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Fog machine

One of the less commonly used, but most popular, items for a DJ to have is fog machines.  It's become standard practice for a DJ to have their own lights, at least if he's doing more major gigs.  A full lighting ensemble really isn't complete without a few key elements – strobe lights, a couple extra colors of lights, and fog machines.  But what stumps many DJs, and perhaps makes the use of fog machines less common, is what sort of fog machine is best to buy.

The first step here is to decide how much a part of what you're doing you want the fog machine to be.  A standard consumer machine may be all you need, if you're intending to use it only sporadically and you're playing only in smaller venues.  As you progress, however, more will be needed.

400 to 1300 watts is standard for the lower end, while high speed fog machines range up past the 1300 watt area.  The advantage of the higher watt systems is that they won't have to take breaks to cool down in order to continue, so the more you plan on using your machine, the higher the wattage should be.

Then you need to look at additional features, including how much control you have over release time and speed, how much space the fog machine fills up (and how quickly), and so on.  The most important extra as a DG is a remote control, since you can then make the fog machines sync up with the music and get the full effect that you're going for.