Book Light (Incandescent vs LED)

Maike13 · 10-22-2009, 12:16 PM

Any opinions on Incandescent vs LED for a book light. I guess LED gets much better battery life but what about the quality of the light itself. Just goimg by my LED flashlight, LED seems a bit harsh to me (more eye strain?), but I haven't got a book light yet so haven't tried reading by LED light.

montsnmags · 10-22-2009, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maike13

Any opinions on Incandescent vs LED for a book light. I guess LED gets much better battery life but what about the quality of the light itself. Just goimg by my LED flashlight, LED seems a bit harsh to me (more eye strain?), but I haven't got a book light yet so haven't tried reading by LED light.

Against the few LED booklights I have tried, at the moment I would prefer incandescent light. "Harsh" is a word I might use, but it's more the colour of the light that I don't like (I am similar with "cool" or "white" fluoro light, and some of the "warm"s aren't as warm - a tinge of sickly green-yellow - as I'd like either).

Saying this, my standard book light is the Energizer Trim Flex, and it's LED:

so clearly it doesn't bother me enough to change.

Cheers,
Marc

Maike13 · 10-22-2009, 10:45 PM

Thanks for the help. That's pretty much what I was thinking. I think I may try an incandescent and see how the battery life is. That Trim Flex looks interesting too though.

brecklundin · 10-23-2009, 01:10 AM

Given that an LED light pulls waaaay less you can also try an LED with a diffuser over it...similar in concept to using a softbox on a hotshot/off camera flash or strobe...it gives you the advantage of that 5000K sunlight spectrum light. The idea is to create a less "focused" light that comes from most LED lights. There are manner of DIY mods for camera flashes that I would feel are worth trying if you find the light from an LED a bit too harsh. A diffuser will increase light fall-off but at the same time might work easier for your eyes.

An incandescent bulb will drain your reader very quickly.

Something that is important is to figure out what color lighting is easiest on your eyes. Some it will be the much more yellow shifted incandescent and others will prefer something around 5000K and other can notice a difference at 5600K...I prefer daylight spectrum lighting which is about 5000K to 5600K. All of the lighting in my home are 5000k or 5200K CFL bulbs but are all "soft" rather than an bare LED light.

Gudy · 10-23-2009, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maike13

I guess LED gets much better battery life but what about the quality of the light itself. Just goimg by my LED flashlight, LED seems a bit harsh to me (more eye strain?), but I haven't got a book light yet so haven't tried reading by LED light.

The battery life is so much better with LED it's not even funny anymore, which goes well with the long battery life of e-ink readers in general. As for the quality of the light, yes, the cool white of most LEDs looks a bit harsh, but I find that it actually works really well on an e-ink screen. I only notice the harshness when I look up from the screen at the buttons or the surroundings. On the screen itself, I actually like the cool light better than the illumination from a warmer, incandescent bulb.

FWIW, I use a Mighty Bright DoubleFlex, and I am quite happy with it. The two independent stalks allow a lot of flexibility in positioning the bulbs for a glare-free, evenly lit screen.

10-22-2009, 12:16 PM	#1
Maike13 Connoisseur Posts: 64 Karma: 28 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Houston, USA Device: IRex Iliad 1st Ed.	Book Light (Incandescent vs LED) Any opinions on Incandescent vs LED for a book light. I guess LED gets much better battery life but what about the quality of the light itself. Just goimg by my LED flashlight, LED seems a bit harsh to me (more eye strain?), but I haven't got a book light yet so haven't tried reading by LED light.

10-23-2009, 01:10 AM	#4
brecklundin Banned Posts: 1,906 Karma: 15348 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: mine	Given that an LED light pulls waaaay less you can also try an LED with a diffuser over it...similar in concept to using a softbox on a hotshot/off camera flash or strobe...it gives you the advantage of that 5000K sunlight spectrum light. The idea is to create a less "focused" light that comes from most LED lights. There are manner of DIY mods for camera flashes that I would feel are worth trying if you find the light from an LED a bit too harsh. A diffuser will increase light fall-off but at the same time might work easier for your eyes. An incandescent bulb will drain your reader very quickly. Something that is important is to figure out what color lighting is easiest on your eyes. Some it will be the much more yellow shifted incandescent and others will prefer something around 5000K and other can notice a difference at 5600K...I prefer daylight spectrum lighting which is about 5000K to 5600K. All of the lighting in my home are 5000k or 5200K CFL bulbs but are all "soft" rather than an bare LED light. Last edited by brecklundin; 10-23-2009 at 01:13 AM.

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10-22-2009, 10:45 PM	#3
Maike13 Connoisseur Posts: 64 Karma: 28 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Houston, USA Device: IRex Iliad 1st Ed.	Thanks for the help. That's pretty much what I was thinking. I think I may try an incandescent and see how the battery life is. That Trim Flex looks interesting too though.