While walking through LDI, we stopped in at a diversified booth that showed us some great gear originating from Spain. WorkPro, Equipson and Gamma LED Vision shared a booth that offered a bit of everything from moving lights, to truss, to lifters, to LED displays to consoles. We caught up with the rep from Gamma to show us what was garnering the most attention at their booth this year. Turns out people kept inquiring about their latest IP65-rated LED Par.
Gamma LED Vision is a wholesaler, importer and exporter for LED lighting, LED displays, truss and staging with a U.S. office in Miami. The company is made up of people with 20 years of experience in the live and installation markets. They specialize in fixtures for the entertainment industry and offer a line of their own movers and various LED Pars. Their new popular LED Par is called the ECON, and it drew a lot of attention at LDI for its stealth look as well as its IP rating and wireless capabilities.
When it comes to LED Pars, there are many similarities, so the end user really has to consider the best option for their own use. Will it mostly be used on tour, at an architectural installation, or packed in road cases destined for any and all events that cross the lighting company’s path for years to come? How’s the color saturation? Is it made of sturdy construction? How bright are the LEDs? Will it break down when it rains? How do I get it signal? Does it have batteries? Well, we’re here to explain that this Battery option, IP65, six 18W, 6-in-1 LED fixture ticks all the right boxes if these are concerns of yours.
The Hardware
The fixture has a stealth look to it with a round face that holds a protective piece of clear material in front of the six 18-watt LED cells. Around the front circumference is a 12-sided frame that protects the fixture and makes it easy for a technician to focus. The ECON weighs less than 10 pounds and is made from high-strength, die-cast aluminum with all the guts sealed tightly in a weather-resistant package.
The rear of the fixture extends back another eight inches to hold the internal power supply, which will draw just over 100 watts of power with all colors at full. Centered on the side is a double yoke attached with a T-Handle to tighten. The double yoke can act as a standalone floor stand. One yoke slides inside the other as well should the user wish to attach a clamp for hanging. There is no gel frame or holder for a frost filter to diffuse or concentrate the beam.
The flat circular back of the fixture features a Seetronic twist lock water-tight connector for feeding 90-240 volts in. A power switch on the back lets the fixture know how you intend to power the device. There are sealed slots to plug in 5-pin XLR connectors should one decide to hard wire the fixture. The AC cable, along with a remote control comes with the fixture. One may have to hunt and peck to figure out how to set the fixture up to take DMX, but the manual explains it easily enough. The fixture can also be set to run by itself or through the remote control, which was used to demonstrate the fixture to me at LDI.
If one chooses to use the internal battery, it’s fairly simple to set up. Should the operator want to run all the colors at full (the most powerful white) the lamp will stay at full for more than four hours. If only one color of the LED is used on auto run, that time span can expand to 16 hours.
The Beam, Source and Control
The fixture can be run from wired DMX or in standalone mode, master and slave mode, or wirelessly from its remote. It’s even got a sound activation mode. The remote takes a few minutes to master, but it is basic and simple to use.
The native beam angle is 40° due to the reflector inside each 6-in-1 cell. While this may be considered a medium flood wash for a tungsten Par, the light gives out a smooth, even wash, desirable for bathing a stage or the side of a building with light. It was bright enough to see the beam reflect off the ceiling of the convention center. (When viewing this fixture at the trade show, I wasn’t carrying my meter and did not get an accurate reading of foot candles.)
The 6-in-1 cells include red, green, blue, white, amber and UV chips, sourced from China. Playing with the fixture, I am able to easily mix saturated or pastel colors of any tone. The amber and white cells can easily mix a variety of CTO colors, though there is no way to add CTO to the overall color temperature of any prerecorded color. Keep in mind this fixture was not designed for use with cameras. It’s more suitable as a quick well wash for trees or stage wash for clubs and theaters.
The fixture can run in basic mode with just six DMX channels — one channel for each color — as in old-style LED control that anyone can figure out. There is also a 10-channel mode which gives users a virtual master dimmer, a master strobe channel (with eight separate prearranged speeds), a function select channel and a channel to control the speed of these functions. When talking of functions, this channel can select one of 15 prerecorded colors, set the color changing to happen via a snap, gradual fade or pulse change. This channel can also activate the sound control when placed at full. The strobe channel adjusts the rates from slow to fast.
The wireless IRC remote works with an infrared signal beamed to the fixtures. I found that the remote works in a series of steps, as opposed to gradually setting increments of DMX on an encoder wheel. For instance, when I want to adjust the brightness of the fixture, I hit the brightness button once and it bumps it up to a 10 percent glow. Each consecutive button press brings the fixture up in 10 percent increments. The way one can adjust color saturation, fade times and strobe speeds is similar, although the color works in 20 percent increments. By the fifth button push, you will be at full saturation of whichever color you have chosen. Pressing it a sixth time returns the value back to 0. The strobe channel offers eight rates.
There is an auto mode on the product, should one decide to just set some preset macros and let the fixture go by itself. I simply press “AUTO” on the remote then roam through the range of options from slow color fades to eye candy bursts of color — and those are just some of the options offered.
At a Glance
Ticking the Right Boxes
Gamma LED Vision’s ECON fixture is an IP65-rated LED par with a battery option and six 18W, 6-in-1 LEDs. The internal power supply draws over 100W with all colors at full, allowing for more than four hours of use, or 16 hours if only one color is used. Weighing in at 10 pounds, this fixture comes packed with an array of control options and functions, ticking the boxes needed to wash a large area with color while being able to withstand the elements.
Gamma LED Vision ECON
PROS: RGBWAU color mixing offers great color saturation and pastels as well as skin tones. Aesthetically pleasing to look at. Easy to recharge with plenty of battery life. Remote wireless or hard wire options available.
CONS: Only comes with a 40° beam with no zoom option.
SPECS
- Light source: Six 6in1 LED cells
- Color: RGBWAUV
- Beam Angle: 40°
- Wattage: 110 watts
- Weight: 10 lbs.
- Size: 8” x 8” x 10”
- Material: Die cast aluminum
- DMX Channels: 6 or 10
- Control: DMX or Wireless remote
Manufacturer/Importer: Gamma LED Vision
More Info: www.gammaledvision.com
