For many years lighting designers have been hoping that LED technology would reach a point where focusable profile fixtures would be commonplace. Unfortunately, until recently LEDs were not powerful enough to create single light sources that are required for Lekos and profile spot moving light fixtures. We were limited to LED striplights and wash fixtures that used arrays of many multi-colored LEDs to create powerful lighting fixtures. We had to wait until the technology made it possible to produce affordable high-powered LEDs to create single source profile fixtures.
The years of waiting ended with the successful introduction of the Source Four LED Leko. This groundbreaking product made it possible for LED fixtures to project images using shutters and gobos that are powerful enough to compare with conventional lighting fixtures. Over the past two years technology has produced optical systems and LED sources that are much more powerful. Moving light manufacturers are now introducing many models of LED spot fixtures that rival the intensity of conventional 575-Watt Arc moving lights. One of these lights is the new ADJ Inno Spot Pro.
We received one of these fixtures for testing in our light lab at Long Beach State University in Long Beach, Calif., a couple of weeks ago. We were fortunate to also be testing another new LED fixture at the same time, so we had a comparison opportunity to see how it shaped up against a much more expensive (and powerful) competitor.
Meeting for the first time
This extremely diminutive fixture is truly a compact powerhouse. It is only 11.50 inches by 6.75 inches by 16.75 inches in size and weighs only 19 pounds. This size and weight are ideal for churches that require small fixture profiles and have limited weight-bearing lighting positions. It looked absolutely tiny next to a typical moving head fixture.
“must-have” for small churches with limited budgets
With a lamp that consumes only 80 watts of electricity, the LED source in the Inno Spot Pro is amazingly bright. We tested the intensity of the Inno Spot Pro against several tungsten, arc, and LED fixtures and found the Inno Spot Pro easily held its own. Like many other LEDs, the lamp life on the Inno Spot Pro is approximately 50,000 hours, making it unlikely that you would have to change the lamp before you replace the light many years down the road.
The Inno Spot Pro uses dichroic color filters to change its colors. There are eight colors, plus white on the color wheel. The very useful stock colors are red, dark blue, dark green, yellow, light amber, light blue, light green and light yellow. Of course we would have liked to see a CMY color mix system on this fixture, but the small size and price point of the Inno Spot Pro would make that unfeasible. Although there is a slight loss of intensity when a filter is placed in the optical path, we found the intensity of the colors powerful with a very smooth color field.
Gobo mojo
We really appreciated the six rotating gobos on this fixture. The optics of this fixture create a very sharp image that would be useful for displaying logos and other sharp patterns. There is a rectangle gobo that is perfect for specials. Soft beam focus is quite useful for breakups. Plus the gobos are scrollable and replaceable. For an extra bit of fun, the gobos also have a shake mode.
The Inno Spot Pro has a remote motorized focus with a zoom ratio of 12 to 17 degrees. For wider beams you can remotely insert the three-faceted rotating prism. This spreads the beam to about 30 degrees. It also has a variable strobe effect and a smooth dimming shutter.
The pan and tilt speeds are very fast and accurate. This is undoubtedly due to the fixture's small weight and quick and powerful micro stepping motors. Small moving head fixtures like this are getting fast enough to render scanners obsolete.
The Inno Spot Pro is controlled with 14 DMX channels. It also can be controlled by sound activation. There is a clear, backlit LCD screen on the bottom side of the fixture that enables you to easily change the fixture's profiles and DMX address.
Our testing found the Inno Spot Pro comparable to other, more powerful LED fixtures. We found the Inno Spot Pro's beam intensity and focus sharpness compares quite favorably to an LED fixture that is over three times the wattage. Yes, it has some limitations (a wide zoom range and color mixing would be welcome additions), but for the low street price of this fixture (less than $800), and its very small size, the Inno Spot Pro's features would be more than adequate for many applications. Just imagine a few of these on a front pipe instead of conventional lekos that cost half as much, but can't change colors, gobos, position, or focus.
We were obviously very impressed with the power and versatility of this fixture. The Inno Spot Pro would be a worthy product for small churches that would like a movable spotlight fixture with color changing and gobo effects. Plus, its price would be very attractive and affordable to almost any church. Finally, let's not forget the power savings and incredibly long lamp life afforded by its LED source. This would make it a “must-have” for small churches with limited budgets. I expect to see these powerful little guys hanging in many of the small churches that I work in.
