Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Harnessing the power of the Sun (almost)



One of the many things I have learned during the process of filming these videos would be the incredible capabilities of LED daylight bulbs.

I experimented with a few of these as I was looking to get more overall light in the filming area when I did things that were bigger than my LED magnifier lights could handle.

I tried out a few of these... not cheap at $23 each!


However, the results were AMAZING right off the bat.  It was just like having miniature suns.  The first time I turned them on, the dark dungeon of the basement studio was brilliantly illuminated!

These bulbs come in all sorts of bizarre shapes and sizes...


But the daylight bulbs are the masterstroke.  They are more than twice as expensive as the other two types of LED bulbs, but you get every penny back.


I have gotten 40 and 60 watt equivalents.  I may try some 75 watt bulbs, but now you are talking about $35 or more.


This was the first time I tried one of the bulbs... in an ancient, beat up swing lamp (the one with the clip on it).  I could not believe the results.


This was a 40 watt equivalent from Walgreens, at about $14.  It was perfect in one of my photography lights.  Far superior than the photography light, which was very odd.

The LED lights don't cycle the way all other bulbs do (even the CFC bulbs), which makes them usable for video!

I wish I knew this months ago, but then they were not as prevalent as they are now.  My new hop is that the long tube versions for the old style fluorescent lamps drop in price.  That would reclaim a half dozen lamps for me!!!



10 comments:

  1. How are you finding the temperature of your daylight LEDs? I bought one last year and it feels like a miniature sun as well as looking like one

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    1. They do generate heat, which was a surprise, but then the other bulbs I used did mostly the same thing. Having that light to work with is still a dream come true! :-)

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  2. Thanks for heads up, will look into these....

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    1. They are definitely much easier to find now :-)

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  3. One of the big advantages of using daylight globes i found, was that your minis look the same in the morning. Before I discovered them I used to get slightly annoyed the next day when I would review my nights labour, "What! That's not the colour I painted you last night you little bugger!"

    They really are a godsend for us night painters.

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    1. Yes indeed! Not only is it after midnight where I have been filming, but it is down in the dark, dungeon like basement...

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  4. Awesome! I too am a dungeon basement painter. These will come in handy as my old bulbs blow out.

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    1. For the last several years, I have been painting in an area that has lots of daylight. Filming the videos has required me to head downstairs into the darkness ;-)

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  5. "The light, master...! It BURNS!!!"

    I'm going to have to get a couple of those!

    Thank you again for these tips, they are appreciated!

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    1. I am hoping that I can spare other people from having to learn the same hard lessons that I did! :-)

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