The advantages of LED as a tungsten replacement are many: greater efficiency with less power draw, less maintenance, reduced heat and more flexibility. Leading Austrian event production company STEINERLIVE is realizing all those benefits with a recent purchase of Elation KL Fresnel LED wash luminaires, a bright, high-quality white light with output as beautiful as traditional tungsten halogen.
With over 35 years of industry experience, STEINERLIVE, based in Vienna, are experts in the application of professional event technology for congresses, conferences, corporate meetings, virtual events, and exhibitions. Seeking an LED alternative to an aging inventory of tungsten Fresnel fixtures, Elation sales representative for Austria, Karl Lager, helped STEINERLIVE personnel scrutinize the KL Fresnel line. “He did a great job, answered all of our questions, and provided us with demo equipment,” states STEINERLIVE’s Bernhard Höfert. “Finally, and significantly, he gave us a quotation we were able to work with.”
The KL Fresnel series is a line of warm-white or cold-white LED Fresnel lights available in 50W, 150W and 350W models. STEINERLIVE acquired the 150W KL Fresnel 6 CW, a cold-white LED Fresnel with a 5,600K Cool White LED engine and high CRI of 97.
“The KL Fresnel 6 CW will replace our stock of tungsten Fresnel fixtures in order to reduce the electrical load, simplify the setup by not needing dimmer racks and thus complicated cabling, and streamline installation by using hybrid DMX+load cables that simply daisy chain the fixtures. They are reasonably priced and have the features and accessories we need,” Höfert commented, adding that the 150W version can easily replace up to a 1K tungsten light.
The company went with the cold white version because it best matches their cameras and streaming equipment, but also because clients usually prefer the cooler color temperature, according to Höfert. “The light output and uniformity of the KL Fresnel was opted best in a direct shootout with competitor fixtures,” he said. “Likewise, the body and frame left the best impression in terms of reliability and durability. Also, the color rendering index was slightly better than other fixtures.” The KL Fresnel also includes manual zoom and manual and DMX-controlled dimming, along with barn doors and gel frame holder. With adjustable refresh frequency, silent operation mode and flicker-free operation, it makes for an ideal on-camera wash light.
Höfert says STEINERLIVE’s new KL fixtures will be used for applications like session and breakout rooms during large congresses, meeting rooms and virtual / hybrid event stages, fast-in/fast-out press conferences, and lighting for exhibitions. As of late, the company has been using the fixtures in their in-house studio for recordings, streamings, and virtual productions, all increasingly relevant under the current crises.
“Every one of our lighting technicians is more than happy with the fixtures and their output,” he concludes. “Although we have not used them quite as often as we had hoped due to the crises, we look forward to working with them once things pick up.”
