I remember back in the 1980’s when the first automated lighting fixtures were introduced. I was fortunate to be in Dallas at the time and witnessed the excitement of this new technology. Although I knew that this was the beginning of a new era in lighting, I had no idea that almost twenty years later we would be seeing all these lighting manufacturers competing in this arena.
Elation Professional is no stranger to the moving light business. With the introduction of their “Power Line” of automated fixtures, Elation has added very competitive (and relatively inexpensive) products to our choices for automated lighting. Elation sent us the Power Wash 250B for testing in our light lab at California State University Long Beach. We requested this fixture as it is quite affordable for many churches.
The Power Wash 250B is an arc-powered moving wash light. The lamp source is a 250-watt arc lamp with a very high color temperature of 8,500 degrees Kelvin, with a very high lamp life of 2,000 hours. This extended lamp life is comparable to the lamp life of conventional ellipsoidal reflector spotlights.
The fixture features a high luminous-efficiency axial reflector and double condenser lens system, a 150-mm Fresnel lens, eight dichroic color filters plus white, 180-degree beam shaper, variable- speed strobe effect, linkable DMX control, sound-activated built-in programs, mechanical dimming from 0 - 100%, mechanical high-speed shutter, and a strobe and pulse effect. The Power Wash is controlled by ten channels of DMX.
The Power Wash 250B has 16 accessible DMX movements which include pan and tilt, color wheel, and a special sound active mode (there is a built-in microphone with a sensitivity knob for this feature). The fixture weighs 50 lbs, and is relatively small at 26-inches by 12-inches by 10-inches. Best of all, the Power Wash 250B retails for only $1,599.95. This is a very low price for a moving light with all these features.
We put this fixture through grueling tests in our light lab and during productions in our theatres. Set-up and installation was very easy. All you have to do is plug in the power and DMX control cables, set the address number, and away you go.
Although somewhat limited, the Power Wash 250B’s choice of colors offers a basic useful range. As there is only one color wheel, you cannot mix colors. If you want this feature, you should move up to the Power Wash 250 with CYM color mixing. Thankfully, the fixed color-wheel includes two color correction filters (3,200 K and 6,400 K). This allows you to mix the Power Wash 250B with your conventional incandescent lighting fixtures.
Although limited to eight color filters, the student designer who used this fixture in her show was very pleased with the choice of colors. She consistently used the blue range effectively in her design. The pink and lavender filters were also quite pleasing. Good color choices, Elation!
What was quite surprising was the intensity of the fixture. We mounted the fixture on a pipe 26 feet above the stage and the intensity of the beam was approximately twice the intensity of a 750-watt Source Four. Although I would not recommend such long throws for the Power Wash 250B, it can be used effectively from such distances.
The lens of the Power Wash 250B can be manually focused by loosening the screws on the top and bottom of the lens assembly, then sliding the lens. The beam spread can be adjusted from 8 – 22 degrees. We would have preferred to have seen this feature as a motorized remote function, but adding this function would have signifi- cantly increased the price of the fixture.
You can mount the Power Wash 250B either vertically or horizontally. However, you cannot mount it on its side (on a side truss or boom). This can be solved with a side-arm or truss connected to a vertical hanging position. We had no problems with the easy-mount mechanism on the fixture.
The 180-degree beam shaper was quite useful, allowing the designer to spread the beam of light. You can turn the round beam of light into an oval beam that can be rotated. This is quite useful if you need to cover a larger area on stage.
Our testing found the accuracy of the Power Wash 250B excellent. Its movements were very fast and precise as it always hit its mark without overshoot (quite impressive for a fixture at this price range). The color wheel moved very quickly and always found the right color. This performance allowed us to preset the light in various positions within a minimal amount of time.
This is a fan-cooled fixture with a very quiet fan. This is quite important in soundsensitive environments. Elation Professional should be commended in developing such quiet automated fixtures.
The sound reaction function was quite amusing to my students. We all had a good time making noises and watching the Power Wash 250B “talk back” and react to us. Although I am sure this feature was initially designed for intense sound environments like clubs and discos, it can also be used in theatrical environments when the lighting must react to a sound cue. Church youth-groups will likely have fun with this feature.
Elation Professional’s Power Wash 250B is a very interesting product for the worship market. If you do not require C/Y/M color mixing, you can purchase this very sophisticated moving light for around $1,500. If you need color mixing, then for only $400 more you can purchase the fully-featured Color Wash 250.
David Martin Jacques is a professional lighting designer and consultant. He has designed over 300 productions including recent engagements at Italy’s La Scala and La Fenice theatres. He heads the graduate stage design program at California State University Long Beach, and may be contacted at djacques@csulb.edu.
