From The Horse's Mouth

I just read with great interest an article where some well known NYC designers were discussing the new lighting tools that are available. There was an interesting thread of concern that I noticed. When you dim LED sources, they loose the warmth that an incandescent source (amber or red shift) had. As I pondered this, I realized that it seems that the arts and entertainment lighting designers have very different priorities that any single current LED source unit will not solve. In the “good ol’ days” we could light just about anything with a PAR can, ellipsoidal, Fresnel, striplight or scooplight. The common denominator in these fixtures is the incandescent lamp that was in the 2300 to 2600 degree color temperature range. The rock and roll designer could crank up the lumens and be quite happy. The higher end theatrical or opera designer had the same capability but could also drop the intensity down to give the rich, warm glow that an interior scene might need. On the other hand, the low end small theatre lighting designer could buy R40 floods and clip lights to create enough light for any given scene.

I am fascinated by the melding of art and technology. Working for a manufacturer, I often ask designers what they want in fixtures. They love the “any color I can dream up” in LED fixtures. As well, the powering of an entire electric with one cable and daisy chained DMX control. BUT when they dim the lights down for a subtle warm scene, things get tricky. Apollo has a Spotlight Profile Zoom that uses a 50 watt LED source. This unit has GREAT intensity that is brighter than it’s 300 watt incandescent brother. We are offering the fixture in 3 different color temperatures, 5700, 4000, and 3000 degrees. This will give you subtle warms for matching incandescent sources and also allow you to match cooler fluorescent or daylight color temps. However, it won’t be able to match the reddening of the lamp when dimmed. These are concerns that come with the new technology along with abrupt fade outs as the LEDs don’t have cooling filaments. “Fader lag” is also something that makes a design look and feel different. Will LED sources replace incandescent sources in entertainment? YES, in some cases where brightness and flash are the goal. I truly feel that incandescent sources will still be around for many years whether it is because of the cheaper cost of the fixtures and lamps or because they have certain characteristics that are desirable in low light scenes. As we all stand back and watch the technologies evolve, we need to keep asking for the stars, the moon, and the sky until those dreams are met BUT be ready to wait a bit as these new technologies catch up to what you want.