Photo light bulbs

[Ken Salisbury]

Whenever I take photos of small objects I usually just place them on my desk under my desk lamp which has your standard incandescent bulb (75 watts). The resulting color representation requires me to fool around with my photo software to get the pics closer to the real colors.

My digital camera takes perfect photos in natural light - so the camera is not a problem.

My question is simply: Is there a bulb I can put in my desk lamp that will cure (or at least help) this problem ?

Please do not respond with solutions of making some elaborate studio lighting rig. Please stick to the basic question.

[Dennis Peacock]

Good question Ken......Maybe a "Day Light" Florescent bulb would be more suited since it has a wider spectrum of light wave.?

Don't know....just guessing....

[Noah Alkinburgh]

If you are getting good results outside you may want to try a bulb that is called a Full Spectrum bulb, or Natural Light bulb.

You can get them in regular incandessant or a compact flourescent. They will be pricey, and may not fix the problem but probably wouldn't hurt to try it.

Noah

[Bud Duffy]

Ken have you tryed the Revel bulbs they are supposed to get closer to real lighting i see them at walmart. Also at our local electrical / pluming store Grovers they have a lighting display that shows how diffrent bulbs affect colors on pics you might try one of those places. hope this helps . Bud

[Tom Hintz]

Ken,
Many digital cameras have a setting for dealing with incendecent light. If so, you might just need more of it.
Also, there are special photo light bulbs you can get through larger camera shops that are used for "hot lights". They have a blue color to the glass but give out a very clean light, not blue. I use three 500 watt photo bulbs in my shop photo light and it works very well. The down side is that they do not last as long as a regular light bulb does, and of course cost more. The 500 watt ones I have are about $9 each.
You have to find a good camera store, usually defined by they do not process film....

[Ken Salisbury]

Ken,
Also, there are special photo light bulbs you can get through larger camera shops that are used for "hot lights". They have a blue color to the glass but give out a very clean light, not blue. I use three 500 watt photo bulbs in my shop photo light and it works very well. The 500 watt ones I have are about $9 each.

I appreciate the input - however, I have good results when taking photos in the shop per se. A 500 watt bulb in my desk lamp would burn my desk and my house down.

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi Ken

Get thee to a local camera store and ask for a daylight balanced bulb. As Tom says, they are usually, if not always, blue in color, and come in various wattages. You might be able to get one as low as 100w. They ain't cheap, but one will solve your problems of color balance.

Bill

[Ken Salisbury]

Thanks Bill -- kinda guy I like - a simple answer to a simple question.

p.s. when ya gonna make something from that curly cherry ??

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Ken. Let me suggest that you take a look at the bulbs from the company from which I bought my shop flourescent bulbs.

compact full sprectrum

They are not cheap but they have a 1 yr guarantee, and are advertised to last 8,000-10,000 hours, have a color temp of 5500K, and a CRI of 91+.

You might even want to buy several to Illuminate your work when applying finish.

[Steve Inniss]

Ken, A little more on where Tom was going. Before you buy/rig up anything, check your camera manual to see if you can manually set up white balance. If so, try it with a white card or paper under your problem bulb and the camera will compensate for the yellow ...for free! -Steve

[Glenn Clabo]

The one in the middle will work just fine. You just have to find it in your attic.

[Wes Bischel]

Ken,

I as well, would think your camera should have a setting for the lighting conditions.
A photo supply shop should have a lamp (bulb) that will work in your fixture - if you can't get to a photo shop easily, a medium base halogen would work well - usually they can be found at the big boxes and lighting shops. Phillips makes a series if I remember correctly. If nothing else, it will get you into the 3000-3600K range which will give decent color rendering.

Wes

[Dean Baumgartner]

Ken,
The important thing is to find a bulb either incandescant or flourescant that has a high CRI (Color Rendering? Index) 90 + is what you should look for. This is a bulb that is designed to make sure that colors come out right.

Dean

[Bill Grumbine]

p.s. when ya gonna make something from that curly cherry ??

I'm working on it Ken. I have that board from you and one from Ellis of olive wood that I have been itching to get on the lathe. I have turned a grand total of three things since November, and they were all orders. But, I am getting back to the lathe (I hope) in short order.

Bill

[Ken Salisbury]

Ken, A little more on where Tom was going. Before you buy/rig up anything, check your camera manual to see if you can manually set up white balance. If so, try it with a white card or paper under your problem bulb and the camera will compensate for the yellow ...for free! -Steve

Well - so much for an old dummy. The old addage: "when all else fails, read the instructions" . My camera (Sony P71) had settings for multiple lighting/balance. I simply selected the "incandescent" setting and the color balance came out perfect.