Dave Roberts, LD of The Radius Group, points to “the field spread,” which “does not fall off when you go from spot to flood,” an advantage for designers who are always dealing with varying trim heights and zoom adjustments for coverage.
“Corporate theater events require the design of slow, graceful, sweeping effects with subtle color rolls that need to be seamless one minute, and then break into flash and trash rock ‘n’ roll looks the next,” Roberts adds, noting that the ZFX is up to the task.
Another believer is Mike Lehrman of Innovative Concert Lighting, who put the fixtures through their paces on a 10-hour chase alongside fixtures of comparable size and features at their facility in Bakersfield, CA.
“The Elation Wash ZFXs took that chase beating and were ready to go on a show,” he says. “Not only were they bright as, or brighter than, the other lights in the shootout, I found their color temperature to be consistent too.”
Another shootout at Staging Directions in Atlanta included the Platinum Wash ZFX, Platinum LED Wash Zoom and a Vari*Lite VL2500 Spot fixture. A light meter documented only a 10-footcandle difference between the hard-edge VL and ZFX at a 35-foot distance.
The boost in output from the HO lens optics was also apparent when comparing the ZFX to the older generation Platinum LED Wash Zoom fixture, which registered only about half of the ZFX’s output.
While each of the 19 LEDs only draw 10W of power, the fixture has also been credited for a “truer” white than other LED fixture options, and its output is comparable to that from a 700W instrument. It is also fast and quiet, and the zoom train is capable of a range from 9° to 21°.
Out of the Box
The first thing I noticed when I took the fixture out of the box was the fixture’s impressive build quality, though I did find the “ears” on the clamps a bit thin. And there is absolutely no wasted real estate in the fixture’s compact, 33-pound design.
The full-color touch screen menu is clearly readable and intuitive; a simple touch flips the display to correct orientation.
The fixture’s 19 LEDs are grouped into three zones. Zone one consists of one LED, dead center. Zone two has six LEDs surrounding that, and zone three is comprised of the remaining 12 LEDs on the perimeter. And with Quad RGBW, there are plenty of chase effect options.
The fixture’s programming options include a stand-alone mode with built-in programming — which is fine for simple operations. But for anything more complex, I prefer to do the programming on a console and upload it to the fixture. Slave mode is another good option if you want several fixtures to do the same thing.
A nice new feature is a DC switch that, when held down, activates the menu window, giving the user access for addressing. This is great for prep or pre-hang, when power may not be available. PowerCon connectors and auto-switching supplies are prevalent enough these days to warrant industry standard status. This fixture has both. Pan movement has a maximum range of 640°. The tilt arc is 265°. Both moves can go from zero to max in 2 seconds or less.
Hibernation and Presets
The hibernation, or “self preservation” mode, powers down all fixture functions to standby when DMX is not present for more than 15 minutes — particularly useful for permanent installations and rehearsal applications.
The unit can be set to basic (20 channel), standard (32 channel) or extended mode (42 channel). The basic mode eliminates the ability to break the LED arrays into zones, but does retain the color macros and color presets. The built-in macros help cut down a bit of programming time due to fewer keystrokes.
The color presets are helpful — you can lay in color balance from 2700K to 8000k. You can also choose among natural white, full white and about two-dozen other preset options.
The standard mode enables the zone arrays on the ZFX but strips out fine adjustments; the extended mode adds back in all the fine adjustments. All in all, it’s a small, bright, fast, quiet and energy-efficient addition to Elation’s moving head arsenal. MSRP: $5,599.95.
More information at www.elationlighting.com.
