BB&S will be introducing a series of new lights at IBC 2018, straight out of its R/D workshop, but for now the company only reveals one of them: the CBL 1 Compact Beamlight.

The BB&S CBL 1 Compact Beamlight represents a new concept for professional studio, stage and architectural lighting: with a tiny 5.5” footprint, these versatile LED powerhouses draw just 40W yet produce up to 4000-lumen output at 97 CRI. The new specimen of luminaires presented is the answer, from the Danish company, to requests for a high-performance downlight LED fixture efficient in the range of 10 to 30 meters producing a minimum of stray light, spill light and glare.

The 14-fixture family offers four fixed color temperatures (2700°K, 3000°K, 4000°K and 5600°K) and four different beam angles including 7.3, 10.7, 13.1 and 16.7 degrees. Utilizing a set beam angle and fixed color temperature allows each fixture to be extremely cost-effective. Each light can be dimmed from 100 percent to zero without stepping. BB&S has incorporated their proprietary 126mm diameter collimator lens to convert up to 90% of the LED output to produce a high intensity narrow beam with practically no spill light. By designing a highly effective heat dissipation section in the rear, BB&S Compact Beamlights do not require a cooling fan, so they run silent.

The versatility of The BB&S CBL 1 Compact Beamlight has already shown its worth in areas like theatre and architectural construction. Concert halls, auditoriums, corporate studios, broadcast studios, sports centres, worships and department stores are obviously within the category range of the BB&S CBL 1 Compact Beamlight.

“Over time we have had many requests for a down-light LED fixture that would work from 10 to 30 meters without spill, glare and stray light issues,” explains Peter Plesner, owner/co-founder of BB&S. “These lights are perfect for mounting in a news studio grid or other places where the lighting is fairly consistent, day-to-day. They are also an ideal source for lighting with reflectors like The Light Bridge’s CRLS. Clever DP’s are also using them for high output specialty uses to approximate headlights and other powerful practicals.”

While most professional fixtures produce a wider and less defined beam, the CBL 1 outputs a hard-shadow rendering beam that fades from 100% at the center to 50% at the edges, so it is well-suited for mixing and overlapping with other lights. It also eliminates the issue of blinding glare, often found with production fixtures.

Every BB&S CBL 1 comes with a standard yoke for easy mounting. Each of the 14 fixtures offers the identical 1.5 kg/3.3-lbs weight and dimensions (165mm long and 140mm diameter). This allows them to be simply re-positioned within the same grid brackets or clamps as others in the CBL 1 family.

BB&S Compact Beamlights come complete with a 3-pin XLR and 1.5 meter cable. They can be operated and dimmed in several ways starting with the optional BB&S 4-Way Controller. It runs up to 4 of the lights individually and is prepared for optional wireless DMX control or built-in DMX 512 RDM in/out with a 48V power supply. Utilizing the 4-channel control, the fixtures are fully dimmable (100% to zero) without color shift or flicker. The control offers 8- or 16-bit DMX and manual dimming plus strobe.

Another control method for single lights is via the optional BB&S 40 Watt Driver/Dimmer with 3-pin XLR connector that can be used with either a PSU or battery. For battery operation, a 40-Watt Driver/Dimmer and inline D-Tap cable work with a 14.4V V-Lock or Anton/Bauer battery. Or resourceful gaffers have the option of incorporating standard drivers that operate off 12V.

Compact Beamlights may be purchased individually or in a set of 4 with a BB&S 4-Way Controller. They begin shipping in October at an MSRP of $450 USD each. For more information about BB&S Lighting in North and South America visit www.bbslighting.com or in Europe, Africa and Asia visit: www.brothers-sons.dk.