Best light for detailed work

Hi all,

I like to do crafts (right now embroidery) and I'm looking for a long lasting light that has a bright beam. I saw a pair of LED lights mounted onto the sides of some non-prescription glasses in Lowe's the other day, and I thought they might be good to use. Does anyone know about these and what kind of light they put out. I would be wearing them to do embroidery, which would be about 2 feet away from my eyes.

I'm open to a light that I can mount onto my stitching frame as well. Anything really that gets a good amount of light right onto what I'm doing. Currently I'm using an adjustable floor lamp, but it gets pretty hot and if I'm not very happy with the light being so far away.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Also, it doesn't necessarily have to be an LED if anyone has any other ideas.

Thanks!

melika said:

Hi all,

I like to do crafts (right now embroidery) and I'm looking for a long lasting light that has a bright beam. I saw a pair of LED lights mounted onto the sides of some non-prescription glasses in Lowe's the other day, and I thought they might be good to use. Does anyone know about these and what kind of light they put out. I would be wearing them to do embroidery, which would be about 2 feet away from my eyes.

I'm open to a light that I can mount onto my stitching frame as well. Anything really that gets a good amount of light right onto what I'm doing. Currently I'm using an adjustable floor lamp, but it gets pretty hot and if I'm not very happy with the light being so far away.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Also, it doesn't necessarily have to be an LED if anyone has any other ideas.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Zebralight headlamp sounds just perfect for your purpose. http://www.zebralight.com - at least as long as you don't mind the headband. If it does bother you, it also comes with a clip that you could clip to something convenient.

Welcome to CPF, melika. Have you considered, or would you consider wearing a headlamp? The ZebraLight headlamp could be just about right, but you should read about it first in the Headlamp section. I'm sure you'll be getting lots of good advice.

Geoff

+1 ZebraLight

Hello Melika,

Welcome to CPF.

My wife uses the "OTT-LITE" and loves it. It offers lots of illumination in a broad diffused beam and very good color rendition.

Tom

SilverFox said:

Hello Melika,

Welcome to CPF.

My wife uses the "OTT-LITE" and loves it. It offers lots of illumination in a broad diffused beam and very good color rendition.

Tom

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Tom, Based on my search this appears to be a term or brand name for a group of lights. I keep a 150W table model florescent light next to me where I sit in the family room. I use it for any project I might be working on when I need extra light; but I'm always looking for something better. Is there a particular model you (or maybe your wife) find more effective?

Bill

Hello Bill,

I didn't remember that they had so many models...

This is the one that my wife loves. They also have a battery operated model that I was very interested in, but my wife just wanted to plug in a go and not to have to worry about taking care of batteries.

This one would be great for higher detail work, but my wife tells me that the work she is doing just requires adequate light. If she need magnification, she will get a pair of cheaters.

Ours has seen very heavy use for over a year now, and we are still on the original lamp. I see the prices have come down, I may have to get a battery powered one for myself...

Tom

SilverFox said:

Hello Bill,

I didn't remember that they had so many models...

This is the one that my wife loves. They also have a battery operated model that I was very interested in, but my wife just wanted to plug in a go and not to have to worry about taking care of batteries.

This one would be great for higher detail work, but my wife tells me that the work she is doing just requires adequate light. If she need magnification, she will get a pair of cheaters.

Ours has seen very heavy use for over a year now, and we are still on the original lamp. I see the prices have come down, I may have to get a battery powered one for myself...

Tom

Click to expand...

Thanks Tom. I think I got the just of looking at these now seeing your links. I also liked the 18w table top model. Pricey, but would be worth it to me if it helps these old eyes.

Is 13w really bright enough to make a difference? It's hard for me to relate that thinking of a 25 watt light bulb.

Bill

The Zebralight would be a good headlamp.

:welcome:

Welcome to CPF. I highly recommend the Zebralight headlamp. It is so small and lightweight that you'll hardly realize you're wearing it, but everywhere you look will be lit up. It has three light levels so you'll be able to find the right amount of light, and it is very very efficient on batteries.

Hello Bill,

I just measured the light from the OTT-LITE and compared it to the ZebraLight H50-Q5. The distance was around 1 foot, so I measured in foot candles. The ZebraLight, on high, illuminated the table with about 12 foot candles of light. The OTT-LITE illuminated the table with about 126 foot candles of light. Like the ZebraLight, the OTT-LITE also produces a smooth even beam, but it is about 10 X brighter. Its beam is wide enough to illuminate the whole top of a 3' x 3' table.

If you are used to thinking in terms of lux, the ZebraLight would work out to about 12 lux at 1 meter, and the OTT-LITE would come in at 126 lux at 1 meter.

If you have a light meter, you can play around and come up with a comparison. The actual lux values, at 1 foot, were 129, and 1356.

I believe the 13 watt tube is equivalent to a 60 watt incandescent lamp.

Tom

Thanks Tom,

I think in the next couple of months I'm going to get the 13W or the 18W leaning twards the 18w. It is $69 vs the $39 for the 13w but the brighter the better for me.

Thanks for the measurements and relating it to the 60 watt bulb. That and taking into consideration the quality of light it produces, I think makes it worth while as a project light. I like the fact it is suppose to produce a daylight type light.

Bill

melika said:

"..Anything really that gets a good amount of light right onto what I'm doing..."

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I think some overlook simply hanging the ZL around your neck with the included lanyard. Can't get much closer than that for knitting work and it's much better for walking also, imo.

The Ott lights look interesting, but if you read the customer reviews at their site, there are quite a few complaints about shorter than advertised bulb life, and the special Ott bulbs being too expensive to replace. oo:

Some stitching frames look like they might hold a bike mount, and that could open up a lot of other options in lights.

I'll grab a headlamp anytime I'm soldering or doing fine work.

My mom got an OTT-Lamp 5 years ago and uses it for stitching and quilting.
She says its better too see the different colors than the incandesent cieling lights.

Depends on portability and if messing up your hair matters.

Thanks for the tip, Tom :thumbsup: . Going to pick up an OTT-LITE Jupiter Magnifier Lamp in Moonstone Grey...

I don't think LED light is what you need since you do embroidery. LED lights does not provide good color rendition, things just looked "flat", plus warm colors will look faded.
An xenon headlamp should be a good choice.