Table Top Lamps

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WhiteLight

Senior Member
I have been getting some cheaper materials for making a table top photo studio.

Recently i picked up a couple of standard table lamps HERE.

It can be fixed at any angle & it has a dimmer switch.
Now am not sure if all CFLs are dimmable?
From what i've learnt, these dimmers reduce the voltage being supplied so that dims the light.
But regular CFLs don't have the necessary capacitors to handle the fluctations & in the best case have no effect, worst case blow.. and in between all this pull more power & dissipate more heat.
So am thinking of replacing the dimming knob with a regular switch.
Am i right in what i just ranted?

Am thinking of getting 65w CFLs HERE
Are these good enough?
I think that's the highest rating CFLs we get here..

Any recommendations on what rating bulbs should be used?
This is only going to be on top of a table so i don't really need to light for portraits or things like that




 
Fred Kingston_RIP

Fred Kingston_RIP

Senior Member
I'm not sure what's available where you are, but what I would look for more than price and and wattage would be the color temperature of those bulbs. Lumens is an output rating, NOT a color temperature... With studio lights for photography, you want lights with a 5500K temp range...
 
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WhiteLight

Senior Member
Am not able to find the temperature in the specs..
It says 65w, 3500 Lumens. no mention of Kelvins..
am assuming these should be between 5000 - 6500 K
i am able to find others of lower rating like 14w, 20w but nothing more..
i meant cheap in relation to the Einsteins & Alienbees :p
 
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WhiteLight

Senior Member
OK. Found the detailed spec sheet..
These are at 6500k

Untitled.png
 
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WhiteLight

Senior Member
FredKingston said:
cool... now all you need to do is resolve the dimmer switch issue...
Click to expand...

Do you think it would actually be a problem?
If i were to leave it at the 'max' position without movement, do you think it would be okay?
as far as i remember ANY dimmer switch, even when unaltered has some voltage differntial that can cause some problem..
​or maybe i can just direct it..
 
Fred Kingston_RIP

Fred Kingston_RIP

Senior Member
I wish I could help you my friend... I don't have any reference point for those lights and US$ prices... I assume they're inexpensive. You could probably buy 1, and test it... and if they seem to run relatively cool at the base of the bulbs, then you can buy more...????
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
I would buy 5500k photographic lights and adjust your camera to that setting. Photo bulbs will cost twice as much, but you will get the results you want (the first time). I would not use dimmers if you buy photo bulbs.
 
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riverside

Senior Member
WhiteLight said:
I have been getting some cheaper materials for making a table top photo studio.

Recently i picked up a couple of standard table lamps HERE.

It can be fixed at any angle & it has a dimmer switch.
Now am not sure if all CFLs are dimmable?
From what i've learnt, these dimmers reduce the voltage being supplied so that dims the light.
But regular CFLs don't have the necessary capacitors to handle the fluctations & in the best case have no effect, worst case blow.. and in between all this pull more power & dissipate more heat.
So am thinking of replacing the dimming knob with a regular switch.
Am i right in what i just ranted?

Am thinking of getting 65w CFLs HERE
Are these good enough?
I think that's the highest rating CFLs we get here..

Any recommendations on what rating bulbs should be used?
This is only going to be on top of a table so i don't really need to light for portraits or things like that
Click to expand...

You'll be facing the same issues as in any other lighting situation. Unless you light some backgrounds resulting shadows can haunt you and without diffusion many subjects will provide frustrating reflection(s). For small subject still photography diffusion is most often provided by a tent or soft boxes.

I second those posts recommending you pay the price for 5500k bulbs and forget dimmer switches. 5500k are far more expensive than the 6500k variety but you'll have a baseline that won't drive you white balance crazy as your subjects/backgrounds change. IMHO you will need at least a third lighting source (I find top position very effective).
 
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riverside

Senior Member
WhiteLight said:
The only other light source i have is the SB-700.....
Click to expand...

If you have low, light colored ceilings that might work on a bounce basis. If not, consider a small soft box on a stand and boom. I don't know your end result requirements but unless the objective is a few fun shots I think you're going to end up using a tent or soft boxes with continuous lighting or multi-strobe lighting to get consistent, satisfactory results.
 
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WayneF

Senior Member
Those lamps are interesting, in that they are marked 65 watts, but specs say 45 watts. No temperature, just says "white".

What you actually want to see is the CRI rating. Fluorescents have a ragged spectrum, a few lines, not continuous. CRI is a rating number that compares their response of several test colors, as compared to incandescent. Incandescent may be orange, but it is easily corrected, because it is continuous, all the colors are there. Fluorescents have empty bands, simply cannot illuminate some colors correctly. So, you want a CRI rating of about 90 (incandescent is CRI 100).

One beauty of a light tent is the subjects are fixed, static, and you can easily use 100 watts and exposures of a second or two, no big deal. Long exposure simply does not matter.

Dimmers probably won't work on CFL. Even if it does, it will shift colors seriously.
 
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