How to effectively use CFLs

[Guest lostvikings]

Hello Friends,

have previously used a lot of pars and other lights but since these new CFL lights have been introduced in India now,i am planning to use them for a commercial i m shooting next week.

All i want to know is how effectively they could be used?

Since they are flourescent do they to be color corrected?

 

Santosh

Edited January 21, 2006 by lostvikings

[Shawn Murphy]

Which specific CFL lights?

 

 

Rgarding color correction, I would imagine there are some that are daylight rated and some that are rated for indor color temps, so, you might not need to correct but that depends on the temp you buy and the accuracy (CRI). I've heard some of the cheaper flos need a minus green, but I haven't actually used any of them yet, I too was once was thinking of trying some of these for an inexpensive/DIY fluorescent:

 

http://www.naturallighting.com/store_front.cfm?&parent_id=31 (an 85 CRI, not terrible, but could need some correction?)

 

This company also has some specific geared towards film:

 

http://www.naturallighting.com/store_front...?&parent_id=73&

 

 

I also read in another forum thay some of these lights throw off a lot of UV so you might want to use a UV Gel/filter or risk giving yourself or crew a sunburn, does anyone here know if that's true?

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

If by CFL you mean compact fluorescent, then it's just a fluorescent tube. They are as variable as any other kind of fluorescent.

 

You can get daylight-balanced types, advertised for artists' studios, but I'm not sure if they're any more CRI accurate than the warm ones.

 

Phil

[Jonathan Bowerbank]

I've been looking at these lately:

http://alzodigital.com/online_store/photof...CFRt9hgodYH6LsA

 

Full line:

http://alzodigital.com/online_store/replacement_lamps.htm

 

Mostly because they also offer an adaptor to the wider mogul base of Starlites and such.

 

Any opinions on these CFL's? They have a CRI of 91 and are "flicker free", so I assume they'd work fine, I'm just curious of what their fall off is like.

[robert duke]

I've been looking at these lately:

http://alzodigital.com/online_store/photof...CFRt9hgodYH6LsA

 

Full line:

http://alzodigital.com/online_store/replacement_lamps.htm

 

Mostly because they also offer an adaptor to the wider mogul base of Starlites and such.

 

Any opinions on these CFL's? They have a CRI of 91 and are "flicker free", so I assume they'd work fine, I'm just curious of what their fall off is like.

 

I have used them to some degree of success. The ALzo lights are overpriced for what they are. you can typically go to a lighting supply house (industrial not film) and purchase these same globes for less. the trick is the watch the color spike and the cri. The 5500 cfls work great for video but the green spike shows itself on film slightly.

Bill Schwiekert uses the poop out of them. he has built his own fixtures for them.

The fall off is a problem. they are a small soft source so the fall off is drastic. grouping several lamps together seems to work better.

experiment first.

[Michael LaVoie]

Try these:

http://www.bluemaxlighting.com/42w_power_c...lb_412_prd1.htm

 

Wattage is 42. The CRI is 94. Color temp is 5900K. I made 3 boxes with Choroplast shells and put 6 bulbs in each of them. They seem to each measure up to a Kino Diva light in output. But even with a CRI of 94, I usually add 1/8 minus green and 1/4 CTB to match my HMI's. Still, The fixture I built cost $150 in materials including the bulbs. Cheaper than a Diva light and I actually have more control with my own softbox. Add some mylar or something else inside for a reflector and you'll increase the output substantially.