The new Genaray LF-RGB-65 LED Fresnel brings long-lasting LED versatility to an historic fixture of stage and screen lighting. This is an affordable, feature-filled light for photographers and videographers.

What is a fresnel?

A fresnel light (pronounced frəˈnel) has a stairsteped lens that varies the spread of the beam. Frenel is named after Augustin-Jean Fresnel, who invented it for use in lighthouses. Focusing a fresnel changes the spread from a narrow-angle to a wider one by moving the light assembly in the instrument’s housing. Traditional fresnels use incandescent or tungsten bulbs. Their color temperature is around 3,200ºK. Colors are created by putting a gel in front of the lens. Fresnels are a staple in theatre, television and film.

The fresnel lens is stair stepped not curved.
The stair-stepped front lens is called a fresnel lens

Genaray LF-RGB-65 LED Fresnel — Overview

The Genaray LF-RGB-65 features a 6.5-inch borosilicate glass fresnel lens. The light focuses its beam from 25º to 65º. The edges are never as sharp as they would be in a spotlight. The fresnel lens gives a wash of light, perfect for overhead portraits or backgrounds. The tighter the focus, the brighter the light. In front of that are slots for a gel filter in thin frames and for the included barn doors. The barndoors cut the size and shape of illumination.

This 200-watt light is fan-cooled and all metal, so it’s solid. It’s also heavy, weighing in at almost 21 pounds or 9.4 kilograms. The metal yoke has a 5/8-inch receiver that fits on professional stands like Matthews C-Stands or Impact Heavy Duty Air-Cushioned 9.5′ light stands. A rolling stand like the Impact Folding Wheeled Base Stand (Black/Chrome-plated, 11′) is ideal for making quick lighting adjustments.

The unit runs on AC power. The instructions do not mention that there is no built-in flash or umbrella mount. Neither is an issue, really. Fresnels are used to wash, not bounce light.

Genaray LF-RGB-65 LED Fresnel — Output

This light is powerful! The LF-RGB-65 shines brightly, emitting almost 18,000 lux and 3.3 feet (1 meter) when focused to 25º. Flooded to 65º it hits 11,200 lux again at 3.3 feet or 1 meter. Both are for 5,600ºK. CRI is 97. The built-in dimmer ranges from 0 to 100%.

Lots of color modes

The LF-RGB-65 is more than just a tungsten/daylight instrument. The 78 LED COB (Chips On Board) gives it modes for CCT, CCT Hue Shift, RGB, HSI, Gel and SFX. Here’s a look at each of these colorful features.

A 78 LED COB makes this a bright and colorful fixture
The 78-chip COB array powers LF-RGB-65.

CCT

The base color range is 2,800ºK through 6,500ºK — candlelight to open shade — in 100ºK increments. Brightness is from 10% to 100%.

CCT Hue Shift

This mode is CCT plus magenta/green hue shift used for balancing the LF-RGB-65 to existing situations like working under fluorescent light.

DMX input and output sockets, RGB/Color, mode, confirm, brightness, RGB/CCT controls
DMX sockets, color mode and brightness control are grouped around the display. The display shows CCT Hue Shift mode: Intensity: 85%, Color Temp: 5600ºK and a 0.4 minus magenta correction for fluorescent.

HSI mode

HSI (Hue, Saturation, Intensity) is selected with the Color knob. Intensity is changed using Brightness. Press Confirm to lock in the choice. If Confirm is not pressed, the setting will revert to the previous one.

RGB mode

This mode chooses color using the RGB model that controls color in Photoshop. The Color dial chooses an R, G and B value. Brightness adjusts the color value from 0 to 255.

Gel mode

The LF-RGB-65 has 22 preset gels available. This is my least favorite mode because the number of options is limited. That said, using HSL mode offers 360 colors. This is not a deal breaker at all.

SFX mode

Special effects are a standard feature in most RGB LED offerings. The LF-RGB-65 does not disappoint. It sports 14 effects, from a flickering candle to three versions of police flashers, two types of lightning, light of watching television and yellow, blue, green and pink scenes loops through each color’s RGB settings. A rapid flashing effect for the hue that’s set in RGB mode.

These effects make the LF-RGB-65 quite useful for videos. The Color dial scrolls through the effect. Press Confirm to set an effect. Brightness adjusts from 20% to 100%.

Genaray LF-RGB-65 LED Fresnel — Barndoors

Fresnels are designed to wash light over the subject or background. The focus controls the spread of the light. The barndoors help shape the area covered.

Traditional fresnels have a spring-loaded catch at the top front that rotates out of the way so barndoors can slide into the provided slot. The LF-RGB-65 has a similar catch. Unfortunately, on the light I received it must be removed completely before the barndoors can be fitted. A Phillips-style screwdriver fits the clip’s screw. The barndoors themselves can only be closed in one direction because the smaller side doors are the wrong shape.

The top photo shows where the clip would normally rotate out of the way. The bottom photo shows fitting the barndoors into their slot on the light.
Top: Clip removed. Bottom: Sliding the barndoors into place.

Genaray LF-RGB-65 LED Fresnel — Future feature?

There is a semi-mystery three-pin socket on the power side of the Generay LF-RGB-65. Under it is a battery symbol, the greater than or equal to glyph and the words 230WH-14.8v. There is no mention of this plug in the instruction manual, nor is there an accessory connector shown on the product’s website. It looks like this fresnel can be battery-powered. Is this a future accessory Generay anticipates?

The power side of the light. The mystery socket is under the on/off switch.
The power side of the fresnel. The mystery socket is under the on/off switch.