What exactly is wrong with CFL lights?

E

eivashchenko

I have a budget of 200ish for lights (which is very meager, I know, but it is what it is), and I have heard not-good things about CFLs. I was wondering what was the issue with them exactly?

In theory, to me, they seem great. Low-heat, long-life, and decent throw. I heard issue about giving off nasty light, but if you white-balance, wouldn't it be fine?

I've heard some mixed reviews about red-heads as well. Could anybody fill in the blanks for me?

Thanks :D
 
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eivashchenko said:
to me, they seem great (...) decent throw.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't have thought decent throw. :hmm:

Wide diffused lighting (almost always through a softbox or similar medium). Sure, it's easy to swap out CFL bulbs for your choice of colour temps. But place a 1k Halogen or Tungsten next to a 1K CFL equiv... and it's not even a close comparison.

If you're working with a $200 budget, then you can pick up a decent 3-point CFL kit that will be useful in many setups. The bulbs tend to be daylight coloured. (You can pick up extra 3200-ish Kelvin at Home Depot or similar to swap out)

True, definite plusses to much lower heat output & long life.

But, like every other type of light fixture out there, the CFL kits have their place. It won't cover all of them.
 
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I love my fluorescent light kits. I know some on here complain about the green hue but I haven't noticed it at all especially when you light and white balance properly.
 
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White balance won't fix the spike in my experience. The light is a certain temperature and the sensor recognizes that, but it can't compensate for the big green spike in the spectrum. It would take minus green gels like people use with LED.
 
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Ah, I see.

I was looking for a different setup for around the same price. What would people say about this one?

3X Redheads: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Photo-Video...184?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27c17464b0

3X Light Stands: http://www.amazon.com/Savage-Alumin...7I8I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1339534576&sr=8-2

And 2 diffusers on stands in lieu of soft boxes: http://www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Coll...r_1_59?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1339534692&sr=1-59

I figure I can aim the barn doors to just encompass the 4 corners of the reflector.
 
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cfl's have their place if you are prepared to put up with their downside.

the promises made about their wattage are overstated
their stated wattage is nowhere equivalent to incandescent lights
which gives them much less throw than incandescents
is it me or is putting a softlight source inside a softbox a bit of overkill.

they usually put 4-5 on each head and a 3 light kit ends up with
12-15 lamps, consider that the lamps are very fragile and will break
if you look at them the wrong way.
now imagine having to carry all that lot around and set up for every location, i would recommend carrying a lot of spares.

cfl's like all flouros contain a small amount of mercury vapour (which is the reason for the
550 nanometer green spike). when they break this gas enters the atmosphere and possibly your lungs.....not good.

incandescents have been around a long time because they work.
they have the downside of being power hungry (but lets be honest when was the last
time you paid for the power to use your lights)
they also run hot (they only convert less than 10% of the power used to light,
the rest is heat). they get hot so get used to it.....

as for the link to the redhead copies these are south east asian knockoffs
and should be treated with caution....if you get them have them checked by a
registered electrician asap for your safety.

cheers
 
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I've used them quite a bit... They look a little milky and have a yellowish cast (due to the green spike) on skin that's a bit hard to correct out.

They also throw a TON of rf interference... my CFLs were the reason I had to upgrade my audio setup.

That said, they served me well or quite some time. You won't light any larger spaces with them, they don't throw very far -- very fast fall off, light source is quite soft.
 
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