ELATION PROTEUS RADIUS – Road Test
ELATION PROTEUS TEST / CX MAGAZINE – Written by Kurtis Hammer
The Elation PROTEUS RADIUS is an IP66 rated moving head beam with a really long throw. It currently sits as one of the smallest lights in the Proteus range of IP rated moving heads, but don’t be fooled; it is a punchy light.
The PROTEUS RADIUS uses a 100W Solid State Phosphor-Converted light engine. It produces a dense beam similar to a laser (it isn’t a laser engine) but comes without the associated risks and regulatory challenges facing lasers. It is far from just being a one-trick pony, and the beam it produces is very impressive. As far as performance is concerned, that is its main selling point.
What is Solid-State Lighting?
Solid-state lighting, or SSL, is a type of lighting that uses semiconductor devices and wide bandgap materials to produce light. Phosphors generally convert high energy light into lower energy (cyan/green/orange/red) and/or broadband white light which falls in the visible spectrum. This process runs in contrast to your older, more traditional forms of illumination like incandescent bulbs and fluorescent lamps which use resistance or high voltage discharge in a gas to produce light, and as a by-product, heat.
The Elation PROTEUS RADIUS is an IP66 rated moving head beam with a really long throw.
It currently sits as one of the smallest lights in the Proteus range of IP rated moving heads, but don’t be fooled; it is a punchy light.
Construction
The light comes with an IP66 rating. The head cover is aluminium. It is heavier than it looks and might surprise you the first time you pick it up. It feels solid and hard wearing, like an IP66 light would. The IP66 rating also means that the light is a sealed unit, meaning zero maintenance. Just keep it clean. The handles make it easy to grab and it can be hung in any orientation. It weighs in at 20.4kg without clamps, is 516mm tall, 395mm wide, and 270mm deep.
Optics, Colour and Brightness
The PROTEUS RADIUS is super bright. It packs a punch like you wouldn’t expect. The beam it produces is a very intense 0.9° beam with an iris-like gobo to make it even smaller. To my eye it could be 0.1°. Even without haze, in a dark room it casts a serious beam.
Noteworthy is how cool the light and the beam are. It does not get hot. It uses CMY (subtractive) colour mixing and features a 25-position colour wheel. While you do lose some intensity when you shift towards some of the darker blues, purples, and reds, the light itself is bright enough to overcome this.
It has a CRI (Colour Rendering Index) score of 70 and is a native 6000K light engine, which is recorded as having a 2,700 lumen total fixture output.
Applications and Features
Use it indoors, use it outdoors; it works well anywhere it has a chance to project over some distance. It has infinite pan and tilt, which is pretty cool, and you can do a lot with it. The PROTEUS RADIUS does not have a zoom range, but it does have four prisms and two frosts to help soften and spread the light.
It has two gobo wheels, one with 13 interchangeable rotating/indexing metal gobos, while the other has 24 static stamped metal gobos. Almost all of the gobos would be considered aerial gobos as opposed to projection gobos.
Control and Programming
The PROTEUS RADIUS is very straightforward to program. It’s compatible with DMX, RDM, Art-Net and sACN. It can accept 5-pin DMX in/through as well as RJ45 Ethernet in/out. It has a proper full colour 180° reversible onboard LCD menu with a six-button touch panel and two different DMX modes.
Verdict
One of the biggest shifts in lighting technology over the last decade has been the proliferation of LED light engines. LED sources continue to gain ground in many applications they were once deemed unsuitable for, including flicker-free operation in film. Increasing R&D and product improvements are addressing other issues, including dimmer curves and redshift. There are some applications, however, that look as though an LED light engine might never suit. One of those is the narrow (less than 1 degree) long-throw beam fixture.
Phosphor source technology was first used by Elation back in 2017, right in the middle of the shift to LED lighting. They claim to be the first to use this technology in a moving head fixture. It would appear that they have tapped into something we may not be able to see LED technology accomplish. It is good to see them continue with its development.
The Elation PROTEUS RADIUS holds up very well in all categories amongst its competitors, while outperforming some on adaptability, performance, ruggedness, and excellent support.
The Specs
100W Solid State Phosphor-Converted
(SSPC) light engine
Colour temperature 6000K, CRI 70
IP66 housing
2,700 lumen total fixture output
Beam angle: 0.9˚
Infinite high-speed 360 degree pan and tilt CMY colour mixing, 25 position
colour wheel
FX package with rotating, fixed gobo, four prisms and dual frost
Dimensions: 270mm x 395mm x 516mm (L x W x H), Weight: 20.4 kg
