The Showpix has competition!

soundlight

Well-Known Member
While it may not be available to anyone other than Mainlight renters, Mainlight Industries (big lighting rental house in Delaware) has started making the MF3: a fixture that combines 3 Martin Stagebar54S units with the yoke/base assembly of a Coemar Infinity Wash XL. Video and picture of the unit can be viewed on the Mainlight Homepage. Looks like they're available for rent now. I'll have to see if we can get a demo in the shop this summer (we do alot of subrentals from Mainlight at my summer job).
 
Good for them. Makes sense, though output looks...okay? Certainly an innovative idea, props to them for thinking of it!
 
Having seen Stagebar54S units throw a 30' scrim, I can say that this fixture has very good output.
 
I'm really not impressed with the Stage Bars when compared to Selador Xtras. They colors aren't nearly as good... especially the pastels and they don't have near the punch... and the Seladors don't cost much more than the Stage Bars.
 
Used them on a show couple weeks ago, they're different than a showpixagun - when you run video through them, like we did, the "pixels" are too big to register anything recognizable except for washed out colors, on most movies. Works better as a wash light.
 
Yeah, I don't think the fixtures really are comparable. Sure, they are both high-powered LED based moving heads, but for two totally different purposes.

I see the MF3 as a functional wash fixture with very low resolution effects capability. It also seems to have a certain attitude about it, there is a very distinctive, architectural look about the fixture and the way it outputs, partially due to the Stagebars reflectors. What's interesting is within the MF3s symmetry, asymmetry can be created in beautiful ways. The MF3 is more lighting than video.

The ShowPix to me is a much more of a video element -- more of an piece of eye candy than lighting functionality. While I'm not saying that video and graphics are any less important than lighting, I see this fixtures primary usage being isolated graphics and not as an actual wash fixture. I haven't seen cut sheets, but I wonder how its output compares. While it has many more options in terms of pixel mapping, I'm not of the mind that high resolution and reality is always best.
 
I mainly considered it direct competition because it's the only other LED moving head that might compare with the output of the Showpix. Yes, it's only 3x6 pixels, but you can create cool effects with those 3x6 pixels, but feeding it video and expecting video isn't a good plan. However, I do like the sparkle/movement effects that can be created by sending the fixture video with pixel mapping. I'll definitely post pictures and video if we are able to get a demo in the shop this summer.
 

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