LEDCORP Pro Series LED Bulb

Larry1582

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Aug 10, 2002
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I recently received a Pro Series LED Bulb, 3 cell, white, from LEDCORP. I put the bulb in a 3C Mag-lite. The bulb is bright, but it has the yucky green looking beam. Is there a way to make the beam whiter?
 
I used to do home color printing a long time ago. You could attach a magenta or cyan colored printing filter (thin plastic) behind the lens. Look into Kodak or Ilford web sites. Since you don't know the strength of correction needed, you might have to buy a printing filter set for about $40 bucks. Try different densities and color combinations.

Once you know the correction needed, say for example, .05 or .10 density magenta, cut and attach it behind the lens or... here's an expensive and elegent solution... buy a glass CC (color compensating) filter from a photo catalogue, and have someone like Lenscrafter cut it to size for you, to replace the Maglite lens.

I just checked my Maglite, and the filter is about the thickness of a photographic filter, so it should fit, with the gasket taking up the difference.

Be aware you will lose some brightness since the filters absorb light depending on the final density needed.

This is an exciting problem. My ARC LS has a greenish light. I'll dig up my Ilford color printing filter set and determine if the filter idea is practical. I'll get back to you.
 
Okay, I found my set of 3" square, acetate, color printing (CP) filters made by Ilford Cibachrome. CP filters from other manufacturers are similar. They come in different strengths of the primary subtractive colors: Cyan (greenish-blue), Magenta (blueish-red) and Yellow.

MAGENTA FILTER: I experimented with my filters on my greenish beamed ARC LS. The complementary (opposite) color of my LS green is magenta or red, and I tried various strengths of magenta and red (yellow plus magenta) and found that a .05 density Magenta cancelled out the green. .10 density Magenta was too strong, and other combinations of filters created a tint. A .05 Magenta filter cuts output by about 5%, an acceptable loss. You can cut the filter and place it behind the Maglite lens, but it will look crappy with the extra reflection surfaces and the scratches inherent in acetate filters.

GLASS CC Filter: For a glass filter to replace the Maglite lens, you need a CC (color compensating) filter. Try a well-stocked camera store patronized by professional photographers, and ask them to let you try a glass CC in .05 Magenta or whatever gave the best results with the CP filters. Some well-known manufacturers are Tiffen, B+W, and Hoya. Cokin makes hard plastic filters.

DIAMETER: My 2-D cell Maglite has a 52mm diameter lens. My Orange glass, Hoya brand, camera filter, marked 52mm (thread size), is actually 49mm in diameter, too small for the Maglite bezel. Perhaps a 55mm thread size CC filter would be about 52mm diameter. Better to get one too large and grind it down rather than too small. You will need to remove the filter from it's circular mount by removing a retaining ring. Cokin filters are square plastic and must be cut to size. Ask Lenscrafter to help you cut or grind filters to size if necessary.

This is going to be a lot of work, but do-able if you have the time and money. $40 for a CP filter set and $40-$100 for a glass CC filter.
 
A somewhat lower cost option would be to look into color correction lighting filters ("gel") used in film lighting. These are thin sheets of tinted polyester that can, for example, filter flourescent light to match the color temperature of halogen or vice-versa. If there is a local "stage and studio" vendor you may be able to get a free or low-cost swatch book. The sheets in a free swatch book are usually big enough to cut 2 filters about Mini-Mag size. To filter a 2D Mag, you may need to pay about $20 for a "designer" swatch book with sheets about 3"X5" or use the small swatch book to figure out which filter you need and buy a full 20"X22" (approx.) sheet of "gel" for about $6. Some manufacturers of this material are Rosco, Apollo, Lee, and GAM. HTH
 
Mahoney,

Good idea: sounds a lot cheaper and more durable. I suspect you're in the movie or TV business. My experience is in amateur color printing and outdoor photography. I considered gel filters, but Kodak gel filters for cameras are actually made of hard gelatin! and probably wouldn't stand up to the heat. But plastic gels made for hot studio lights will probably outlast any other filter.

My 2-D Maglite LED bulb is a nice blueish white but if I had a green tint problem, I'd try the lighting gels. I suspect the Engineer types wouldn't consider that "elegent" enough and would prefer the glass lens.

If someone tries the gels or CP filters, please post the results. I'm curious if Newton Rings will show up in the beam.
 
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