Workbench Lighting - GE Reveal bulbs

I think they might be good for figure painting as they flatter skin tones. For general lighting, I use a shop light twin tube fluorescent with one "warm" tube and one "cool" tube, which gives a pretty natural blend. For closeup work I have a halogen architect's lamp which can be aimed and moved as needed. The Reveal bulbs may be a little "warm", which might give a yellow cast if used for photography.

I have a shop light, but can't set it up until I clear out an area in the basement. In the meantime I have to use something small and portable for the kitchen table.

Are the halogen bulbs pretty nice? I saw a lamp that looked pretty nice with a long flexible neck. However, the bulbs looked tiny so I wasn't sure if it would be enough light or not.

What about clear bulbs? They're pretty bright, but I would think that it would be a bit harsh to paint under for long periods of time.

The other thing about clear bulbs is that they are incandescent and therefore have a yellow tint to the light they produce. The architect's halogen lamp I use has a spring-loaded framework so the angle of the reflector remains constant. It was about 20 bucks at WallyWorld.

A letter in the February FSM from a reader says that he has been very pleased with the GE Reveal bulbs because of the balanced light they give, and wouldn't change back.

Walk to the light...

Ok ok, bad joke, age old question.
"what light to use?"

I swear by the reveal bulbs (I use the ceiling fan light in my apartment) But I've also used the Halogen lights which are quite good for detailing work.

It's hard to say what works, I guess whatever works bets for you is what matters.

I don't recommend the reveal 60W bulbs, they are too dim for me. I am going to step up to a higher wattage and see how that goes. I have a problem with shadows in my area.

the color you get from the reveal is better but its barely noticeable. I had 2 lamps set up, one with regular and one with reveal. my test wasn't the best but it worked. I did notice a better color using the reveal bulb. this was using a very red colored object.

I use the reveal bulbs in my office where I do my digital darkroom photography. The colors are definitely richer than with normal bulbs, but they do have a slight red cast that our eyes filter out naturally (as we adjust to them) The color temp is probably around 5500K. I like them since they are not as harsh as white light or higher color temps which can give a blue cast if you get up around 9500K.

Hello ...

Just switched two lamps over my workbench to the 100w GE Reveal bulbs. So far I like the results. Seems to give colors a more natural hue. Must be getting older ... seems like I need more and more light these days ... oh well ...

...keep building and don't glue your fingers together!

btw ... this forum is simply great!

Steve