AYRTON KARIF LT

The Ayrton Karif LT is part of the Ayrton Long Throw (LT) series. For those familiar with the Ayrton range, it is a similar size and shape to the Ayrton Diablo and the Ayrton Mistral. It is a hybrid beam/spot LED moving head fixture. It is the first hybrid LED moving head that Ayrton have brought to market. It features an intense long throw beam, a very large zoom ratio (17:1 and a zoom range of 2.8° to 47°), an expansive selection of gobos (of which there are 48 total) and a variety of aerial effects.

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Construction

As a 27kg light, the output would suggest it should be much heavier, but the optical system is very efficient. It comes in at 622mm tall, 365mm wide and 212mm deep.

It’s IP rating is IP20, which is pretty much the same IP rating as every other ‘indoor’ fixture. I thought it was an interesting choice to build a light with such a good, high end long throw optical system but not have it rated for outdoor use. But then again, the Ayrton range is so large, they have exactly this covered in another fixture.

An understated feature that is easy to overlook is the small base and how it allows you to hang and mount them close together for a good en-masse type look. It uses two on your standard omega style brackets, like just about every other Ayrton fixture.

It has a liquid cooling system onboard which is much more efficient than your standard air-cooled set-up. It also has variable speed fans for quiet operation, which is a nice feature, but I do wonder how useful it is in a long throw light.

Optics, Colour and Brightness

The Karif offers a 300W light engine calibrated at 8000K. It uses a new miniaturised high-efficiency low-etendue compact LED module. The whole unit draws just 550W of power, which is pretty impressive given the output. It’s a very bright light with punch that goes for miles.

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What is Etendue?

Etendue is a property of light, which measures how concentrated or “spread out” the light is from its source in area and angle, not to be confused with beam angle. Etendue can remain constant, or it can increase as light travels through an optic, but it cannot decrease. Typically, the lower the etendue, the brighter and more efficient the source is.

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The Karif LT uses subtractive (CMY) colour mixing, variable CTO and a multi position colour wheel. The white is very cool, and almost metallic. The colour saturation is good, producing colours that are crisp. Like all lights with subtractive colour mixing, you do lose a bit of intensity with your dark blues, purples, and dark reds. I do wonder if we will see a day soon where the lumen output of a fixture will remain the same regardless of what colour is used.

The fixture has a 168mm frontal lens. The Kariff LT offers a substantial zoom ratio of 17:1 and a zoom range of 2.8° to 47°. Its ability to focus a gobo at maximum zoom and minimum zoom is impressive.

You do lose a bit of intensity the further out you zoom the light, but much like the darker colours, this is a pretty normal thing.

The unit has an overall output of 14,000 lumens. Although the zoom range is impressive, I feel the real highlight from an optical perspective is the strength of the beam it produces.

Applications and Features

The Karif LT has infinite pan but not infinite tilt; quite a feat when you consider how ‘top heavy’ the light is and how small a base it has. Although not the fastest continuous tilt I’ve seen, it does move pretty fast. One thing I do notice with a lot of fixtures that feature infinite pan and tilt is that the indexing ability of the light (its ability to accurately recall saved positions) is somewhat compromised. That does not appear to be the case here. Although not infinite, the tilt range is still a pretty impressive 263°.

The Karif LT is set up to create a number of aerial and projection effects. It has four colour-temperature correction filters, and nine complementary colour filters on two concentric circles. Its also equipped with a bi-directional continuous dynamic effects wheel. The prism effect system comprises four individually combinable prisms, coupled with 48 fixed and rotating gobos.

A light like this would look really good behind a band. Whether its shooting beams from a truss, on the floor, or projecting gobos, the Karif LT would be perfect. You just wouldn’t use them as front light.

Control and Programming

For those familiar, the Karif LT has your standard Ayrton menu, and the onboard LCD display that can flip with the click wheel. It also has your standard 5-pin XLR for DMX, has wireless capabilities, and is also RDM compatible.

It has three different DMX modes ranging from 32 channels up to 46 channels.

For power, it features powerCON TRUE1 male and female connectors. This has become industry standard, taking over from standard powerCON.

Verdict

With the recent rapid fire of releases from Ayrton, they have representation into just about every corner of the moving light market. The Karif LT produces a really nice, crisp, strong beam that projects a long distance. The gobo range is excellent and looks well at home in any larger indoor lighting rig.

Product Info: www.ayrton.eu

Distributor Australia and New Zealand: www.showtech.com.au

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The Specs

• 13-element 17:1 zoom
• High-resolution optic system
• Beam aperture: 2.8° to 47° 168mm frontal lens
• 20,000 lumens 8000K white-light engine Total luminaire output: up to 14,000 lumens Colour temperature output: 7000K
• CRI: greater than 70
• Moving-head range: infinite rotation (pan), 263° (tilt)
• Fixed colour wheel with progressive CTO, four colour temperature correction and nine complementary colours
• Indexable rotating gobo wheel with nine HD glass gobos, plus open position
• Fixed multi-position gobo wheel with instant access to 19 HD glass gobos and 20 metal gobos on three concentric circles (patent pending)
• Heavy and light frost filters
• Graphic animation effect-wheel with bi-directional continuous rotation
• Prism effect system comprising four combinable rotating prisms
• Dimensions: 365 x 622 x 212mm (l x h x d), 27kg