Conventional Fixtures Optima par 64 cans question

[JeffG]

Hi all, i'm trying to get some affordable lights for a small touring gig and can't afford a bunch of leds or s4 pars. I found these fixtures on bulbamerica.com they are from a company called Optima Lighting and within my budget, but I am unsure of the quality and not much info or reviews online. Does anyone have any first hand experience with these fixtures? I would like to have altmans or etc brands but the budget won't allow it atm.

Thanks in advance and love the site!

 

[len]

I have some Optimas (although your link just goes to the main BA site so I don't know to which you're referring) and for slightly more I would look at MBT. Their product is much better, IMO.

Other issues would be a) is whatever you're buying sufficient for the venues
b) do you have space in the vehicles?
c) what do the venues have already?
d) how are they hung, attached, and powered? It's not just the lights, it's all the stuff you need to make them work.

 

[BillESC]

Welcome to the chat.

I'll expand upon what Len said. Better cans are available at or just slightly above the BA price. We will need to know more about the venues you plan of playing in as well as a proposed budget. If you're a band, how many pieces?

 

[JeffG]

I'm on my cell so, i'll answer best I can for now and add a more detailed post when i'm back on a computer. This is for sporting events, not bands and most the venues just have basic house lights and not much else so we have to be able to rely on ourselves to provided everything needed for a show(i.e pre-game, introductions, intermission, half-time, etc. ) We have box trucks we can use for lighting/trussing and we should have plenty of power with 1k watt lamps(though some will be 500w).

 

[JD]

So, here's the scoop- If you are willing to baby the cans or pack them in a fluffy road case, they will work just fine. If you are going to toss them around, dump them in the back of a truck, etc., then buy some real cans made out of thicker steel.

Now, before it comes off that I am simply trashing the Chinese cans, let me indicate that I retired in the 1990's and then started back up a few years back doing gigs as a hobby. My current cans are Chinese. They all go in road-cases and are handled with care and work fine. They would have never survived my younger days when we did serious touring.

Here are the things to be aware of-
1) Thinner gauge or aluminum so the dent and crush easy.
2) They uses a separate line cord that connects to the socket via a "sugar cube."
3) The line cord is usually plastic with a molded end, so don't cook them!

Ok, you are wondering what a "sugar cube" is. Basically, it is a little block that is about the size of a sugar cube and is used to connect the line cord to the high temprature wires that go to the socket. Keep an eye on the screws on those because the wires often come loose.

Better cans use a lamp socket that has the full length of wire attached to it, and those wires go through a fiberglass sheeth all the way to the plug. You can buy these "whips" and upgrade the fixtures should you chose.

 

[len]

Unless you're lighting a single chess match you're going to need something bigger for sporting events. My thinking is that instead of bringing your own light rig, you need to tell the venue/promoter to provide you with a minimum plot and make them deal with it. Dragging sufficient crap around with you will be far more expensive in gas, labor, etc., than having it provided locally.

The few boxing matches I lit specified a minimum of 80 Source 4 pars with 750 watt lamps on truss surrounding the ring. They specified the distance from the edge of the ring, height above the ring, the whole deal. And they measured it themselves and had their guy call the focus because if it was off by more than a couple inches the fighters might argue the decision. All that requires motors, skilled riggers, dimmer racks, soca, etc.

How big is the area to be lit? How much time do you have for in and out? How much staff? Experience?

 

[JeffG]

Sorry for the delay guys. Talked to the promoter he just ordered ten 750 source four pars and may order ten more. He'd like to fill out the rest with cheaper pars to keep costs down. The total area to be oulit will be about 175ft. Do you think 40 or so 1,000w pars would be enough to create a decent wash? Plus whatever house lighting is available.

 

[BillESC]

How are you getting them in the air? How are you cabling them? Who's providing power distribution?