Which type of bulb am I using?

[redbourn]

Hi,

I just tried out my new lightbox for the first time.

The bulb looks like a CFL so I set the Nikon D4400 to fluorescent and the white plate looks blue.

The order looks like this.

"Hakutatz Photo Studiolight softbox daylight Boom Stand + boom arm VL-9001 with 40 × 40 cm softbox diffuser + 1x 150 Watt bulbs (such as 600 Watt i̲n̲c̲a̲n̲d̲e̲s̲c̲e̲n̲t̲ light)".

So what kind of bulb do you think it is and which WB should I use?

Thanks,

Michael

 

[480sparky]

D4400?

 

[tirediron]

D4400?

Typo I'm guessing.

Fluorescent bulbs can come in a wide range of colour temperatures. Normally they will say on the box whether they're daylight balanced, bright white, warm white, or in between. They can vary from about 3000K to 6500K , and often will indicate their actual colour tempertature in degrees Kelvin, such as "5500K". If that's the case, set your camera to a custom WB using that setting and you should be fairly close. If you don't have that information, then simply try the different pre-set options you have and see which one is closest. There's lots of information about this on-lin. Here's a link to a good overview of the topic of white balance.

 

[Alexr25]

Given that the picture ended up with a bluish color cast I would imagine that you have a daylight CFL bulb so if you set the camera white balance for daylight the colors should come out ok. Failing that you can set a custom white balance to match your light source, see page 45 of your manual (assuming that my guess is correct and you have a Nikon Coolpix S4400 rather than a non-existent D4400).

 

[480sparky]

D4400?

Typo I'm guessing..............

Maybe it's a typo, and the OP has one of those rare, elusive D400's.

 

[astroNikon]

As mentioned, CFLs come in a variety of "temperatures" aka colors dependent upon what you are looking for.

Read this PDF for some more basic information ==> http://www.takecontrolandsave.coop/documents/CFLColorTemperature.pdf

even Home Depot has a really basic chart ==> Light Bulb Color Temperature Chart | Home Lighting Facts | The Home Depot

You'll have to check the bulb and/or box that the CFLs came in for a small stamp or something. Always be aware of mixing daylight and different color lights too as that will affect WhiteBalance.

You'll have to not use the "flourescent" setting and go to a custom white balance number.

Also in camera you can create a copy of the image of which you can change the whitebalance. Play with that feature until you get a good "white" then use that number in your custom setting.

 

[astroNikon]

Your d3300 has 4 settings for Flourescent. See page 126

Then you can fine tune WB on page 128

 

[Designer]

So what kind of bulb do you think it is and which WB should I use?

Technically, the box it came in should tell you exactly what it is, but try to not be confused by the "sales talk" comparing it to "incandescent". It is not going to be an incandescent, trust me.

So yes, use a custom WB in your camera's menu, and in this case you're going to have to still be careful of mixing colors of light. Correct me if I'm wrong, but food especially is something that needs to be portrayed in the correct colors whether on an electronic display or in print.

Let's assume at this point that your room lights will not be the exact same color as the softbox light. So you would have to basically turn off the room lights when you take the picture. Also when you photograph some white card for later reference in editing.

If it is daytime, you probably should shutter any windows that are in the same room as well. BTW: This doesn't mean you have to work in complete darkness, it just means that you should keep the lights from affecting the colors of the food while you take your pictures.

 

[redbourn]

D4400?

Sorry D3300 ..

 

[redbourn]

D4400?

Typo I'm guessing.

Fluorescent bulbs can come in a wide range of colour temperatures. Normally they will say on the box whether they're daylight balanced, bright white, warm white, or in between. They can vary from about 3000K to 6500K , and often will indicate their actual colour tempertature in degrees Kelvin, such as "5500K". If that's the case, set your camera to a custom WB using that setting and you should be fairly close. If you don't have that information, then simply try the different pre-set options you have and see which one is closest. There's lots of information about this on-lin. Here's a link to a good overview of the topic of white balance.

I checked the bulb 5500 85w

Thanks.

 

[redbourn]

D4400?

Typo I'm guessing.

Fluorescent bulbs can come in a wide range of colour temperatures. Normally they will say on the box whether they're daylight balanced, bright white, warm white, or in between. They can vary from about 3000K to 6500K , and often will indicate their actual colour tempertature in degrees Kelvin, such as "5500K". If that's the case, set your camera to a custom WB using that setting and you should be fairly close. If you don't have that information, then simply try the different pre-set options you have and see which one is closest. There's lots of information about this on-lin. Here's a link to a good overview of the topic of white balance.

I will check the link - thanks

I checked the bulb 5500 85w

 

[redbourn]

So what kind of bulb do you think it is and which WB should I use?

Technically, the box it came in should tell you exactly what it is, but try to not be confused by the "sales talk" comparing it to "incandescent". It is not going to be an incandescent, trust me.

So yes, use a custom WB in your camera's menu, and in this case you're going to have to still be careful of mixing colors of light. Correct me if I'm wrong, but food especially is something that needs to be portrayed in the correct colors whether on an electronic display or in print.

Let's assume at this point that your room lights will not be the exact same color as the softbox light. So you would have to basically turn off the room lights when you take the picture. Also when you photograph some white card for later reference in editing.

If it is daytime, you probably should shutter any windows that are in the same room as well. BTW: This doesn't mean you have to work in complete darkness, it just means that you should keep the lights from affecting the colors of the food while you take your pictures.

I checked the bulb 5500 85w

I did close the windows and turn of the overheads but thanks for reminding me. There is plenty of light from the lightbox.

 

[redbourn]

Given that the picture ended up with a bluish color cast I would imagine that you have a daylight CFL bulb so if you set the camera white balance for daylight the colors should come out ok. Failing that you can set a custom white balance to match your light source, see page 45 of your manual (assuming that my guess is correct and you have a Nikon Coolpix S4400 rather than a non-existent D4400).

I have a D3300 - sorry for the error.

I checked the bulb 5500 85w

I will checkout daylight!

Another learning curve, but learning is good!

Thank you.

 

[KmH]

You can click on Edit at the lower left of a post you've previously made.
You don't have to make a new post every few seconds if you want to add information.

 

[redbourn]

You can click on Edit at the lower left of a post you've previously made.
You don't have to make a new post every few seconds if you want to add information.

I was being polite and responding to people separately.

Not a nice thing to do?