# LED stageworthy spotlight



## maxxsounds (Mar 14, 2012)

Hi, first post, longtime lurker.

I am looking for a high output led spotlight for a bar band. The light would run on 110 vac and be zoomable and color changeable. The followspot is usually 60-75 feet from the stage.

I have been using a "super trouper" 2000 watt xenon followspot. It sucks a lot of power and is very heavy. Any ideas? thanks in advance.


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## AnAppleSnail (Mar 14, 2012)

I love those big xenon lights, but they're heavy and a half. I've seen some amazing things done with Mac 10000s. What's your budget, though? To match that output you're looking at a big expensive LED unit. I don't know if such things are made, but they'd be thousands of dollars. This really might be a better question among techheads in stage/lighting design, as they know the equipment and how to use it together.

The spotlight you have controls the color with a color wheel. LED output has a shortage of red and green photons, so filtering a white LED will be dim on those colors. RGB LED units exist, but I've only seen washes built that way, with a RGBW array inside the unit and a lens to project a fairly broad wash instead of a spot.

Further points: Is photography or videography important? In a bar I'd guess not, but shooting under RGB light makes slight ghosty blurs as the Red, Green, and Blue components focus differently in the camera optics.


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## LEDninja (Mar 15, 2012)

:welcome:

I doubt you will find what you are looking for at this time (maybe in another 5 years).

You buy a 2D plastic flashlight for $1-$5. You get 20 lumens. You come to CPF and buy a smaller 2AA or a tiny CR123A flashlight and you get 200 lumens. Wow 10X brighter.

You are using a 2000W xenon spotlight. That is 30,000 lumens. The brightest LED right now is the SST-90 at 3000 lumens. Oh dear 1/10X dimmer.

There are additional difficulties in making a zoom LED spotlight.
- Xenon bulbs do not mind running hot. 3500°K is standard for studios. LEDs smoke at 120°C. So you need a big fan cooled heat sink.
- Xenon bulbs can be designed to work at 115V or 230V AC or DC. LEDs work at 3.5V DC. Now you need a 500W power supply. And heat sink.
- Multiple LEDs are possible. But coordinating the zoom is difficult. These are used in fixed focus wall washers.
- LEDs are usually rectangular in shape. This means a square beam, not a round one when focussed tightly.

All is not lost. Luminus has an LED 4X brighter than the SST-90. That brings the light level to ~500W Xenon. By using quantum dot based phosphors another doubling of lumens is possible (but you only get red green and blue).
The added complexity and cost of LED cooling and DC power supply would slow LED follow spot development for an item with a not too big market.


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## Norm (Mar 15, 2012)

Moved to Special-Application-Lighting - Norm


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## maxxsounds (Mar 15, 2012)

Thanks guys,

This super trooper is 5600 k. definately has a blue tint to it when running n/c (no color). Dims considerably when gels are added. The congo blue gel has only an 18% light transmission factor.


I'll fire it up during rehearsals upon occasion when security comes in the club with "the latest, brightest, biggest flashlight in the world" They just shake their heads and walk away.


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## maxxsounds (Mar 15, 2012)

AnAppleSnail said:


> What's your budget?
> 
> Further points: Is photography or videography important? In a bar I'd guess not, but shooting under RGB light makes slight ghosty blurs as the Red, Green, and Blue components focus differently in the camera optics.



Budget would be around $1000.00, max $2,000.00. It would have to be worth it though. As in: less power consumption, lighter weight, smaller size etc. etc.
There are photographs taken regularly.


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## AnAppleSnail (Mar 15, 2012)

maxxsounds said:


> Budget would be around $1000.00, max $2,000.00. It would have to be worth it though. As in: less power consumption, lighter weight, smaller size etc. etc.
> There are photographs taken regularly.


I don't think there's anything on the market that will match that light with LED output. In a few years, maybe.


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