GEAR MINI TESTS
QUASAR SCIENCE RAINBOW2 AND DOUBLE RAINBOW LEDS Rainbow 2 £546/$625 | Double Rainbow£870/$1000 quasarscience.com
These funky linear lights aren’t called Rainbow for nothing. Not only can they produce every colour on the spectrum thanks to advanced technology, but all hues are covered – from elegant to immersive. While that might seem good for rarely used special effects, these Quasar Science units are actually very high-spec light sources. They accurately set and maintain colours, and are highly controllable and adjustable. As they are relatively small and light, hide them away or mount easily, without any fuss or massive rigging required. Quasar Science deploys what it calls RGBX technology, enabling these LEDs to score an SSI rating of between 76 in the Daylight range and 91 in the Tungsten range. The lights deliver CRI/TLCI scores of 95+ when producing full-spectrumwhite light from 1750K to 10,000K. When dimmed, they remain true to colour, more so than older models. Instead of just turning off some pixels when the light is turned down, setting low power mode means they retain accuracy. This drops the output by around two stops. The most prominent difference between the Rainbow 2 and Double Rainbow is that the latter is roughly twice the width of the former, and
APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE The Quasar Double Rainbow is twice the size of the Rainbow 2 and twice the power output
SPECIFICATIONS (DOUBLE RAINBOW IN BRACKETS WHERE DIFFERENT) Pixel groups: 10 (20)
Light output: 1750-10,000K white light with RGB colour mixing (RGBX) and Quasar Pixel Control, preset selections, onboard effects, lead/follow, high output mode Controls: OLED screen Remote control: Wired and wireless DMX, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, sACN, Art-Net Max power: 25W(50W) DC input: 10-26v with locking 2.1x5.5mmbarrel Dimensions (wxh): 584x44.5mm/23x1.75in (577x84.4mm/22.7x3.34in) Weight: 0.8kg/1.76lb (1.5kg/3.3lb) puts out double the power. Both fixtures are around the same length, but the Double Rainbow (RR50) is 84.8mm/3.34in wide, compared to the Rainbow 2 (Q25R) at 44.5mm/1.75in. This makes the light softer, as the source is bigger. It’s almost like two Q25Rs bolted together. The Quasars have their pixels organised into groups – ten on the smaller and 20 on the larger. This allows the colour to be changed along the length of the tube, rather than everything being one hue. There are lots of built-in effects, like police car and fire. Pixel groups mean they look more realistic than ever. Our tests showed all the claimed CCT readings are accurate across the white light range. One great feature is that, as you add or remove green from the CCT setting, the colour temperature automatically compensates. This is useful on-set.
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 rainbowmode, 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 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
PANEL GAME The smaller Rainbow 2 has its LED control panel front- facing, so it can be hard to see if the light's on
“Quasar has worked out how to produce different colours, even in rainbowmode, that don’t clip the highlights. This pushes LED tech to new levels”
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