On Sep 17, 2015, at 4:11 PM, Brian Lawler <brian@thelawlers.com> wrote:
I tried the same set-up with my four Paul C. Buff Einstein lamps, and that did the trick, mostly. These strobes are much better for fine art, and they got me very, very close. There were still some colors that did not capture correctly.
In a conversation I had with our friend Don Hutcheson, he suggested that I could solve the few small color problems I still have by using incandescent lamps.
These incandescent lamps use tungsten filaments, and they have a continuous CRI, where almost any strobe lamp, even the Einsteins, will likely have small gaps in the CRI “curve” of the lamp’s output.
Yes; the Einsteins are good, and hot lights are also very good. With a spectral camera model, you can compare the results you'll get from different illuminants before taking a picture. But, with a spectral camera model, you can also get good results even with really crappy lights. It won't be as good as what you'd get with good lights, of course, but it still might be better than is possible with an ACR-based workflow with good lights. I've done some tests with a compact fluorescent blacklight -- the party novelty kind -- with frighteningly good results -- almost, but not quite, good enough for paying customers. It's a great way to identify the flaws in your process...it showed me that I've got some problems with the far red end of the spectrum, and I know exactly why.... b&