Ramp on's and ramp off's

[Sloanhaus]

What does everyone start their ramps at if they are wanting to do a regular ramp on? I have heard that you dont see any light at 40%, is this true? Thanks Brad

[omzig]

I suppose it depends on what you're dimming. For incandescent minis I usually start at 20%. Also, there is very little visible difference between 85% and 100%.

[djulien]

What does everyone start their ramps at if they are wanting to do a regular ramp on? I have heard that you dont see any light at 40%, is this true? Thanks Brad

I read in another post that there is very little difference at the upper and lower ends, but it depends on the lights you are using. For my minilights and LEDs it was around 20% min, 80% max.

It is easy to test - just plug one of each of your types of lights into an SSR, then in Vixen create a little test sequence that slowly steps up the intensity from 0% to 100% in steps of, say, 5% or 10%. I used a step interval of 2 sec in order to have time to distinguish between the steps more easily. The first step at which you see noticeable light is your effective minimum for ramps and fades, and the last step at which you detect a change is the effective max.

I find it easier to notice the first change rather than the last, so I made a second test sequence in the reverse order from the first (just invert the first one). With this one, the first step at which you notice a decrease in light is then your effective max.

Another thing to keep in mind is that with rapidly changing chase sequences, you're not going to notice a slight variation in intensity, so if you're off a few % it probably won't be noticeable.

hope this helps.

don