QUASAR SCIENCE RAINBOW 2 AND DOUBLE RAINBOW GE AR RE V I EW.
interface with an OLED screen that includes the new Blackout button – allowing you to alter settings while the light output is off. The screen is small, but relatively easy to navigate. Although, it’s not the only way of controlling the lights, as there are wireless capabilities with CRMX, W-DMX, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, plus wired RJ45 passthrough ports giving a direct data connection for protocols like DMX, sACN and Art-Net. There are built-in Ethernet ports for advanced data networking and studio installations. All the ports are covered with rubber plugs to keep moisture out, but these lights are for dry location work. You can nominate a master lamp and control others from it. The lamps can be set to send or receive commands to and from any other Rainbow 2 unit, making it easy to change the settings of a multi-lamp fixture or rig, without dialling each individual lamp. LOW PROFILE When it comes to mounting, Quasar has added a full-length, Nato-style rail along the back, called the Ossium Mounting System. The LED comes with a Baby Pin fitting that can either be screwed onto one of the rail’s many mounting positions, or fixed
to a small slider. This moves up and down the rail and is fixed into position with a lever. The Baby Pin can be replaced by the optional Ossium Rotator block, which is like a mini grip head with 5/8in and 3/8in split apertures, to clamp to different-sized rods. All the connections and clamps are top quality, as you might expect for high-end units made in collaboration with G-Force Grips. Other optional accessories include magnetic plates and a battery plate. Power to the units can be delivered via a 10-26v battery, using the included lead with a locking 2.1x5.5mm barrel fitting for the LED, and a D-Tap at the other end. Or, plug directly into the mains with the supplied cable. After extended deployment at high-power settings, both units get pretty warm, but it’s not a huge issue. They are silent, and can create interesting highlights or catchlights, or be rigged as practical lights, too. Up close, they create a soft, flattering effect – ideal for skin. Let creativity run wild with all those rainbow effects and SFX settings. We tested the 2ft versions, but they also come in 4ft lengths – and the Rainbow 2 in 8ft. These are quality bits of kit, with high-tech LEDs and fair price points.
When adjusting colour temperature, for example, the changes aren’t just linked to the actual Kelvin numbers, but in steps that are just noticeably different. It’s easier to perceive small changes in Kelvin at warmer temperatures than cooler, so dialling + or –K in clicks on the control pad will be in smaller steps at 3200K, for example, and larger at 10,000K. To see a graphical representation of the colour your fixture is outputting, a push of the menu buttons does the trick. Quasar has also worked out how to produce different colours, even in rainbow mode, that don’t clip the highlights. This really pushes LED technology to new levels of usability. Just set the required effects and you don’t have to worry about blowing out certain colours. There might not be a pot of gold at the end of these Rainbows, but there is the onboard control
KEEPING CONTROL The screen on each unit (above) may be small, but they’re easy to use
IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE The lights factor in our greater sensitivity to warmer tones, with smaller steps for those colours
“The lamps can send or receive commands to and from any other Rainbow 2 unit”
59. MARCH 2022
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