ETC Announces the ColorSource PAR, a low(er) budget LED

[TuckerD]

ETC Announced a new LED line yesterday. It's pretty cool, it's got fewer colors (4) so the color gamut is probably (certainly) different. But they should also be cheaper and be built like an ETC fixture.

http://www.etcconnect.com/About/News/ETC-adds-budget-friendly-ColorSource-PAR-to-its-LED-lineup.aspx

 

[Scenemaster60]

Has anyone heard what the MSRP will be on these? I'll be very curious to read reviews as people begin to use them!

 

[StradivariusBone]

It's got lime LED's instead of amber. I can't find any other specs though. I've been looking for something to begin building for downlight, I wonder how bright these suckers are.

 

[Amiers]

I wish these would of been out when I was in the process of getting led fixtures.

 

[robmerow]

Finally an LED par product by ETC with pre-mixed color. I love the D40's for area light, but always hate them for anything that the audience can see the lens... all the little colored pixels look so unnatural.

 

[ccrews]

The ETC app sheet says D40 accessories will work with this fixture, so I a theorizing a less expensive D40. The body looks to be the same shape. Perhaps a polymer body, and yoke? Both appear to have a pretty extreme texture in the photos I have seen, unlike the D 40.

 

[Chris Chapman]

Has anyone heard what the MSRP will be on these? I'll be very curious to read reviews as people begin to use them!

My local rep is saying $700. Low(er) price is right. Not quite the lower price I was expecting.

 

[techieman33]

My local rep is saying $700. Low(er) price is right. Not quite the lower price I was expecting.

While I think that would be to high, it's not that surprising. The rest of their LED line is overpriced IMO. Unless this new fixture is a lot brighter than I expect it to be, I think it would have to be in the $500 range to be competitive. I also don't like that they're going to add lime when the light thinks I need it. Sorry, but that will turn off most lighting designers who will want to decide that for themselves.

 

[Scenemaster60]

I would agree with techieman that the $500 range is where I would start to get interested in this fixture.

This idea of the addition of lime is a curious one. I wonder if it works a little bit like the fact that under a lot of stage lighting conditions, a pale green gel actually reads more as straw than as green?

And because someone needs to make the bad pun - I guess the "limelight" is back!

 

[SteveB]

I would agree with techieman that the $500 range is where I would start to get interested in this fixture.

This idea of the addition of lime is a curious one. I wonder if it works a little bit like the fact that under a lot of stage lighting conditions, a pale green gel actually reads more as straw than as green?

And because someone needs to make the bad pun - I guess the "limelight" is back!

Having seen the ETC Layers of Light demo I can state that the lime green, as used on the Lustr series 2 ellipsoidal engines, allowed the fixture to about perfectly match to an incandescent S4 @ 575 watts. So I understand the application, if not the science.

 

[ccrews]

The Retail is in the $795 range iirc from this morning speaking to a rep. So street price will be less than retail, especially in quantity.

 

[rphilip]

Is there any info yet on how this compare in brightness to a D40?

Thanks

Philip

 

[StradivariusBone]

I'm guessing it will have the same options as far as optics goes as the D40?

 

[RickR]

New PRELIMINARY data sheet online - http://www.etcconnect.com/Products/Lighting-Fixtures/ColorSource/ColorSource-PAR/Documentation.aspx - doesn't say much - many XX for numbers like wattage and beams.

No photometrics yet!

 

[TuckerD]

No photometric yet. Bummer.

Someone posted about these possibly having a plastic body. According to the spec these have a die cast body and are all metal. They should be durable.

Is there any info yet on how this compare in brightness to a D40?
Philip

These have 40 Luxeon Z emitters which are slightly dimmer than the Luxeon Rebels in the D40. But only very slightly. You also have to consider the optical efficiency of the fixtures. All in all I think they are probably pretty comparable.

When I saw them IRL they seemed very similar and I liked that the ColorSource had homogenized optics. They are pretty cool and while they aren't cheap, they are cheaper and they are (IMO) much better than other 4 color fixtures + they have a much better dimming curve.

I would agree with techieman that the $500 range is where I would start to get interested in this fixture.

This idea of the addition of lime is a curious one. I wonder if it works a little bit like the fact that under a lot of stage lighting conditions, a pale green gel actually reads more as straw than as green?

And because someone needs to make the bad pun - I guess the "limelight" is back!

Having seen the ETC Layers of Light demo I can state that the lime green, as used on the Lustr series 2 ellipsoidal engines, allowed the fixture to about perfectly match to an incandescent S4 @ 575 watts. So I understand the application, if not the science.

Steve is right. The lime gives the fixtures a significantly better white look and allow them to match colors from your gel swatch better. If you look at the spectrums of the LEDs' you see that the limes fill in a pretty big part of what is otherwise missing with "white" LEDs.

At full power (without any calibration an fancy dimming stuff) the light appears to be a decent white. Not too pink, not too blue. The limes are a major contributing factor for this. Then you add in all of the calibration and other magic and you have an LED fixture that can actually make white.

 

[rphilip]

These have 40 Luxeon Z emitters which are slightly dimmer than the Luxeon Rebels in the D40. But only very slightly. You also have to consider the optical efficiency of the fixtures. All in all I think they are probably pretty comparable.

When I saw them IRL they seemed very similar and I liked that the ColorSource had homogenized optics. They are pretty cool and while they aren't cheap, they are cheaper and they are (IMO) much better than other 4 color fixtures + they have a much better dimming curve.

How do you come up with 40 LED emitters? 7 optics x 4 colors is 28.

 

[TuckerD]

There are 8 optics. 8 * 4 = 32. The spec sheet from ETC says 40 which means there is an extra one under each optic. It's red, which makes sense because the luxeon z reds are a little less bright that the other luxeon z colors. 32 + 8 = 40.

Also that's what the spec sheet says. (With the exception of the red bit).

 

[RickR]

I just had some ETC folks tell me that they are brighter than a D40! This is the magic of the lime LED.

And I will hold that thought with reserve until my eyes confirm. It's a new world folks, the old rules don't always apply.

 

[techieman33]

I just had some ETC folks tell me that they are brighter than a D40! This is the magic of the lime LED.

And I will hold that thought with reserve until my eyes confirm. It's a new world folks, the old rules don't always apply.

It's easily possible, and not just because of "lime." The technology in the D40 is at least 5 years old, that's an eternity in the LED market.

 

[RickR]

There is also the fact that LEDs can be driven differently. Life will depend on the cooling more than the brightness. One big distinction is that the Color Source are fan cooled, D40's are not.