New Followspots

[JD]

Guess I'll talk about the 800 pound gorilla in the room:
Why not get a new set of Comets? They are good spots and if the current pair are too old and a mess, why not replace them with something you already know works in your application?

 

[Les]

Guess I'll talk about the 800 pound gorilla in the room:
Why not get a new set of Comets? They are good spots and if the current pair are too old and a mess, why not replace them with something you already know works in your application?

Plus, you will have some spare parts!

 

[MarcusL]

I'm not opposed to new Comets, but they really match horribly with our lighting. I'm not sure if this is an inherent problem in all spots, but they seem really bad compared with other spots I have seen. Is this just because they are old? Or are all Comets much more amber than S4s?

 

[dcollins]

Spots will /never/ match perfectly with your general lighting unless they use the same type of lamp and optics - same reason you can't use a coolbeam fixture with an older fixture and expect them to look the same(like the source four par EA vs MCM, which use different reflectors), or use a new lens set with an old yellowed one, or an arc source instrument with a traditional instrument. This is one reason designers like source four spots - they can be used to make the subject bright, without making them look awful by discoloring them.

 

[shiben]

I'm not opposed to new Comets, but they really match horribly with our lighting. I'm not sure if this is an inherent problem in all spots, but they seem really bad compared with other spots I have seen. Is this just because they are old? Or are all Comets much more amber than S4s?

The lamp is probably too old. Not sure what lamp Comets take, but in follow spots I believe you generally need to replace the lamps regularly, even if they still work, to maintain a high color temperature. Now, if its very bright and still too amber, just get some CTB (Color Temperature, Blue) gel to color correct it to wherever you want, either to tungsten (about 3200K) or to daylight (what a lot of spots are), at 5500K.

 

[bishopthomas]

Guess I'll talk about the 800 pound gorilla in the room:
Why not get a new set of Comets? They are good spots and if the current pair are too old and a mess, why not replace them with something you already know works in your application?

You're one smart gorilla!

 

[MarcusL]

I'll try to find another lamp. As far as I know we haven't replaced the lamps since I have been in school (3 years), so that might be it. Thanks for the tip shiben.

 

[metti]

I feel like it is worth noting that the reason that I spec S4 on a sticks has little to do with price and everything to do with how the light looks and the fact that I can use a scroller and DMX iris with them so I have more control from the board.

 

[techno89]

I would just get new comets, I just rented a few for my school show and the new models are great, I highly recommend them they use and MR16 I think but its very bright

 

[bishopthomas]

I'll try to find another lamp. As far as I know we haven't replaced the lamps since I have been in school (3 years), so that might be it. Thanks for the tip shiben.

You're looking to spend up to $10,000 and you think the problem could be the lamp needs replacing? I'll sell you a lamp for $10,000...

 

[MarcusL]

The teacher wants to replace them regardless. A new lamp may make them usable until we actually get new ones.

 

[DuckJordan]

The teacher wants to replace them regardless. A new lamp may make them usable until we actually get new ones.

if they are anything like our spots every 3000 hours you should replace them just because they work does not mean they are working properly especially if you have the voltage meter on the side you have to make sure stays in the green while running it.

 

[Les]

Re: lamps, the Comet uses a halogen MR-16 ENX type lamp, which shouldn't be extremely affected by age, unless the reflector gets clouded or loses some of its reflectivity.

The color temp is right around 3300k, which should actually make it appear a little brighter than your Source Fours at about 3200k.

Try also cleaning your lenses and check the voltage leaving the transformer. It should be at around 82v.

---

Is the Comet rated for the FXL lamp? If so, it packs a little more punch at 410w vs the ENX's 360w.

 

[shiben]

The color temp is right around 3300k, which should actually make it appear a little brighter than your Source Fours at about 3200k.

CTB will also make it seem brighter, even though it wont actually be (technically it will be dimmer). Higher color temperatures are usually perceived as brighter, so you can make you spotlight make an actor seem to be significantly brighter, even though all your actually doing is picking them up with a bit more high temperature light. Using CTB filters, you can adjust how much you want the actor to appear different than everyone else.

 

[MarcusL]

I am almost positive that I saw lamps marked spotlight in the storage cabinet, I will check tomorrow when I go in for a rental. This coming week I will clean them up and replace the bulbs. Maybe that will get them to let me move new follows further down the list in favor of some Selecon instruments.

 

[Raktor]

If you want a real purpose built Followspot, Robert Juliat Topaze units are around $7,500 to $8,500 and are some of the best Followspots out there and would be better than your Altman Comet's by several orders of magnitude.

This.

They also have internal frost, a very cool feature.

 

[tjrobb]

Our generation of Comets (bought a year or two ago) is rated for the 410W lamp, which they happily run for several hours at a time. So for at least a few years they have been able to run at 410W.

How's this for a compromise - get two S4's on a stick for spots and keep at least one Comet in storage. This way if you want to teach a student about purpose-built spots you have one you can pull out to teach them with. Except for the need to store the Comet, it's a win-win (if you count the "backup spot" it gets even better).

 

[Les]

Only one more thing to touch on regarding SourceFour on a stick.

Did you say your catwalk positions weren't suitable? If they're not, you'll have to buy a stand for each S4, which will be another few hundred each, unless you can adapt the Comet stands.

 

[Anvilx]

I suppose if you really want to teach them you ought to go get a carbon arc spot.
Actually there have been a few listed on eBay recently.

 

[church]

Re the comet, yes it is listed for use with the 410v lamp and works well provided the optics are kept clean and the bench focus is correct. the reflector is part of the lamp so should not be a problem unles the bulb is misaligned inside the reflector. the only way to check this is with a new lamp. These are high output short life lamps and are inexpensive.

The S4 on a stick works well. My experience of running a comet and S4 on a stick side by side is the S4 always appears brighter. The S4 is easier to use from a catwalk than a comet. For a stand I use the american DJ 9ft stand that comes with a spigot I installed a bearing to allow smooth panning - actually I have installed a bearing on my comets for the same reason.

Although the lamps used in the comet are an 82V lamp if you measure the the voltage at the lampholder without a lamp installed it will be higher than 82V.

As an aside this range of lamps used to be used in projectors and overhead projectors and the 82V was simply obtained by using a high current diode in series with the lamp - the rms voltage of a half wave rectified 120Vrms sine wave being 85Vrms. this gives slightly better output at slightly less life just like using 115Vrms lamps on 120Vrms supplies - you are lucky enough to have 120Vrms. I retrofitted an old Dynaspot with the same lamp as the Comet using the diode and it works plus you can use a dimmer because there is no transformer.