I have two of the elation washes and they are nice.
When I did my "research" into black lighting I learned quite a bit.
I guess the "best" black lights are theatrical lights (can you say "real" ones?) that are made by a company called wildfire. As you can guess, they are very cost prohibitive, unless you get lucky and find a used one in good condition on ebay. However, then you need to worry about buying a replacement bulb as you don't know how long they will last. They are very powerful, but if you are lucky, as a mobile, you might only be able to afford one.
When I was in vegas last February, I was checking out all the new LED lights and took a close look at the balcklight panels. I took in other random peoples' opinions on what they thought and tried to compare the two lights from different displays.
IMHO, I personally think the LED blacklights look "cooler" to look at, as they are LED and LED is cool new technology, etc, etc. However, performance wise, I think the elation UV washes are a little more powerful and extend the "throw" of the black light effect farther.
I ended up buying two elation uv washes. Did I make hte "right" decision? I don't know. Honestly, I'd like to have two of the LED blacklight panels on my truss, mounted underneath my colorpalettes as they have hte same footprint and would "look good" from the audience perspective. They would get that "wow" reaction. I have thought about buying two of the LED blacklight panels ot put up on my truss for just that reason. I could then use my two elation washes as "side fill" so the blacklight effect is not just in one direction and for better coverage.
I use the black lights for more than just school dances too. They really make a bride's wedding dress "pop" for live streaming video cam action during the formal dances.
Any way you go, if you can, I would definitely recommend to buy as many black lights as possible, for back fill and/or side fill.
Incidently, the people at NLFX are awesome to deal with. I've met several of them in person in Vegas and dealt with them via phone, email, and chat and they are wonderful when it comes to super customer service and great discounts!
Good luck in making your decision!
