SoLux™ Daylight Lamps - The Perfect Light for Photography
Photographing jewelry and gemstones indoors is a major problem for most, it's the lighting that creates the problems. Flash or strobe will give you the best results, but you don't know what these results are until the film is developed. This is an unacceptable way to photograph anything!
How would you like a lighting source that is 5500 K, you know the same color temperature that your daylight film is balanced for? Well here comes SoLux™ Daylight Lamps to the rescue.
The SoLux™ is a 12 volt MR-16 lamp that is rated at 4700 K color temperature, but if it is driven at 16.1 volts the color temperature goes up to 5500 K which by the way is just what you need for those perfect pictures with daylight balanced film.
Here is how you can do it:
The way to achieve 5500 K color temperature would be to put 7 SoLux™ lamps in series across line voltage which is usually around 115. this will yield a voltage of 16.4 which is close enough.
Another way is to use a Powerstat variable autotransformer made by the Superior Electric Co. Bristol, Conn. This will convert 120 volts to 0-140 volts. So if you have 8 lamps in series you can set the autotransformer to 128.8 volts and get exactly 16.1 volts per lamp.
Option 1 is less expensive, while option 2 is more accurate.
Benefits: 5500 K color temperature, 2.3 times more lux (more light), low cost compared to expensive strobe lighting. Color temperature is very flat lined over the life of the lamp.
Drawbacks: There is only one drawback and that is the reduction in the life of the lamp, it drops down to a little over 100 hours from the 3000 hour rating at 12 volts. This is a small price to pay to obtain the "perfect" lighting for all of your indoor photography using daylight balanced film.
We recommend that you place a neon lamp in parallel across each lamp as an indicator as to which one may have burned out. You can purchase these at a Radio Shack or similar type store.
We can supply the sockets for this setup by special order at $8.50 each.
Pricing Information for SoLux™ Daylight Lamps:
Qty. 1 -24 $20.00 each, Qty. 25-60 $18.00 each and Qty. 61 or more $16.00 each. This includes free shipping in continental US.
New York state residents must include 8% sales tax
All orders must be prepaid at time of order, sorry no COD's or purchase orders. Contact us for quantity orders, 50 or more, for the Low Voltage Track Lighting Fixtures. We accept Master Card, VISA, American Express, Company and Personal Checks for your convenience.