On the surface this may seem simple enough -
most CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) have a color temperature clearly marked on their packaging
However in the June/2012 issue of Popular Photography there was this article:
It would appear according to their measurements all the CFL bulbs they had,
seem to have a higher color temperature than marked - by quite a significant margin.
I have been using CFL for lighting of my photography and I had been seduced by this:
So even though the 5000K CFLs seem to look better to me -
I use 6500K GE CFLs for photo illumination -
I think for fixed Daylight balance seem a bit blue'ish
(although I am very aware of it, I don't seem to see any green cast alluded to in the PopPhoto article)
Using AWB (Auto White Balance) the photos seem just fine
and in pp (post processing) I can use white point selection to correct for any color casts -
I just figured that a bit more blue may make it easier for the camera anyway.....
Still it was interesting reading that Popular Photography article -
and that could explain why the 6500K CFLs seem blue'ish and the 5000K CFL seem so pleasing to me.
I did a whole bunch of "color balance" test photos in the thread:
GE sunshine 5000K CF
most CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) have a color temperature clearly marked on their packaging
However in the June/2012 issue of Popular Photography there was this article:
It would appear according to their measurements all the CFL bulbs they had,
seem to have a higher color temperature than marked - by quite a significant margin.
I have been using CFL for lighting of my photography and I had been seduced by this:
from Wikipedia on Illuminant D65The CIE positions D65 as the standard daylight illuminant:[D65] is intended to represent average daylight and has a correlated colour temperature of approximately 6500 K. CIE standard illuminant D65 should be used in all colorimetric calculations requiring representative daylight, unless there are specific reasons for using a different illuminant. Variations in the relative spectral power distribution of daylight are known to occur, particularly in the ultraviolet spectral region, as a function of season, time of day, and geographic location.
—ISO 10526:1999/CIE S005/E-1998, CIE Standard Illuminants for Colorimetry
So even though the 5000K CFLs seem to look better to me -
I use 6500K GE CFLs for photo illumination -
I think for fixed Daylight balance seem a bit blue'ish
(although I am very aware of it, I don't seem to see any green cast alluded to in the PopPhoto article)
Using AWB (Auto White Balance) the photos seem just fine
and in pp (post processing) I can use white point selection to correct for any color casts -
I just figured that a bit more blue may make it easier for the camera anyway.....
Still it was interesting reading that Popular Photography article -
and that could explain why the 6500K CFLs seem blue'ish and the 5000K CFL seem so pleasing to me.
I did a whole bunch of "color balance" test photos in the thread:
GE sunshine 5000K CF