Using an Eye1 Display2 the ambient light comes out to 2500k & Luminance of 89 Lux.
So I am way off from ideal and my setup is in my kitchen so I really cannot do allot.
What can a guy do to get by? Calibrate in low light and edit in same?
Or..... have two light fixtures (one 3 lamp one 4 lamp) 4.5 feet above the display center and 4.5 feet out from it. Both are 7 feet away from the center holding a tape from display to fixtures.
I would not mind disabling lamps or installing a special temp type if I can get better.
I live alone so there is no wife to deal with.
Calibrating and editing in dimmer light (at least during the stages that you set lightness and color balance) is probably safer. I don't have one of those new-fangled colorimeters that adjust for ambient light...and I'm not sure I'd trust them anyway.
In bright ambient light, even the color of the shirt you're wearing can have an effect.
As this is what I do for a living, I'm kind of obsessed with quality of light and colours... Be aware that using lights that are to blueish (>4000K) in a kitchen can be disturbing to some people, but your vegetables will look brilliant!
Maybe a good compromise is to change one or two daylight balanced lamps in each fixture - if the aesthetics of this will do ok for you. Otherwise I'd try to set up so you can disable one of the fixtures when working at the computer, and change to 4000K energy saving lamps in that one. Preferably the one directly over the screen... - but this depends on where you get direct reflections. The ~4000K bulbs are often marketed as "cold white" or neutral white. Please use the full colour versions, with the improved CRI your food also will look better! !!!
I used daylight balanced full colour fluorescents in my kitchen, and as that is the light temperature that I'm used to staying in all day at work I didn't "mind", but my gf thought it was to "bright", so last time i changed them to 4000K "neutral white" full-colours.
Around my computers (in the living room, I don't have a home office or a study) I only have two halogen uplights and a desk-lamp that is usually off when I'm sitting at the computer. The spectrophotometer reads them as 3500K CRI95, and I find that kind of lighting a good compromise for most things. "Normal" halogens have a CT of about 3000K to 3100K.
The hood mostly helps with direct reflections, the ambient colour of your surroundings affect your perceived white point, and these are two entirely different things. The hood will not help with whitepoint discrepancy unless the ambient light is more than 9dB down from average screen intensity - a dimmer would be good...
I installed dimmers but it's the temp that has me way too cool @ 2500k?
With dimmer maxed out using the Eye1 Display2 I get a 2500 K (meter pegged to the left) and 55 LUX (meter centered).
My lamps are Silvainia 60W Daylights. Any suggestions on lamps?
What number will the Eye1 want to read near center?
Editing in again: I found a site with sort by K filters. Have a look. The twist at the beginning and what about the cold cathode units at the end of the top line?
If what you're doing is editing on the computer screen ONLY, not comparing to prints next to the screen - don't worry to much. If you can dim your kitchen lights so that "normal" ambience is below (less bright) than what you see if you put up a full white screen (empty document?), then you're fine. 55lux sounds ok/low to me - it won't disturb your sense of white point on the screen noticeably. It may be to low to read something placed next to the screen, but as I don't know how you work, that may or may not matter... Use a halogen spotlight if you need to do this.
A good real world test is to put something you KNOW to be brilliantly white right next to your screen. If the first thing you think is "the screen is blue, and the [insert chosen item here] is yellow-orange", then you need to change your lights for something with a higher colour temperature, or lower your ambient. If the object just seems "grey", then don't bother.
From the site you linked, you want the 4100K SKS15EACW if that will fit in your fixture. I'm not to sure it's dimmable though... :/ they also have a SKS15EADL "daylight" balanced 5000K version that might work even better. No mention of spectrum widths, but I'm guessing three-spiked green dominant.
If you really want to be picky about the lights, you have to get SoLux or some other specialized halogen derivative - no fluorescent really comes close. Normal halogens are also good, much better than normal incandescents or fluorescents. For proofing tables I normally supply 4700K modified and filtered halogens.
BTW- dimming an incandescent will lower the temperature of the light emitted - make the colour "warmer"... confusing, eh..? But lower current = lower physical temperature (K) = "warmer" light.
Thanks, Let me run my situation by you.
As is I am way too warm. I just want to get a more ball park good lighting when image editing.
I sit in a kitchen with evenly spaced roof fixtures above and slightly behind me.
My desk is actually a large computer hutch.
It looks like I can shut off the kitchen lights and have a or some goose neck SoLux type lamps clamped above me.
The top of the hutch is three feet above and one foot forward of my head as I sit. Perhaps they can neck out to be almost above my head pointing down.
Trouble is I don't know what to order. One or two and what watt or degree.
I have two Samsung 21" 215TW displays front and center.
If what you're doing is editing on the computer screen ONLY, not comparing to prints next to the screen - don't worry to much. If you can dim your kitchen lights so that "normal" ambience is below (less bright) than what you see if you put up a full white screen (empty document?), then you're fine. 55lux sounds ok/low to me - it won't disturb your sense of white point on the screen noticeably. It may be to low to read something placed next to the screen, but as I don't know how you work, that may or may not matter... Use a halogen spotlight if you need to do this....Show more →
Yes. The point being made here is that the monitor image is being seen by its own transmitted light, not the ambient light. Ambient light has an effect only if it's bright enough to reflect from the screen. So either control it or dim it (and don't wear too bright of a colored shirt).
Be aware that using lights that are to blueish (>4000K) in a kitchen can be disturbing to some people, but your vegetables will look brilliant!