Photoflood
Photoflood lamps are a type of incandescent light bulb designed for use as a continuous light source for photographic purposes.[1] The filaments of such lamps are operated at much higher temperatures than is the case for standard, general lighting service lamps. The result is a brilliance of light much higher than the lamp's wattage rating would suggest. The trade-off is that the lamp has a very short service life of seldom more than ten hours.
Applications
[edit]Past
[edit]Photoflood lamps were used by photographers and film makers as a continuous lighting source. However for photographers, such use has been overtaken by the use of high power studio flash units many of which also provide a lower power light for modelling purposes.[2] Film makers have turned to longer lasting tungsten halogen lamps which, in their turn, are being overtaken by light-emitting diode (LED) lamps.[3]
Present
[edit]Photoflood lamps are still used in special cases by the motion picture industry. Where an illuminated lamp is required on set as part of the dressing, the light fall from a normal light bulb would not be visible on film as it would be swamped by the bright studio lighting. The ordinary lamp is replaced by a photoflood bulb whose intense light is easily visible on film (and if so required, is bright enough that it can form the sole illumination for the shot).[4]
Lamp characteristics
[edit]Photoflood bulbs are available in a number of sizes. The two most common sizes have these characteristics.[5]
| Type | Watts | Lumens | Lumens per watt | Colour temperature (K) |
Avg. Life (hours) |
ANSI code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 watt lamp | 100 | 1630 | 16.3 | 750[6] | ||
| No. 1 photoflood | 250 | 6500 | 26 | 3200 | 20[7] | ECA |
| No. 2 photoflood | 500 | 17,800 | 35.6 | 3400 | 6[8] | EBV |
| Type | Watts | Lumens | Lumens per watt | Colour temperature (K) |
Avg. Life (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 watt lamp | 100 | 1200 | 12 | 2900 | 1000[9] |
| No. 1 photoflood | 275 | 8500 | 30 | 3400 | 3[10] |
| No. 2 photoflood | 500 | 14,400 | 28.8 | 3400 | 6[11] |
Note that in each case an ordinary 100 watt lamp is provided for comparison purposes.
References
[edit]- ^ Photoflood lighting
- ^ Studio flash
- ^ Later products
- ^ Hollywood photoflood
- ^ Specifications
- ^ "GE Large Lamp Catalog" (PDF). www.decadecounter.com. GE. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "Traditional Lighting" (PDF). cdn.brandfolder.io. EiKO. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ^ "EBV-LN" (PDF). www.eiko.com. EiKO. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ^ "satco S4079". www.1000bulbs.com. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ 275W colour temp
- ^ "Dr Fischer Photo Lamp 500W 3400K Edison". www.lightonline.com.au. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
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