Conventional Fixtures What color gel should I use to make LED white warmer for a general wash?

[kbadr]

I have decided to delve into the world of LEDs. Starting by replacing our 4 Altman 65Q fresnels used for color wash (2 blue, 2 red) with 2 Elation Opti-Tri Pars. Our space is very small, and they should provide a decent enough color wash.

I also want to research using the Opti Tri Pars to replace our 4 65Q's that we use for a general wash. When I demo'd the Opti Tri Par, I noticed that the pure white was very cold, but I realize that the white provides the brightest light. So, with that in mind, would you recommend putting a gel in front of the LED Pars that I use for the general wash, and if so, what color would you recommend?

Ideally, I'd love to just have the gel on all the LED Pars I get, so they could all be used for a color wash, or a general wash, but I understand that might not be possible, since the gel changes the color of the light (obviously.) The reason I thought it might work is that we currently have red and blue gels in front of the 65Qs, which already aren't throwing pure-white light.

 

[lomahongva]

What I have done in the past when using LEDs as general wash is just color correct at the board since it is a rgb fixture. But my question would be is if all the lights are going to be is a general stage wash and sit in one color then why do u need a color mixing led fixture? Just for reduced heat and power?

 

[kbadr]

But doesn't color correcting at the board reduce the intensity of the fixture? I am looking to get the most light out of the fixtures, to reduce the cost of replacing the fresnels. Am I wrong in thinking that a very light bastard amber gel in front of the Opti Tri Par, up at 100% RGB, will produce a brighter light than mixing the Opti Tri Par, without a gel, to the same color on the board?

Ideally, the lights would be dual-purpose: as a general wash, and also for a color wash.

And yes, heat is a big issue for us. We are a small 50 person theater on the second floor of a building in Austin, TX. It'll be 110 soon.

 

[zuixro]

But doesn't color correcting at the board reduce the intensity of the fixture?

Putting gel in front of a light reduces intensity.

That said, I put some R02 (Bastard Amber) in our followspots to bring the color temperature down.

 

[kbadr]

Well, I'm getting the two LEDs for our color wash in next week, so I'll just have to test them out to see if the board-mix versus gel makes much of a difference in light intensity.

Sorry for asking such simple questions. I'm new at this, and so much of the lighting industry knowledge seems to just spread around through osmosis.

 

[lomahongva]

No it's all good they are valid questions. What I would do is try them without gels if u decide to get them. That way also your not effecting the color mixing if u do want to use it as a color wash. The output of board correcting vs gel would just depend on the fixture and gel. The lee gels you will be looking for is L204 through L208 if memory serves. So if u can buy one of each and see what u like. If those aren't the correct numbers I apologize but your reseller should know. Cheers hope that helps

 

[theILLUMINATEDfrog]

I would strongly recommend NOT gelling your LED fixtures. This is going to affect all of your colors and will limit the purity of blues, greens, etc. Balancing your RGB mix to warm white by backing down the blues 5-10% is not going to affect the overall luminance enough to justify your loss of purity for the rest of the spectrum using gels.

 

[Kelite]

Hi kbadr,

Something to bear in mind when considering the use of LED lighting is the actual color rendering index (CRI) of the mix of light emitting diodes. Each type of light source (lamp, if not LED/plasma) has its own color spectrum emitting from the source. This range of the color spectrum is unique to each source making fluorescent, high pressure sodium, incandescent, etc, look very different from each other when projected through the exact same gel transmission.

Many of us have become used to the 'warms and cools' of tungsten with our favorite gel transmissions. If your favorite flavor of LED does not produce very much 520nm - 550nm wavelength, you can't cause the gel to pass the spectrum that isn't already there.

I hope this is as clear as mud-

 

[kevinrichie]

So to throw my 2 cents in... I just grabbed one of those Opti Tri Pars and played around with some gel. The best I found was to use Rosco 3407. It is part of the Cinegel line and is used to convert 5500°K daylight to 2900°K. In my opinion it did a fantastic job of correcting the white while not murdering the other colors. HOWEVER - it knocked intensity WAY down on 100% green and 100% blue. The red managed to look pretty good through out. Since I know the space in question here and what they will have in place, I have to second (or third or fourth) the opinion that reducing the blue a bit to get the warmer color temp on stage is probably going to be the best bet. I would be surprised (though it does happen) if you were unhappy with the intensity after color matching the RGB fixtures to your existing incandescent. I look forward to hearing the results

-techietx
Austin, TX
IA205