IPSWITCH, U.K. – Eclipse Sound & Light owner Andy Collins, who has been using various PR Lighting products since he set up his sales and rental company back in 2003, recently ordered a number of PR's new XLED 590s after putting a trial pair loaned by UK distributors MilTec (UK) through their paces during a fireworks display last year. The fixtures, each with 90 5W RGB LEDs, were anything but a dud, according to Collins. They incorporate Osram's Diamond Dragon LEDs, which are rated among the world's brightest single-chip SMT LEDs. Along with their ability to burn bright, also promised to burn long, with an average lamp life of 100,000 hours.
But Collins was soon delving deeper into the luminaire's functions, and it was then that he realized the advantages offered by the four preset fixed color temperatures.
For the fireworks event in Ipswich's Christchurch Park, attended by 50,000, "we had them on either side of a 40-foot-by-30-foot stage for a Michael Jackson tribute act. The color wash we got was fantastic. We generally use PAR cans, but matched the white light of the pars with these incredible color washes – and we also used them as stage blinders, which produced an excellent effect. For the final number, "Thriller," we had them on their own strobing – and they lit the entire stage up."
The product loan turned into a sale – and by New Year's Eve, Collins was glad he had made the commitment. "We were contracted to put a sound and lighting system into a local hotel for 12 dates with various tribute bands, in conjunction with local radio station Town 102. Unfortunately there wasn't much power on site – just a single 32A three-phase supply, so we could only put in a few PAR cans for the white light effects."
This is where the different color temperature presets of the XLED 590s came to his aid, Collins said. "The LEDs produce an extremely bright white light, but using the color temperature presets, we could match the whites exactly to those of the PAR cans," he noted. Controlled from an Avolites Azure desk, he was impressed also by the response time of the fixtures.
PR Lighting says the XLED 590's output is comparable to that from a 1200W discharge lamp, and has advantages in terms of color mixing and high uniformity of the white beam. The standard beam angle is 22,° but 10° and 35° options are also available. The fixture also comes with 10 preset fixed colors. Other features include smooth dimming, strobe from 1-25 fps; 540° pan movement and 270° of tilt.
"On top of the features, the XLED 590s are also easy to rig because they are so light – weighing just 11kg," Collins said. "It's a one person job to hang them on a free-standing truss using the supplied brackets, which are really secure and just clip straight on. It couldn't be easier."
Collins also noted that "these washlights come in their own flights case – and I can't find a bad word to say about them. In fact, since we do a lot of outdoor events, providing our own power, we no longer have to take 60kVA generator – we can now run it down to the 20kVA."
For more information, please visit www.pr-lighting.com.
