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Gdetrailer's avatar
Gdetrailer
Explorer III
Apr 17, 2015

Can't find LED with a color temp you like?

Filter it..

Lee filters has a set of lighting gels (lighting gels are used in studio, stage and photography to "color" the lights) that is now color corrected for LED light sources.

I have been working on a Super 8 to video conversion project and recently ran into problems finding a good incadescent replacement bulb.

So, I decided to give LEDs a try since you can get 10W, 20W, 30W, 50W and even 100W LED COB modules..

The problem with these modules is they only offer 2600K-3000K OR 6200K-6500K color temps.. The incadescent bulb was rated as 3400K.

I bough one of each color temp and discovered the 2600K-3000K was way off in a bug light bulb yellow..

The 6200K-6500K turned out way over the top blue and made the film look pretty ghastly!

So I turned to trying some lighting gels.. Found one that was a orange color laying around.. The result was not bad, but still too much blue..

So after some searching I discovered that Lee filters has a new line which is designed for LED lights.. I bought one that was rated for 6500K come close to 3200K..

The result is amazingly good.. Color balance is on the money with whites that look white not blue..

So now you can correct LEDs to a color you prefer without buying a bunch of different LEDs..

LEE LIGHT FILTERS FOR LEDs

From Lee..


LED Conversion Filters

A common complaint from people using LED lighting is that the white light is very blue, making it look cold in comparison to a Tungsten white light. LEE Filters have solved this problem with the introduction of a new range of especially designed LED CTO Filters. These filters will convert from white LED sources (colour temperatures ranging from 5000-7000K) to the equivalent of a 3200K Tungsten source. This means that different types of luminaires can now be blended together without the viewer or digital camera seeing a difference.

10 Replies

  • gcloss's avatar
    gcloss
    Explorer
    Apr 20, 2015
    Chris Bryant wrote:
    The LED strips we used in the last install we did were measured at 5300K- they were also around $120 per 5m strip (we used around 14 of them).

    On difference in lighting between LED and incandescent is that incandescent warms considerably while dimming- the color temp at a 50% voltage is far different than 100%. I haven't worked with LED stage lighting, but I ASSume they do not change when dimmed. Lighting designers are having to get used to the difference.


    Typically in our fixtures dimming LED modules do not change color. Color temperature at 100% is just about the same at 50% and even 5%.

    Many lighting designers want LEDs to have the same effect as incandescent when dimming, going from 3000k to 1800k. We now offer LED products that are now sold as "Dim to Warm" where as the LEDs are dimmed, they get warmer to duplicate the effects of incandescent.
  • Chris_Bryant's avatar
    Chris_Bryant
    Explorer II
    Apr 19, 2015
    The LED strips we used in the last install we did were measured at 5300K- they were also around $120 per 5m strip (we used around 14 of them).

    On difference in lighting between LED and incandescent is that incandescent warms considerably while dimming- the color temp at a 50% voltage is far different than 100%. I haven't worked with LED stage lighting, but I ASSume they do not change when dimmed. Lighting designers are having to get used to the difference.
  • Gdetrailer's avatar
    Gdetrailer
    Explorer III
    Apr 18, 2015
    gcloss wrote:
    Gdetrailer wrote:
    Oldme wrote:
    Mexicowanderer I found this on a lighting site.
    Hope it Helps.

    From http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/natural_lighting.htm

    "Sunlight in its pure form has a kelvin temperature of around 5,000 degrees kelvin and a color rendering index of 100. As sunlight comes into contact with the earth's atmosphere and is reflected and refracted by water and dust particles the color temperature actually changes throughout the day ranging anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 kelvin depending on the time of day and the amount of clouds in the sky. Artificial lighting sources within this range can appropriately be considered a natural lighting lamp as long as the color rendering index is above 90."


    The problem is most artificial lighting has horribly terrible color rendering.. Often 80 or less..

    You can find now days CFLs designed for studio and photography which often achieve 90 or better but they will also be 5000K-5500K..

    LEDs, not so much as of yet for color rendering, hence LED specific filters..


    I'm in the lighting fixture design and manufacturing business for high end applications in museums. About 75% of our business is now LED with 97 CRI without any filters or gels. The LED technology is getting better every day with some really great products coming on the market.


    The KEY is "High End".. Most folks here are buying via SURPLUS/bargain basement odds and ends market often through Ebay.. Basically put, very spotty quality in life, color, lumens and CRI..

    Even buying LED bulbs in retail stores is a hit or miss for quality and CRI..

    It HAS improved price wise and quality but still no where near what it SHOULD be.. First LED bulbs I bought 5 yrs ago in a retail store cost me $19 for one outdoor flood light.. It lasted only two weeks before half the LEDs quit working and in one month NONE of the LEDs worked.. It was also half the advertised brightness, it wasn't as bright as the incadescent bulb that it was supposed to replace..

    Just recently bought a phillips outdoor flood light, 14W draw and is supposed to replace a 75W incadescent.. I had a 14W CFL in that fixture.. The 14W LED turns out to be about the SAME brightness as the 14W CFL.. Basically a wash in brightness.. The 14W LED costs TWICE the price of the 14W CFL.. Lets hope it lasts longer than the CFL..

    Very few people on this forum would be willing to pay the price for high end LEDs.. Most have a fit if they pay more than $2 per fixture in their RV.. So for on the cheap they CAN correct the color..
  • gcloss's avatar
    gcloss
    Explorer
    Apr 18, 2015
    Gdetrailer wrote:
    Oldme wrote:
    Mexicowanderer I found this on a lighting site.
    Hope it Helps.

    From http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/natural_lighting.htm

    "Sunlight in its pure form has a kelvin temperature of around 5,000 degrees kelvin and a color rendering index of 100. As sunlight comes into contact with the earth's atmosphere and is reflected and refracted by water and dust particles the color temperature actually changes throughout the day ranging anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 kelvin depending on the time of day and the amount of clouds in the sky. Artificial lighting sources within this range can appropriately be considered a natural lighting lamp as long as the color rendering index is above 90."


    The problem is most artificial lighting has horribly terrible color rendering.. Often 80 or less..

    You can find now days CFLs designed for studio and photography which often achieve 90 or better but they will also be 5000K-5500K..

    LEDs, not so much as of yet for color rendering, hence LED specific filters..


    I'm in the lighting fixture design and manufacturing business for high end applications in museums. About 75% of our business is now LED with 97 CRI without any filters or gels. The LED technology is getting better every day with some really great products coming on the market.
  • RLS7201's avatar
    RLS7201
    Explorer II
    Apr 17, 2015
    MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
    Can someone experienced, tell me the Kelvin temp necessary to achieve artificial sunlight color equal to high noon in West Texas? Actually this is meant as a serious question. Pure, natural sunlight. Would it take the necessity of using a grow light?


    Mex,

    I worked in the ink and coating industry for several years and we considered 5000K as day light and used 5000K florescent tubes for our labs and color matching booths.

    Richard
  • Gdetrailer's avatar
    Gdetrailer
    Explorer III
    Apr 17, 2015
    Oldme wrote:
    Mexicowanderer I found this on a lighting site.
    Hope it Helps.

    From http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/natural_lighting.htm

    "Sunlight in its pure form has a kelvin temperature of around 5,000 degrees kelvin and a color rendering index of 100. As sunlight comes into contact with the earth's atmosphere and is reflected and refracted by water and dust particles the color temperature actually changes throughout the day ranging anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 kelvin depending on the time of day and the amount of clouds in the sky. Artificial lighting sources within this range can appropriately be considered a natural lighting lamp as long as the color rendering index is above 90."


    The problem is most artificial lighting has horribly terrible color rendering.. Often 80 or less..

    You can find now days CFLs designed for studio and photography which often achieve 90 or better but they will also be 5000K-5500K..

    LEDs, not so much as of yet for color rendering, hence LED specific filters..
  • Oldme's avatar
    Oldme
    Explorer
    Apr 17, 2015
    Mexicowanderer I found this on a lighting site.
    Hope it Helps.

    From http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/natural_lighting.htm

    "Sunlight in its pure form has a kelvin temperature of around 5,000 degrees kelvin and a color rendering index of 100. As sunlight comes into contact with the earth's atmosphere and is reflected and refracted by water and dust particles the color temperature actually changes throughout the day ranging anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 kelvin depending on the time of day and the amount of clouds in the sky. Artificial lighting sources within this range can appropriately be considered a natural lighting lamp as long as the color rendering index is above 90."
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    Apr 17, 2015
    Can someone experienced, tell me the Kelvin temp necessary to achieve artificial sunlight color equal to high noon in West Texas? Actually this is meant as a serious question. Pure, natural sunlight. Would it take the necessity of using a grow light?
  • vermilye's avatar
    vermilye
    Explorer II
    Apr 17, 2015
    Another useful filter available from both Lee & Rosco is their frosts. One of the problems sometimes encountered after switching to LEDs is harsh shadows, or color bands produced by the phosphor coatings used to change the color temperature of some LED lamps. Adding a frost or diffusion filter between the LED & the fixture cover can smooth things out.

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