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Recommendation sought : LED uplights?
I would like to purchase a suitable set of LED lights to be used in an uplighting configuration on black draped backgrounds. It’s the usual thing – throw colored beams of light upwards to add definition and interest.
I’ve previously used tungsten open-faced and fresnel lights with blue effect gels to accomplish this, but as you know – this is an inherently inefficient way to go (a lot of amps and heat expended).
I’m currently evaluating several units from our local music store – Mega QA Par38 and Mega Tri64 (both American DJ branded) and the larger Slim Bank TRI-18 by Chauvet.
It occurs to me that dimming control would be a smart feature to include. Only the Chauvet of the three I have tested has this feature built right into it’s menus.
Do you have recommendations on best LED units to look at? In terms of projected beam strength, I think we’ll always be looking at interior interview-type scenes, pipe-and-drape black backdrops – meaning there will be very little competitive light coming from other sources. I am waiting to hear back on whether the smaller PAR units can be dimmed via DMX control, and if so, how complex that becomes (I have no prior experience at DMX protocols).
Thanks much.
Grant.
Grant Peacock
Grant Peacock Images
Washington DC
http://www.gpi.tv -
1 Reply
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The DMX dimming thing is easy. BUT. Bring your camera to the demos and see if the units being dimmed emit a flicker. I didn’t check that out when I got my PAR can, which was going to be used for lots of color washes. In 24P mode, with and without dimmer, the flicker was very obvious and made the shots unusable. Not sure clear-scan can even fix this.
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