Besides visiting with and getting my shiny new A Theatre Project book signed by Richard Pilbrow, today was another jam-packed day on the show floor.  I found myself intrigued by the BrickBlaster Pro by The Black Tank.  While the fixture itself has been out for awhile, it has some nice upgrades.  For those unfamiliar with these little gems they are 4″ cubes that are 50w of power, and come in a variety of combinations: WNC (Warm/Neutral/Cool White, with an output of 3110 lumens), UV Blacklight (output of 6,660 mW), and RGBW (1200 lumens).  48 of them can run off of a single 20A circuit, and beam angles are quickly changed via a front lens plate.  They operate flicker free, so they are great for film needs, and can be re-configured by ganging them together, and can hang via yoke or track mount.  They are available individually or bundled in 2, 4, or 8 packs.  The 4 and 8 packs have an option of a case, which has laser cut foam inserts for a perfect fit, and the case itself is water tight.  They don’t daisy chain (they are only 4″ cubed after all!) but they pack quite a punch.

Also interesting are “wire free” LED fixtures (by Wire-free LED) which are battery operated and some which are controllable via built in wirelessDMX.  With an operating time of 8 hours, many in the event industry will find this to fit their needs.  They have an option of coming in a road case that holds 6, complete with wired charging station (and it is recommended by the company that they remain charging when not in use).  They come in a variety of color options: RGB, RGBA, TruWhite, and the integrated Wireless varieties come in RGB and RGBA.

I think I found out about that S.T.I.C.K. remote that Justin wrote about in September.  But that will have to wait for another time, after I review the literature and notes from their booth.

Down at the LEDSource and Coemar booths we found the Reflection Series LEDko.  Winner of the PLASA 2010 award for innovation, these fixtures boast a homogeneous light beam, no multicolored shadows, no pixels or dots, 16-bit dimming with a range of dimming curves, and DMX controllable LED frequency from 500-5000 Hz.  The optics can be changed by swapping lens tubes, which come in a Soft Profile Fresnel option, a Soft Profile PC option, and a Profile Zoom 28-40 degree HD option.  The Reflection LEDko engine is also compatible with third party lens tubes such as the Source Four originals and EDLTs.  The FullSpectrum engine supports RGBW or CMY color mixing, and all whites from 3200K to 9000K.  The VariWhite engine color mixes from 3000k to 7000k, and there is an additional White engine that produces 3200k.  With a price around $2000 for each engine and $500 for each of the optics, this series has the potential to offer a great degree of flexibility for those who can afford to make the jump.  To also assist in this, they offer an ROI analysis for theatres.  Something definitely worth inquiring about if you are looking to do a major inventory change.  If you are ready to take the LEDko challenge, enter to win a prize package valued over $20k on their facebook page.

Chauvet (who’s theme this year was “Caution: Lighting is Infectious”) is really growing on me: not only in their full sized fixtures but also in their wee-little ones.  As an educator, I’m always looking for small fixtures that demonstrate concepts and ideas but that must also fit into a compact light lab space.  The LFS-5 LED Framing Spot can fit the bill for that type of application (as well as many others).  Small and light (at just 12.7 x 8 x 9 inches and 3.2 lbs) this 23 watt white LED fixture includes framing shutters, a quick and easy zoom ranging from 16-24 degrees, four gobos and the option to daisy chain power.  At $299.99 this will be nice for small spaces.  Chauvet also has an entry into the world of wirelessDMX LED fixtures known as the “Freedom” series of fixtures.  And Chauvet won the LDI award for best large booth! (it was a spider, an Infectious spider… see below)