VistaBeam Fixture

The VistaBeam 600 and 300 display a broad soft beam for studio and location lighting. The VistaBeam 600 puts out more light than a 4K quartz softlight (120VAC) but uses only 9 Amps of power compared to 34 Amps needed for the quartz light. It’s compact sibling, the VistaBeam 300, is half the size and delivers more light than a 2,000 watt quartz softlight.

Kino Flo designed the VistaBeam series to be a lightweight alternative to conventional studio softlights such as “chicken coops” and “space lights”. VistaBeams also do a better job of illuminating interior and exterior sets with daylight quality light than HMI’s punching through fabric diffusion boxes. Fitted with narrow spectrum blue or green visual effects lamps, VistaBeams are ideal for composite screen lighting applications.

The unique lighting characteristics and fixture design of this new VistaBeam have already captured the imagination of film, video and photo lighting professionals worldwide, and have earned the respect of lighting departments grateful for the fresh stream of rental income.


Dmx and Manual Control

 

DMX Panel                Remote Control

The VistaBeam 600 uses seven DMX addresses (6 for individual lamps + 7th address to control high output/standard output light levels). The VistaBeam 300 uses four DMX addresses (3 for individual lamps + 4th address to control high output/ standard output light levels).

An optional remote control can be used to turn lamps on and off.

VistaBeam Louver & Gel Frame (Included)

 

The VistaBeam Fixture includes a 90° Honeycomb Louver and Gel Frame.

Kino Flo Honeycomb Louvers control and focus the light better than conventional barn doors. The specially designed metal foil Louvers are also available in 60° or 45° which narrow the light spread with minimal light loss.

The Gel Frame fits into the accessory holder of the fixture. Retractable pins hold the gel frame in place. Eight clips are provided to secure the gel to the frame.


VistaBeam Reflector

The VistaBeam 600 enjoys unique optical characteristics that are very similar to the popular Kino Flo ParaBeam® fixtures. Both these lights use parabolic reflectors that put out a highly efficient lateral beam of light. Unlike conventional softlights, such as quartz or HMI sources, which disperse their light in a general pattern, the VistaBeam concentrates its beam of light at about six meters from the fixture. By rotating the VistaBeam fixture either vertically or horizontally on the center mounting system, the operator has control over the orientation of the beam.


VistaBeam 96W Lamps



VistaBeams use new high-output 96 Watt T7 Twin tubes. Operating on a proprietary new flicker-free ballast, the
34-inch (86cm) T7 lamp produces more lumens per watt than any other high-output True Match lamp. T7’s come
in True Match KF29 (3000K) tungsten balanced, KF55 (5500K) daylight balanced, and visual effects colors: a
420nm blue and a 550nm green lamp for blue and green screen composite photography.


Corner Accessory Block


Corner Mount on VistaBeam 600                                  Corner Mount Block


The removable Corner Mount blocks are made of high-impact plastic. They are designed to:

• Absorb shock in case the fixture is dropped.
• Act as an accessory holder for gels, louvers and China Soft Dome.
• Provide hanging points when rigging with ropes or cables.
• Act as rigging point for clipping cards.
• Stack neatly to store multiple fixtures.

Gel Frame clips into corner block.	Louver clips into Corner Block.	Four-point rope hang

Center Mount Option

	VistaBeam with Center Mount	Center Mount Assembly (Included)	Junior Pin Stand Adapter (Included)
The fixture accommodates either a center mount or a yoke mount. The center mount is ideal for location shooting and allows the fixture to spin 360 degrees to produce a wide range of desired beam angles. The Junior Stand Adapter is best suited for stand mounting. If used to hang in a studio the fixture weight will not be properly centered. Hanging Adapter for Center Mount Option          Junior Hanging Adapter The Junior Hanging Adapter is used for hanging from a grid. Remove Junior Stand Adapter and attached hanging adapter at the end of the speed-rail pipe. The Hanging Adapter centers the weight of the fixture. Other Rigging Options   Speed Rail compatible                       Four-point rope hang The Mount arm is made of 1.66” O.D (42mm OD) pipe. This is a common rigging pipe used with Speed Rail™ fittings. Custom rigs can be easily assembled to hold larger banks of fixtures for specialty studio applications. Yoke Mount Option
	VistaBeam with Yoke	Yoke Assembly (Included)	Junior Pin (Sold seperately)

The removable Yoke Mount can attach in two directions on the edge of the VistaBeam to fix the beam in a horizontal or vertical orientation. The Yoke can attach to stands or studio grid hardware via a standard junior pin. Operators can choose between a “stand” version design or a straight “hanging” adapter version when mounting the fixture.

In order to appreciate the advantages and the advancements of VistaBeam technology, one has to compare the VistaBeam to other studio softlight sources.

Tungsten-based softlights like “chicken coop” or “space light” style fixtures have common operating characteristics. First, they are power guzzlers that can draw from 32 to 50 Amps at 120 VAC and only produce as much light as a VistaBeam 600 that uses barely 10 amps of power. Further, tungsten globes have a 200-hour life. Or less. This means that a production can expect to change globes every 16 to 20 days of shooting. By contrast, the T7 True Match lamps in a VistaBeam are rated for more than 10,000 hours under normal operating conditions. A VistaBeam takes six T7 lamps. A 6K chicken coop takes six 1,000 watt bulbs, each costing 20% more per bulb. The cost savings over tungsten bulb replacements is huge.

The excessive heat produced by tungsten bulbs causes other problems. For example, running at more than 600° Celsius, there is a danger of a faulty lamp exploding and the resulting hot shards of glass damaging the set or injuring personnel under the lights. By contrast, the VistaBeam operates coolly, at about 70° Celsius. The T7 lamps don’t explode like a tungsten bulb. Not to mention that the low operating temperature of a VistaBeam affords substantially lower air-conditioning costs.

There is an important practical advantage to the long lived lamps as well. Once a fixture is rigged high up in the studio grid, it can be very difficult to maintain the fixture once the set is built below. As a result, fewer lamp replacements in a hard-to-reach location translate into lower labor costs. And by simply mixing True Match ® KF55 and KF29 lamps in the VistaBeam, lighting designers can produce a range of color temperatures using the remote DMX protocol without sending crew members up to change out color gels.

Softlights radiate light in a broad field. Flags, cutters, skirts or louvers are needed to concentrate the light into specific areas. The VistaBeam optical reflector drives the light out in a lateral beam. The beam is focused at about six meters. This highly efficient reflector maximizes the light output and concentrates it where it is needed most. To achieve a broad distribution of light, diffusion gels can be used to break the optical characteristics of the fixture. An optional soft China Dome can also be used for broader soft light distribution.

Blue and green screen lighting applications will also benefit from the optical design of the VistaBeam. The units can be positioned closer the to screen at a sharper angle than the popular Image 80 and Image 85 series cyc lighting fixtures. The result is higher light levels using fewer fixtures. Unlike tugsten far cycs and sky pan lighting systems, the VistaBeam can take blue and green spiked visual effects lamps that further enhance the suitability of the fixtures for composite photography.

As a soft light instrument the VistaBeam has a high potential for use on film and TV production sets. All set lighting rental operations profit from equipment that is in steady use. The less time it sits on the shelf the more profit it generates. The VistaBeam series will not only be a popular location or studio soft key light but can be used in place of more traditional single application instruments such as those discussed above.