Lightbox Photography

I have obtained an advertising light box powered by 3x600mm fluorescent tubes which seem to run at about 3250K a bit on the low side I agree. Can anyone recommend alternative tubes in order to bring this up a bit closer to daylight levels remembering the constraints of my tube size. Any other advice would be gratefully accepted
Thank you

Suggest you look at some of the electrical retailers on the web CEF, Wilts etc, you'd be looking for something like 5500k, or they'll mention daylight balanced.

Not likely to be cheap thou, plus consider are the tubes a std fitting ?

Hi Chris

I thought that was the route to go. They are standard miniature fluorescents so should be fairly easy to get hold of. I really did not want to keep "Warming them up" in ACR but if needs must then needs must.

Thanks for your help

Ian

NP, there's other electrical wholesalers about, but CEF ( city electrical factors ) & Wilts ( wilts electrical ) should be able to assist, I have NO connection with either, but from prev dealings, the latter may be better value

http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Bulbs-Tubes/Colour-96-T5-Tubes
you could try these . wholesalers can get specialist tubes but there is a delivery charge on top of the lamp cost and no returns as it is classed as special order. i have used wilts and denmans for 1200mm 6500k with cri >90%( colouor render index) probably as important as kelvin temperature. the colour code is 965, this gives a WHITE light, which some "daylight" do not, plus excellent colour rendering.
i tried 840 daylight and they were creamy. searched a lot for light tubes for aquarium as the aquatic kit companies do not manufacture lamps to my knowledge so it has to be ,sylvania/osram, philps, etc and that makes a difference to price without a fancy name on it.

I often use Kino-Flo lamps which use extremely expensive colour balanced tubes. In an emergency I had to replace two broken ones with ones from B&Q, couldn't tell any difference!

Because I think the colour of the daylight ones is too cold I mix one tungsten tube with three daylight ones although that wouldn't work with a lighbox.

Does your camera have a custom white balance setting?

Hi Gartmore

I am awaiting three daylight tubes which apparently run at 6000K so through the difused glass will be more like 5250K. What happens when I put a coloured gel on there Lord only knows but I will measure it and see. Yes I can do a custom white balance so all in all it will work out one way or the other.

Hope that you are well


Ian

Hi Ian.

Whichever colour temperature light tubes you go for, try to obtain “Triphosphor” as apposed to “Halophosphor”.

The “Halophosphor“, start to loose efficiency from the first time used, but the “Triphosphor”, will maintain efficiency at almost 100%, for there total life span.

Retail outlets will probably not know the difference, but a good electrical wholesaler like CEF or QVS, should be able to supply, “Triphosphor”.


Take care.

Hi Chris

Many thanks for that. Sounds like really good advice.

Cheers

Ian