The latest addition to ADJ’s Focus Series of LED-powered professional moving head luminaires is the Focus Wash 400. This dedicated wash fixture combines a potent colour mixing LED light engine with a fresnel lens and motorised zoom mechanism to create a soft-edged beam with an even field and high CRI – designed to illuminate all kinds of stages and performance spaces, both for live and broadcast audiences.
At the heart of the Focus Wash 400 is a powerful 400W six-in-one LED light source, which combines red, green, blue, amber, cyan and lime LED chips to offer colour mixing for stage-based applications. This LED engine configuration allows for a CRI in excess of 90, as well as excellent white light output across a range of colour temperatures.
The light source offers a high CRI R9 rating of 87.3, meaning that it is capable of effectively illuminating saturated red subjects, which has been traditionally problematic for LEDs. In addition, the LED engine boasts an impressive 50,000-hour average life expectancy, effectively removing the need for lamp replacements.
Independent colour mixing control over the LED source’s six primary colours permits the creation of a huge range of both vibrant saturates and subtle pastel shades, allowing lighting designers to achieve the exact looks they require.
To aid quick programming, the fixture also offers Virtual Colour Wheel control, to provide easy access to 60 pre-programmed colour macros in addition to five preset white colour temperature macros (2700K, 3200K, 4000K, 5600K and 6500K). Exacting control over white light colour temperature is also provided through linear colour temperature control from 2700K to 6500K, as well as separate red to green shift control.
The fixture features a virtual CMY mode, which uses the six LED chips to emulate CMY colour mixing. This means that the fixture can be patched and controlled as a CMY fixture, utilising the CMY colour palette selection tools found within many hardware and software DMX control systems.
The Focus Wash 400 is fitted with a six-inch Fresnel lens, which creates a soft-edged wash output with a very even field and no colour shadows. This is paired with a motorised zoom function with a variable beam angle of 10° to 41°.
It features 16-bit fine control over the zoom motor, allowing for zoom effects as well as control over the beam angle. The wide zoom range makes this a versatile fixture, that can be used both to wash a large area of a stage and to spotlight performers or small scenic elements.
Electronic dimming with 16-bit fine control is combined with selectable dimming modes, curves, and speeds (which can all be set remotely via DMX), affording lighting designers with a high level of customisation as well as exacting control. Fitted with pan and tilt motors, the Focus Wash 400 can achieve swift movement. However, its motors also offer 16-bit fine control, which allows for static positioning as well as extremely smooth movements at slow speed.
The fixture features electronic strobing that allows for the creation of regular, random and pulse effects at a variety of different speeds. The unit has a default LED refresh rate of 1200Hz; however, this can be customised between 900Hz and 25kHz to ensure flicker free operation when used in a broadcast setting. It also offers a quiet fan mode for applications where background noise must be kept to an absolute minimum.
Locking power input and output connectors are located on the back panel of the unit’s base, allowing the power supply for multiple units to be linked together. The fixture offers both 5-pin and 3-pin DMX input and output sockets as well as a choice of five DMX channel modes [Basic (17), Standard (22), Extended (24), CMY Standard (18) or CMY Ext. (24)] and is compatible with the RDM (Remote Device Management) protocol.
DMX addressing, as well as configuration of the unit’s various operational parameters, is facilitated via a large backlit LCD display screen that is located on the front of the fixture’s base. This provides an extensive and intuitive menu interface that is navigated using six push buttons. There is also a USB socket to allow for quick and easy future firmware updates.
The unit weighs a very manageable 10.7kg. It is compact despite its advanced feature set, with external dimensions of 278mm by 213.5mm by 497mm. It is fitted with large rubber feet, to allow it to stand directly on a stage or riser, and is supplied with a pair of Omega brackets that can be easily attached to its base using quick-locking, quarter turn mechanisms.
The fixture is also supplied, as standard, with two useful optional accessories. The snoot can be attached to the front of the fixture to minimise light spill and reduce the viewing angle to the lens. The 1×40 beam shaping lens can be applied to change the projection pattern from circular to linear.
“The new Focus Wash 400 is the natural next step in the evolution of the Focus Series,” comments ADJ USA National Sales Manager, Alfred Gonzales. “It is the perfect wash accompaniment to the existing spot and beam fixtures, providing a versatile lighting tool for performance stages, event productions and houses of worship. With its powerful LED engine, utilising cyan and lime chips, this next generation wash fixture is capable of delivering a high CRI and huge range of colours. With virtual CMY colour mixing as well as tuneable white colour temperature, it offers the best of both worlds when it comes to control. This, combined with its Fresnel lens and wide zoom range, makes it a versatile wash fixture that is ideal for all kinds of performance stages and production spaces.”
