I use a combination of warm white and cool white fluorescents in my hobby room. It gives a more natural, less sterile light. But, I was wondering if anyone had a better idea. I have seen some new lights advertised, but they're pretty pricey. Are they worth it?

Sealhead (Kansas Sunflower)

Halogen incandescent lamps (low voltage or 110V) give a very good color rendition. The problem of course is that they point sources so shadows become an issue.

Hmmmmmmm..... I don't like to model at night, the light from the bulb can cast false shadows. I remember a willy's jeep I did once...... You finish a model thinking "Ace job" only to wake up and think...."What was I smoking?"

Theres always good old Sunlight failing that Halogen or anything 100w or more.......

The wife got me the desktop Ott Light for Christmas and it is really nice. They are pricey but do go on sale every once in a while at Hobby Lobby.
Linky Dink below...
Shaun

http://www.ott-lite.com/

Howdy Sealhead,

My Farthing's worth on'Lighting'.

I have multiple light sources at my modeling desk. Six (6) different ones to be exact. But they essentially break down into three (3) categories. Main, Spot, and True.
Your Main light source can be flourescent, halogen, or incandescent. Flourescent provides light with a 'bluish' tone and very little heat, halogen more to the 'whiter' side of the scale with much more heat, and incandescent producing a light on the 'reddish' side of the colour spectrum and about the same amount of heat as the halogen.
When I am cleaning parts I just cut off the sprue I do the majority of my clean-up under the lighted magnifier with a circular flouresecent bulb, thereby avoiding the prolonged heat of the incandescent, then I switch to the incandescent powered magnifier to really see deep within those moulded details and do the finish clean-up.
The only word I will share with you in regards to the Ott-Lite type of lighting is 'Natural'. All the Ott-Lite is doing is producing Sunlight! That is the only 'true' full spectrum light (why I love to model out on the deck during the Spring and Summer. :-)
If your modeling military AFV's, 'true' spectrum lighting is not essential, desired, but not essential. Where it really comes into play is when doing figures, and such. Where a more 'discerning' colour rendition is important.
HTH.

Tread.

I use table lamps for lighting. I put my digital camera on a tripod and use long exposure time. If you want to have correct color balance, include some nertral gray cards and include them in some of the picture. Then in Photoshop you use the level tool, use the mid tone picker to click on that gray, and save the setting, apply the saved level to all other images. The trick is you have to take everyone of them at the same exposure.

And about the shadow, the closer your lamp to the object, the softer the shadow.

That's what I was trying to think of, the Ott light. Anyone else using one? Are there any full spectrum fluorescent bulbs available? Thanks.

Sealhead

I use them. Expensive, but I can't imagine not using one. Especially with these overcast pacific northwest days.