’t know what it is, but there’s something about laser eff ects that excites my inner geek! And I know I’m not alone, as a laser at the centre of their rig is the ‘holy grail’ for many mobile DJs. Lasers create a unique kind of energy, that can’t really be achieved with any other eff ect, so I was very excited to be given the opportunity to try out Cameo’s Luke . 8800 Laser eff ects have long been used by mobile DJs for adding energy to events for younger crowds, such as school and college proms as well as 18th and 21st birthday parties.

However, as many of today’s brides and grooms grew up in the clubbing heyday of the 90s and early 00s, wedding DJs are now oft en required to include a set of dance classics for which a laser eff ect can really help to create the right sort of atmosphere. It wasn’t so long ago that the laser eff ects on the market either didn’t off er enough power to create real wow-factor or were prohibitively expensive. These days, advances in technology and decreases in cost mean that a professional standard, high output, laser is within the realms of aff ordability for mobile DJs, and one such unit is the Cameo Luke .

Cameo is the lighting brand of equipment distributor Adam Hall, which is also the company behind the LD Systems audio range. Cameo has been making waves recently on the DJ lighting scene, with a host of interesting new products, at the forefront of which is an expansive line-up of laser effects. The Luke series sits in the middle of this range, with the less professional and lower priced Wookie series below and the top-of-the-range Ioda series above.

With a good balance of features vs. power vs. price, the Luke series appears to be the best choice for professional mobile DJs. Within this series there are three models: the , the and the . So this review is of the middle model, of the middle series, in the Cameo laser range, which I think is a good place to start. The Luke is a professional multi-colour laser effects projector powered by a 300mW red (650 nm) diode laser, an 80mW green (532 nm) DPSS laser and a 300mW blue (447 nm) diode laser.

It features high-speed 30 Kpps (kilo points per second) galvo scanners which enable the beam(s) to be positioned accurately, and moved quickly, anywhere within a 60-degree scan angle. The unit itself has a very robust aluminium casing, which is powder-coated in matt black. The extremely sturdy hanging bracket, which locks into place accurately using plastic thumbscrews on each side, is then finished in silver to give the fixture a distinctive look. Weighing in at 5.5kg, and measuring 215 x 157 x 225mm, the unit is compact and manageable, while having a reassuring feel of substance when you handle it.

CAMEO LUKE his is a professional-standard fixture with locking Powercon power input, and output, sockets. There are two fans positioned on the side of the unit to keep running cool and a Perspex panel over the aperture that protects the scanning mirrors. Safety features include a key switch and emergency stop switch socket, as well as a Scan Fail Safety system. When I first switched on the Luke have to say that I was very impressed by its brightness.

The beams are vivid and the projected patterns are sharp. The fixture is more than capable of filling average-sized function rooms with impressive laser effects. However, if you want to be sure that your laser beams will cut through other lighting effects in particularly large rooms, opting for the more powerful Luke version may be worthwhile. The balance of power between the three laser sources is good, with each primary colour holding its own when compared to the others.

This is contrary to some RGB laser effects that I’ve seen where the green laser significantly outshines the red and blue diodes. The colour alignment is also very good; I’d say better than any I’ve seen in this price bracket. When looking at projected patterns closely, sometimes the overlapped beams are visible, with a thin line of red above, and green bellow, yellow projections, for example. However, overall, the combined colours are well mixed and uniform.

The unit offers a vibrant yellow, electric cyan, hot pink (ma- CAMEO LUKE ameo Luke genta) and bright white, in addition to the red, green and blue primary colours. it The speed and precision of the scanning mirrors is also impressive. This allows for detailed patterns and animations to be created that are very effective, both for generating mid-air beam effects in a hazy atmosphere and for projecting onto the walls or ceiling of a venue. A total of 128 patterns are pre-programmed into the Luke ’s internal memory, which include a combination of shapes intended to create mid-air effects and pictures designed for projection onto a surface.

The collection of beam eff ect patterns is expansive. There are simple lines, circles, squares and triangles, along with more complex shapes like spirals, hearts and stars. There are also patterns made up of multiple separate shapes, such as a line of circles and a circular arrangement of triangles, which look incredible mid-air in a dark and hazy room. When it comes to the picture patterns these can be grouped into three categories: objects, people and animals.

In addition, the numbers 1 to 9 are also included as pre-set patterns. The objects include a rose, apple and car, while the people patterns involve the outline of a girl dancing. I’d say the animal patterns are the most detailed and these include a fl ying eagle, swimming fi sh, running dog and what can best be described as some kind of alien performing a spanking motion! (Although apparently it is the lizzard from Cameo's logo). THE EARLY DAYS 81 Cameo Luke s with most modern lighting and the Luke effects equipment, the Luke 700 other Luke fixtures RGB can be operated in a variety Slave operation, but of different modes to suit different models from the Ioda users and applications.

An advanced 16-character backlit display screen, For remote selection located on the rear panel, provides patterns and colours, a very intuitive menu-driven interalso compatible with face for mode selection and DMX 4-channel mode addressing. triggering of the modes, as well as For simple plug-and-play operavidual specific patterns tion, the unit offers an Automatic (including split colour Mode as well as a Sound Mode trigmode also allows gered by an internal microphone ing feature that complete with rotary sensitivity the projected beam control.

In addition to altering the altered or animated animation speed of the Automatic out automatically. A Mode, the menu interface can 11-channel mode is also be used to tailor these two which allows further standalone modes to a particular of the patterns event or your personal prefer- (in all three axes), ences. In these modes the unit cyand control of scan cles through its pre-programmed a ‘drawing’ effect. patterns but you can choose just the beam effects, or just the pic- The Luke tures (labelled as ‘Cartoon’ on the ible with the menu), or a mix of them all.

Furcontrol protocol ILDA, thermore, if you select the Cartoon that is can be operated option, you have another choice ILDA control system. between Animals, People, Objects software full control or a mixture. Multiple fixtures can beam movement is also be linked together in a Master/ ing that the unit Slave configuration in both Autoproject custom-designed matic and Sound Mode. Not only is logos and animations. 82 compatible with It’s worth mentioning that, due to for Master/ the wide beam angle, the projected also any of the patterns will more than fi ll the far series. wall of an average-sized function room if the unit is setup at the front. of individual Obviously, if controlled via DMX or the unit is ILDA, it is easy to zoom the pattern DMX.

A basic to create a smaller projection, howallows remote ever, I was impressed that it’s also various automatic possible to do this in the standalone selection of indimodes. Via the menu interface there and colours is an option that allows the size of options). This the projection angle to be varied, access to a zoomwhich means that it’s easy to set up allows the size of the unit so that its projected patpattern to be terns neatly fi t into a given space, to zoom in and regardless of the distance between more advanced the unit and projection surface. also available, manipulation All in all, the Cameo Luke including rotation seems to be a very well thought X/Y positioning out fi xture that is ideal for mobile speed as well as DJ use.

It off ers good build quality, bright output and fast mirror scanning, together with the fl exibility of is also compateasy standalone operation, advanced international laser DMX control and full ILDA support. which means If you’re looking to enhance your using any mobile rig with the wow factor of Using ILDA multi-coloured laser eff ects, this is of the laser defi nitely worth serious considerapossible, meantion, especially as all Cameo lasers are can be used to provided with a 2 year warranty as patterns, standard which includes the diodes.

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