ETC Announces the ColorSource PAR, a low(er) budget LED
- Thread starterTuckerD
- Start date
NickVon
Well-Known Member
Please Do Ccrews, Our arts center is looking into swapping out our PAR 64 with LED's and these were high in my view for price point. I'm mostly curious as to how the reproduce R74, and R26 compared to a 1k Medium Par 64.
and how they compare to Source 4 Par, Widelens lamped at 750, with R74. I'll admit i'm not looking at LED"s for Sublties of R302 or natural light but something Punch saturated that can do a natural'ish warm or cool light moderately well if needed to.
and how they compare to Source 4 Par, Widelens lamped at 750, with R74. I'll admit i'm not looking at LED"s for Sublties of R302 or natural light but something Punch saturated that can do a natural'ish warm or cool light moderately well if needed to.
np18358
Active Member
While it doesn't come with the ETC label, and subsequently may not be supported as well, or meet riders, the Chavuet Colordash Par Hex 12 is intensely bright and the color mixing is awesome. It is an RGBAW+UV fixture, so you do get an nice amount of control in even the pastels. It outperforms any incandescent in a saturate. The Blue alone is extremely intense, and the UV is an awesome replacement for a congo blue. The combination of the two makes for a super bold (and UV reactive) wash. It is also extremely bright in the Red.
The new theater at my old high school (where I know TD the big events and LD smaller events) came with 22 of these. I really enjoy them and they have a really wide range with incredible smooth fades. Granted, the only other color-mixing LEDs I've played with are Chauvet Colorstrips, Blizzard Stormchasers, and some off-brand Chinese moving LED wash-type instrument (the brand name on the side was "LED Mover"). They are easy to work with, but a little surprising to me that they don't self-terminate. They take the same frame size as Source 4 Pars, so when you want to put a diffusion in them, there's usually some already cut for a different instrument.
They have a very small beam angle, though. They are definitely quite fun and simple to work with but have their limitations. They are able to cut through a wash with 750w S4s. I recommend them, but they are definitely part of their Selador line, not their Source 4 line.
They have a very small beam angle, though. They are definitely quite fun and simple to work with but have their limitations. They are able to cut through a wash with 750w S4s. I recommend them, but they are definitely part of their Selador line, not their Source 4 line.
Thanks for the info Shaun! None of the slimpar, or color dash line have particularly smooth dimming, but at the price point, its probably a fair trade off, I would guess the Colorodo series would be a closer comparison. Also I would fully expect the ColorSource to be brighter and wider, but It sounds like the color performance is disappointing; It really should destroy the Chauvets.
Self termination is mostly a myth. I not sure who started it, and I cannot think of one fixture that actually self terminates.
I knew there had to be a few, but the vast majority of fixtures do not self terminate, so its best to have terminators on hand and assume that you need them. Though, if ETC has already seat a precedence for selling self terminating fixtures, it does seem like a oversight to not offer that in new products.
JJBerman
Active Member
Please expound, as I don't see how this is possible, given that inserting any male shell into the female switches the onboard resistor OUT of the circuit.
See also the threads
http://www.controlbooth.com/threads/the-dmx-termination-plug.9116/#post-105377
http://www.controlbooth.com/threads/moving-light-freakout-terminator-was-the-problem.28635/
As for the ColorSource PAR, I can't speak for ETC, but suspect the decision not to include the self-terminating receptacle was merely a cost-saving measure:
Bolding mine.
ShaunH
Member
Update: we tested them next to our lustr2's and the blue is infact the same blue in raw 7+ mode, the reason the lustrs go deeper is the extra indigo chip to make the deeper hues. (no doubt they'll release a 'pro' version later in the year with the lustr colour engine and price to match!). Also tested next to a 1k par 64 and the beam is pretty much a cp61 beam and equal to such (making the filter extras super useful).
techieman33
Well-Known Member
cp61 is a narrow for those of us here in the states.
NickVon
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that Tidbit.
JJBerman
Active Member
One of the venues I work at had a problem where a string of desires wouldn't respond to control from the light board. After switching some dmx cable to no avail I removed the external terminator from the final fixture and all worked out.
On my extremely long to do list at that venue is to troubleshoot that string of fixtures and try to reproduce the issue and try to single out if the terminator was the cause or just a mask to a bigger problem.
This same venue is giving me grief with a dmx "ghost" every now and then. Making fading led's not fun.
In annother thread, ST pointed out that sometimes a continuity break in one side of the data pair will sometimes make it look like adding a terminator causes a problem. I'd start by making sure both data+ and data- reach the first instrument in that string.
I just got a quote from my local dealer on a small package of Colorsource PARs. The sales guy and I have a long relationship and I'm buying 10, so my price may be a little better than the one you get, or not (pricing is always a bit of a mystery) . But that said... I was quoted a little over $6000 for a 10 pack (including sales tax).
Upper $500's with no sales tax and it says "Made by ETC in Middleton, Wi" on the side... That's potentially a game changer in the industry.
Upper $500's with no sales tax and it says "Made by ETC in Middleton, Wi" on the side... That's potentially a game changer in the industry.
Online browsing has this:
http://www.newlighting.com/24314/new-etc-color-source-par-package-of-8
http://www.newlighting.com/24314/new-etc-color-source-par-package-of-8
Curious. It has a double slot for color frames and accessories, correct ?. What's keeping you from adding diffusion ? and I think it's a standard 7.5" size.
