Solux Light Question

[xb70fan]

As part of my monitor and printer calibration set-up I've realized my office lighting is not sufficient to properly inspect my prints.

My office is small and windowless, and lit by a mix of halogen and compact florescent lights. After a bit of searching on the forums I came across this ...

https://www.solux.net/cgi-bin/tlistore/19115.html

I don't have a lot of table space so this seemed ideal, plus I don't want to install anything larger (ie. tracklight).

For those who have this model, is it sufficient for periodic print inspection? I don't do a lot of printing but it's not very convenient to bring my print to the window and away from my monitor.

TIA

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Canon 5D2 / Panasonic GF1

 

[xilvar]

I haven't seen that specific light, but bear in mind that most of the desired technology is in the bulb itself which is much cheaper than that lamp.

You could just buy ANY mini-bulb halogen fixture and stick a solux bulb into it. I put my $8 solux bulb in a $30 ikea floor standing swivel arm fixture for example.

Ideally the fixture you get doesn't have a back reflector, but it doesn't matter that much. I got my bulb from here http://www.lightbulbsdirect.com/page/001/CTGY/SoLux+Lamps

The key thing is that the bulb has that little two pin base which is quite common in fixtures.

xilvar

As part of my monitor and printer calibration set-up I've realized my office lighting is not sufficient to properly inspect my prints.

My office is small and windowless, and lit by a mix of halogen and compact florescent lights. After a bit of searching on the forums I came across this ...

https://www.solux.net/cgi-bin/tlistore/19115.html

I don't have a lot of table space so this seemed ideal, plus I don't want to install anything larger (ie. tracklight).

For those who have this model, is it sufficient for periodic print inspection? I don't do a lot of printing but it's not very convenient to bring my print to the window and away from my monitor.

TIA

--
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Canon 5D2 / Panasonic GF1

 

[etbvt]

https://www.solux.net/cgi-bin/tlistore/19370.html

I use both track, lamp, and clip-on solux fixtures.
For your proposed usage - two clip-on lamps might be best -
they come with a diffuser (which provides a nice uniform light) - which
can easily be removed for a more focused light. The nice thing about
clip on's is their flexibility of use positioning. Another great combination

is trying different temperature bulbs (I use 4700 for 'proofing' / a combination of 4700 and 4100 for 'display' / 3500 for non-photographic (i.e. paintings, lithos, etc.).

The task lamps are great - but I'd go with two clip-on lamps for max utility and
options.

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e/tb contemplativeeye.com

 

[1greyscale]

I have a solux lamp on my desk along with a gooesneck halogin. I use the Solux for examining prints because before I bought the Solux, my prints looked dark. As soon as I turned on the Solux, no more dark prints.
The lamp will save you much ink, paper and grief.

greyscale

 

[Howard Moftich]

I have that exact lamp and use it all the time. very good but yes, if you can find a less expensive MR16 compatible desk fixture, then go for it. The magic is in the bulb

 

[xb70fan]

Thanks for the responses. A few more questions/comments to each of you ...

xilvar: How critical is not having a back reflector?

etbvt: I agree clip-ons would be practical - but I literally have nowhere to attach them near my desk.

1greyscale: I had the dark print problem as well. I recently purchased a Spyder 3 Studio SR and STILL had (what I thought were) dark prints ... until I walked out of my dim office ... and realized the lamp was the problem.

Howard Moftich: Do you know if Ikea would carry this "MR16" compatible lamp? I'm actually going there tomorrow anyway.

--
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Canon 5D2 / Panasonic GF1

 

[Julian Vrieslander]

xilvar: How critical is not having a back reflector?

Solux now offers variants of their bulbs with a "black back" coating that prevents light from going out the back. This makes the choice of fixture less critical. They also sell a black bulb shield which fits over any of their bulbs for the same effect. These products might be available only by direct order from their website.

http://www.solux.net

I've also use Ott-Lite compact flourescents as proofing lights.

http://www.ott-lite.com

Theoretically, the Solux bulbs are better: no spectral spikes, smoother spectrum, closer match to natural daylight. But if you find the right Ott-Lite bulb, they are quite useful. I have one of their CF swirl bulbs in a Luxo-style desk lamp, and its output looks almost identical to a 4700K Solux. In fact, many of my prints look better under the Ott-Lite than with the Solux. The images just "pop", like a good slide on a light table. Note: I didn't say "more accurate" - but the images just look impressive. Maybe because the flourescent produces more UV, which activates the brighteners in the paper. My main gripe with Ott-Lite is that they keep changing their model numbers, so it is hard to know which bulbs to get. Some of their bulbs are really lousy for photo viewing, with nasty green casts. I've searched the Ott-Lite website, and called the company for technical info, to no avail. Lots of marketing BS, but little in the way of useful data.

 

[xilvar]

The lack of back reflector is not a big deal at all. You can just get the black back version others mentioned. Even without the black back bulbs the light is still perfectly usable. What happens with a reflector back is that the 'unwanted' spectrum is reflected forwards again instead of released backwards.

For most reflectors what that really means is that you have a nice core of 'correct' light which is of about the angle specified by the particular solux bulb and then there is an obviously warmer 'non-correct' fall-off from there. I would suggest just getting the black back version of the bulb as that allows you to put it in whatever fixture strikes your fancy without thinking about it.

The particular ikea fixture I bought isn't available anymore, but I'm guessing they have some lights with that base still. The solux bulbs are mr16 and should fit in most 'bipin' bases of 5.33mm pin spread. ie - gu5.3, gx5.3, g5.3, etc...

xilvar

Thanks for the responses. A few more questions/comments to each of you ...

xilvar: How critical is not having a back reflector?

etbvt: I agree clip-ons would be practical - but I literally have nowhere to attach them near my desk.

1greyscale: I had the dark print problem as well. I recently purchased a Spyder 3 Studio SR and STILL had (what I thought were) dark prints ... until I walked out of my dim office ... and realized the lamp was the problem.

Howard Moftich: Do you know if Ikea would carry this "MR16" compatible lamp? I'm actually going there tomorrow anyway.

--
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Canon 5D2 / Panasonic GF1

 

[xb70fan]

Julian Vrieslander wrote:

But if you find the right Ott-Lite bulb, they are quite useful. I have one of their CF swirl bulbs in a Luxo-style desk lamp, and its output looks almost identical to a 4700K Solux.

I'm sure I'm going to have a problem finding a Solux anything here (Canada). The Ott-Lite is more readily avaliable ...

http://www.canadiantire.ca/search/search_results.jsp ;jsessionid=L6vXfY9zPLVkpqSgLtT4yBmR6h58jBQvy41WKj3vDlBVkyQyyMMV!3904074?bmForm=form_endeca_search&bmFormID=1262133783557&bmUID=1262133783557&bmIsForm=true&bmPrevTemplate=%2Fhome.jsp&bmHidden=OMNITURE_FROM&OMNITURE_FROM=Search&bmText=quick_search_term&quick_search_term=ott&bmSubmit=quick_search&quick_search=Search&bmHidden=FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672077

Ok. That's a long URL. Should I go with the 15 or 25W screw in bulb? I'm assuming these are standard size threads. This would certainly be an easier and cheaper route for now.

--
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Canon 5D2 / Panasonic GF1

 

[xb70fan]

Something odd happened when I copied the URL. You may have to select and copy the whole thing.

--
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Canon 5D2 / Panasonic GF1

 

[Julian Vrieslander]

Should I go with the 15 or 25W screw in bulb? I'm assuming these are standard size threads. This would certainly be an easier and cheaper route for now.

The Ott-Lite bulb that I am now using is a 20 watt compact flourescent "swirl", for standard screw-in socket and 120V. Model number is: OTL 20SWB. I don't know if this bulb is still available in their current product line, or if there is an equivalent.

 

[Dominic.Chan]

I'm sure I'm going to have a problem finding a Solux anything here (Canada).

I was not able to find any in Canada, so ended up importing a few from the US.

If you want to get a small quantity (one or two) Solux 50W, 36 deg, 4700K lamps, you can contact me by email. I am located in Mississauga.

 

[Dominic.Chan]

The particular ikea fixture I bought isn't available anymore, but I'm guessing they have some lights with that base still. The solux bulbs are mr16 and should fit in most 'bipin' bases of 5.33mm pin spread. ie - gu5.3, gx5.3, g5.3, etc...

A few additional points to keep in mind:

• make sure the fixtures are for 12V lamps
• for safety, they should include a protective glass in front of the bulb
• ideally, the glass should filter out UV. The 4700K Solux lamps seem to emit some UV, as paper with optical brightening agents seem to be much whiter under Solux

 

[etbvt]

After one set of Solux fixtures came with bulbs AND protective glass disks - I called Solux and asked if I could obtain the 'protective' disks for fixtures that I purchased from them that did not include them. Talked with a Solux engineer - who said there was no need for the protective disks with 'Solux' brand bulbs - but that they were included with the fixtures for those using other brands.

good thing about dealing with solux - you can always speak directly with an engineer if you have technical questions.

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e/tb contemplativeeye.com