tinygiant Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I am wanting to get myself some DMX moving head lights. I have found the chauvet q-spot 300 to be my best bet at present. I am just looking for advice. has anyone owned them, are they good, how long do they last without repair... or can u sugest a better alternative? I am looking at a budget of around £1,150 for 2. I would like 2 gobo wheels but not essential. remote focus, rotating gobos and prism are a must. I also quite like the feature that the q spots have which is a frost for colour washing. opens more doors and need for less fixtures in the long run. I would love it to have an iris but for some reason, I cant find any moving head or scanner that has an iris which costs less the £1,000. I like the ide of a discharge lamp aswell so it must have one. also it would be preferable to be able to easily get a case for them. either 1 case - 2 heads or 2 cases - 1 head each. my budget for case is £300. thats a rough total of £1,500 for 2 lights, the bulbs and a case. thanks for any helpalex :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunk Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Hey Alex, Have you considers a used pair of moving heads? I know we all like to buy new but if you went down the route of getting something like a pair of mac 500's or a pair if high end studio spot 575's? if you look around you could pick a pair up for that sort of money you speak of, with a case. I bet you that a well maintained decent brand of moving light will outlast any moving head that is produced in a random factory in China. Also, think about spares. You can get spares for a mac 500 all day long. What about spares for a Chauvet? I also bet my bottom dollar that the stepper motors, sensors, gobo wheels, etc, etc are no where near the same quality of those supplied with the top brand names. Hope this helps, Dunc Here is a good start : http://www.usedlighting.co.uk/category/1/16/17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyro_gearloose Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Its also worth considering some of the moving mirrors that are available second hand. If you want to stick with a well known brand such as Martin, how about their 918 moving mirrors? They have all the features of the Mac 500 and I saw a flightcased pair sell for £500-ish on ebay a few weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBoomal Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 One of the major differences between high end manufacturers and the cheaper market is in the toughness of the build. The cheaper chinese manufactured I.e Stairville/Chauvet are designed and engineered to a certain specification and quality. They assume that that level is you buying the lights and rigging them into your club/disco and there they will stay. To be fair to them if that is how you use them you should get a couple of years out of them without any major maintenance issues. The problems start when you regularly rig and de-rig. They really are not designed for that kind of abuse. When Martin/Robe/Varilite design a light they assume it will be rigged and then de-rigged constantly, so the build quality reflects this. The fact that you have enquired about flightcases suggests this is what you have in mind, I fear that buying cheaper movers may prove a false economy when maintenance costs are factored into your costing in the long term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinygiant Posted December 3, 2009 Author Share Posted December 3, 2009 Its also worth considering some of the moving mirrors that are available second hand. If you want to stick with a well known brand such as Martin, how about their 918 moving mirrors? They have all the features of the Mac 500 and I saw a flightcased pair sell for £500-ish on ebay a few weeks ago. I did think about scanners but I would rather they were moving heads as I want them to cover the room. I already have scanners and they are a nightmare to rig in a place where you get reasonable coverage. but thanks anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick123 Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 I was looking at Showtec phantom 250 spots. £500 each from our German friends, and by all accounts a great unit and well constructed. Not quite as many features as the chauvet, but possibly better quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightnix Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Have you considers a used pair of moving heads?...+1 for all the reasons given: Better build quality, better spares availability, better tech support, better manuals, broader user base, etc., etc., etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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