LED lights - Quality vs Cost

jack63ss

Member
So, I read a number of posts talking about making sure you purchase good quality lights, which I agree with. My question is, at what cost quality ? I work with 3 different amateur groups and there is not a lot of "budget" for lighting. I purchased (my $) some VERY inexpensive LED and Moving Head lights, basically just to see how they work, and I would now like to purchase some that are actually useable. My budget is in the $100s, not $1000s, range, so if anyone has theatrre production experience with equipment in the Chauvet/AmericanDJ price range, please let me know.
Thanks
Jack
 
Depends if you care about dimming curve. You can get bright chinese LEDs cheap. The low end dimming curve sucks. If you want a good dimming curve you're looking at $500+/ fixture for pars and in the thousands for moving heads.
 
So, I read a number of posts talking about making sure you purchase good quality lights, which I agree with. My question is, at what cost quality ? I work with 3 different amateur groups and there is not a lot of "budget" for lighting. I purchased (my $) some VERY inexpensive LED and Moving Head lights, basically just to see how they work, and I would now like to purchase some that are actually useable. My budget is in the $100s, not $1000s, range, so if anyone has theatrre production experience with equipment in the Chauvet/AmericanDJ price range, please let me know.
Thanks
Jack
That's like asking what kind of car someone should buy without knowing any other details. What type of venue? What type of shows? Stage logistics? Power avaiilability? Control? Who will use it? Etc. What are your priorities?
 
That's like asking what kind of car someone should buy without knowing any other details. What type of venue? What type of shows? Stage logistics? Power avaiilability? Control? Who will use it? Etc. What are your priorities?

Unfortunately from my own experience, cheap LED lighting products (below $300) seem to be wall-wash accent lighting or DJ / wedding blinky lightz toys.

They're not very bright, they're meant to be seen as glam tech rather than really do anything, and if they use color mixing from multiple RGB LEDs, the color rending index (CRI) will probably be poor.
 
I have had very good luck with Blizzard Hotbox5 fixtures. They are around $250 a piece and have a VERY acceptable dimming curve. That said, without knowing your exact application it is hard to know if these would be a good fit.
 
I think that id you buy cheap kit you'll end up with a big box of dissapointment. We bought some little 3-led units and they are great for truss toners and putting a bit of colour on bits of set, but for illuminating performers? Forget it. As people have said, bad dimmer curve and nasty colour. Consider spending the money on more conventionals instead.
 
I'd second (again-this comes up a lot) that the Blizzard fixtures in the $250 range are excellent. Perfect? No. But they are more than good enough, especially for a smallerish theatre.
 
I'd second (again-this come up a lot) that the Blizzard fixtures in the $250 range are excellent. Excellent price/performance, but also stand alone excellent. RGBAW makes a big difference. Dimming is good enough. Will it look bad if you use only that one fixture on a 5 minute fade? Probably, but so will most LEDs. I know myself and many others are more than satisfied.

Edit: double post: way to go mobile app...
 
+1 on the Blizzard HotBox RGBAW fixtures. I have about 50 community and education theaters using them with great success and they are constantly upping their inventory.

Part of the problem is if your first and only experience with LED fixtures was a year ago, you are already 4 or 5 generations behind the technology.
 

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