Tzaangor Management Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I've been doing some research on lamps recently, as I've been using a cheap bedside light, with an energy saving bulb in, to illuminate my painting area for the last 5-6 weeks since returning to the hobby. My flat gets very little natural light and the table that I work at has to fit into the living room, has to often function for things other than painting and so is about as far away from a window as it can possibly be. While a lamp won't necessarily solve all these problems, well, unless it has a genie in it, it should certainly improve things and save my eyes a little. My research is pointing towards full spectrum daylight lamps (6500K and 90+ CRI seems to be about the benchmark), but these come in a wide variety of forms and costs (£25.00-£300.00+). While I am sure that there is a certain amount of 'you get what you pay for', I was hoping that someone, or some people, might be able to give a bit of a steer, or recommend a product that they already use and I'd be particularly interested in whether anyone recommends a particular type of bulb (LED, Fluorescent tubes, etc.). I appreciate you reading to the end of what is, admittedly, a very dry topic, but any light (sorry) you can shed on this would be greatly appreciated.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mohojoe Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I use one of those swing arm lamps with a magnifying lenses. It does however seem to have an orangey tinge to it. I have heard that its best to have several with an excess of 7000 lumens to create a natural light effect. From what I understand its best to use a fluorescent bulb as lamp bulbs usually have a warm glow that is not really suited to painting. Another thing. My lamp is obviously very close to what I am painting, I have however noticed that it has been drying up my paints faster than usual due to the heat. I first noticed when my washes were drying very patchy and I believe this is due to working so closely to it. Anyway im rambling, hope you can draw some knowledge from this babble! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitaRasmus Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 I recently got a tri tube pro lamp, and it's worth every penny - great colour, intensity and almost no shadows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperKick Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 I use one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00VX17VWK/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1487297405&sr=8-10&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=daylight+lamp That plus the room light I've found works fine but I do have it very close the models, not in the way though. It's done the job for me and I can always clearly see the model and is just a nice lamp in general. I'm sure there's plenty better but the price is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulsmith Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 https://www.amazon.co.uk/DESK-TAOTRONICS-DIMMABLE-TOUCH-EYE-PROTECTION/dp/B00XHJFKJW/ref=sr_1_13?s=lighting&srs=1754439031&ie=UTF8&qid=1487329413&sr=1-13 That's what I use. It works fine, though realistically I need another one to cancel out shadows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogboy Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 I got one of these and stuck it in an excisting lamp https://www.therange.co.uk/light-bulbs/energy-saving-bulbs/purelite-natural-daylight-bulb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuneBrush Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Can't fault the growing range of LED lights that are on the market. I know 'Eavy Metal have been changed over to all LED lights now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tzaangor Management Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 Thanks all, looks like people are using a wide range. I wondered whether there might be something approaching a standard. 16 hours ago, GuitaRasmus said: I recently got a tri tube pro lamp, and it's worth every penny - great colour, intensity and almost no shadows. Those look pretty sweet and I'm sorely tempted, as I figure the better the environment you can create, the better work you'll do. It may at this point be the equivalent of giving a rapier to an Orruk though... 2 hours ago, RuneBrush said: Can't fault the growing range of LED lights that are on the market. I know 'Eavy Metal have been changed over to all LED lights now. I feel like a lot of LED's might help with shadows and not having a single harsh point of light. Are you using one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogboy Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Do LEDs, not cause flicker, or its too fast to see? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulsmith Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 5 hours ago, frogboy said: Do LEDs, not cause flicker, or its too fast to see? Never noticed it, but then my light has 24 behind a sheet of translucent plastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadHunter Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 On 2/16/2017 at 7:18 PM, GuitaRasmus said: I recently got a tri tube pro lamp, and it's worth every penny - great colour, intensity and almost no shadows. I may have to look into that. Sadly my desk edges are flush so I'd have to bolt* one of those mounting brackets onto the desktop. I have a standard sort of desk lamp with a great LED daylight bulb but the bulb is so heavy it makes the lamp less stable. *Seriously? The filter does not allow you to use the word for helical inclined plane metal fasteners? That's outrageous. Do LEDs, not cause flicker, or its too fast to see? It's my understanding that they do not flicker. They are more akin to incandescent filaments in that regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuneBrush Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 On 17/02/2017 at 5:12 PM, frogboy said: Do LEDs, not cause flicker, or its too fast to see? The only time I've ever had any flicker was because of some dodgy wiring in the switch of one (admittedly this was a very old light). I've a couple of LED strips and lots of LED bulbs round home now and find them superior to regular bulbs. I think the technology has really come on in the past two or three years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKragh Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Unless you are very focused on getting 100% accurate colours (as in taking photos) I think you can safely go with any daylight bulb, something around 5600k to 6000k. I got a couple of big 100w studio LED lights and they are 5600k daylight. The main difference between different daylight bulbs (apart from built quality) is their spectrum, good ones are balanced between the different wavelengths so they match the sun (and therefore faithfully reproduce colours). LEDs can flicker but I think it is mainly if you can adjust the intensity and then only at certain settings, i.e. 55% and then be fine at 57% (to pick some numbers at random. I heard good things about Taotronics, adjustable light and some even have USB built-in for charging your iPhone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tzaangor Management Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 I ended up going for one of these. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MHTO116/ref=pe_942301_45935741_TE_item In the end I figured that I was probably going completely overboard on this and focusing on numbers that I didn't completely understand. This one did actually hit most of my (possibly arbitrary) requirements and was at roughly the same price as the Taotronics one that I had begun leaning towards. Interested to see what sort of difference it will make and will report back if I have anything interesting to say (my workspace is brighter will probably not count... probably...). Thanks for the input all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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