Nocturnal Lights
Contributor
Sounds good~ I'm looking to hear some great responses from Scuba Board members.
Nocturnal lights
- Thread starter ScubaFrog01
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
I dive with a canister light using MR-16 bulbs. There are all kinds available. I'm trying to understand the difference between one verses the next. Can you tell me the differance between an EXT bulb and a EYF bulb? One has a pink hue in the reflective lense and one has a blue tint. What works best for day dives and video lights?
I just installed a 75 watt EYF MR-16 bulb in my light and will try it out soon. I'm not worried about burn time. I cary extra batteries on my boat for multiple dive days. On a day dive I will usually turn the light off unless needed. Actual dive time with light on is about 30 minutes. I have not drained my battery on any one dive yet.
Can I just upgrade my MLS battery to a 14.4 volt and acheive brighter light output without damage to the system?
I just installed a 75 watt EYF MR-16 bulb in my light and will try it out soon. I'm not worried about burn time. I cary extra batteries on my boat for multiple dive days. On a day dive I will usually turn the light off unless needed. Actual dive time with light on is about 30 minutes. I have not drained my battery on any one dive yet.
Can I just upgrade my MLS battery to a 14.4 volt and acheive brighter light output without damage to the system?
Nocturnal Lights
Contributor
Hi 2Dive4Fun,
EXT are 12v 50w bulbs and EYF are 12v 75w bulbs. The hue in the reflective lense often determine the color temperature of the light output. Usually the refelctors are a mirror like surface that directs the lights forward, and with a blue tint it will neutralize some of the yellow hue that's given off by the halogen lamps. We offer both 3800K (yellowish white) bulbs and 4500K (white) bulbs in the Nocturnal Lights setups.
The color temperature for day dives and night dives is entirely up to you as a diver. Some people prefer a white light because everything looks cooler, whereas a more yellowish light is a little more comfortable to the eye.
Here's a picture from Ushio, a manufacturer of mr16 lamps that shows the difference between the color temperatures:
http://www.ushio.com/images/newimages/difference-whitestar.jpg
One important fact to note is that the ambient light is usually very blue or green, and having a yellowish light will bring out the natural colors of the objects better than a white light.
The video light is a little tricky. Usually, when you are shooting a video during the day in a shallow area, more experienced videographers we spoke to prefer using our 4700k bulbs. On a night dive or when they shoot at more than 60 feet, they tend to go with the 3800k bulbs to restore some of the "warm" colors of the object they're shooting. And as always, adjusting your white balance always helps.
Sorry but I cannot give you any advise on the battery. Having 14.4 volts will definitely put more strain on your bulbs. I'm not sure what kind of setup you have but typically manufacturers will void all warranties when you make any upgrades on your own. As I mentioned before, bulb life shouldn't be a concern for the MR16 bulbs that we tested, and you will defintely notice the higher light output when you change your setup from 12 volts to 14.4 volts.
Does this answer your questions?
EXT are 12v 50w bulbs and EYF are 12v 75w bulbs. The hue in the reflective lense often determine the color temperature of the light output. Usually the refelctors are a mirror like surface that directs the lights forward, and with a blue tint it will neutralize some of the yellow hue that's given off by the halogen lamps. We offer both 3800K (yellowish white) bulbs and 4500K (white) bulbs in the Nocturnal Lights setups.
The color temperature for day dives and night dives is entirely up to you as a diver. Some people prefer a white light because everything looks cooler, whereas a more yellowish light is a little more comfortable to the eye.
Here's a picture from Ushio, a manufacturer of mr16 lamps that shows the difference between the color temperatures:
http://www.ushio.com/images/newimages/difference-whitestar.jpg
One important fact to note is that the ambient light is usually very blue or green, and having a yellowish light will bring out the natural colors of the objects better than a white light.
The video light is a little tricky. Usually, when you are shooting a video during the day in a shallow area, more experienced videographers we spoke to prefer using our 4700k bulbs. On a night dive or when they shoot at more than 60 feet, they tend to go with the 3800k bulbs to restore some of the "warm" colors of the object they're shooting. And as always, adjusting your white balance always helps.
Sorry but I cannot give you any advise on the battery. Having 14.4 volts will definitely put more strain on your bulbs. I'm not sure what kind of setup you have but typically manufacturers will void all warranties when you make any upgrades on your own. As I mentioned before, bulb life shouldn't be a concern for the MR16 bulbs that we tested, and you will defintely notice the higher light output when you change your setup from 12 volts to 14.4 volts.
Does this answer your questions?
cool_hardware52
Contributor
"Color Temperature" is directly related to the temperature of the filament. Hotter filaments yield higher color temps. Hotter filaments burn out faster.
Think about any lamp in your home on a dimmer, as you "dim" the light there is a spectral shift from "white" to red. Red is a lower color temp. What the dimmer is doing is reducing the voltage imposed on the filament.
Projection lamps (Mr16 lamps were first used for slide projectors, overhead projectors etc.) often use a "cold mirror" This is a type of mirrored coating on the reflector that is designed to pass, or not reflect the Infare Red portion of the spectrum. Infare Red is heat, you don't really want to heat a slide transparency, or other film.
If you hold a cold mirrored reflector up to the light and look through it from behind you will see some light pass through the reflector.
While cold mirrors will reduce the amount of infared projected by the reflector, they do not effect the color temperature, as this is a function of the temperature of the filament.
Regards,
Tobin
Think about any lamp in your home on a dimmer, as you "dim" the light there is a spectral shift from "white" to red. Red is a lower color temp. What the dimmer is doing is reducing the voltage imposed on the filament.
Projection lamps (Mr16 lamps were first used for slide projectors, overhead projectors etc.) often use a "cold mirror" This is a type of mirrored coating on the reflector that is designed to pass, or not reflect the Infare Red portion of the spectrum. Infare Red is heat, you don't really want to heat a slide transparency, or other film.
If you hold a cold mirrored reflector up to the light and look through it from behind you will see some light pass through the reflector.
While cold mirrors will reduce the amount of infared projected by the reflector, they do not effect the color temperature, as this is a function of the temperature of the filament.
Regards,
Tobin
Nocturnal Lights
Contributor
Hi Tobin,
Thank you for your input. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the color tempreature of most MR16 bulbs out in the market are emulated by the color of the reflector versus the actual temperature of the filament, that's why most MR16 reflectors with a higher color temperature (4700k to 5300k) usually has a cold mirror with a heavy blue hue.
Thank you for your input. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the color tempreature of most MR16 bulbs out in the market are emulated by the color of the reflector versus the actual temperature of the filament, that's why most MR16 reflectors with a higher color temperature (4700k to 5300k) usually has a cold mirror with a heavy blue hue.
cool_hardware52
Contributor
NLI Tim:
Tim,
Cold Mirrors, or front filters for that matter can't raise the color temperature above what the filment is cabable of producing. Filters only subtract, they can't add whats not there to begin with.
In the case of a "cold" mirrored reflector, a good portion of the long wave infared will be removed, but not all, as not all the light produced by the filment is reflected, some will radiate forward from the filment without first bouncing off the reflector.
A cold mirrored lamp can appear to have a bluish tint, but this is do to the "removal" of some of the long wave light.
Tobin
Nocturnal Lights
Contributor
Hi Tobin,
I understand what you're saying, but how else would the consumers differentiate the bulbs with the white light produced by the blueish tint on the cold mirror? A majority of people already have a pretty difficult time understanding the concept of color temperature, yet if the majority of the halogen filments are the same, how else would you differentiate the color output? Due to the removal of the long wave light, technically you can have one 3800k bulb that outputs a yellowish light and another 3800k bulb that outputs a white light. Plus, major MR16 manufacturers such as Ushio are listing thier blubs under different color termperatures as more people understand the concept of different color output.
I understand what you're saying, but how else would the consumers differentiate the bulbs with the white light produced by the blueish tint on the cold mirror? A majority of people already have a pretty difficult time understanding the concept of color temperature, yet if the majority of the halogen filments are the same, how else would you differentiate the color output? Due to the removal of the long wave light, technically you can have one 3800k bulb that outputs a yellowish light and another 3800k bulb that outputs a white light. Plus, major MR16 manufacturers such as Ushio are listing thier blubs under different color termperatures as more people understand the concept of different color output.
cool_hardware52
Contributor
NLI Tim:
Filaments aren't "halogen", they are tungsten.
The halogen is a "dopent" in the inert gas in the bulb. The single function of this halogen, usually iodine, is to promote the halide cycle. The halide cycle casues the evaporated tungsten to redeposit on the hot filament, and not to condense on the cooler surface of the bulb. This does not lead to longer lamp life as often thought, but limits the loss of lightoutput over the life of the filament caused by bulb darkening.
Tungsten filaments aren't all the same. I can have two bulbs, each lets say are designed to operate at 12 volts and consume 1 amp, i.e. both are 12 watt bulbs, each with a 12 ohm filament resistance. They can have vastly different color temperatures, even if they both use tungsten filaments. How you might ask?
One could have a short, relatively thin filament, and operate at a high temperature, and the second could have long, thicker filament and operate at a much lower temperature.
The choice of reflector coating is not the only variable available to the lighting designer.
Regards,
Tobin
Nocturnal Lights
Contributor
Hi Tobin,
Thank you for clearing it up for us. Most of bulb manufacturers that we deal with does not provide this information. Since you mentioned that the tungsten filaments can vary in color temperature, do most manufacturers use the cold mirror to further create a cooler color temperature?
Thank you for clearing it up for us. Most of bulb manufacturers that we deal with does not provide this information. Since you mentioned that the tungsten filaments can vary in color temperature, do most manufacturers use the cold mirror to further create a cooler color temperature?
cool_hardware52
Contributor
NLI Tim:
Tim,
A "cold Mirror" is so named because it is used to reduce the amount of Infared (read heat, long wave, the lower red end of the spectrum) that is projected. This means the film in the projector stays cooler.
Counter intuitively the lower end of the spectrum, the "heat end" is also the lower end of the color temperature range, i.e. lower color temps are more red and transmit more heat.
Color temperature reflects the temperature of the radiant body (filament in an incandescent lamp), not the % of radiation in the IR range.
Radiant bodies with high color temps give off a "cooler", more bluish light.
Regards,
Tobin
Similar threads
