What's more important for a wash zoom, color choices or movement speed?

[Dragonfire]

Got my second 36 led wash zoom this past weekend, and although it has more color options (RGBWA+UV) than my other one (RGBW), the movement speed is noticeably more sluggish and it dims at a different rate (dimmer at lower percentages but brightens at a steeper rate closer to full power). Trying to figure out which one to keep and which one to swap out. I like how quick and sharp the movement is on my RGBW one, but having Amber and UV theoretically should give me access to more of what lights are for in the first place.
Both lights are the 36 Led Wash zooms that you see on eBay with circular heads, powercon plugs & linking, and the RGBWA+UV one has 18w per led vs the other having 10w.

Anyone have any thoughts that could help me make a decision?

 

[ScottT]

Before you go through the process of getting additional fixtures... On the RGBAW+UV fixture is there a speed setting that might be set to slow?

 

[JonCarter]

Are you lighting drama, operetta and opera or light shows with this instrument? If the former, color options over speed of movement, providing it can move fast enough to keep up with scene changes. If you're doing light shows, flash & dash is important.

 

[aeh20s]

I would say that if you also have profile/beam movers in your rig then the speed of the washes aren't as important. I would always choose color over speed when it comes to wash lights. Especially if you have static wash fixtures to cover your stage while the moving wash gets into position. All of my statements are assuming a rig that, since you're buying moving heads off ebay, you may not have. I stand by my main point though, I choose color over speed.

 

[Dragonfire]

Sorry for my delayed response, and thank you for all of yours. Out of internet range for a bit but I'm back.

@ScottT, I checked, and sadly it doesn't seem like it. Very simple menu, no speed setting.

@JonCarter , closer to light shows. Mostly dynamic movement for electronic music stages, and wash lighting for fire performances. Would you still say the speed is more important even though the slower one is more powerful?

@aeh20s I have two Wash FX 2's, 6 cheap gobos, and two mini wash moving heads as well, so I have a balanced array. I do really appreciated the warmth that the amber adds and being able to tap into UV to complement the Wash FX 2's and my pair of Dragon X's.

 

[RonHebbard]

Sorry for my delayed response, and thank you for all of yours. Out of internet range for a bit but I'm back.

@ScottT, I checked, and sadly it doesn't seem like it. Very simple menu, no speed setting.

@JonCarter , closer to light shows. Mostly dynamic movement for electronic music stages, and wash lighting for fire performances. Would you still say the speed is more important even though the slower one is more powerful?

@aeh20s I have two Wash FX 2's, 6 cheap gobos, and two mini wash moving heads as well, so I have a balanced array. I do really appreciated the warmth that the amber adds and being able to tap into UV to complement the Wash FX 2's and my pair of Dragon X's.

I KNOW I 'm getting too old and bleary eyed; I just misread the thread title as::
What's more important for a wash Room, color choices or movement speed?
Hmmm? In the bowl or in the room in general??
Toodleoo!
Ron (getting FAR too old) Hebbard

 

[almorton]

I made the same mistake, Ron!

 

[TimMc]

The most important thing is having an open venue and an audience. Right now neither seem practical or likely.

For EDM busking I'd probably put emphasis on fixture response. For everything else I'd want color uniformity.

 

[JonCarter]

Well, for a light show, probably speed. If you need more oomph, put a larger lamp in it or hang 2 of 'em. (Never did a light show, so I'm guessing.)

 

[Lynnchesque]

I think of busking a lot like a magic show, the more tricks up your sleeve the better. So if I had to pick between a rig with 100 static wash lights or a rig with half as many fixtures but a variety of movers and gobos and strobes, I'd go with the variety. So being able to flood the stage with uv may be a valuable trick that adds to the show. Anyway, this is a design choice, there's no right or wrong answer.

 

[aeh20s]

So taking into account that you're doing EDM style light shows, is there a specific reason that you have to choose one light over the other? If you're setup can handle having both styles of lights in the air then just use both. When busking a "Flash and Trash" style show like EDM, the more tools you can reach for potentially the better. It just becomes a question of what you want in the moment.

 

[macsound]

Anecdotal story.
When I first started designing with moving lights, (actually for scrollers, but no one remembers those) I learned to make move cues. Cues that would auto follow a blackout to get the moving lights into their next position before the following cue would bring the lights back up.
Depending on what parameters changed- gobo, static color wheel, CMY, position, zoom, etc - determined how long my move cues had to be. In testing, I'd have a few lights dim up perfectly and one rogue fixture still halfway zoomed too big when everything faded up.
In this particular scenario, the light's slowest function usually seemed to be zoom. So then I started making whole banks of move cues so the lights that didn't do much in the blackout could fade up first and those who had a complicated function, fade up slightly later.
With the addition of LED color in modern moving lights I noticed how slow Zoom still was in some shows where I designed with GLP X4s and I wondered why.

When you breakdown a moving light, pan and tilt are almost always either direct drive or belt drive. Same with CMY and shutter.
Things like gobos, prisms and effect wheels are usually gear driven, because they either need higher accuracy, larger speed variation or interconnected functions, like gobo rotation while cycling.

Focus and zoom are almost always the slowest because they're worm gear driven. Easy to design because you can have the lens guide slot into the worm. Long throw is possible. Lots of torque for heavy glass. But, they'll always be slow.

edit:clarity

 

[Dragonfire]

So taking into account that you're doing EDM style light shows, is there a specific reason that you have to choose one light over the other?

Budget. I need the sides to move in unison or symmetrically, otherwise it looks lopsided and careless. I've tried compensating with different movement speeds and offsets, but it just doesn't work out. So I want to sell one (or both) in order to have a matching pair. But I'm not a professional LD and I can only afford to buy new toys after saving up for them for a bit. I would have more flexibility if these weren't my only two Zoom Washes. Because of their size and brightness they end up being focal points, so the mismatch can't just escape unnoticed.

Cues that would auto follow a blackout to get the moving lights into their next position before the following cue would bring the lights back up

I would, but it isn't a problem when they're off. The issue is that when they're on and I have them doing movements they fall out of sync instantly.

 

[aeh20s]

Budget. I need the sides to move in unison or symmetrically, otherwise it looks lopsided and careless. I've tried compensating with different movement speeds and offsets, but it just doesn't work out. So I want to sell one (or both) in order to have a matching pair. But I'm not a professional LD and I can only afford to buy new toys after saving up for them for a bit. I would have more flexibility if these weren't my only two Zoom Washes. Because of their size and brightness they end up being focal points, so the mismatch can't just escape unnoticed.

I don't think I understood that you only had two wash zooms that were different models, I wasn't paying enough attention to what you were saying. I stand by my original recommendation of color choice over speed. But going beyond that, I would program each light to do a series of effects. Run one through it, then the other. Then decide which one you liked better from their performance doing those moves.

Also, I recommend that in the future to always buy moving heads in pairs. Especially with cheaper LED lights, if you don't buy them in pairs you will run into problems like this with speed and having color matching issues.

 

[macsound]

Depending on how old and cheap these lights were to start with, you might not make much money selling them in order to finance your next purchase. It might make sense to sell one, the worst one, and save up to buy a matching pair. So then you'll have 3 fixtures, 2 that match.

Alternatively, how do these 2 match for non movement effects, color strobing etc. Again you'd have to save to make a new purchase, but if these 2 lights move very slowly but utilize them for their color power, your new fixtures can be fast and some other gainful element that isn't color. Like beam effects.

If you're planning on increasing the size and usefulness of your rig, even though the non matching might be a shortcoming now, they could be a useful addition for the future.