What type of viewing light do you use?

[IanD]

Does anyone use a special light to view their images, on screen or after pprinting?
The good old G.E. 60Watt bulb just does not do the trick as most of us know. Some really funny colour changes can happen when a printed image is viewed under a normal light bulb and then in natural light.
Know there are some pretty fany lighting setups available but what if you are just a normal person (I do not proclaim to fall into this catagory) and do not want to invest in a photo only viewing light setup?
I'll start.......
A couple of months ago I ran accross a new bulb by GE called the Reveal.
Was supposed to filter out some of the yellow rays that "hide" true colours.
Bought a pack and lo and behold, they really do work. There is an amazing difference in not only photos, but on screen as well. I liked them so much, I bought the company (joking...but someone said that somewhere...oh yeah, the razor guy.) :lol:
They are equally effective in any room in the house. makes reading less strainful on the eyes and you can see a colour difference.
Just my 2 cents worth which today is worth $0.015 US

[Scottes]

The Reveal *may* just be changing the colour, and it looks more pleasing to you. I agree that reading under a Reveal is nice. But I'm not so sure about color accuracy (lack of knowledge).

But try looking for a bulb that says "Daylight" - even a $3 one. And if you feel like spending $60+ try an Ott-Lite which is daylight balanced at 5,000K or thereabouts. Michael Reichman over at Luminous Landscapes has a small write-up at http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/ott-lite.shtml

My wife is an artist/artiste and she swears by the Ott. I wouldn't want to read under it but it's very nice for color.

[robertwgross]

On the other hand, if you are in the business of selling photo prints to customers, then the chances are that they will view the print with a fairly ordinary tungsten lamp. As a result, if I do any fiddling with the color balance, I make sure that it looks normal under an ordinary tungsten lamp.

For some strange reason, brides are sensitive about the color of the white dress.

---Bob Gross---

[Yance]

Its best to view the color consistency under the conditions that the print will be seen. If unsure about the viewing light source then go with daylight - you can't go wrong with that.

[theoldmoose]

Well, that's certainly an interesting range of answers. :lol:

And, I'd say they are all correct. :shock:

If you get the book, Real World Color Management, by Bruce Fraser, there is a useful color patch in the back that contains special color strips. To determine if a particular light source is reasonable for judging color, view the strip under that light source. If you see bars in the strip (really faint is OK), then it's not a very good light source, as it has spikes or gaps in its spectrum output, sufficient to cause peculiar color shifts in materials when viewed under that light (there is an explanation of this phenomenom in the book, which is a must read, if you care about color management, IMO).

I find that Ott light (and daylight) suitable for making critical judgments of items for daylight viewing, but beware in particular of the quality of your daylight. Depending on the time of day, the color of your walls, and especially any curtains that may be partially/wholly filtering the light, your 'daylight' may not be very 'pure'.

At least, if you use something like an Ott lite as your only source, you can make comparitive judgments between samples. Of course, viewing the final work in the light that it will be normally used in should be the final go/no-go.

The Ott lite, by the way, is just a standard 13-watt compact flourescent type fixture. It's the bulb that is special, although Ott asserts that their patent forbids anyone from using their bulb in anything but their fixtures, I won't tell anyone if you buy an Ott replacement bulb from your local fabric shop (yep, people who sew care about these things), and stick it in your favorite desk lamp fixture. :wink:

I've also seen a flood of ads in recent magazines (woodworking magazines) for floor-stand fixtures with Ott-like lights in them from Bell & Howell and 3rd parties. The units all look alike, and very similar to one that Ott sells. I don't know if Ott is now licensing these, or if the patent has run out, or if some OEM has found a way around the Ott patents. Might be useful to check out, if you want a floor-standing gooseneck lamp with bulb for less than $100. I've not viewed the test strip with any of these particular lamps, so I've no idea what the spectral purity is like.

[Ferdinand]

I got 3 flourescent bulbs from Homedepot a month ago, cannot remember what its called but its 7500K. However there was no CRI given for the bulbs. But ya tungsten bulb would definately have to go if you want to get close to seeing things as daylight colour.

You can get 6500K tube ones also from Homedepot with CRI of 90+. They are much cheaper than OTT's.

Regards,
Ferdinand

[Barb42]

My camera club is looking for a new display light. Following is a message sent by one of our members....in case it helps. Sounds like pretty good advice.

"When i was in the litho prep business we always used 5000 degree kelvin lights. That temperature approximates sunlight between 10 am. and 2 p.m. The lights we use now and the lights that most people have in their homes is 3200 degrees kelvin. incandescent and quartz halogin lights are both about 3200 degrees. ..i think we should continue to use the 3200 degree lights in some form."