View Full Version : Effects Lights
Hi All,
im looking at getting a pair of lights for my mobile setup,
which lights would you suggest keeping in mind budget is VERY tight... not going to go for DMX, to expensive and technical for my sort of mobile work..
What type of budget are we talking here? That would give everyone a better idea of what to recommend.
DJNaviss
08-16-04, 03:19 PM
Most effect lighting isn't going to be very bright at all! Trust me..
However the moonflower does stand out...
Also when talking about effect lighting, Your looking at a duty cyle...
Which mean's, 10 min's on 10 min's off...
DMX light's don't have a duty cyle, And some aren't to badly priced..
Maybe try looking at the DMX Mushroom...
As Bad, Said... What's your price range... As we will be able to help you more. :)
well, really my price range atm for lights is about $500 AUD something to the tune of about 200 US? not very much i know, but as the crowd would not no a DMX Laser to a department store "fun" light. im just looking at something that will throw some colour around the room for the time being.
DJNaviss
08-16-04, 07:52 PM
Yea, 200$ isn't much for choice..
And I don't really deal with Effect lighting anymore, Only used it for about a month, Seen it wasn't good, And sold it all for DMX light's...
The duty cyle kill's ya..
The DMX Chauvet Mushroom is a nice light, I must say... It's stand alone for the unit to dance to the music, And it's a bright light.. two 300 Watt bulb's.
I hear moonflower's are good as well.. I've never tried them but ok.
Also if you need some big background lighting maybe look into some par can's?
Yea,
well im not really sure which way to go.. i just cant afford the extra lighting at the moment.. my setup 2 tts mixer and 2 cdjs is pushing $4500 US already.. and i need lighting and effects, speakers and amps, cases and stuff.. so i can only really spare 200 at this time.. is it a waste of time getting a few effects lights rated at 100w, or would one 250w DMX light be a better option?
DJ MR.G.
08-17-04, 01:43 AM
AMERICAN DJ DYNAMIC LIGHT PAK This is a little something to get started.$200.00 usd
http://www.pssl.com/bitemdetail.tpl?eqint_KeyIDdata=37195&UID=2004070923504356
Designer
08-17-04, 03:14 AM
http://www.thedjbox.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/110_116_220/products_id/2898
Check these out, they are £135 each, I know that's a little bit over your budget but as linkable effects lights go these look great, i'm seriously considering getting a couple :)
They've got fairly extensive internal programs and have a DMX interface built in, but without a controller just plug a dmx lead between the two and they'll sync to each other. And they look to be pretty bright with a lot more variation than normal moonflowers
Yea, those chauvets look good, ive got this product in australia that apparantly does the same effect excpet no dmx and has a scanning mirror... and a 100w globe
worth importing equip from oversea's?
Designer
08-17-04, 06:09 AM
It might be, you'd really have to check out the shipping section on the companies website to see how much the delivery charge is. Don't forget if the product develops a fault you'd have to ship it back unless you can come to some agreement that the product could be returned to another authorised dealer for repair/replacement during the warranty period.
Would you suggest 2 x 100w lights over one 250w dmx light?
Designer
08-17-04, 05:56 PM
I would'nt say you have to go with DMX, just linkable lighing will look better as everythings going to be synchronised. As you're on a tight budget I would'nt worry too much about DMX and go for some linkable lights that are at least 200watt, 100watt will be very dim in a medium sized venue like. For a reasonable light output you'll need to have at least 2 lights at 200watts
DJNaviss
08-17-04, 08:36 PM
And 200 Watt's is still very dim depending on the lighting unit..
I had 8 Effect light's linked, They was linked, But each unit had 300 Watt bulb's in them, And even with that, You had to LOOK at the light's to see them. :squint:
Designer
08-17-04, 08:40 PM
Over recent years the optical systems in most new effects lighting has improved dramatically, as dichroic lamps are now commonly used over standard types and light outputs from smaller wattage bulbs have been optimised and internal optics have been optimised to reduce losses, a 200w bulb in a modern effect will give something similar to a 300w in some fixtures that are about 5 years old, really the only way you can decide is to see the fixtures your interested in on display with some ambient light, if they still look well bright then they're suitable :)
There are some really great packages that I have found:
123dj.com
idjnow.com
Check those sites out. And u paid $4,500 for just your TT's, CDj's and mixer?? Must be some really good stuff. I paid a lil over $1,000 US for my powered speakers, about $80 for PCDJ software and like $100 on a mixer. I am now looking at lights myself and I can tell you with the venues I have been to, and the customers I have talked too, variety is better. This is the set-up I am looking at starting with: http://www.idjnow.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=SHOWMAKERPRO&SRCH_DESCRIPTION=&SRCH_MANUFACTURER=&SRCH_ID=&SRCH_CATEGORY=&PageNo=+2&RowCount=10
Designer
08-17-04, 08:58 PM
There are some really great packages that I have found:
123dj.com
idjnow.com
Check those sites out. And u paid $4,500 for just your TT's, CDj's and mixer?? Must be some really good stuff. I paid a lil over $1,000 US for my powered speakers, about $80 for PCDJ software and like $100 on a mixer. I am now looking at lights myself and I can tell you with the venues I have been to, and the customers I have talked too, variety is better. This is the set-up I am looking at starting with: http://www.idjnow.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=SHOWMAKERPRO&SRCH_DESCRIPTION=&SRCH_MANUFACTURER=&SRCH_ID=&SRCH_CATEGORY=&PageNo=+2&RowCount=10
Thats quite a good deal, I like the look of those Omega 2's. When you want to upgrade later just buy a Chauvet DMX50 controller and you've got programmable intelligent lights
Yea, well i think it was 4500 i dunno ay.. in Australia DJing is RIP-OFF
2 x technics 1200s
2 x cdj800's
1 x allen and heath xone 92?
Yea, my venues at the moment wouldnt know the difference between a flashlight gettin waved around to an intelligent light.
The audience is going to be basically drunk high schoolers - 17-20 years. They dont care about variety they just want bangn tunes they can dance to..
Rent the equipment for a little bit mayb?
Yeah renting is ok. But u have to charge enough to pay the bill and get what you are worth outta it too. As far as those high schoolers go, your right about cranking the jams, but just a simple set up at one of those sites I recommended will help u get more business which in turn, will pay for the lights.
oh yeah, Designer, the only problem with those omega 2's is the 10 second shut off, haven't found out yet if they have a duty cycle but then again, I haven't really looked either. :uhoh:
wiseguy
08-18-04, 03:58 PM
oh yeah, Designer, the only problem with those omega 2's is the 10 second shut off, haven't found out yet if they have a duty cycle but then again, I haven't really looked either. :uhoh:
What exactly does the 10 second cutoff do? I've never realy understood the concept.
DJNaviss
08-18-04, 04:28 PM
Wiseguy, I believe it mean's that if the unit isn't "working" or being used after 10 sec's.. It will go into such like a sleep mode, Where the light turn's off but the unit is still on, Until is is used again..
I believe it's just something to save the bulb....
But, Not to shure.
Designer
08-19-04, 12:49 AM
The duty cycle of a fixture dictates it's running time and rest time. American DJ fixtures are a good example, some fixtures can only be used for a period of 10 minutes and have to be switched off for 10 minutes to prevent overheating of the fixture.
The bulb saver is slightly different. With most fixtures that dont have a DMX channel for lamp striking/control they'll automatically turn the bulb off after 5-10 seconds if all DMX channel levels are 0 that are assigned to the fixture, or if you're running them linked with something like a CA-6 controller they'll go into standby only if the standby button is pressed and after the delay the lamp will switch off. This doesnt really matter too much as the switch on time is normally fairly quick for halogen/dichroic bulbs. :)
A good thing to note is that most Chauvet products don't have a duty cycle as most are very efficiently fan cooled and will run continuously :)
so Designer, those that I posted about, the Omega 2's, they don't have a duty cycle?? If that's the case, good deal...and the only time they will shut off is if they are not "working".
Designer
08-20-04, 03:19 AM
Don't hold me to it, check with an authorised Chavet dealer on that one but i'm pretty sure they don't have a duty cycle, i've never actually seen a chauvet effect recently that does
vBulletin® v3.6.8, Copyright ©2000-2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.