Pinspots: A Guide for the Perplexed

Pinspots are a common luminaire used in lighting systems big and small. Pinspots can be used for many things, including serving as a spot light and illuminating a disco ball. There is often a bit of latitude in what people call a pinspot, but it is most often associated with a PAR36 can with a 4515lamp that features a very tightly focused beam, usually with a 6˚ to 12˚ beam angle. With the proliferation of LED and moving head technologies, there are pinspots with more features as well as traditional pinspots. Basic pin spots, like Optima’s PAR36 pinspot, features a basic metal can and a 4515 30w halogen lamp. Traditional pin spots accept color gels to give you more versatility in your lighting.

LED pinspots, currently offered by American DJ and Chauvet to name only two, have a much lower energy draw than halogen pin spots and have very long life span. ADJ’s 3w Pinspot LED features a 12˚ beam angle and has a built in rechargeable battery, making the Pinspot Led ideal for portable use. Though you will need to recharge the power supply if you plan on using its battery, you may likely never have to change the LED lamp due its amazing 50,000hr life hour rating. Chauvet also offers a basic and extremely compact 3w pinspot LED with a 9˚ beam angle perfect for the mobile venue or venue with a small lighting system. Chauvet as also upped the pinspot ante by debuting one of the first moving head pin spots, the Pinspot360 5-channel DMX. The Pinspot 360 comes with many of the features a regular moving head does, namely the 540˚ pan/330˚ tilt, built in movement macros accessible via DMX control, and a strobe effect. These features are in addition to the Pinspot 360’s 6˚ (or optional 9˚) beam angle and impressive 15,000lm (6˚ angle @ 1 meter). The Pinspot 360 is obviously ideal if you want a more advanced effect and have a pre-existing system with a controller that can handle intelligent lighting.

With the advent of LEDs and moving heads many fixtures that were at one point simple are now packed with features. This is certainly not to say that basic halogen fixtures are out of date, in fact many lighting designers prefer their simplicity and tried and true luminous power (not to mention that they are most often less expensive than their more advanced counterparts). Regardless of your preference, if you are looking for a pinspot we have got what you need, so be sure make BulbAmerica your pinspot stop and check out what we have to offer.
By The Lighting Specialist | 16 August, 2010 | 0 comments
next post → ← previous post

Comments

Leave a comment

Recent Posts
Categories