Events are back – weddings, parties, LED furniture hire and corporate events – and we are all looking for that extra upsell. That thing that increases our income, whether it’s bespoke booths, uplighting, venue décor or custom monograms.

So, when the new Gobo Zoom 2 dropped from CHAUVET DJ, I had to have a look. And when Steve from the Pro Mobile team mentioned that he had just been sent one for review, I jumped at the chance to get my hands on it.

The box arrived and I was shocked at the size (I currently use a rather old and somewhat larger model). The specs looked impressive: a 70W LED light source, an easy slot-and-lock gobo holder, and 10 common holiday gobos included. Let’s take a look.

The Gobo Zoom 2 is super small in size at just 13” x 6” x 5.7” (330 x 150 x 145mm) and it weighs just 2kg (4.4lbs) with a double bracket, making floor, truss or pole mounting a breeze. The unit has standard IEC power in and out, and you can link up to seven units from one power supply – super handy if you need multiple units for an awards celebration or themed event like Halloween or Christmas.

Speaking of which, the unit comes with what CHAUVET DJ calls ‘10 holiday gobos’ and these include snowflakes, stars, balloons, confetti, love hearts, fireworks, a Christmas tree, a tiara and a few Halloween gobos.

You'll find a four-button LED style menu along with 3-pin DMX in and out, and two holes on top of the unit for a safety chain. The IR receiver is also on the rear, which is odd, as I most often point the unit at the ground and therefore accessing the receiver could be an issue. Although, if the light is aimed at the ceiling, then I can see how this makes sense. In any event, I tested the light using DMX control, so it wasn’t a problem.

At LED Factory we are well known for our event décor, wireless DMX and battery uplighting, and our range of event furniture – I’m sure you’ve seen the images I post all over Facebook. We also use a lot of moving heads that are wired, so this product doesn’t fall outside our remit. Sure, I’d love it to be wireless and IP rated, but the truth is, at 70W it’s just not possible unless you have a huge battery pack, which would defeat the object of this product.

So, I popped the Gobo Zoom 2 up on a gravity stand. The cool-white LED was super punchy and, with a manual rotation knob on the top of the case to align the gobo, along with manual zoom, it’s great for both short- and long-throw projection. The included super short lead wasn’t used, I opted for one of our custom hybrid leads with combined power and DMX. (For the most discerning clients it’s all about the presentation, and our special leads make it easy to hide cabling.) We used the stars gobo which was super sharp in the centre once focused. I did notice a little feathering on the edges, but only the most critical eye would notice it – certainly not something a client would spot.

At the time of writing, there wasn’t a DMX profile available for the Gobo Zoom 2, or at least not one that I could find on my DMX hardware, the Wolfmix W1, or our ADJ Link. But with it only being single channel DMX, a new profile took seconds to create. With one channel, it is literally on/off and dimmer brightness. There is no rotation, focus or zoom, as these are programmed manually, so if you are mounting up high you need to ensure this is done before you place the light.

The unit can also be used with an optional IRC-6 remote. Again, you have very basic control, an on/off function via the blackout button, and you can change brightness using the number buttons.

So, what do I think? Well, for £300 it’s a small and punchy unit that allows for great projection of the included or custom-designed gobos from one of the many suppliers on the market. The gobo size is 37.3mm with a 22mm image and the zoom angle allows for 21-38 degrees, so the size of image is not a problem.

Personally, I’d prefer to spend a little more and benefit from motorised rotation and auto focus via DMX. But that said, nothing with those features is as compact, and for most DJs that want the ability to add a custom monogram for clients and boost income through upselling, this is a brilliant little unit that does the job perfectly. Bravo CHAUVET DJ!