LED Fresnel projector in cool white and warm white

Robert Juliat ZEP 340LF, the cyber-Fresnel.

This entry was posted in News, Tests by Mo. Bookmark the permalink. 16 January 2014
Crédits -

Text & Photos : Tristan Szylobryt

The Fresnel and the profile spot may be the most emblematic luminaires for theatre and opera. It was only natural that France, with its rich cultural heritage, gave birth to one of the leading manufacturers of theater lighting, the timeless Robert Juliat.

Nearly 100 years after its birth, this company has remained true to its iconic classicism, at least as far as aesthetics are concerned. Following the introduction of the fully outfitted Tibo range, it was time to modernize its sacrosanct Fresnel projector, in an LED version. Join me in a tour around this high-tech fixture.

ZEP_Fresnel_340L

Previously, in SoundLightUp…

If you click in the right column on the title "Tibo 533", you will find the results of my test of the Tibo LED profile. The article is very poetically subtitled "Un Tibo, deux Tibo, plein de Tibo doudou” so that, first of all, you will get the background on Robert Juliat LED fixtures and, as a bonus, without realizing it, you will begin singing the little tune in the title.

If the Tibo range was intended as a break from tradition to offer new customers diversity and a more affordable price, ZEP, instead, fits right into the continuity and know-how of Robert Juliat, following the risky gamble of proposing LED sources in a rather conservative environment.

One recognizes the body of a halogen fixture, a precision assembly of steel and aluminum under black epoxy, a functional and classic look yet packed with features. Something with which to renew one's lighting kit without upsetting old habits. Only its DMX base and a simple display give away its type. This control panel is now common to all the Robert Juliat LED projectors.

The choice of a high-efficiency 150 W LED light source addresses several issues.
The first of these is staying within a price using a proven technology and, secondly, offering the equivalent of a 1000 W halogen source with the warm white LED version or of a 2 kW source "cooled" by a color corrector – like a Lee201 – for the cool white version.

The Cast

The two main models

The two main models: same outfit but different role.

Two models of Fresnel are available under the 340LF reference, only the color temperature of the LEDs differs. The WW model (for Warm White) is rated at 3200 K and has a beam angle variable from 11° to 68°. The CW (Cool White) model, at 6500 K, claims an output 40% higher than that of the warm white model, which sort of changes everything as we shall see later.

The fixutres are delivered in their original shipping carton with their instructions, PowerCon TRUE1 power cable, a filter holder and a Wi-Fi DMX antenna, if you purchased this option.

 

Thank you for reading this article so far. The content on SLU is 100% free to read, but not to create. In strict compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations, we invite you to tick this box and provide us with your e-mail address so that you can read the rest of this article. This will allow us to send you twice a month our newsletter, SLU Infos, and, at a maximum average of twice a week, a newsletter sponsored by one of the site's advertisers (SLU Flashup), one of our principal sources of funding. And that's all. For further information, you can read our privacy policy here. Thank you for your trust and enjoy your reading!