Digital BW, The Print

I constantly seem to be experimenting with lighting options.  I think we're all going to have to go to some high efficiency system, so they are the focus.  (The gallery I manage has insufficient wiring for any other, and California is about to ban all incandescent lights.)  The cooler compact fluorescent lights are not too bad for most of my home lighting areas, but they failed at the gallery -- not bright enough and too much of a flood v. spot.  They also seem inconsistent in terms of light quality.  The color temperature seems to vary with age.  The metamerism with some media is bad.

Lately, I found a diode spot at Home Depot (Phillips brand, made in China) that may finally be a good high efficiency option.  While the CRI (color rendering index) is only about 85 (about the same as the CFLs), the quality of the light for the images I've tested at home appears much better.  The lights are actually too much of a spot for most of my close up, home areas, but that will be an advantage in the gallery.  I think the bottom line is that diodes may have finally reached the point where they are serious contenders.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com