The Future of LED Stage Lighting !

There are several very nice moving head LED source units out there with great gobo projection. Mac 350, GLP SpotOne, Robe Robin DLX all have very nice crisp and soft focus gobo capability. I think the big current problem is color rendering/full spectrum ability, and intensity.

Very correct you are.

It's just funny because several years ago we were debating whether you could project gobos with an LED source.
 
The S4 LED is a very nice unit, but it doesn't compare to light output of a 575, nor does ETC claim that it does.

Nor is it intended to replace the conventional Source Four. In our prior discussions, we all seemed to be measuring the success of LED technology by how well it can emulate an incandescent conventional unit, which makes sense as this is what we're familiar with. However, ETC has made it very clear in their marketing for the S4 LED that this is NOT intended to perfectly match and replace an incandescent unit, but is intended to act as another paint brush in the lighting designer's arsenal (how's that for mixed metaphors?). It's a similar idea to a discussion we had when the ETC PARNel was introduced - someone (and I can't remember what thread or when or who) said something like "the light from a PARNel doesn't look like a PAR, and it doesn't look like a Fresnel, but it is still a useful fixture for what it does do." I do know that a certain NY-area rental shop has bought quite a few units, and I would not at all be surprised to see a smattering of these starting to pop up in broadway shows - probably not as entire systems, but certainly for some particular effects where that look is desired. If the industry does eventually completely eliminate conventional units in favor of virtually identical LED units, I doubt this will be for many, many more years.
 
It's a similar idea to a discussion we had when the ETC PARNel was introduced - someone (and I can't remember what thread or when or who) said something like "the light from a PARNel doesn't look like a PAR, and it doesn't look like a Fresnel, but it is still a useful fixture for what it does do."

I've never met ANYONE who honestly likes a parnel. I played a venue with a rig of those, and I still have no idea what spinning the knob does. I've come to the conclusion that it just changes the way the field is uneven.
 
I've never met ANYONE who honestly likes a parnel. I played a venue with a rig of those, and I still have no idea what spinning the knob does. I've come to the conclusion that it just changes the way the field is uneven.

I like them.

Look closely at what the knob does...it is noticeable.


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That's what they claim it is!

No Victor, that's what it does. I have a dozen on a high pit/apron side position, used for saturated side washes. I've owned them for 8 years or so, replacing PAR64'S. They punch and adjust just fine. Sometimes I zoom to tight for individual tight specials, sometimes wide open, so they're very useful in my application. I do not use them as my primary back lights as they don't flood as wide as a S4 Par with a wide lens. I would buy more if they had greater spread.
 
I heard (perhaps a rumor) that ETC made the field less spotty in later versions of the PARnel.
 
I heard (perhaps a rumor) that ETC made the field less spotty in later versions of the PARnel.

Exactly. Early adopters of the Parnell got shafted. Those units had serious problems with a dark hot spot when flooded. I have a feeling this is what you had Victor. Later versions did not have these problems, and that is what Steve has. Many people will not use these lights because of those early problems.

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I've never met ANYONE who honestly likes a parnel. I played a venue with a rig of those, and I still have no idea what spinning the knob does. I've come to the conclusion that it just changes the way the field is uneven.

We have mostly S4 PARs, but we have a box of 12 PARnels, and I LOVE them. The only time I notice the optics being funny is when they're all the way flooded out- so I always tweak it in a bit from full flood and they stay nice and even. Maybe it's because they're new.

Don't get me wrong, I would never replace an entire rig with them, but they certainly do have practical uses


Getting back to the topic at hand, aren't we still hearing good things from ETC's LED Source 4 leko?
 
We Demo'd a Source4 LED Ellipsoidal. They are neat fixtures, no matter which barrel you use, and I was impressed with the digital lense and its crisp feel. That being said, I'm concerned about the punch of the no-color look. The sales rep admitted that the white LED is probably still a few years away from really being a considerably bright source, and I would hesitate to hang them in the front of house as a distance throw. With that reservation, and the high price, I'd give ETC another year or two of upgrading before investing heavily in the Source4 LED Leko.
 
We Demo'd a Source4 LED Ellipsoidal. They are neat fixtures, no matter which barrel you use, and I was impressed with the digital lense and its crisp feel. That being said, I'm concerned about the punch of the no-color look. The sales rep admitted that the white LED is probably still a few years away from really being a considerably bright source, and I would hesitate to hang them in the front of house as a distance throw. With that reservation, and the high price, I'd give ETC another year or two of upgrading before investing heavily in the Source4 LED Leko.

The general feeling among the industry right now is that LED is more than ready to do the medium to saturated colors, and indeed, it is in those areas that they excel. However, for tints and white light, halogen is still more efficient. Hybrid rigs will likely continue on for the foreseeable future, and tungsten won't die for quite a long while. Just look at how many places have their strip lights soldiering on.
 

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