Claypaky’s Sharpy Returns for Weather Ready, Camera Safe Shows

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Welcome to the show, Lacey.
I want to start with a name that

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can still wake up a lighting
programmer at 2 AMA Sharpie.

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And now Clay Paki's brought it
back as the Ultimo Sharpie, the

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CD 30-40, with that very subtle
message of the icon returns.

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But the real thing is, they
didn't just dust off an old beam

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light.
They're pitching it as brighter,

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faster, and tougher.
And that last word is the one

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that jumps out at me.
Yeah, Icon gets thrown around a

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lot, but Sharpie is one of those
names people actually say like

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it's a category, like tissues
and Kleenex.

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So when you say tougher, you
mean the IP66 part, right?

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Because IP66 on a beam fixture
is not a little speck bump.

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Exactly, IP66 means it's built
to deal with dust and water

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jets, which is a very different
life than the old school.

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Please don't let the rain hit
the rig world.

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So this next Gen. version's not
just for the dry indoor arena

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show play.
Paki is very clearly aiming it

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at indoor and outdoor use, live
event and broadcast.

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That's a broad lane for one
compact beam moving head.

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And that broadcast word matters
because for years there were

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fixtures that looked great in
the room and then the video

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people would go, Nope, not near
my cameras.

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If a thing can live in concert
world and television world,

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that's a different buyer
conversation.

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Yep, and that's why this launch
is interesting.

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Beyond nostalgia, production
teams are trying to reduce the

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number of 1 trick fixtures in
inventory.

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If one unit can do your beam
look, survive weather and behave

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for cameras, that changes prep,
trucking, spares, all of it.

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You don't want to own three
separate answers if one answer

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gets you close enough across the
board.

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So where does inner circle
distribution fit into this?

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Because that's the practical
question.

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It's one thing to admire a
product page.

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It's another thing to actually
source the thing, service it,

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and get answers when you're on a
deadline.

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Right.
And listeners should know the

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Ultimo Sharpie is available
through Inner Circle

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distribution.
I'm not doing the cheesy ad read

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voice here call now operators
are standing by.

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But distribution does matter,
especially on fixtures like

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this, where buyers are looking
at support, availability and

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whether the product sits inside
a real entertainment gear

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ecosystem, not just on a
website.

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Thank you for not doing the
operator voice.

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But yes, if you're a production
manager or a shop, the chain

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matters.
Can I get it?

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Can I maintain it?
Can my team fold it into an

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existing package without making
everybody learn a whole new

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religion?
And that's where the comeback

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angle gets smart Clay Packy's
leaning into a known name while

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modernizing the use case.
They're also tying it to that

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50th anniversary innovation
push, which, OK, that's

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branding.
But in fairness, this does feel

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like a product with a point of
view.

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It's saying, remember the
original Sharpie energy?

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Now make it weather ready,
camera friendly and useful in

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2026 workflows.
I like that in theory.

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I guess my pushback is this.
A comeback only matters if the

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new version solves current
headaches, not just old

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memories.
If I'm hearing IP66 broadcast

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indoor outdoor, OK, now I'm
listening.

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That's not a museum piece,
that's a road case argument.

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That's it.
It's only the icon returns if it

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can still earn the truck space.
So let's get into the numbers

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because this is where I stopped
being sentimental and start

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being annoying.
The lamp is a custom 250 Watt OS

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RAM, short arc HID right?
And clay Paki says up to 6000

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hours.
That 6000 hour number is the

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kind of thing OPS people
remember because lamp life

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equals budgeting.
Correct, custom 250 W OS RAM

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short arc HID up to 6000 hours
and the output claim is 100,000

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lux at 20 meters.
Or if you're still thinking in

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feet 90,300 plus foot candles at
65 feet.

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That's a serious beam statement
from a compact fixture.

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And they're talking about a
crystal clear Halo free beam,

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which is exactly what people
loved about the Sharpie lineage

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in the first place.
Wait, 100,000 lux at 20 meters

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is the part that'll stick for
me.

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That's the spec where you're
basically saying no, no, this

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thing is going to read in the
room because beam fixtures live

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or die on whether they cut
through everything else.

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Absolutely, but the more modern
trick might be the low noise

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mode firmware update. 7DB
reduction in sound while keeping

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90% of the original light
output.

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That's not just a comfort
feature, that's a placement

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feature.
It means you can get closer to

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quiet environments, television
studios, broadcast spaces, maybe

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more sensitive corporate rooms
without immediately getting the

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side eye from audio and video.
The seven DB is huge to me

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because that's not a marketing
whisper, that's a real reduction

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people can notice, and if you're
still holding 90% output, you're

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not neutering the fixture just
to make it polite.

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Exactly, and Clay Paki keeps
hammering flicker free operation

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too, plus high resolution
dimming.

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They specify a 24 bit electronic
and mechanical dimmer with five

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curves and the pitch is smooth
cinematic fades with 0 flicker.

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That matters because beam
fixtures are not always where

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people expect elegant fades.
Sometimes they're just on off

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laser swords.
This sounds more refined than

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that.
Laser swords is accurate.

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OK, let me play it back.
They want the beam punch, but

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they also want the fixture to
dim gracefully enough for camera

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work and cleaner transitions.
So it's not just aerials and

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chaos, and it's controlled
chaos.

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Beautifully put, and movement
wise they're promising ultra

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fast tilt and infinite pan
rotation.

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So the classic Sharpie snap is
still part of the pitch

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integration's Another smart
piece.

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Sharpie emulation mode, meaning
it can drop into existing setups

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without reprogramming.
That is catnip for programmers

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and rental houses.
Legacy compatibility saves hours

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and hours of money.
Sharpie emulation mode might be

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the least glamorous feature, and
the most useful one without

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reprogramming.
Those are magic words.

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That's load insanity.
Then effects true CMY colour

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mixing an original 14 colour
fixed wheel, a high contrast

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gobo wheel with 17 positions,
plus open a 10° frost filter and

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dual independently rotating
prisms.

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So you can stay in that tight
beam language or open it up a

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bit, layer the aerials, add
texture, fake a washish moment

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when needed.
It's flexible without abandoning

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the beam identity.
And then we come back to IP66

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plus Marine Shield for salt
laden air and corrosive maritime

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conditions.
That open sea angle is very

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specific.
We're not just talking a rainy

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festival.
We're talking coastal installs,

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cruise work, harsher
environments where gear gets

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punished for a living.
Yeah, that's why this feels like

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a modernized classic, not a
nostalgia play.

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If the original Sharpie was
about to look, the Ultimo

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Sharpie is about keeping that
look alive in weather, on

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camera, and in places that would
have made older fixtures very,

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very nervous.
Which is kind of the whole game

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now, isn't it?
Not just does it look cool, but

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does it survive the actual job?
All right, that's a good place

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to leave it.
Go be nice to your crew and

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maybe a little nicer to your
fixtures.

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Make the specs so clear.
Oh La La with music to your

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ears.
Hey, hey, yay.

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Let's go.
New gear vibes, new tech.

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Jive gear heads unite.
We keep it live.

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Oh yeah, the lunar ski.
The lunar ski.

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We got it here.
Got it here.