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REVIEWED
LEDJ Vector Beam Quad
What initially struck me about the LEDJ Vector Beam Quad was its similarity to ADJ’s Sweeper Beam Quad LED, which utilises eight quad-colour LEDs mounted onto a tilting batten. However, I soon discovered that this versatile, idiosyncratic new fixture offers something much more special than its contemporaries...
The LEDJ Vector Beam Quad from Prolight Concepts is a dynamic, multi-beam, linear effect that utilises not one, but two LED battens, each fitted with four 10W quad-colour CREE LEDs. These LEDs can be individually controlled to create narrow 3⁰ beam effects in an array of colours. Before we get onto talking about these sweeping multi-coloured beams, however, I should touch on the practicalities that were immediately noticeable as I unpacked the fixture.
The first thing was its weight: relatively light considering that it’s a lengthy unit fitted with two moving sections. The second thing was the professional PowerCon input and output connections used to supply power to the fixture, which lock securely into place removing any risk of a lead being accidentally pulled out. And the final thing was the Omega clamps, which were attached firmly but easily removable thanks to their quick-lock mechanisms. Before I’d even connected the power, I was considering the best ways to hang the fixture: using these brackets – and the tilting movement of the unit’s battens – you could just as easily mount the Vector Beam Quad vertically as you could horizontally, for an eye-catching alternative look that offers exceptional coverage. The unit also features rubber feet, allowing it to stand directly on a floor, stage or other surface when the Omega clamps are removed.
Upon firing up the Vector Beam Quad and connecting it to my controller, I noticed that the menu screen on the rear of the unit flashed a message saying ‘DMX IN’, indicating that the fixture had picked up the DMX signal from the XLR cable I had connected. Using the same menu, I selected ‘DMX’ and ‘1-channel’, deciding to test the fixture out in the simplest DMX mode first.
This 1-channel mode proved simple but effective, enabling me to select from ten built-in shows, trigger Sound Active mode, as well as adjust the sensitivity, and blackout the fixture. I soon found that the shows vary in complexity, speed and colour variation. Show 1 involves the LEDs flashing one by one, scrolling through red, blue, green and white and then mixing it up while both battens tilt back and forth in sync. In Show 2, four colours come on at once, moving across the LEDs as the battens tilt in both directions. Show 4 offers a more random effect than the others, tilting occasionally and sending colours flickering across the fixture for a faster strobe-like feel. Showing how far the battens can tilt, Show 7 moves them to their maximum point at 180⁰, for horizontal effects that project beams right across a room. Offering a slower pace, Show 9 sends colours bouncing back and forth across the LEDs to generate smooth sweeping effects. Alternatively, Show 10 flashes single- and multi-coloured beams, which – when combined with fast movement, creates a pretty high-energy display.
The LEDJ Vector Beam Quad from Prolight Concepts is a dynamic, multi-beam, linear effect that utilises not one, but two LED battens, each fitted with four 10W quad-colour CREE LEDs. These LEDs can be individually controlled to create narrow 3⁰ beam effects in an array of colours. Before we get onto talking about these sweeping multi-coloured beams, however, I should touch on the practicalities that were immediately noticeable as I unpacked the fixture.
The first thing was its weight: relatively light considering that it’s a lengthy unit fitted with two moving sections. The second thing was the professional PowerCon input and output connections used to supply power to the fixture, which lock securely into place removing any risk of a lead being accidentally pulled out. And the final thing was the Omega clamps, which were attached firmly but easily removable thanks to their quick-lock mechanisms. Before I’d even connected the power, I was considering the best ways to hang the fixture: using these brackets – and the tilting movement of the unit’s battens – you could just as easily mount the Vector Beam Quad vertically as you could horizontally, for an eye-catching alternative look that offers exceptional coverage. The unit also features rubber feet, allowing it to stand directly on a floor, stage or other surface when the Omega clamps are removed.
Upon firing up the Vector Beam Quad and connecting it to my controller, I noticed that the menu screen on the rear of the unit flashed a message saying ‘DMX IN’, indicating that the fixture had picked up the DMX signal from the XLR cable I had connected. Using the same menu, I selected ‘DMX’ and ‘1-channel’, deciding to test the fixture out in the simplest DMX mode first.
This 1-channel mode proved simple but effective, enabling me to select from ten built-in shows, trigger Sound Active mode, as well as adjust the sensitivity, and blackout the fixture. I soon found that the shows vary in complexity, speed and colour variation. Show 1 involves the LEDs flashing one by one, scrolling through red, blue, green and white and then mixing it up while both battens tilt back and forth in sync. In Show 2, four colours come on at once, moving across the LEDs as the battens tilt in both directions. Show 4 offers a more random effect than the others, tilting occasionally and sending colours flickering across the fixture for a faster strobe-like feel. Showing how far the battens can tilt, Show 7 moves them to their maximum point at 180⁰, for horizontal effects that project beams right across a room. Offering a slower pace, Show 9 sends colours bouncing back and forth across the LEDs to generate smooth sweeping effects. Alternatively, Show 10 flashes single- and multi-coloured beams, which – when combined with fast movement, creates a pretty high-energy display.
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 72, Pages 74-76.
