party DJ lighting company. It's hard to gain users easily when you are guilty by association and many people won't even give you a chance. I've always went with pro "industry standard fixtures" but I am trying to be open minded. Some of their L.E.D strip fixtures we installed in a club are pretty nice and defintiely don't show any signs of being cheap crap so that was promising. Moving heads is a whole new beast though. I recently became an Elation Dealer so that helps us give them a fair chance since we are ordering products for a good amount of customers. I hope they stand up to the marketing push Elation is doing in most pro industry mags, because the pricing is pretty good. None the less, I am still waiting for yet more feedback if you all have it.

thanks again,
Jeff


!

Originally Posted by icewolf08

That was my thread, here is the link. I can tell you, that we have been using them now consistently for almost 3 months in Les Mis, and we have not had any problems with them at all. If you read the thread, I talk a little about the perceived differences between the $5k fixture from Elation and an $8k fixture from Martin. I can also tell you that the two major rental shops here in Salt Lake both carry Elation fixtures and haven't had any complaints about them.

[len]

I haven't used the Elation 575, but I have used their DesgnSpot 250 a couple times. I think it's a little heavier than a Martin Entour but I'm not sure of that. It just FEELS heavier to me. Also, it seems slightly slower, and the field isn't quite as flat. As for gobos, well, you either like a particular gobo or you don't. There's some I don't like, which can also be said of the Entour.

Having said all that, I doubt that 99% of the time those differences will make a difference to most people. So if the Elation is less $$, use it. As for reliability, who knows. I haven't taken them out for an extended tour, so I can't speak to that. And imo the case and the crew have as much to do with reliability on tour as the product.

[JD]

The whole market for moving lights is on the move. It used to be that everything was either US or from Europe. Now we have the China invasion. That's why the prices are so low on these pieces. Part of the concept ruffles my feathers, but feather ruffling aside, what are we getting? If its a good dependable product then it's time for the traditional manufacturers to do some belt tightening and start competing! The real answer may be years away. In four years, how did the Elation hold up compared to MAC? If they all start falling apart there are going to be some people with Varis holding their heads high and saying "See, I told you!" On the other hand, if they turn out to be durable those same people will be looking kind of stupid. I now have a bunch of the China stuff, so I am taking a risk. So far, so good. There is no current answer to the big question because most of this stuff hasn't been on the market too long. Right now, the China stuff is having fun in the 250 to 575 market. There are some 700's out there, but as I said, they are not using the short-arc lamps, so even without a side by side, a short arc fixture (spot) is going to have more kick than a medium arc lamp. Give them time, they will adopt the short arc as well. (Or did they already? Geezzz, It's like buying a computer was in the late 90's!)

[icewolf08]

Originally Posted by jeffheart08

thats good to hear. 3 months however is a very short time frame and if anything went wrong that qucik, then i'd definitely think twice. Hopefully that 3 months will turn into 3 years without a problem for you!

I hope the same thing. But given that I am most likely i the first 25 real owners of these fixtures, I will have to wait 3 years to find out.

One of our members, Living Illusions, was planning on putting a bunch of elation fixtures on tour, so he may be a good contact to talk to about them as well.

[jeffheart08]

thanks for all comments thus far. I actually ordered 4 Powerspot 575's yesterday and they should arrive on the 5th. Unfortunately, I may have been hasty and may send them back. I had a chance to go to a club in which has all Elation gear including the Designspot 250's and the Powerspot 575's. Designspots were on the stage pointing outward and PS575's were on the dancefloor. Here is what I have noticed at first but I couldnt stay long enough to really analyze the two :

The designspot has more of a correct white light with it's higher color temp. The Powerspot white is more of a yellow and not too appealing with it's lower temp. Here is the thing that really made me feel bad about ordering them prematurely : The Design250 seems to be brighter than the Powerspot575!!! Has anyone else seen this or am I just not seeing things right? Again, I did'nt see them side by side but it was pretty clear that the Designspot at half the rated lamp wattage looked brighter. Also, the Visionscan 575 moving mirrors which were right next to the Powerspots575's also looked much brighter!!!! Only when the PS575's were on "open" gobo did it look bright and even then, it still wasn't as bright as the Visionscans or the Designspot250's with a gobo in the light path. When the gobos are used on the Powerspot 575's, it appeared waaay less bright. All the fixtures in this club are brand new too so I know it isn't a dirt issue. I am assuming that the optical path and the lamp used in the powerspot575 is far less quality than the designspot and visionscan...OR.....am I out of my mind? I'm trying to arrange a day to go back during off hours and see them again when I have mnore time. Other than that, I am going to test the powerspot575 against a Technobeam (which has a 250watt lamp). If the techno is brighter, then I will finalize that the Powerspot575 is not worth the purchase if your goal is intensity of brightness. So far some other Elation dealers are telling me that if the goal is to use the fixtures as rental stock items, then the Designspot250 is better than the Powerspot575. I want the better performer! If the fixture rated at half the wattage is brighter, then It's nuts to choose the PS575 over the Design250. And it's cheaper! Decisions Decisions Decisions.
Lastly, both fixtures to me have much lower quality in the optics as compared to any fixture from Martin, Lightwave and Varilite. Unless this light tech just had the beams out of focus, they were not crisp at all. Martin is known for their optics but it really showed just how good while looking down into the tunnel effects on the Elation fixtures. So far my analysis shows me why Highend, Martin, Varilite, etc... are still the only names you see on multi million dollar tours. I'm still not giving up on it though. I have yet to test my own demos.
I think I may just end up with the Design250's over the Powespot575's. If they made the Design575 without the CMY mixing, that may lower the price point down to a level in which would almost match the PS575 and make an easy decision for me.