# ColorKey LED Par 64



## thelightguy87 (Jul 1, 2008)

I just bought 8 Color Key LED Par 64's to add to my lighting rig, I have been very pleased with them so far. Has anyone else used these? I found them in as ad on solarisnetwork.com and they came from stageoutlet.com they are 119 each and currently 99$...this is not a sales pitch, just mentioning it since i bought 4 for 119$ each and 4 for 99$ each... I could complain about the dimmer but instead i've just lowered the RGB values and gotten a much smoother fade then with the dimmer channel. They are 4 channels RGB Dimmer/strobe. Supposedly equivalent to a 300W par, haven't compared them since i dont have a 300W par, but they seem pretty bright. total wattage of the fixture is 30W with 137 total LEDS.

So I guess I'm asking, has anyone used these lights before, are there any quirks I'm going to run into later on? Or are ya as pleased with them as I currently am after just starting to use them?


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## Pie4Weebl (Jul 1, 2008)

I own six of those, the only thing I dislike is the over sensitivity of noise active mode. Also when programming them make sure you use the full intensity at 75% and not full at full so you can fade with out seeing strobes.

Otherwise they work great!


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## SHARYNF (Jul 2, 2008)

When I talked with Shawn he mentioned that they were very simliar to the Wiedamark's but were not as bright. So far I cannot get a reason why the brightness is different, they appear to be identical. Got a reply from Shawn looks like the use a slightly different led. The only issues I have had is as mentioned before you need to set dmx channel 4 on each to no greater than 75 percent or else when you attempt to dim with your master the mode will change to strobe. Other than that I have a dozen or so of the wiedamarks. 
Sharyn


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## len (Jul 2, 2008)

I have 24 of them. They do fine for my uses, which is mostly to light small stages when there's no power, and uplight around weddings and things.


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## Chickentown (May 15, 2009)

Exactly the same strobing fade problem with my Wiedamark PAR 64's. I reset my scenes with Channel 4 at about 75% of full-on (I think the value was about 100) and now the fades are smooth.

Searching for a solution to this problem was my first encounter with this discussion group. Thank you - awesome resource!


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## Esoteric (May 15, 2009)

Yeah, I am an authorized reseller of both Wiedamarks and Color Keys. The Wiedamarks are brighter and more even, but they are both great units.

Mike


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## MNBallet (May 15, 2009)

I own 40 of them. Just love the units. 
got them all out on a gig tonight for a dinner.





Ken Pogin
Production / Tour Manager
Minnesota Ballet


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## BillESC (May 15, 2009)

How many Colorkey 64's would it take to do this?


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## Esoteric (May 16, 2009)

Probably 4 Wiedamark without the nasty spill all over the lawn. Maybe 6 of the Color Keys.

Mike


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## BillESC (May 16, 2009)

I don't believe the OP was talking about the 1w version but rather the 10mm Colorkey LED 64 considering the price. I think it would take a lot more IMHO.


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## MNBallet (May 16, 2009)

yes, he was refering to the 10mm kind, not the 1 watt versions. And to correct the record, he said they had 137 leds, the correct number is 183.

Plus, there is a big price difference in units and the colorkeys from stage outlet really are the cheapest for a par 64 10mm led unit that I've found so far. In your pic, as nice as it is....you can adjust the camera settings so that even 1 colorkey will look like that if you leave the shutter open long enough. that's why side by side shootouts are so important, or lux readings. I do love looking at pics of products I might want to buy though, and thanks for posting the new stuff comming out on the market.

I own some 3 watt led pars and they just totally blow the colorkeys out of the water, but I still like and use the colorkeys.


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## lightman02 (May 16, 2009)

I bought a couple of the colorkeys to try them out a while ago. I like them alot and right now they are in a rig as truss warmers.


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## Esoteric (May 17, 2009)

I was talking about the Wiedamark 10mm LED units (252 LEDs each), and the Color Key LEDs.

Mike


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## BillESC (May 17, 2009)

It's a shame Wiedamark doesn't offer any photometric data on their fixtures.


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## Esoteric (May 18, 2009)

BillESC said:


> It's a shame Wiedamark doesn't offer any photometric data on their fixtures.



I have it.

Mike


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## BillESC (May 18, 2009)

Please post it.


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## Esoteric (May 18, 2009)

Here you go.

Mike


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## derekleffew (May 18, 2009)

Put 'em away, BillESC and Esoteric, and read this article by Mike Wood: Color Prejudice, or How Bright is that LED Really?.pdf.


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## Esoteric (May 18, 2009)

I have read that before. I do not use photometrics as the end all be all of lighting measurements. But Bill asked for them (in a rather ominous way, perhaps pointing out that they were hiding something) so I supplied them.

These units do the job and are great units for the right job. Great punch, and when they aren't competeing with other lights (such as the outside of a house at night) can provide great punch even at a distance.

It is all about the right unit for the right job.

Mike


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## BillESC (May 18, 2009)

Thanks for the post Mike. It indicated 352 Lux at 2 meters. The LED420B outputs 4100 Lux at 2 meters.

Derek, I'll go read that article now, thanks for posting it.


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## BillESC (May 18, 2009)

That was an interesting read and does point out the difficulties in comparative analogies.


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## Esoteric (May 19, 2009)

With 60 1W LEDs I would hope it would have that kind of output. Next time I go to light a skyscraper, what is the cost on those? *lol*

Oh, I found it. $599.99. Not bad. But the unit you are comparing it to is less than 1/3 of the cost. But I will keep that unit in mind for outdoor building washes.

Mike


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## BillESC (May 19, 2009)

I just sold three to a local Bar Band. I don't think buildings are their only application. In fact, we have spec'd them for a high school auditorium to replace their old R40 sections. The cost savings are dramatic when you consider one 75w fixture will replace a 7.5' section with 15 - 150w lamps.


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