Cheap, small LED cans

soundlight

soundlight

Well-Known Member
Another LED thread...oh no...

So I'm looking for small, cheap cans for an install. These may or may not be purchased, I'd need to do some convincing first, but I need to find a good one so that I can demo it in the venue.

These cans will be competing with 16 150W lamps with medium saturation gels.

And by cheap, I mean sub-$100.

I was looking at these:
http://www.centerstagelighting.com/cgi-bin/online/webapi.cgi?sc=010&pid=c510&mt=1
http://www.chauvetlighting.com/fixtures/colorsplashjr_fix.shtml (see any similarities?)
http://chauvetlighting.com/fixtures/ledrain38_fix.shtml
http://www.centerstagelighting.com/cgi-bin/online/webapi.cgi?sc=010&pid=p56pledrgb&mt=1

I'm planning on getting one of the centerstage cans to crack it open and check out solder connections, PCB quality, transformer quality, and take a few multimeter readings to see how clean things are. Plus, then I have a new toy.

Has anybody used any of these cans or have any information on build quality?
 
Last edited:
I believe Centerstage photoshop's the Chauvet name off of the fixture in order to get around Chauvet's MAP policy. They are however not necessarily the cheapest price available.
 
Wow, Chauvet's site says it an
"LEDsplashTM JR (LED-PAR83)"
A 10 3/8" ParCan; that may be too big for your needs.:)

Must give Chauvet props, however, for using a dipswitch chart similar to mine!
 
Last edited:
The LED Rains I played with before had a delay on them, meaning when you changed a DMX value it took time for it to receive and change to the new value. Very annoying to say the least. It might have been another Chauvet LED fixture, but I am pretty sure it was the Rains.

The Color Splash Jr's are neat little fixtures. Not much output, but neat none the less. The only issue I have with them the cabling system for power, it's like the COLORados. I'll post some pictures of them tomorrow. Have them lighting a fish tank in the office.

Have you looked into these? I haven't actually used any yet, but I plan on getting some. Also don't know what beam spread you need. Elation also has some cool install stuff like this. Don't know the nature of your install, but might be worth a look. It also works out to $125 a fixture list price.
 
If any dealers or rental folks on here happen to have the Chauvet LEDsplash Jr. and the American DJ P36 LED both on hand and could take some pictures and write a super-fast review, I'd be very grateful.
 
soundlight said:
I was looking at these:
http://www.centerstagelighting.com/cgi-bin/online/webapi.cgi?sc=010&pid=c510&mt=1
http://www.chauvetlighting.com/fixtures/colorsplashjr_fix.shtml (see any similarities?)
Click to expand...

It's a REALLY weird day when someone is selling Chauvet knock offs.

A PAR 83 huh? That must be bigger and brighter than a PAR64 right? No it actually only puts out 39 foot candles. I'm not saying that these products don't have their place, but this part of the lighting world is so strange. Every day something new and crazy comes along. You just never know what these people will come up with next.

From the sound of his post I suggest you give Bill a call and discuss options.
 
I have some of these http://www.wiedamark.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2039 which are decent. They have about a 16 - 19 degree spread (guessing because I never saw photometrics from Wiedamark) and fairly bright. I use them a lot behind flower arrangements, etc. at weddings and things. Price went up significantly since I bought them, tho.

The only thing I don't like about the Wiedamark products I own is that the cord is always stiff, even in warm weather.
 
Here are the Color Splash Jr shots:
proxy.php

proxy.php

proxy.php
 
Since the fixtures are called ColorSPLASH, and you're using them within six feet of water, I assume there's some sort of internal GFCI, right?
 
Last edited:
I just received a pair of ADJ P56s in the mail today, which cost me $200 for the pair, shipped.

I would say the build quality is lower than the COLORsplash Jrs I have for comparison, however they seem alright. I will note that the dipswitches are significantly harder to use than those on the Jrs. In terms of output, there appears to be quite a noticeable jump in output, but the real noteworthy part is the spread, which is considerably wider, perhaps 2.5x the Jr's size? Blending without the color frame is pretty good, but there are some noticeable issues, and it looks like it's asking me for some diffusion, thought I'm not sure how much, and am open to suggestions. I will make a note on the gel frame though: it really messes with the blending. It has an integral safety screen on it, about 1mm strips of metal and 1" squares of open space. The strips seem to block a fair amount of light, and either disrupt blending, or just project a funky pattern... I plan to grab some tool (open to suggestions) and remove the faux mesh. A nice feature of this light is the integral floor mount, which makes it easy to place these guys nearly anywhere. My closing thoughts: I think the Jrs can work in a very dark room, but I did have some reservations about their power. The P56 seems to address my concerns, and it looks like for 2x the price, you can get some good versatility. Some of the selling points for me were the floor mount, and gel frame holder (which not every light at this price point has). I think the probability of me buying another pair is high, the price is right, and it is overall pretty acceptable.
 
Last edited:
charcoaldabs said:
...Blending without the color frame is pretty good, but there are some noticeable issues, and it looks like it's asking me for some diffusion, thought I'm not sure how much, and am open to suggestions. ...
Click to expand...
I'm sure you know that with all diffusion media one pays a price in intensity, so I would start with R119, and then go lighter or heavier from there. R104 is probably my favorite diffusion, as it turns a circle into an oval, or, with a PAR56/64 beam, back into a circle (more or less).

I don't quite understand why a colorframe for an LED fixture would come with a safety screen. The ColorSplash Jr. has a piece of glass in front of the LEDs; my two LED PAR64 cans have nothing, and no frame holders. One would think safety screens on colorframes would only be necessary for open-face fixtures.

OT: I'm getting a full Elation demo tomorrow!
 
My Colorsplash Jrs. have no glass or plastic over the LEDs. I've been thinking about getting some thin plexi and cutting it in to circles and putting it in there.

I think that R132 would do well for the diffusion, I think that if you put anything more in there it's gonna cut intensity way too much.
 
My Jrs have some sort of plastic in front of LEDs, behind which I placed some diffusion, the P56s do as well. I think I need to replace the diffusion in the Jrs though... R132 sounds good, just a touch of diffusion, could probably do the trick on P56s, Jrs might need a bit more diffusion.
 
PadawanGeek said:
Where do you get that price? I could only find it for $350 ea. from centerstage.
Click to expand...

Centerstage sells them for 100/each with out the ADJ name, which allows them to go below MAP. It still comes in the ADJ package, they just don't state that on the website. Same thing with their C-510 cans, it's just a Colorsplash Jr.

Centerstage Lighting - Your best source for the best gear at the best price!
Centerstage Lighting - Your best source for the best gear at the best price!
 
soundlight said:
Centerstage sells them for 100/each with out the ADJ name, which allows them to go below MAP. It still comes in the ADJ package, they just don't state that on the website. Same thing with their C-510 cans, it's just a Colorsplash Jr.

Centerstage Lighting - Your best source for the best gear at the best price!
Centerstage Lighting - Your best source for the best gear at the best price!
Click to expand...

Thanks, is it possible to get the PAR 56 LED in black? I couldn't find a black one for the low price, and in our situation, we need black.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

porkchop
Why not to use cheap LED strip
Replies
2
Views
871
porkchop
porkchop
T
Opinions on this rough LED-based plan for a small drama school performance space.
Replies
8
Views
2K
lwinters630
lwinters630
gafftapegreenia
Impression vs. Legend
Replies
19
Views
3K
derekleffew
derekleffew
IanJ
The Cheap LED Round-Up
2
Replies
36
Views
10K
church
C
soundlight
AMDJ does it again...
2 3
Replies
52
Views
6K
superdoo
S

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back