If I had to pick three fixtures that were my favorites in the entirety of the lighting industry, it would be a very, very hard choice that I would get alot of grief for – but I can tell you that there would be about five candidates for admission onto that list! I know for a fact one of them would be the Vari*Lite VL2C, hands down, not even an option. The VL2C holds a place in my heart that cannot be shaken — that beam, that motion, HOT! Sounds like a jet engine taking off, but that was OK back then:
Another candidate is the Mac 2000 Profile II. OMFG WE HAVE DONE SO MANY SHOWS TOGETHER. I mean, who hasn’t, right? Corporate shows, theatre, tours, dance, opera, live music, films, even buildings – pretty much everything that can be lit has been lit with the lovely Mac 2000 Profile II. The Performance was cool too, I just liked the Profile II’s better. You know… showing up somewhere with Mac 2K’s meant that things were gonna at least be alright. Right? Am I just nuts? I don’t think so. Mac 2K’s rule:
Speaking with one of the guys at the Martin booth this year at LDI 2012 was pretty cool as well – they’ve designed the Mac Viper Profile as the new Sunday Stepper to the Mac 2000. Light, bright, and sexy are three words I know I used on the stand because I picked it up, saw it shine next to a Mac III, and the unit itself is one fine lookin’ mama, if I may. Check it out – the images can be clicked to see the fullsize shot:
Ah, its form factor is just perfect – I’m not a huge fan of the handles on the yoke aesthetically, but I certainly see and know their purpose. And frankly, everyone else has them on their newer units, so I’m probably the one who is wrong here! It would be cool if they were built into the yoke somehow, but they sure are utility and with good purpose.
Thinner profile (no pun intended), sexy output, under a thousand watts on the lamp. Check out this promo video, just to get an idea of the Mac Viper in motion:
Also, from the Martin website on Mac Viper Profile:
The MAC Viper Profile is a new breed of high-output profile luminaire with an exceptional feature set and highly efficient optical system that outperforms market-leading profiles in the 1200-watt range. Its 1000-watt HID source is convincingly brighter than 1200-watt fixtures and the MAC Viper Profile also outperforms them in terms of speed and compactness. Power consumption is lower and output is approximately 55% more efficient.
- 26000 lumens — Excellent light quality with a very flat and uniform field
- 1:5 zoom — Fast zoom with auto-linked focus
- Fat beam front lens — The 140 mm front lens exceeds the size of any other fixture in this segment for just the right fat beam look
- 5 + 5 rotating gobos — All glass gobos with optimal focal separation for superior morphing effects
- FX wheel — Patent-pending FX wheel provides an additional 4 fixed gobos and 135° animation effect
- CMY — Vibrant color mixing with a superior palette of colors including true reds, rich ambers, primary green and deep blues
- 8-slot color wheel — Fixed colors for added color choice
- Linear CTO — Daylight to tungsten CCT control and expansion of the CMY palette
- Dimmer and shutter – Combined dimmer/shutter system with intensity effects, instant blackout/open and smooth fades
- Iris — Fast and tight iris with adjustable dynamic effects
- Strobe — Diverse strobe effects using mechanical or electronic control or in combination
- Soft frost — A light frost leaves gobo artwork visible with a beautiful soft edge. Includes a linear focus blurring option
- 4-facet prism — Real beam separation with rotation and index control for dynamic effects and accurate tiling
I’m impressed. I’d love to drive a bunch of these Mac Vipers with a Hog 4. Great booth, by the way, Martin Professional!
Mac Viper next to a Mac III:
Here’s a slide show of all of my Martin booth photos — enjoy! Click on any photo to start to show!
