Parabolic Aluminized Reflector (PAR)

PAR Fixture
PAR Fixture
PAR Fixture
PAR Fixture

The traditional Parabolic Aluminized Reflector (PAR) fixture is self-contained; the lamp, parabolic reflector, and lens are combined in one unit and the instrument itself is little more than a can holding the lamp. To change field size, you change the lamp.

Typical field sizes are:

  • Very Narrow Spot (VNSP)
  • Narrow Spot (NSP)
  • Medium Flood (MFL)
  • Wide Flood (WFL)

PAR lamps are identified by their diameters, in eighths of an inch; a PAR64, therefore, is 8″ wide (because 64 eighths of an inch is 8″). Most of the larger PAR (PAR56 and PAR64) lamps have oval beams.

Recent products by Electronic Theatre Controls and Altman have separate lamps and reflectors with interchangeable lenses; in addition to the above field sizes, these newer fixtures have Extra Wide Flood (XWFL) lenses, which produce round fields.