TKT Loc: New Mexico

I want to get some new led light bulbs for my old copying rig for slides and flat art. Does anyonr have a recommendation for led light bulbs for use with digital cameras at what io-camera color balance settings?
Thanks,
TKT

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I'm lost.
Wouldn't you just set the camera color balance at whatever the LED lights are?
What were the incandescent bulbs you have (had)? Tungsten? Daylight? #### color temp?
Isn't color temperature color temperature?

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I purchased this set last year and used them for both portrait work and photo copying.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1323079-REG/savage_led60k_r_savage_500w_led_studio.html

--Bob

therwol Loc: USA

Does your old copy rig use incandescent light bulbs? Inexpensive replacements for household type bulbs are a poor choice for making color copies or for photography in general. The color spectrum that they put out is not continuous. There are LED light sources that have high color ratings, but they cost more than household bulbs.

Here is one example.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1160239-REG/savage_led30_lamp_for_savage.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI%3A514&gclid=Cj0KCQjwu6fzBRC6ARIsAJUwa2Q-h3i_CUG3f3BYL4Wv31jJ1aW4ACQBTszgoSp7jkQ0v802veimsJcaAhU-EALw_wcB

This bulb puts out as much light as a 250 watt incandescent bulb, so I would imaging that working with multiple bulbs at a close distance would be uncomfortable. I don't know what kind of rig you have, so I'm not sure.

As for color temperature ratings, all LED bulbs or light sources that I know of have a stated color temperature.

TKT Loc: New Mexico

Thanks Bob and Therwol.
TKT

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

A) NO. LED lights respond best if you do a Custom/Manual/Preset (depending on camera brand) white balance.

B) Generally, bright daylight and 3200K Tungsten lamps are the only sources with continuous spectra... They have no "holes" in their frequency output from one end of the spectrum to the other. They DO have certain colors that are stronger than others, but there's some energy at every visible frequency.

C) Color Temperature plus HUE offset equals white balance. "Correct" white balance (or photographically neutral color reproduction) is achieved when original colors in the scene are ALL reproduced with very close to the same hue, intensity, and saturation.

Our eyes don't see the same as our cameras. Our eyes COMPENSATE for the colors of light falling on a scene. Our cameras attempt to do that with automatic white balance, but AWB is accurate only around 70 to 80 percent of the time. It can be fooled in the same manner as an exposure meter. (Meters and white balance circuits are most accurate when "looking" at middle gray.)

As far as which bulbs, look for:

LED SPEC MINIMUM

95+ CRI (Color Rendering Index) — Noon daylight at sea level in clean air = CRI 100

This will give you color fidelity so that skin tones don’t end up green or magenta.

Bi-Color

This allows you to adjust you color temperature, typically 3200 to 6000K or so.

Flicker Free

Eliminates flicker during video recording or higher-than-the-power-line-frequency still photography shutter speeds.

But wait! There's more! https://www.waveformlighting.com/high-cri-led? Explains the differences pretty graphically. Yes, it's from a vendor, but some of the best knowledge comes from the best vendors.

Be prepared for a little sticker shock. GOOD color isn't cheap. https://store.waveformlighting.com/collections/a19-bulbs/products/filmgrade-flicker-free-a19-led-bulb?variant=16011564056678

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Whoa.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Get yourself two Lume Cubes, they are color balanced to daylight right out of the box. Leave your camera on auto WB and correct it in post if necessary.

https://lumecube.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwu6fzBRC6ARIsAJUwa2Rifnifz-NYJIH0OLO6bhW7e0TYiD1hgU_jTZfJ3imvFGft6vsHu_saAvTXEALw_wcB

domcomm Loc: Denver, CO

Daylight is 5000K, so you want to get that kind of LED bulbs. 3200K is the same as incandescent, which is yellowish.

xposure

Batteries and bulbs plus sells 500 watt LED bulbs that just screw in like household they're much bigger but they put out continuous daylight and they're great bulbs for copying

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Do they make daylight led bulbs that screw into a "normal" bulb base socket?

Wouldn't that be the simplest solution?

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

1) yes

2) Simple? Yes. Accurate? Usually not very!

Photographers who copy flat art, color photos, color slides, and color negatives should care about accurate color reproduction. We can’t be accurate unless our light sources are accurate.

Colors not present in the LIGHT SOURCE cannot be captured accurately.

A 5000K lamp is not necessarily accurate! I have five different brands of cheap, “5000K” CFL and LED bulbs. No two of them render color the same way. Here’s why:

https://www.waveformlighting.com/tech/what-is-cri-color-rendering-index/

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Personal requirements may be slightly different that museum work.
YMMV...

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

True. There is a broad audience here...

Schoee Loc: Europe

Color temperature is only correct when referring to the spectrum emitted by a black body radiator heated to that temperature. Other forms of light source such as LED do not produce all the frequencies.