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Vari*Lite
VL5

(1992)

If an original goal for Vari-Lite had been a Par Can that could move and change colour, the VL5 delivered it. But it also marked a step change for the company: the first Vari-Lite that could be controlled by DMX, and the first anyone could rent without having Vari-Lite technicians on hand.

It is one of the most elegant moving lights ever produced, with a beautiful light from its 1000W tungsten lamp, and that completely unique appearance when looking into it...

That came from the colour mechanism: like the VL3, colour change was achieved by rotating dichroic glass, but here each colour consisted of 16 triangular fins radiating from the central point of the beam, plus a fourth set for diffusion. A VL5B version changed the dichroics slightly to allow cool, theatrical colours to be mixed.

At the front of the light an interchangeable lens allowed for different beam choices - later a liquid lens allowed the beam size to be changed on the fly.

A mention also to the VL5's moulded plastic flight cases, so distinctively different from the standard flight cases of the day!