nice lighting set-up find

JJM

came across some small power compacts lights in my basement that were used for marine reef tanks. put in 2 fresh bulbs (2 x 9watt / 10000K 100% Daylight), am grabbed a few coins, and wow,...white and toned coins seem so true. I was using a halogen desk lamp that had a yellowish hue to it...Need to retro fit a stand for it or something, but for now i'll be using it for viewing pleasure and certainly for grading

anyone else find favor in using Daylight bulbs?

HTubbs

daylight,is that a brand name? I've never heard of them...

JJM

no, the daylight is a name for the spectrum of light,...the unit also used a actinic blub, but i switched it out for a second daylight bulb...
there are many brands...as you can see by the pic I either need to build a stand or find the lighting combo in a desk lamp....the whole light is like 5x9 in

HTubbs

Oh,I see. A generic Ott-Lite?

LucyBop

when i do use lights, they are daylight flood lamps......

ModernDollarNut

<< <i>when i do use lights, they are daylight flood lamps...... >>



Ms Bop (I am too humbled to call you Lucy!), my travails with lighting have also taken me, finally, to daylight floods, one to three depending on the brilliance of the coin, but I use spot floods which focus their light more tightly which increases brightness and allows the bulbs to be well behind the camera and shine just past it.

My camera has no manual focus so I had fits finding a way to shine enough light directly on the coin to promote a higher f-stop for greater depth of field: my beloved Nikon Cool-pix 990 insists on focusing on the outer plastic surface of holdered coins so I need generous depth of field.

Rob

BECOKA

I know many don't like them but I am starting to have pretty good luck with the 75W reveal lights. I just have to adjust the white balance in the photo software to 4000K incadecent settings since my camera is pretty limited in the WB options.

messydesk

I've replaced traditional light bulbs in two rooms of the house with daylight balanced compact fluorescent bulbs. Much easier to see and read everything when you're getting the full spectrum God intended you to see, rather than the yellow-orange tungsten glow Edison gave us. My only concern is if they will cause colors (not on coins) to fade more quickly.

RedTiger

I posted a thread about full-spectrum bulbs as an alternative to Ott Lites. The ones I have are made by Honeywell. I also saw full spectrum bulbs at Target. I suggest those having problems with lighting for photos give them a try. The ones at Target were like $6 or $8 for a box of bulbs (standard type bulbs), so it isn't going to break the bank.

Lighting can make a big difference. The full spectrum bulbs have allowed to make my best pics, though my old Kodak camera limits what I can do.

MikeInFL

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the color/spectrum of light (incandescent vs fluroescent) means less than type of light (point -vs- diffuse) and also less than the white balance...Mike