Which of these light bulbs should I use for my light box?

[phnoob]

I'm trying to make a lightbox/cube for taking pictures of small objects on a white background and I need to have some lights for it. I purchased these two different packs of bulbs, but I'm not sure which would be better. I read that I should get 5500K bulbs, but I only saw these 5000k and 6500k bulbs at Lowes, so I need to use one of them.

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/4900/dsc1690k.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/6230/dsc1691zl.jpg

Which would be better for a light box?

Thanks!

 

[Ballistics]

It shouldn't matter a great deal, because you can change the white balance in post.

 

[Rephargotohp]

If you are using them with a Flash also, Then closer to 5000 or 5500 would be best.

If not and they are the only source of light for the images, then it doesn't matter, Just white balance for the light temp you have

 

[o hey tyler]

I am not entirely sure you want to use CFL's at all...

 

[Ballistics]

I am not entirely sure you want to use CFL's at all...

Go on... I'm interested.

 

[phnoob]

It shouldn't matter a great deal, because you can change the white balance in post.

How do I do that?

I am not entirely sure you want to use CFL's at all...

Can you elaborate?

I should probably note that I really don't have a clue as to what I'm doing. I have access to a Nikon D3000 (that's a decent camera, right?), but I don't know how to use all the features..

Thanks for all of your help

 

[Rephargotohp]

There really sin't a problem using CFL's for product lighting, provided they are the only source of light

The real problem comes when using multiple sources of light and trying to Gel to match Color temps.

CFL or any Fluorescent light is the only light source that isn't made by "Burning" and their frequency response is not linear (There is a boost in green usually) So when you balance all these other light sources that are more linear it can cause some problems.

But using just them, is not a real problem, Spider lights and such are all CFL's and are good when heat is a problem from Halogens


In Camera you can set a custom white balance ( consult your manual) or you can set White balance K in camera, or if you shoot Raw you can set your white balance in Post

 

[o hey tyler]

I am not entirely sure you want to use CFL's at all...

Go on... I'm interested.

Well, if I understand correctly (and this may not be an issue with the new CFLs, but old Fluorescent), if you use a shutter speed faster than the refresh rate of the light you'd suffer from uneven lighting. As I'm doing some more reading, it does appear that the fluorescent lights (long tube ones) are more the culprit.

Old FL bulbs would have a frequency of 60hz, so shooting at 1/60s was ideal. Faster than that, and you'd get a partially underexposed image.

CMOS Rolling Shutter ---- Scroll to the bottom.

 

[Rephargotohp]

I am not entirely sure you want to use CFL's at all...

Go on... I'm interested.

Well, if I understand correctly (and this may not be an issue with the new CFLs, but old Fluorescent), if you use a shutter speed faster than the refresh rate of the light you'd suffer from uneven lighting. As I'm doing some more reading, it does appear that the fluorescent lights (long tube ones) are more the culprit.

Old FL bulbs would have a frequency of 60hz, so shooting at 1/60s was ideal. Faster than that, and you'd get a partially underexposed image.

CMOS Rolling Shutter ---- Scroll to the bottom.

Doesn't that deal with Video Shutter speeds? It's why you see Computer Monitor flicker when shot on the news etc unless they sync monitor refresh with Video shutter. Not sure just asking

 

[o hey tyler]

Go on... I'm interested.

Well, if I understand correctly (and this may not be an issue with the new CFLs, but old Fluorescent), if you use a shutter speed faster than the refresh rate of the light you'd suffer from uneven lighting. As I'm doing some more reading, it does appear that the fluorescent lights (long tube ones) are more the culprit.

Old FL bulbs would have a frequency of 60hz, so shooting at 1/60s was ideal. Faster than that, and you'd get a partially underexposed image.

CMOS Rolling Shutter ---- Scroll to the bottom.

Doesn't that deal with Video Shutter speeds? It's why you see Computer Monitor flicker when shot on the news etc unless they sync monitor refresh with Video shutter. Not sure just asking

To be honest, I'm not 100% certain either. It's been a long time since I played around with that sort of thing. I suppose it's something to be mindful of at the very least. Perhaps it has more to do with CRT monitors, as I remember having shutter speeds above a certain point, you'd get a black bar across the screen at some point.

It may entirely have to do with video, and I am just confusing things. If so, my bad.

 

[Ballistics]

I am not entirely sure you want to use CFL's at all...

Go on... I'm interested.

Well, if I understand correctly (and this may not be an issue with the new CFLs, but old Fluorescent), if you use a shutter speed faster than the refresh rate of the light you'd suffer from uneven lighting. As I'm doing some more reading, it does appear that the fluorescent lights (long tube ones) are more the culprit.

Old FL bulbs would have a frequency of 60hz, so shooting at 1/60s was ideal. Faster than that, and you'd get a partially underexposed image.

CMOS Rolling Shutter ---- Scroll to the bottom.

Interesting. I have personally used hand made CFL softboxes, and I haven't experienced an issue... however, I don't think I have used a shutter speed faster than 1/50. I'm interested to test this now.

 

[ph0enix]

I have access to a Nikon D3000 (that's a decent camera, right?), but I don't know how to use all the features..

Learning the camera is part of the equation (the easier part). Learning photography is yet another part of the equation.

 

[Helen B]

A lot of modern fluorescent fixtures, and all CFLs, use electronic ballasts that operate at a much higher frequency than the mains (supply) AC frequency. Older fluorescent fixtures used magnetic ballasts that did run at the mains frequency. The higher the frequency, the more efficient the lamp is.

The issue with CFLs is mostly the spiky spectrum which cannot be entirely corrected for by white balance alone (profiling is a different issue). There is an empirical measure of this: the CRI or colour rendering index. Look for CFLs with a CRI of over 90. These CFLs (link) have a CRI of 93 and a CCT of 5500 K, for example.

 

[phnoob]

Thanks for your help, everyone. I finished my lightbox and ended up using the 5000k bulbs; they seem to work OK. I'm having trouble figuring out which settings I should use on the camera, but that's for another thread

Thanks again!