Fresnel Spot Lights

The Fresnel Spot Lights, (pronounced: 'fren-el') provides adjustable beam spreads, from SPOT to FLOOD, (about 15-70 deg.) all in one fixture. This fixture produces a directional beam with a very soft edge (only). Fresnels are used as an efficient means of providing ACTING AREA or COLOR WASH lighting.

All Fresnel Spot Lights use a single fresnel lens, deriving the name from the French physicist Augustin Fresnel, (1788-1827). A fresnel lens is simply a form of a plano-convex lens, with certain portions of glass removed, in parallel 'steps'. This results in a lens that is thinner, lighter and more efficient than an equivalent PC (plano-convex) lens.

Fresnels are considerably less expensive than comparable ellipsoidal reflector fixtures, however, they do not have the ability to project a pattern or produce a sharp beam cut-off edge, as does an ellipsoidal fixture. Fresnels are very similar in size and construction to their counterparts, the plano-convex spotlights, the only significant difference is one uses a fresnel lens, the other a PC lens.

A fresnel lens is easy to recognize from a series of concentric rings on it's surface. In addition, most fresnel lenses have a 'stipple' etched on the back side, to further soften the beam. The higher the wattage of the fixture, the heavier the fixture weight will be, due to the larger housing and lens diameter required to withstand the extra heat generated by the lamp.