What do you think of the Source Four JR?

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I have been working in a theatre with them and can say I hate them with a passion. The shutters are horrible as others have pointed out. You can't rotate the barrel for tricky shutter cuts and/or gobos. The gobo size is M, all my clients/people that rent the theatre use A or B (mostly B), so that aggravates them when they have to buy more gobos or rent fixtures. They also aren't rated for 750w lamps, which I use often (all the ParNels and big S4 lekos are lamped as such). The other major pain is I and renters have to move whole fixtures vs swapping barrels. This means more them to hang plots/return to rep plot. The optic quality also isn't as good as there big brothers either.

All and all, they cost about 33% less then what the big ones cost. I would gladly trade the whole inventory of them in this space for 2/3s as many big boys, and every designer/show that comes through there agrees. I also feel they just aren't worth the cost difference based on all their negatives vs their bigger siblings. Despite all this, I can see a justified use for them in some spaces. I have a couple of installs which I used them for permanent gobo projection/stage wash/area wash. But as for touring/live theatre with ever changing plots, I think they are a waste.

The S4 Jr. was made to compete on the same pricepoint as the 360q. Currently, it is the same price. So the question is, would you rather have the Jr's or have a 360q? My personal opinion is go with the Jr's. The only downside is the gobo size.

Jr's are not made for repertory theatre. They are made to hang in middle school gymatoriums. They are made for small corporate "I need a light here" type of thing. I would avoid at all costs to outfit an entire theatre with them.

Now, to add to that, I do love Jr. Zooms. They are fantastic. They are small, easy to use, and are versatile. They hit below the price point as a full sized S4. I personally have never been a fan of the full size S4 zoom due to its size. If you are considering buying Jr's, spend the extra 50 bucks and get the zoom. You will be much happier.

For the OP's intended purpose, a Jr. will be fine. He is looking for a quality fixture for under 200 bucks, and thats the Jr.

 

[SerraAva]

Big Source Fours aren't much larger, hang 1.2" lower, an .8" longer with the barrel in (how I always transport them), and the barrel is actually .2" narrower then the barrel of a Jr. A truck pack 8 way lamp case to transport them is going to loose maybe an inch off the top if you order the case tight. They weigh 4 lbs more then Jr's. If 4 pounds a fixture is throwing a truck over weight during transport, you have other issues then, even if transporting 100 of them.

OP mentioned corporate events. Chances are, they are sooner or later going to run into a client that wants to throw up a gobo last minute. Every time that has ever happen to myself or one of my staff, it has ether been a B size metal or B size glass. I would much rather be able to say, "No problem, I will get right on that." then, "Sorry, I don't have that type of fixture with me." Better to be a hero. Plus, barrel rotation on the big ones help with gobos projection and getting them just right.

I will agree that the Jr Zooms are great bang for the buck, didn't realize they only cost about $50 more then the fixed versions. However, they only zoom 25-50 degrees. What happens when the podium shot is farther away and you need a 19 degree, 14 degree, 10 degree, or even a 5 degree to make the shot? Non zoom Jr's only come in 26, 36, or 50 degree flavors. You can easily go out and buy say, 4 26 degrees and 4 50 degree big Source Fours. Then when you need different lenses, simply rent the lenses instead of the whole fixture and save some money. You can also go out and buy more lenses then fixtures so you have options. I find myself having to rent 70 degree lenses very often, and it is more cost effective for me to rent the lens then buy the lens or whole fixture with that lens.

360q's vs Jr's, Jr's all the way. That was not the OP's question though. The question was whether or not the savings on the Jr's would be worth it. Ultimately the OP has to weigh that. In my experience however, especially coming from a pretty much all corporate event background, it is not. Big Source Fours offer so much more by way of being standard and versatile.

 

[Spader]

Please do elaborate.

Okay. I heard this from someone at GAM, or at least this was what I remember/interpreted:

Because there is less heat control in the fixture, the lamps don't last as long as they would in a normal S4 fixture. The shutters are also made from a cheaper quality metal, causing them to become more easily warped. This I will vouch for from personal experience. It is very easy to work with the shutters in a regular S4. This is not true in the S4 Jr, and especially untrue in aged S4 Jr. fixtures.

Also they take a smaller gobo size, which isn't much of a problem if you don't already have gobos. If you have gobos, though you are either going to have to cut them down to size or order new ones.

 

[Sayen]

The juniors shouldn't be viewed as a replacement for full size lights - they're a different class of instrument, with different applications. I keep a small stock for productions and find them to be useful in a variety of roles, especially directly over the stage. I keep M size pattern gobos, and love the zoom feature on a smaller fixture. All in all, a very sexy little light, as long as you don't use it for applications it's not really intended for.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

Just another paint brush of light in the lighting designers kit.

 

[ReiRei]

We have Jr Zooms in our blackbox theatre, and all of the techs have been trying to convince our tech director to let us use them on the mainstage theatre. He keeps saying no of course, but a couple guys pulled one down, hung it, circuited, did the light dance and brought it up. Personally, I don't think they're suited for large spaces such as a mainstage theatre. We have a couple with adjustable barrels is what I've been told (I try to stay as far away from our blackbox lighting system as possible) which came in handy when an outside group came in and did John and Jen.

I want to hide all of the altmans in my theatre... just so light designers can't find them... I'd been burned by source fours pretty badly, but my worst burns came from altmans. Not even focusing them either, the LD at the time wanted to shutter them of the proscenium with black foil. Avoid using them if at all possible.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

ReiRei it sounds like you need some gloves.

 

[ReiRei]

ReiRei it sounds like you need some gloves.

That go all the way to my shoulders... *shakes fists at altmans*

 

[xander]

To the OP, you have gotten a good range of opinions, all of which are valid. After reading all of this I would think that you would want to take a serious look at your bank account. I don't think that anyone would disagree with me to say that a full size S4 is better than the Jr., but when you have to worry about money the Jr. can have it's place. I would take an "all of the above" approach and maybe buy some of each. Get some full size instruments for your pattern projection, odd angles (where you need barrel rotation), and big or small beam spreads. But, then supplement with some Jr. Zooms for your "put light here" situations. I think that the Jr.s definitely have the shortcomings that everyone has mentioned, but they are also better than the 360q as far as optics, size, and long term cost effectiveness. If you were just thinking about the Jr.s because of their smaller size in transport, then in my opinion the minute amount of space you would be saving wouldn't be worth it.

My $.02

-Tim

 

[express]

The S4 Jr is the main workhouse of our theater.