moving head light

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prodjay

prodjay

DJ Extraordinaire
Dec 13, 2009
1,103
560
Bossier, Louisiana
If you were going to buy 2 moving heads, which would you buy?

Would you take a chance on any of the Chinese made units?

What is most important feature you would look for? ( bright, weight, )
 
I guess I'd start by making sure I was ready to invest a LOT of time with software DMX programming to make use of them.
 
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prodjay said:
Yes I'm aware of the time it will take and as a note I have some experience with DMX programming from my concert days.

Hey don't you have some moving heads?
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I have some small Blizzard Flurries running in sound active master/slave .. not very bright or thrilling. Taso probably has the most experience, but Ross and a few others might comment on the current lights out there.
 
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I use elation platinum spot 5r's... I honestly haven't seen anything come close to its capabilities... but at nearly $2000 a head and their need for a lot of power (bad idea if you work in areas without multiple circuits). I've owned them since 2012... have 6 of em and still get people blown away by how capable they are. Videographers love them bc they have 2 different color whites... a cool white and warm white, so for those that prefer to shoot naturally, the warm white is best.

Ideally, if this is truly an investment, I would stay away from chinese lights... the optics and internals arent as good. I'd look for lights that have at least a 90w LED if you're not gonna do halogen bulbs. Have a warm white and cool white option, and a spot and frost effect (that forst/wash effect is very useful to me for moments during the dancing that don't require lights to be moving like slow dances, where i blanket the dancefloor in a blue or pink wash). Fast smooth movements are good to have especially if you play a lot of school or teen events with high energy club music.

In the LED spectrum, I believe chauvet came out with a light with all those capabilities for around $1000-1200 I believe.
 
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prodjay said:
Does size and weight make much difference?
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I would think that typically the bigger the head the bigger the beam spread, and the more features and capabilites. Those little "mini" heads are garbage in comparison to the full size heads. But again it comes down to budget and transportation. I bought cheap chauvet 60w led moving heads thinking they'd be awesome... didn't even have them 6 months before realizing they just weren't cutting it for my events and the quality I was ultimately aiming for. Mine weigh around 29lbs each... but with a hard road case, and 2 heads in each... thats almost 120lbs that we're carrying/rolling
 
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I LOVE the moving heads, and I want some REALLY badly, but it's like Taso said, you need lotsa watts, lots of power and lotsa money (paraphrasing).[emoji1] Also, as one who works alone, I just don't need more stuff to set up.[emoji4]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Check out the video linked to below which showcases what a newer technology 60 watt mover (Chauvet Intimidator 255 IRC) looks like with twice the output of the old Chauvet Q-Spot 260 LED movers Taso used to use. The first little bit of the video shows them in a full daylight setting with all the house lights set to in a venue with 60 foot ceilings and floor to ceiling windows right behind my set-up! If you skip through the video, you can see the HUGE windows and you can also see the room going from very bright to dark as the evening progresses.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8olV5NWUzbE
 
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Just looking at
Chauvet DJ Intimidator Hybrid 140SR Effect Light

Is this too bright? Is there such a thing? Also kinda wondering about the stand alone programs on these fixtures. Do they have any good medium-speed scan programs that alternate gobos? My intimidator flat mirrors all either go too slow or way too fast. There's in in between.
 
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rickryan.com said:
Does anybody want to recommend some 90-watt LED movers (or stronger)?
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I am also looking for something in the 90-watt range, I have found some but either they are too heavy or from a source I'm not sure about.

I have a friend that hooked me up with his China source and the seem like a good place to buy some, but the only ones they offer in that wattage, weight about 33 lbs.

If I go any higher on the watts, i'm afraid I will have problems providing enough power for both sound and lights. I am trying to put together a sound and light show that I can take to any venue and run on only one circuit.
 
DOnt go chinese for something that'll be a focal point of your presentation. Optics, reliability, and motors are crucial. It's not like an uplight where you have 20 of them so if one goes down no one notices or only $200 to replace.
Also don't sacrifice quality for the very few venues that only offer one circuit. How many venues have you actually been to that only have one circuit in the entire premises? I bring 500ft of extension cords just in case I have to go searching.
 
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djtaso said:
How many venues have you actually been to that only have one circuit in the entire premises?
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Several this year, in my area the Brides are have there weddings at BARNS, just this year I have seen 7 new barn venues and most of them are just converted barns with little to no thought about the electric.

I will not run cords in places that could create a trip hazard.
 
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prodjay said:
I will not run cords in places that could create a trip hazard.
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Run extension cords along the wall and use enough gaff to keep the cord snug against the wall. Just a little extra work unless you have a back like mine.

Just a couple of years ago DJs were happy with 60 watt moving heads. I guess you have to determine how bright they really have to be and what your budget is.

Most lighting is made in China. Buying direct from China probably isn't a good idea though. What's the shipping cost if you have to return them?
 
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