Thor Johnson

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since Mar 26, 2015
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Recent posts by Thor Johnson

Since I live down in the south (Georgia), I love LED's and CFLs -- the last thing I need is heat (the reason all the supermarkets have put LEDs in their freezers and fridges - CFLs can't handle damp so they couldn't change from incandescent before).  That being said there is one number that almost nobody in the consumer world looks at that makes *all the difference*:
 CRI - Color Rendering Index

High-CRI bulbs put out a much better spectrum than others and are prized in Photography, Supermarkets, and Jewelry stores (who were really quite stuck on Halogens for the longest time)  because the colors will look so much better.  Anything below 80 gives you that early-fluorescent tinge (or worse).  If you get 95 CRI CFLs, you'll find it amazing light, and your models' makeup will have much less tendency to melt on you.  I haven't seen too many high-CRI LED's (most consumer brands don't even put the figure on the box, instead saying 4500k or other bunk).  If you suffer from SAD, you will feel so much better with high CRI bulbs (otherwise "daylight" isn't so "daylight").  High-CRI bulbs are 10-20x more expensive than no-CRI bulbs (last time I bought 4 CFLs for $50).

And for reliability, I'd go with American brands (or at least brands that have an American presence), as they're much less likely to cut corners than overseas people are.  About 80% (iirc) of CFL and LEDs fail in the driver section because the don't deal with inrush current correctly (if you find ratings of "high PFC", you won't have this problem).  The other killer of LED's (not CFLs) is heat.  If LEDs get hot, they did faster.

For those having trouble sleeping after staying on their computer in the evening, I'd recommend the free program f.lux https://justgetflux.com/ -- it gradually turns down the blues on your screen in the evening.
8 years ago