Where can I find "regular" LED lights with a CRI 95>?

[axs810]

Where can I find "regular" LED lights with a CRI 95>?


I'm specifically looking for individual bulbs or light strips with a high CRI of 95 or better that are not connected to an app.

[Larry Gebhardt]

https://www.waveformlighting.com/ I've only used their LED strips and a few of the A19 filament bulbs. I've been pretty happy with both.

[axs810]

Thank you so much Larry! These are exactly what I was looking for :)

[Bruce Watson]

I'm specifically looking for individual bulbs or light strips with a high CRI of 95 or better that are not connected to an app.

You could try YujiLEDs, a Chinese / German company with very high CRIs. A lot of their stuff seems to be rated at CRI of 98 or so. There's a fair amount of activity in video circles of people using their strips to build DIY lights for specific purposes. Not cheap, not outrageously expensive either. And I've never bought anything from them, so can't vouch for them. I just know they exist. If you get on their mailing list they have reasonably good sales through the year.

https://store.yujiintl.com/collections/film-photo-lighting

[axs810]

You could try YujiLEDs, a Chinese / German company with very high CRIs. A lot of their stuff seems to be rated at CRI of 98 or so. There's a fair amount of activity in video circles of people using their strips to build DIY lights for specific purposes. Not cheap, not outrageously expensive either. And I've never bought anything from them, so can't vouch for them. I just know they exist. If you get on their mailing list they have reasonably good sales through the year.

https://store.yujiintl.com/collections/film-photo-lighting


Interesting. Thanks for sharing! I'm definitely going to bookmark it.


I wonder if these are the LED's that negative supply uses in their copy stand lights?

[Drew Wiley]

I use architectural grade screw-in LED floodlamps from Waveform. Very high quality available in several different color temps (I chose 5000K). Around $30 per bulb. To get a an even higher CRI around 98 involves much more expensive strips tied to a special regulator. Waveform has excellent tech and spectrogram info on their website.

My copystand uses a pair of adjustable color temp LED rim lights that cost around $350 apiece. Fine for routine JPEG copying & documentation. But no way they are either up to their rated temp of 5500K or above CRI 85-90. For that kind of panel you need to spend way more, over a thousand apiece. Most filmmakers in this area rent them for a shoot, rather than purchase them, due to their high cost. There is actually a store not far away specializing in movie lighting. But if I ever need even higher quality color from my copystand, I can simply substitute my old Lowell studio "hot lights", which are indeed hot and miserable to be around during long copy sessions.

But don't forget fluorescent tubes. I have German color matching tubes for both my critical light box and retouching station which are true CRI 98 and 5000K - better than any LED option, and what I also equipped our color matching stations with prior to retirement. But then you have to factor in any reflective paint in the device, as well as any diffuser plastic over it, which alter the exact characteristics. Most manufacturers don't even bother to factor that, and merely list the rated spec of the element itself, and often even that unrealistically.

[wayne77]

For high CRI (95+) LED lights, you should check Amazon. These places often have various options, including individual bulbs and light strips. You might find what you're looking for without needing an app connection.
Also, I found a lot of cheap and good quality models on leds.to (https://leds.to/). They have informative articles about different lighting products, and at the end, they attach links to the products at the best price.

[Tin Can]

Amazon

Study a lot

I was today

[Drew Wiley]

Amazon? I highly doubt it. True high CRI studio and stage LED lighting is very expensive, and often rented rather than outright purchased. Most stuff that claims over 90 CRI is more likely under 80; there is a huge BS coefficient involved in their marketing. And it also depends on the specific color temperature.

I already mentioned one legit source, Waveform, for ordinary screw-in display bulbs; but as good as those are at $30 apiece, no way they're above 90. They do offer complex overhead LED strips in lieu of fluorescent tubes which claim 98; but those run $500 a strip and need a special transformer. Basic LED bulb technology just isn't there yet.