Let there be light.

[espo]

I picked up some great lighting for part of my work area the other day. I haven't seen anyone else mention this is why I bring it up. I got a couple of these replacement bulbs for the basemen. They replace a standard screw in bulb but have three small panels of LED lights that can be directionally adjusted. The amount of light is amazing and they stay cool as well. I got the first pair at CostCo while roaming the isles to see how much I could spend one day. They were around $37 and change for the pair. Then on a Home Depot run I saw another one for about the same money. To be sure they are different as the CostCo set are somewhat brighter than the Home Depot ones but either set would work just fine. 

[deuces wild]

Pictures????....

[cobraman]

A photo would be great as I am now looking for some better light for my work bench.

[NOBLNG]

Are those the Bell & Howell tri-bursts? If so they claim 4000 lumens. That is a LOT of light!

[Steve H]

I have some of those in my work shop and they are BRIGHT! my hobby desk is already lit fairly well, but I would recommend those bulbs to anyone needing more light. The panels are somewhat adjustable too, so you can direct light where you want it.

[espo]

Sorry no pictures, but today was another Home Depot day as I needed screws and such for my basement project. They had a display as I walked in and the lights are now on sale for $19.95 for a single light. The distributer is listed on the box as Ontel from Fairfield, NJ. The box says "Beyond Bright". They list this as having 3500 Lumens and the same draw as a 40w bulb. This one has only one light in the box and the others did have two so this may not be any less expensive then the others I had mentioned.   

[peteski]

When shopping for LED or fluorescent lightning it is important to find out its Color Rendering Index (CRI).  That is how well the light will render all the colors.  Anything over 90 is good, below that, no so much.  Low-CRI light sources will make some colors appear dull (in my experience especially reds). Not very good when we use all sorts of colors on our models.  Many (but not all) lights or lamps will have their CRI value mentioned on the packaging.

[SfanGoch]

I bought this Magnifier LED Lamp 5X Magnifying Glass Desk Table Light Reading Lamp With Clamp for 31 bucks, including tax & shipping. 

It's much better than the $120 Tensor lamp w/magnifier and 25 lb. base, which uses a 15w full spectrum spiral CFL bulb (which haven't been available since 2016) that I overpaid for at Pearl Paint just before it went out of business two years prior. As a bonus, it's also suitable when performing head transplants.

[Bainford]

57 minutes ago, peteski said:

When shopping for LED or fluorescent lightning it is important to find out its Color Rendering Index (CRI).  That is how well the light will render all the colors.  Anything over 90 is good, below that, no so much.  Low-CRI light sources will make some colors appear dull (in my experience especially reds). Not very good when we use all sorts of colors on our models.  Many (but not all) lights or lamps will have their CRI value mentioned on the packaging.

Thanks Pete. Very useful information. I knew some lights show colours better than others beyond just cool and warm, but had no idea what to look for, or what values would be acceptable. 
 

Having read this info, I’m curious; does the packaging on any of the lights discussed above have this rating? And, what is it?

[SfanGoch]

Beyond Bright has a CRI of 82. 80 and above is considered good.

[peteski]

The CRI info is hit and miss.  For a while most LED bulbs and lamps had a common type of label which looked like this:

But lately it seems that it has not been used as much. Too bad because that label had all the important facts on it.

Just today I bought a replacement fluorescent tube (not LED) for over-the-sink light in my kitchen.  That one has CRI of 90.  And color temperature 3000K

Color temperature is also another parameter to look for.  Lower numbers (Like 2600K) are more yellowish (warm), and higher numbers (like 6000K) are more harsh bluish light.  Some people prefer the warm white while others like the more start cool white.  3000K is sort of in the middle. Neither yellow, nor blue.  It is similar type of white light emitted by halogen incandescent bulbs.

[Bainford]

Thanks for the response, Joe. All data points are helpful.

Thanks for the updated info, Pete. Photography is another of my hobbies, so I have a decent working grasp of temperature, and the white balance considerations it brings about. The CRI is an interesting consideration.

[espo]

Thank you to all those that have posted additional information on lighting. All very informative and important. I have learned a great deal from the information provided by everyone here.  

[peteski]

For those not afraid to click on external links, and who also want to get more technical details, here are couple of links covering the subjects I mentioned:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_rendering_index

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature

Since in our hobbies we deal extensively with colors, I believe it is beneficial to educate ourselves on the related subjects.