For the past few years, lighting designers have been in search of a light that is an all-around workhorse — able to do almost anything they ask while still being lightweight, compact and LED-based. Rental houses want what the LDs want, too, of course — with the added requirements that the fixtures be easy to maintain, comparable to a 250W discharge fixture and — oh yeah — offered at an affordable price.
The Ideal Fixture
Imagine how simple it would be if there was an affordable fixture that could do it all. The “Gear” listings in PLSN’s “Production Profile,” “Designer Insights” and “Showtime” features would be very short. There would simply be that one fixture listed; only the quantities would change, depending on the size and complexity of the show or tour.
But there will always be specific fixtures for specific applications and requirements. Need a wash light? Get a wash light. Need something to project a pattern? Get yourself a profile with gobo capabilities. It’s not really that complicated, at the end of the day, for designers and rental houses to deal with more than one fixture type.
The Rogue Series
Chauvet’s Rogue isn’t a fixture — it’s a series of fixtures: the R1 Spot, R1 Beam, R2 Spot and the R2 Beam. The name might throw you. I got the “Spot” and “Beam” part, but R1 and R2? At first I thought maybe that referred to a type of lamp, but that wasn’t the case. The fixtures that do use a metal halide lamp in the Rogue Series uses the Osram Sirius lamp. When you start to dive into what each of the fixtures can do, you begin to understand the similarities — but big differences — between the R1 and R2, for both the Spot and Beam variants.
R1 & R2 Spot
The Spots in the Rogue series meet the need among rental houses looking to replace conventional fixtures in the 250W range with newer LED alternatives. Rental houses love these types of fixtures because they can meet an existing need while offering more features than the fixtures they replace, making it unlikely that they will collect dust on the shelf.
The R1 Spot uses a 140W LED that has a 16.5° beam angle. For color, it has an 8-color wheel that also allows for split colors. Chauvet also included two gobo wheels: a 7-slot-plus-open rotating and interchangeable wheel and an 8-slot-plus-open fixed position wheel. For more options, a 3-facet prism is incorporated along with motorized iris and focus.
Not surprisingly, the R2 Spot offers a few more options for lighting designers than the R1. The R2 Spot has an upgraded 240W LED lamp source and expands the range of color possibilities with an additional color wheel that has 7 slots plus open. The R2 Spot also has that same number of gobos across the two similar wheels and the same 16.5° beam angle. Also like the R1, the R2 has a three facet rotating prism, motorized focus and iris control. The R2 also includes a frost filter.
R1 & R2 Beam
Chauvet Professional’s Rogue Series Beam fixtures, like the Spots, include a slightly richer feature set with the R2. Neither comes with an LED light source. As with any beam-type fixtures, LEDs still don’t provide the ample output that LDs are looking for — at least not yet, anyway. That, of course, could change.
The Rogue R1 Beam uses the Osram Sirius 132W HRI lamp to produce 78,700 lux at 15 meters and a 1° beam angle. For beam diameter and aerial effects, the R1 Beam has a stamped gobo wheel with 17 slots plus open. For more aerial magic, Chauvet included two prisms, a five facet and 8 facet prisms that are individually controllable and layerable. For color, the R1 Beam has a single color wheel with 14 colors that can produce split colors and well color scrolling based on spin speed of the wheel.
The R2 Beam has a brighter lamp, an Osram Sirius 230W HRI lamp. It produces 133,200 lux at 15 meters. All of the other features are basically the same between them. The key difference is in the prisms. The R2 only features one, an eight facet prism. An added feature is the ability to zoom the prism for additional aerial effects.
Divide and Conquer
While it’s not unusual for lighting manufacturers to offer separate beam and spot fixtures with similar-sounding names, you might ask yourself why Chauvet Professional would opt to offer a pair of both types of moving light fixtures, expecially when the R1 and R2 Spot and Beam fixtures have so much in common. Wouldn’t it be better to simply drop the R1s in favor of the full-featured R2s? The problem with that approach is that, for smaller spaces, the R1s might be a better fit, and if the R2s might also work, why pay for extra features and lamp output if it’s not something you truly need?
At a Glance
Filling Niches at a Competitive Price
Until someone comes up with a single fixture that can do it all – without breaking the bank – designers will be including different types of niche-filling fixtures in their rigs. Chauvet Professional’s Rogue Series includes the R1 Spot, R1 Beam, R2 Spot and R2 Beam.
Rogue Series from Chauvet Professional
- Pros: Both Beam fixtures perform nicely for aerial effects. The R2 Spot is noticeably brighter than the R1 Spot, which is better suited to smaller venues.
- Cons: No Rogue Wash fixtures yet! Although who knows what’s up Chauvet’s sleeve? We are, after all, going into trade show season.*
Price (MSRP):
- Rogue R2 Spot: $2,549.99
- Rogue R1 Spot: $1,599.99
- Rogue R2 Beam: $2,659.99
- Rogue R1 Beam: $1,999.99
Manufacturer: Chauvet Professional
More Info: www.chauvetlighting.com
PLSN editor Justin Lang’s video introduction to the Rogue series is at www.plsn.me/1uHMWR3
*Weeks after this review was printed, Chauvet Professional introduced their new Rogue R1 and R2 Wash fixtures.
For more details, CLICK HERE:
