This is my first ever LED PAR Can. I was sceptical and unsure about my purchase at first, but after receiving the light and using them for a few shows, I'm very happy with my decision.
Price was a large contributing factor when I was choosing LED PAR cans. I knew that I'd need to spend at least 10 times the cost of a standard PAR 64 with 500w lamp to even get close to the same output with an LED fixture. I wasn't wrong. At just over £45 each, these LED cans are a little more money than a PAR 64 with a decent 500w lamp, but the brightness doesn't even begin to compare. I bought 2 of these RGBW LED PAR Cans and they both get washed out by a single 500w PAR 64 or even a 300w PAR 56. Luckily, I knew this would be the case before I ordered.
If your here to buy an LED PAR to replace your trusty PAR 64's or PAR 56's, your looking at the wrong light. These lower end cans with 10mm LED's aren't up to the job.
I still use at least 12 conventional PAR cans at a gig. I'd need to save up a lot of money to spend £130+ per light on LED PAR cans bright enough to replace my standard PARs. I'm not doing this any time soon.
Even though the light output is weak compared to a standard can, that doesn't mean that the RGBW MKII can't be a great ADDITION to your rig. Just 2 of these lights can create so much depth in colour. Colour is their strong point. As if RGB mixing at this price point wasn't impressive enough, the addition of White is just a God send. The White is absolutely gorgeous and i know there's no hope in me ever buying standard RGB cans after my experiences with RGBW and these lights.
I believe my main use for these 2 cans as time goes on will be for drums. The beam angle is super nice, and they catch the drum riser perfectly from their rig point at the moment. Washing the drums with colour makes them stand out and shine. Note however, shining just 1 standard PAR at over 50% intensity at those drums will wash out the colour. Remember, use conventional PARs sparingly if you use these LED lights, especially the lower end ones.
Moving away from brightness, I'll finish up by giving a list of my favourite things:
>VERY easy to use rear display for DMX addressing.
>Different modes for 4,6or8 channels giving great flexibility.
>Lots of hands on flexibility in 8 channel mode.
>Absolutely wonderful colours, with decent colour mixing for the price.
>Stunning white.
>Stunning deep blue.
>Great build quality for the price.
>Very lightweight fixtures.
Standard things that are GREAT about LED lights in general:
>Minimal power consumed.
>They simply don't get hot.
>More than 1 colour from 1 light.
>Colour mixing.
>No need for gels.
>No need for lamp replacements.
>Can set up in ANY venue, even places without dedicated performance power outlets.
Eventually, I hope to buy another 4 of these. I think I could use 6 of these in my gigs for a great colour wash on stage. I'd then use my PAR 64s sparingly at low intensities, just to bring out skintones. I'm looking forward to taking them out again and giving them a go under different situations.
If anyone has any questions about these lights and they need some advice or questions answered from an owner, feel free to email me:
itsmynaturalcolour@gmail.com
Thanks for reading.