Light Bulb?

[KathyC]

Can someone please tell me if there is a difference between a daylight bulb and a daylight photo bulb? I see daylight bulbs for sale all over but I'm not sure if there good to use for photography or not, do they need to say "photo" on them? Thanks!

Kathy

[robertwgross]

What are you trying to put this bulb into?

Are you trying to do continuous lighting with relatively normal tungsten bulbs?

---Bob Gross---

[KathyC]

Bob, I'm using 3 of those 10 inch round flood lights. And yes, it's continuous lighting of small objects. Thanks!

[mjordan]

One difference between a regular bulb and a photo bulb is the coating on the glass. With a regular bulb there will usually be a logo or brand name, wattage, etc., right on the end of the bulb or sometimes on the side. It may also be partially coated or not coated at all. This can cause shadows and uneven lighting if you use these kinds of bulbs. A photo bulb on the other hand should be coated evenly over the whole glass bulb with no logos, brand names or other markings in places that can cause a shadow or uneven lighting.

I would suspect (although I don't know for sure) that the tungsten material is rated to hold it's color value (burn at a more consistant temperture) over the life of the bulb. This is not as important for black and white as it is for color images.

The daylight rating is just the color temperture of the bulb.

Mike

[jimsolt]

Can someone please tell me if there is a difference between a daylight bulb and a daylight photo bulb? I see daylight bulbs for sale all over but I'm not sure if there good to use for photography or not, do they need to say "photo" on them? Thanks!

Kathy

I believe the difference is in the consistency of the color temperature of the photo daylight bulbs. They are rated for some Kelvin degree around 5300 more of less like a flash unit. The regular daylight bulbs are probably not near that temperature and would vary depending on the manufacturer. They are more blue, but not near the standard used for daylight.

If you can come by some light gels (sold by most big photo or theatrical outlets, but not many local stores) that is rated to change incandescent to daylight, you can just clip it over your reflector and use regular light bulbs. It costs something like $2 for a 12 or 18 inch square and if not used directly on the bulb is relatively safe from heat. It will eventually fade but will probably outlast most photoflood bulbs.

Jim

[KathyC]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the help and will give real photo bulbs a try. I have been using fluorescent lights and I've had pretty good results with it, but the setup takes to long and the size of the lights limits the location to one spot. I picked up a bunch of the floods and light stands (6) (minus the bulbs) of each, at a garage sale for $18.00 which I thought was a great buy. So I thought I'd give them a try and see how I like it. Anyway, thanks for all the information, I really do appreciate it!

Kathy