Ghost associate LD, Tim Lutkin, got his first glimpse of the SMART:e whilst chatting to one of the product's designers recently and offered to give them their first real test.
"They're a fantastic bit of kit," says Lutkin. "I just can't get over how small and light they are, the battery life is great, the colour mix is brilliant, especially all the pastel shades you can get by adding the white in. But the best bit for me is their look, they are just so smart, they don't look like a marquee up-lighter and for me that is the deal clincher."
The SMART:e is the first wireless LED product to scale down size without compromising performance, says the company. The whole unit is only round the size and weight of a standard bag of sugar.
A lithium polymer battery drives three groups of Luxeon Rebel RGB+W emitters using the latest Quad Lens form Carclo Optics, lasting up to eight hours on full output and in excess of 12 hours on colour scroll. The unit has two power modes to further increase battery life with output selected via the digital LCD address interface to either 350mA or 600mA. Other modes include stand alone colours and a selectable dimmer curve, fast or smooth; smooth eradicates all the flicker associated with the bottom end of dimming LEDs.
The fixture supports W-DMX and has a 5pin XLR DMX output to supply other DMX fixtures rigged in its vicinity. With the head detached the Smart-e can be used as a battery powered DMX receiver and the detachable head leads to another exciting development - Components Co are promising a complete range of interchangeable heads for use with Smart-e to complement the highly styled standard wall washer.
(Jim Evans)
