Design Mirror Ball Pinspot

[lightingguy1]

Hi Everyone!

Long time, no controlbooth!

I'm looking for an instrument(or two) that can light up a mirror ball for an upcoming show. Now, before the flood of suggestions for movers overwhelms this thread, we don't a budget that allows for renting multiple fancy Clay Paky beam fixtures. We've tried using conventionals, but it's just not a bright enough effect for our liking.

I guess what we're looking for is a fixture that uses a discharge lamp instead of tungsten(maybe even LED..)

We're a community theater and don't even think about recommending a couple of S4 LEDs. We need a practical solution.

Thanks!!

 

[josh88]

What wattage lamp were you using in the conventionals? I assume 750? Most LED options won't be any brighter than what you're already using on stage.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

Why not just a good ol' fashioned Pin Spot? (low voltage PAR 36 / PAR 46)

I've seen some low cost LED pin spots from Chauvet and the like, but they just aren't as punchy.

Out of curiousity, what kind of conventionals were you using? IMHO, ellipsoidals aren't ideal for mirror balls(unless a 5 or 10 degree). Rather, one needs as parallel of a beam of light as possible, thus, pin spots.

 

[derekleffew]

... We've tried using conventionals, but it's just not a bright enough effect for our liking. ...

It's pretty hard to get brighter than a 5° or 10° 750W Source Four, especially at a short distance.

How big is the mirror ball? What is the throw distance? Have you considered Xenon Super Troupers?

Maybe what you need is an "inside-out mirror ball", aka "Sputnik", "Porcupine":

As I recall, these USED to be incredibly bright, in the olden days of T/H lamps. Now almost everything DJ is LED.
.

 

[lightingguy1]

We're using two 19deg source fours on either side of the ball. I guess we need to purchase a few 10deg lens tubes.


It's about a 5-10ft throw.

 

[lightingguy1]

Also. 750w regular life lamps.

 

[derekleffew]

By "regular life lamps" I'm assuming you mean HPL750/115 (or the 120V) 300-hour version.

At a 10' throw distance:
Deg. - Field - F.C.
19° - 3.2' - 2,435
14° - 2.6' - 4,047
10° - 1.9' - 7,832
05° - 1.2' - 13,451

Maybe the 14°, which is less expensive than a 10°, and probably a more useful lens tube for the future? Now, if you're renting, get the 5° and melt the sucker.

Or, maybe it's time to learn how to build an ACL harness and re-wire some PARcan s. Serious suggestion. Gives you the parallel beam(s) gafftapegreenia likes so much, and every theatre needs some ACL s.
.

 

[BillESC]

Blizzard's Raygun is ideal for your application if its' in your budget. 50W LED with a 2.5 degree beam giving you 22,000 Lux at a meter. MAP's at 389.99

Rocklite Raygun

 

[lightingguy1]

Why would using a parallel beam fixture be more effective than using an ellipsoidal? Hopefully I didn't take that out of context...

 

[derekleffew]

Apples to lux, oranges to foot-candles...

... 50W LED with a 2.5 degree beam giving you 22,000 Lux at a meter. ...

How exactly is "22,000 Lux at a meter"* better than (what he has now with his 19°) 2435 foot-candles at 10'?
And wouldn't that 2.5° beam be only 1.7" in diameter at a 39" throw?
[Beam diameter = distance * (2 * tan (beam angle in degrees / 2)).]

Please enlighten me (us).


*From Specifications page :

Beam Angle 2.5 degree
Luminous Intensity 28,220 Lux @ 1m, 13,180 Lux @ 2m

.

 

[Les]

Why would using a parallel beam fixture be more effective than using an ellipsoidal? Hopefully I didn't take that out of context...

Hey Zach!

To answer your question, the parallel beam fixture focuses more light in to a narrower plane. When using an ellipsoidal, much of that light misses the edges of the mirror ball since the beam is a cone shape (notice the mirror ball's shadow on an adjacent wall to see how much light doesn't even hit the target). Shuttering the ellipsoidal can make the beam smaller, but you still lose all that light.

 

[JChenault]

Hey Zach!

To answer your question, the parallel beam fixture focuses more light in to a narrower plane. When using an ellipsoidal, much of that light misses the edges of the mirror ball since the beam is a cone shape (notice the mirror ball's shadow on an adjacent wall to see how much light doesn't even hit the target). Shuttering the ellipsoidal can make the beam smaller, but you still lose all that light.

Also ( and perhaps more importantly) the parallel beams don't spread as much after they bounce off of the mirrors on the ball. So using a low voltage par you get smaller, better defined dots on the wall than you do if you use a theatrical fixture.

There are two ways to get parallel beams. One is to use a fixture like a pin spot designed for mirror balls, the other is to get farther away from the ball and use a narrow beam fixture.

 

[gbdesign]

How about a VNSP, standard 1K PAR 64 or S4 PAR, with parallel ring snoot? Back in the day we might have used Beam Projectors.

 

[BillESC]

Apples to lux, oranges to foot-candles...
How exactly is "22,000 Lux at a meter"* better than (what he has now with his 19°) 2435 foot-candles at 10'?
And wouldn't that 2.5° beam be only 1.7" in diameter at a 39" throw?
[Beam diameter = distance * (2 * tan (beam angle in degrees / 2)).]

Please enlighten me (us).


*From Specifications page :

.

No where did I say better. 35W vs. 750W might be considered better. Not having to purchase approximately 25 replacement lamps might be considered better.

I just put it out as an option.

 

[michaelburgoyne]

How about a VNSP, standard 1K PAR 64 or S4 PAR, with parallel ring snoot? Back in the day we might have used Beam Projectors.

I'll second this suggestion for a S4 PAR with VNSP lens. Very bright and narrow, and much smaller than a 5-degree ellipsoidal. Yes, you'll have some spill beyond the mirror ball, but hopefully you can lose the spill in the wings, depending on your stage configuration.