Hello all you beautiful people,
Please notice that this is part two of a blog on LED at the USITT. To read part one click on the link here. http://tdsquared.org/2009/03/leds-part-one/
Today we spend the day walking around the trade floor looking at LED instruments that could begin to replace the Source Four, the Fresnel, and the Par. We found that the LED could be classified into fixed position and moving head instruments. Our first stop was to look at a compact moving head light called the A7 manufactured by JB LED lighting. This fixture is three color diode fixture that has the added feature of a moving lens plate. This feature allows for zoom from 8 to 28 degrees without losing its beam or field attributes. This 17.6 pound fixture has smooth dimming a feature that is becoming a more prominent feature not just in this light but in many that we saw. The Delta fixture manufactured by DTS lighting an Italian company showed some promise in the compact moving head fixture world as well. The delta an indoor and outdoor fixture was valued for the control features more. The fixture was a three color diode fixture but was designed to be controlled with four sliders red, green, blue, pre-calculated slider that mixes white color temperature. When it comes to fixed LED fixtures Altman takes the very traditional approach in maintaining the variable lens style of our current PAR fixture. This allows the LEDs to mix at the lens rather than on the surfaces which it projects on to. This traditional lens usage allows for common accessories like barndoors to be added to the instrument. Like in traditional 1k PAR fixtures it is common practice to swap lamps to change field size from very narrow through wide. Altman’s LED fixture duplicates the ridges and valleys found on the surface of these different lamps on a lens placed in front of the LED multi source point.
As a result of people we met on the trade floor we were invited to a private party for the unveiling of Vari-Lite’s new instrument the VLX. The VLX is a full-blown LED wash moving head fixture that contains a number of groundbreaking new technologies. The most prominent technological advancement is definitely the lack of color shadowing, even at short distances. The color mixing incorporated both a very true metal-halide white as well as a very accurate tungsten colored white; this will allow the VLX to be seamlessly integrated into any stage rig containing either metal halide or tungsten sources. Other very impressive technologies found in the VLX are its ability to change its beam angle, eliminating the need to change a barrel; as well as, its immense intensity created by a mere economically friendly six hundred watts. The techniques which allow this incredible instrument to accomplish all these prominent advances we are unfortunately not allowed to discuss publically until the VLX public revealing on April 1st.
Katie and Andy