A single spotlight with two powerful strobes, a floodlight with high color rendering and a direct vision blinder with pixel function: this is the new Q-8 spotlight from SGM. Like many other companies in the event industry, the Danish lighting manufacturer has used the forced break to push ahead with its own developments. At the same time, the past few months have left a strong sense of cohesion. In this interview, SGM talks about the new spotlight, the decision to launch it on the market now and expectations for the coming months.
You recently launched a very versatile lamp on the market with the Q-8 spotlight. What can the spotlight be used for?
The Q-8 is a versatile and robust combination of flood, pixel, blinder and strobe with a wide range of control options in a housing that is also suitable for fixed installations thanks to its IP66 rating. The DualSource spotlight combines the best features of the SGM classics Q-7, G-7 and P-6 and expands them with additional functions. We are talking here about the combination of a 57,000 lumen strobe/blinder with a 53,000 lumen floodlight in studio quality. As usual, the Q-8 is manufactured to the highest quality standards and offers two rows of white LEDs above and below the color LED surfaces in addition to the surface LEDs.
The event industry has been hit hard over the past two years. What were the reasons for launching the spotlight on the market now?
There were enough reasons not to launch the headlight on the market at the moment, we won’t deny that. But when would have been a good time? It just felt right to “release” the Q-8 in the second quarter of 2021 and if you’re always waiting for the one moment when the circumstances are perfect, then you’re waiting forever. We weren’t afraid of this particular task.
What expectations do you have for the development of the industry in the coming weeks and months?
The demands of the market, both in the entertainment and architecture sectors, will become even greater in the coming months and in order to better support the restart of the event industry after the pandemic and at the same time offer more service, our office and field team is constantly expanding. It was easy to see last summer, but as soon as it is 100% possible again, everything in the industry will be running at full speed, even overnight if necessary.
Many trade fairs have not taken place for two years. How important are trade fairs now?
Trade fairs are still a very valuable opportunity for us to get in touch with familiar faces as well as new ones. As we haven’t had any face-to-face contact for a long time now, it is extremely exciting to see our competitors and talk to them. We are very pleased that most of them have survived this difficult time and for us it feels like there is a stronger sense of cohesion because the last 1 ½ years have shaped us in a similar way. Of course, we also want to show our customers that we have not been asleep during this time, but have continued to work on interesting innovations that we can now finally present to them “hands on” again.
We are optimistic about the future and assume that Prolight + Sound 2022 will take place. Are you currently planning to take part and if so, will there be any surprises?
We are similarly optimistic and are pleased to announce that we will be attending Prolight + Sound 2022. I think anyone who has been to the SGM stand in recent years will agree with me when I say that we are always good for a surprise or two. Especially after two years of a forced break, we have some innovations in store that can hardly wait to be tried out.
