The Clay Paky Alpha Profile 1200 luminaire that combines the technology of the other Clay Paky Alpha range luminaires with an exclusive, patented framing system. The unit features a zoom range of 10° to 30°, a full color system, 14 gobos, an animation effect system, and a prism. With this unit, you can combine effects to get a wide variety of beam shapes and sizes. If you are looking for a beam-shaping profile, then consider getting a demo of the Alpha Profile 1200.

What It Does

The Alpha Profile 1200, a 1,200W luminaire with an electronic zoom, requires 31 channels of DMX for control. The unit features 200 to 240V and 100 to 120V 50/60Hz power supplies, which can be changed over with the built-in selector. It works with Osram 1,200W HTI lamps in either 6,000°K or 7,500°K color temperatures with an average rated life of 750 hours. The body of the unit comprises an aluminum structure with a die-cast plastic cover. It has a pan range of 450° and a tilt range of 252°. At maximum speed, it takes four seconds to pan 360°, and it takes 3.2 seconds to tilt 252°. There are axial fans for forced-cooling; safety devices include a bipolar circuit breaker with thermal protection and an automatic cut-out of the power supply in case of overheating. The light weighs 86 lbs, 14 ozs (39.5kg), and is ETL- and CE-rated.

Clay Paky America managing director Francesco Romagnoli points out some of the features of the Alpha Profile 1200: “The framing system, designed and patented by Clay Paky, operates on four focal planes, generating triangular and quadrangular profiles — rhombuses, trapezoids, etc. — in various shapes and sizes, and the exclusive total curtain effect. This means that the whole light beam can be closed with a single blade. The framing system consists of four blades moving independently from each other with speeds adjustable from the console. Each of the blades is connected to two motors — that determines its movement — and is fixed at the end with worm screws that provide it with linear and regular advancement until they are totally overlapped. This operation keeps each blade in focus in any position. Perfectly defined profiles are obtained in this way that can vary, transform, and compose themselves in space, without compromising the projection quality in any way. It is also possible to obtain complex geometrical figures, such as a large equilateral triangle — impossible to reproduce without the system described above. The whole framing system can also rotate through 90° (±45°) with linearity and at an adjustable speed.”

Romagnoli moves on to describing the color and gobo system of the Alpha Profile unit. “Any shape obtained can be colored with infinite color shadings [CMY + linear CTO + color wheel], fixed and dynamic images that include 14 special gobos in dichroic glass, six of which can rotate, plus animation effects that can also be multiplied with the rotating prism,” he says. “We refer to this as Framed Moving Images, or the FMI effect.” The Alpha Profile 1200 comes with interchangeable gobos in dichroic glass on both the rotating and fixed gobo wheels, and a gobo-shake option that can be selected for both wheels.

Clay Paky wants potential users to note the new design for dimming the Alpha Profile 1200. “The dimmer is on a dedicated channel,” comments Romagnoli. “It is very linear and uniform, thanks to the combination between electronic — reduces brightness by up to 50% — and mechanical dimming.” Two frost filters, high-speed mechanical iris, and stop/strobe effect round out the fixture's effects.

How It Came To Be

“In 2002, Clay Paky presented the Stage Profile Plus 1200, taking the path to producing a professional beam-shaper,” says Romagnoli of the evolution of the Alpha Profile 1200. “The product had great success in professional show lighting because it offered original features in both the framing system and the effects. In 2006, Clay Paky decided to incorporate some of the revolutionary advancements of this product into the whole of the Alpha Range. After a careful study and stringent verification tests run by R&D manager Angelo Cavenati and his team, Alpha Profile 1200 was ready for the official presentation at the 2006 SIB show. From the time of its development to now, Alpha Profile 1200 has been used in some of the major events, both in the US and internationally.”