OTT reveal lumiram (studio lighting)

[Luka]

Light bulbs.

My concern for studio lighting.

* Close to natural light.

* Cost.

With cost, if it is too much, overruling the natural light preference.

I am moderately concerned about natural light. But to be honest, I really don't want to paint or draw under lighting that is going to be so exceptional as to be far from the norm that my work will ever be seen in. Plus, the average eye is not going to see the difference as clearly we do.

So, the light should be good lighting for me. Close enough to natural to cut down on eye strain, but cost being the limiting factor.

OTT lights. Lots of glowing testimonials for them. (If you'll excuse the pun.) But in my estimation far more expensive than the difference they make is worth to me.

GE Reveal bulbs and Lumiram Chromalux bulbs are the two others that I have researched.

GE says they introduce a rare earth element into the glass itself. The element is called neodymium. Lumiram says they use a rare earth element in the glass itself. All wording is so close that I am going to go out an a limb and assume they are the same.

The Lumiram bulbs are clear. You can see the purple/bue tint in the glass. The GE bulbs look like exactly the same thing, but with their standard white coating inside the bulb glass. So, the tinting in the glass looks more bluish. I would bet that if the GE bulb were clear, they would look identical.

I checked the 75-100 watt bulbs from GE against the 100watt chromalux.

The chromalux has an average life of 4000 hours. The GE 100w has an average life of 750 hours.

The ge bulbs come in a packet of 4 for 3.99. (75 watt) The chromalux is a single bulb (100 watt) for 8.85

IF both bulbs last exactly the length of time they claim, then you would have to burn 5 and one third of the GE bulbs to equal one of the chromalux. Even at that, you have saved what ? 25 to 30 percent...

I pay close attention to bulbs around here. I have to pay the electric bill. (And buy the bulbs. LOL) I have found that the average light bulbs tend to last as long as they claim. Some a little less, but some a little more. All in all, pretty close to what they claim. Whereas, all the long life bulbs tend to last only 2/3 to 3/4 as long as they claim. Some as little as half as long as they claim. I have even had a couple 7 year bulbs burn out in a year. Not under abnormal circumstances, either.

With the GE 75's I can have two bulbs overhead, giving a better balance and dispersal of light. I'll have better lighting than from one 100 watt bulb centrally located. At a cost difference, (even if both bulbs last exactly the time claimed), that is small enough to make it worth going for.

I find false economy in getting the chromalux. I think I will be buying the reveal bulbs.

[Enchanted]

Originally Posted by Luka

Light bulbs.

My concern for studio lighting.

I hope everyone won't mind my digressing on the subject of lighting for a moment. I once had an inside office (no windows - no natural light) in a building that was ALL FLOURESCENT lights. I began developing terrific headaches and realized it had something to do with the particular spectrum of fluorescents in my office. I had the purchasing agent contact a company that sells various colors of fluorescents - sorry, I don't now recall the name - and they recommended a greenish color for me, and it worked. Only thing is that the "glow" from my office was like that from a space ship when compared to the "daylight" colors in the hall lights.

[Laura Shelley]

I changed out all the ordinary incandescent bulbs in my studio area (dining room) with Reveal bulbs a little while ago. I am no lighting expert and cannot tell you what the temperature of these are in Kelvins or anything like that, but they are far more comfortable to work under than the incandescents. When I would carry out a painting into the daylight to photograph it, I used to see a significant color shift from the studio light, but not any more. With a few more fixtures installed, I think I will be able to work at night, which hasn't been an option until now.

I too believe that setting up some esoteric and expensive lighting system in your studio is far from essential. Perhaps it helps some artists, so I wouldn't call it foolish, but I don't think it's necessary for everyone. The Reveal bulbs are cheap enough to put throughout your house, so give them a try before you spring for hundreds of dollars worth of special bulbs and fixtures.