I've since received the American DJ
Haze Generator, so given the reason I ordered it (claims that it was a cheaper version of the DF-50 tech), I'll go ahead and post a quick review so others who are in a similar situation as I was will have a
bit more info.
First I'll give a little info on the intended use and the
venue. The
venue is a 1500 seat
proscenium theater. We have 2-3 shows a week from April-December. The acts range from mostly country/bluegrass, all the way to rock and comedy.
We currently have a
Martin Magnum water based
hazer, that does it's job very well in the theater. I've never had an issue hazing the
house with it so long as the air exchange
system in the building isn't running full. The issue with the
Martin hazer, as with any water based
hazer that I've used, is the
effect it creates. If an act is looking for a very "hazy" look (think grave yard in a horror movie) then it does an awesome job. However, as more and more of our acts are using higher end lighting systems, and as we upgrade our own lighting rig we have come to the conclusion that we need a
haze system that will give us the beam/aerial effects that we're looking for with the lights, but while not creating too much of a "smokey" atmosphere within the theater.
We've had a few acts come in who were traveling with a DF-50 and really loved the product. It created the
effect we were looking for, without the side effects of a smokey environment. However, being a small theater which doesn't upgrade all the time, we didn't have the budget for a $3,000
hazer.
Knowing that the DF-50 has been a staple in the professional lighting industry for a while now, and knowing that the technology used to create the
effect wasn't super complex, I figured there had to be a alternate solution in the name of a "off brand" or knock off. When it comes to lighting I'm not big on knock-offs really, but the main mechanical properties of the DF-50 being pretty simple, I knew there would be another product on the market that would take advantage of the
effect of the item and it's market reach, while offering a lower price
point.
I should go ahead and let everyone know that our staff had already had the internal discussion about Oil based
Haze vs Water Based
Haze. We use both at our
venue, each serves it's purpose and each has it's own set of pros and cons. The discussion about Oil vs Water is beyond the scope of this review.
I talked to a few different sales people, read quite a
bit online and watched the online videos that are available and found that American DJ makes a product called the
Hazer Generator that is essentially very similar to the higher end product and uses a lot of the same type of components. At less than $400 on Ebay, the savings of giving the
Haze Generator a try were temping and in the end I figured it would be worth it to at least give it a shot.
I ordered the product from Ebay as I mentioned above. I purchased the item from a seller that carried both the
hazer and the fluid that ADJ makes for it. I was told by several people that any fluid that works in a DF-50 will work in the
Hazer Generator as well, but to
play it safe I went ahead and ordered the official fluid for the machine.
After getting the
hazer in on Thursday and having a good chance to test it both in a testing environment and in a smaller show and rehearsal, I think I've been able to form a pretty solid opinion on the product.
The item functions a lot like the DF-50. No heater, so no warmup time. Simply turn the machine on and it will instantly start producing
haze. Like the DF-50, the
Haze Generator doesn't come standard with a
DMX interface. It does come with a 30ft wired remote control that you can use to control the burst time and increment of the
haze, but that would not cut it for me. Unlike the DF-50. You can't
purchase a
DMX interface for the
Haze Generator. Thankfully I had a few Chauvet
dimmer/
relay packs laying around, so I was able to hook up the pack to the machine and then run it through my
DMX splitter as a
relay and control the on and off of the product from my
console. This worked well and would be an ideal solution to anyone in need of
DMX control over this product.
The biggest issue that I was concerned about, and what in the end turned out to be the deciding factor in our use for the
Haze Generator was the output. I do just want to let everyone know that, the
Haze Generator does in fact function almost identically to the DF-50. It produces the exact same almost invisible "mist"
effect that has made the DF-50 so popular with tours and theaters. Also, like the DF-50, the
Haze Generator isn't a quite machine. While running it has a less than silent fan, and a motor which creates a sound similar to a small air
compressor. It makes the product less than ideal for use during a performance, but the
effect that the product creates has such a great hang time, you can literally run the machine for 15 minutes or so before the performance and the atmosphere will sustain for hours so long as the ventilation
system of the building doesn't move the air too much.
In the end, I've decided that while I will give the
Haze Generator my recommendation, It's output simply isn't enough to work for us and the size of our
venue. 80ft high ceilings and a massive air exchange
system are just too much for the
Haze Generator to overcome. It does a nice job when used for only a
stage area setting when I turn off the air exchange. But the time it takes to get the
effect we need is too long and maintaining the
effect would take constant use running of the product.
So, if you're primarily working in smaller venues (a few hundred or less) and are looking for an almost invisible
haze effect that makes the light beams looks amazing then I'd say save yourself a lot of money and give this product a try. If you've been considering a DF-50
purchase you owe it to yourself to at least look into the
Haze Generator. It really does produce the same
effect, minus the output volume.
In the end, we're still on the market for a DF-50 and will be picking one up within the next few weeks. The DF-50 simply fits perfectly into our needs and having had it in the
venue several times, we know it will produce exactly what we want. If I was personally ever working smaller gigs and needed a similar
effect, I would not hesitate to take a long the American DJ
Hazer Generator.