We have Source 4 Junior Zooms, Selecon Acclaim's (22-44°), two Selecon 12° condensers and “Noses” (Strand Patt 23)

Profile lanterns produce clearly defined spots of light and are the most focussable and versatile of the lanterns. They have a lens (some have two lenses), a lamp and a reflector, and they also have shutters and a gate.

Profiles get their name from their ability to project the shape of anything placed in the gate of the lantern between the lamp and the lens. These shapes may be formed by the shutters, or they may be cut out of thin metal (a “gobo”).

Profiles are supplied with a certain size lens or lenses that determines the field angle, anywhere from five to ninety degrees. Field angle is the angle of the beam of light where it reaches 10% of the intensity of the center of the beam. Most manufacturers now use field angle to indicate the fixture's spread typically in this series (5°, 10°, 15°, 26°, 36°, 50°, 75°, 90°).

As the field angle narrows, the fixture can be used further from the stage. Variable focus (zoom) models with two lenses that move in and out from the lamp housing are also available, allowing the user to manually adjust to the desired focal length within a certain range.

• Shutters
• Adjustable Focus (can make edge of beam hard or soft)
• Has gobo slot
• For Zoom profiles the size of the beam can also be adjusted

Fresnel (pronounced “Frennel”) is a soft-edged spotlight with more control over beam angle than floods, but less control than profiles. Their name comes from the distinctive ridged Fresnel lens used on the front

We have Selecon Ramas, Selecon Acclaim, “Eggs” (Strand 123), and “FOFFs” (Strand 223s), fresnels

In the theater Fresnels are most often used for top or back lighting, at medium throw distances. In small venues (like us), they are often used for frontlight, although the relative lack of control when compared to a profile is a major disadvantage. The distinctive soft beam of a fresnel can make it very useful as a special in certain situations.

While the focus can alter the size of the beam, the distinctive scatter of light that the Fresnel lens emits also requires a way of controlling its shape. Since Fresnels cannot use internal shutters, such as those found in a profile, they are often fitted with barn doors to control the spill and shape the beam of light.

• Can adjust size of the beam
  • This is done by moving the lamp inside closer or futher from the lens on the front.
• Can't use shutters, barn doors are used instead.

Pebble Convex lanterns (or “PCs”) are similar to Fresnels, but use a plano-convex lens with a pebbled effect on the planar (flat) side, resulting in less “spill” outside the main beam.

We don't have any PCs.

Parabolic Aluminized Reflector lights, or PAR cans, are used when a substantial amount of flat lighting is required for a scene. A PAR can is a sealed beam PAR lamp housed in a simple can-like unit. Like an old-fashioned automotive headlight, the reflector is integral to the lamp and the beam spread of the unit is not adjustable except by changing the lamp.

They're essentially bins with a lamp in.

PARs come in many sizes which has to do with the size of the Lens (In PAR cans the lens and the lamp are built as one unit). The silver rock and roll ones are PAR 56. The “birdies” often used for lighting backstage are PAR 16. Larger PARcans are PAR64s.

• The beam is elliptical so you can illuminate more in 1 direction than the direction perpendicular to the first

This is the simplest type of lantern, consisting of a lamp and a reflector in a box, with no lens. The reflector concentrates the light towards the opening in the box. There is no control over the focussing of a flood. Not that useful for theatrical purposes. Ours do accept gel holders.

Our two floods are Strand Coda 500s.

Batterns, also known as cyclorama or cyc lights (named because they are effective for lighting the cyclorama, a curtain at the back of the stage) are long housings typically containing multiple lamps arranged along the length of the instrument and emitting light perpendicular to its length. Lamps are often covered with gels of multiple colors (often red, green, and blue, which, in theory, allow almost any color to be mixed) with each color controlled by a separate electrical dimmer circuit.