Chauvet PAR

LED technology has come a long way from the ColorBlast days. We just recently purchased a couple PAR 38s and four PAR 54s. They are relatively inexpensive; around $200 a pop. Although you can purchase a Tungsten PAR 64 for somewhere around $80, you will easily make up the difference in the cost of electricity! These PARs are only 24 and 36 watts, compared to a 575 or 700 watt lamp in a standard PAR. According to Chauvet’s website, you can daisy-chain up to 12 PARs on the same 20A circuit, which is convenient given the Edison outlet on the top of the light that provides power for the next light. Other features include the yolk of the lamp that unfolds to become a floor stand, DMX (3-pin), independent RGB control, and even an internal microphone for audio response (not sure that we will ever use that feature). I’m looking forward to never having to change gels or lamps again!

The one issue I have is the color temperature of the lamps themselves. The built in white is nowhere close to either 3200K or 5600K. But I think we can mix our own colors to get something worth capturing on video. Other than that, though, these light are totally worth it!

You can find out more info on the Chauvet PARs here and here.