Elation LED's

[sully151]

Does anyone know anything about these. One of the companies that we are looking at for our light system is really high on LED's for color washes etc.

They mostly do Worship places and concert halls, but he is a friend and will get me everything at cost.

He can get Elation's for sure, but I don't know anything about them.

I am still not sold on LED's, but I am not against them yet.

I would like to look at the Selador/etc's but I am not sure he can get them

 

[bishopthomas]

So many questions before anyone can give you answers... First of all, what LED's? That's kind of like asking if we like Ford vehicles. You need a compact car, a cargo van, pickup truck, or what? Also, what kind of space are these going in, or are they to be portable? Tell us more about what you are trying to accomplish and we can tell you what (if any) Elation products (or other) would be appropriate.

 

[sully151]

It is a storefront space being converted into a 50-60 seat theatre.

Playing space is 30 feet wide and 23 feet deep.

Lights will be hung from a pipe grid. Front of house lights will be 8-10 feet from downstage lip. I assume there will be a combination of FOH, overhead and side lighting. Pipe grid will be 12-14 feet above the deck

If we use any LED's it will be in combination with regular lights that may include PARs, Elipsoidals, and Fresnels.

Basically, we are starting from scratch and in another thread that I posted some people said to look at LED along with traditional,

 

[bishopthomas]

Elation has some nice LED's. I would suggest using them as color wash and S4's as your front whites. Are you looking for suggestions on specific models?

 

[len]

Elation has some nice LED's. I would suggest using them as color wash and S4's as your front whites. Are you looking for suggestions on specific models?

Probably a good idea, unless there isn't enough electricity. If LED are chosen because of power issues, then get something with RGBAW configuration to give you a fighting chance at the colors you'll need for theater.

 

[BillESC]

I agree with Len. RGBAW will be a must for the application.

 

[BLynch]

I've attached a Selador application guide. It gives some comparison data between different selador varieties and what each is suited for.

View attachment ETC_Selador_Application_Guide_revB[1].pdf

 

[sully151]

I am by no means a technical Director, so my light knowledge is pretty limited. What is RGBAW?

 

[len]

I am by no means a technical Director, so my light knowledge is pretty limited. What is RGBAW?

LED generate light by mixing output from different diodes. Red Green and Blue are the most basic colors, and when mixed together, you get other colors. The less expensive fixtures aren't very good at shades like pink, amber, white, yellow, etc. So mfg. added in Amber and White diodes to improve output in various shades. Now, you'll see some fixtures that have white only or amber only diodes. There are also fixtures which use a tri-color diode, which eliminates some of the "halo" effect caused by having single color diodes mixing together.

The difficulty (IMO) in choosing an LED product is that there are thousands of products, with quality ranging from pure junk that is better used as a doorstop to stuff that would do well in arenas, with prices to match. And at the lower end of the $$ spectrum there are new products being shipped over from Asia every day.

 

[Sayen]

For cost, Elation is a good brand, but you get what you pay for. I've had several fixtures fail right out of the box, although Elation was good about taking care of us. When they work, they're great for the cost.

If you can go to a local dealer and see their showroom (Barbizon, for example, if there's one near you), you might be able to get a comparison between a handful of fixtures. Unless you have a good white from an LED, it's going to look unnatural onstage, and that nixes out most low cost units. Side by side with an ETC units and they're going to look like junk. Of all of the units I've played with, the Selador line blows them away - but you'll pay for that quality.

 

[sully151]

Thanks for the info everyone. I am still up in the air, but learning as I go.

 

[sully151]

Another question. If I do go with a combination of LED's and traditional lighting do I need 2 light boards or will a standard light board work?

 

[len]

Another question. If I do go with a combination of LED's and traditional lighting do I need 2 light boards or will a standard light board work?

Assuming the dimmers accept dmx, then no, you don't need two consoles.

Some things to consider with lighting consoles (bear in mind I am mostly an event lighting specialist, and don't do theater much):

Find something that outputs a full 512 channels of dmx. Some desks do dmx, but not all 512 channels. In fact, you MAY want to find one that outputs 2 universes, or 1024 channels.
If you do, one desk SHOULD be ample for everything, but it MAY be easier to have two desks. It depends on the skill of the programmers, operators, venue size and light rig, etc. Based on what you said earlier, one probably will be fine.
You MAY want it to be able to handle moving lights that you buy in the future, maybe not. Some desks don't handle movers very well.
You probably want some programmability, how much depends on other factors again.
You probably want two scene presets so you can fade from A to B.