Elation Professional’s (also known as Elation Lighting) World Headquarters is located in Los Angeles. They’ve been producing innovative products since 1992 and are part of the American DJ group of companies. LED fixtures, like washes and spots, have been around the market for a while, but not LED moving BEAM fixtures. Today, we have the pleasure of taking a look in and around Elation’s newest product.
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The Dartz 360 is a new LED moving head beam fixture. Compact in size, but fully loaded with features including 15 static stamped metal gobos, additive color mixing, motorized focus, variable linear frost and six & eight-facet rotatable prisms. Elation Professional sums it up by calling it a, “compact precise 360° pan/tilt moving beam luminaire.”
Replacing lamps is not necessary in this fixture, as the source is a custom-built Appotronics 50-watt RGB LED engine that is patent pending. It was purposely designed for this beam luminaire. At 12 meters, the output measures 9,330 lux and at five meters, 61,300 lux. The engine comes with a life expectancy rating of 30,000 hours (average), but according to their data sheet, LED life may vary depending on several factors including environmental conditions, power/voltage, usage patterns (on-off cycling), control, and dimming.
Bulls Eye
The Dartz 360 contains two key features that expand its capabilities beyond a beam luminaire, that’s focus and frost. At any time, the variable linear frost can be applied to the beam path to remove the hard edges. Adjusting the motorized focus further softens and expands the beam. With the engine being comprised of red, green, and blue emitters, color mixing is electronic, ideal for instantaneous changes and color strobing. To give you a feel for the hue of the colored emitters, red is blood orange, green is chroma green screen, and blue is bright R383.
Inside is a static stamped metal gobo wheel with 15 different patterns. Ranging from breakups, geometric shapes, and four aperture reducers, the gobo set should be received well by all types of lighting designers. Although they do not rotate, you can add the six-facet (linear) and/or eight-facet prisms along with rotation and create movement. Or morph between the two!
Select a Game
Elation has given users a few control options to keep things simple and flexible. First, you can select 19-channel (basic), 22-channel (standard), or 25-channel (extended) operating modes. Basic mode is 8-bit attribute control, while standard mode adds 16-bit “fine” control to pan/tilt, and extended mode adds 16-bit “fine” control to color channels. The fixture has a great set of connections to utilize including 3- and 5-pin XLRs, network RJ-45 in/out, and PowerCon True1 in/out. When using the network, sACN, Art-Net, and Kling-Net are available.
Dartz 360 comes with Elation’s built-in E-Fly wireless DMX transceiver, which can wirelessly receive or transmit to/from other fixtures. There is a small antenna near the right handle that is hinged and should be deployed when this feature is being used. The operating mode can be setup with the on-board color display and adjacent buttons (up, down, left, right, enter, mode), which actually are touch sensitive but not push-to-click buttons. It can be flipped 180° and has a built in battery, so it can be addressed without powering on the fixture. From the home screen, you can see the address and operating “user” mode clearly. Techs will surely approve.
The 16-bit continuous 360° pan and tilt are smooth and accurate. The speed of the pan and tilt are fast! If you are running movement effects, the fixture is quick to respond and change direction. The fixture can be rigged up, down, or side using the omega bracket, which attaches to the fixture with quarter turn captive finger screws or sit the fixture on the floor on its rubber feet.
Both dimming and strobe are electronic. The dimming curve was smooth and faded out all the way to 0%. The strobe flashes at a maximum 25Hz (times per second) or can pulse or be set to a random flash pattern.
Corkboard
Elation’s fixture is well suited for numerous applications including clubs, smaller concerts, theaters, dance, churches, and bars. But it doesn’t stop there. It is also ready for TV and movies with flicker free operation and adjustable refresh rates (900-25,000 Hz). Further, it has adjustable gamma brightness (2.0, 2.2, 2.4, 2.8) to add to its offering of camera readiness. What is gamma brightness you ask? Good question. It’s a dimmer curve modification that better corresponds dimmer value to brightness. In other words, it adjusts the brightness for what the camera sees rather than the human eye.
The plethora of discharge beam fixtures on the market all come with restrictions for use. Specifically, the minimum distance of illuminated objects and from flammable materials. One fixture even says the minimum distance is 59 feet! None of those absurd restrictions exist with this unit. Only a five-foot requirement, so it works safely in venues with low trim or near soft goods like a cyclorama or nylon round slings.
Straight Shooter
The Dartz 360 weighs in at 28 pounds, consumes 154 (max) watts of power, contains an auto-ranging 100-240VAC power supply, and pan/tilt locks. Its plastic covers have a smooth matte black finish, the same as the Platinum series of fixtures. Users should have peace of mind knowing it comes with a two-year warranty.
Small, fast, colorful, and punchy all describe this new fixture. Packed with a comprehensive feature-set, advanced optics, patent pending LED engine, and an attractive price tag, Elation Professional’s Dartz 360 will surely be a top pick for lighting professionals.
At a Glance
Compact and Versatile
Elation’s Dartz 360 is a compact sized moving beam luminaire. Output is generated from a 50-watt RGB LED engine. The bright beam comes through a precise 3° aperture and large front lens. The fixture is a blend of versatility and illumination filling in rigs that require short-to-medium throws with the benefits of a long lasting LED source.
Elation Dartz 360
- PROS: RGB LED source, 30,000-hour life, LED beam fixture with 15 gobos, continuous pan/tilt, fast movements
- CONS: No zoom
FEATURES
- 50-watt RGB LED engine
- 3° Beam aperture
- Motorized focus
- 15 static stamped metal gobos
- 6 and 8-facet bidirectional rotating prisms
- Variable linear frost
- Electronic shutter/strobe
- Electronic dimming (multiple curves to choose from)
- Color display w/ battery backup
STATS
- Size: 17.9” x 7.7” x 11.2” (HxWxD)
- Weight: 28.0 lbs.
- Wattage: 154 (Max)
- Voltage: 100-240, 50/60Hz (Auto-ranging)
- MSRP: $2,000
- Manufacturer: Elation Professional
- More Info: www.elationlighting.com
- Demo Video: www.plsn.me/E-Dartz
Note: In the coming weeks, be on the lookout for Elation Professional to upload numerous Dartz 360 resources to their website including photometric data, DMX charts, user manual, CAD drawings, and Vectorworks symbols –ed.
