How many luman's and what color temp do you think is good for my table's light?

tjlmbklr

tjlmbklr

AzB Silver Member
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I intend to build my tables light from scratch. It will of course be LED and will be a wood box like a Diamond light. I figured I like woodworking and I want a project with an opportunity to make it match my table.

What color temp do you think is good? I like 5000k or higher for a workshop, but am thinking lower like 4000k might be best for a warmer homely feel for the table. Also, how many luman's do you think is needed for a pro-8' table? 8000-10,000 I would think would be good.

Any idea how many luman's the Diamond lights are?

Thanks im advance.

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RickLafayette

RickLafayette

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I just ordered the new Predator Arena Light for an 8' table. I've read all the specs and it didn't list the lumens rating. It did give these specs for the 8' light: 234 Watts, CCT5000K (color rating).
 
tjlmbklr

tjlmbklr

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
RickLafayette said:
I just ordered the new Predator Arena Light for an 8' table. I've read all the specs and it didn't list the lumens rating. It did give these specs for the 8' light: 234 Watts, CCT5000K (color rating).
Click to expand...
Thanks. I'm thinking 5000k is the way to go.

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Dan_B

Dan_B

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I've tried them all, settled on 4000,
the last purchase was a bulb/recess can ceiling element
that had the switch for 5 color ranges,
then built an fixture to house 4 of them.

If I do another one it would be like the Predator arena lamp, two rows of 4 lamps.

I'd seen somewhere that the 4000 was favorite for video/picture lighting,
I concur, having played around with that too.
 
BobY

BobY

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One Lumen over 1 square foot equals one foot candle. The only specs I have seen is WPBA listed years ago that every spot on the table had to have at least 48 foot candles. I would shoot for an average around 100 to take care of any fixture coverage issues. There is quite a lot of of lumen loss before it gets to the table surface (especially with the para louver style filters). With that being said assuming the light is mounted at the correct height so it is focused mostly on the table I would guess you would need around 5000 or 6000 lumens to be safe. I personally have a single edge lit 2x4 panel (4500 lumens) and average around 60-70 foot canles but always liked tables a bit darker than most. If you can get me more details as to the fixture you are building including reflectors and mounting height I can get you closer. You can club up on lumens and add dimming also to fine tune. The cheap light meters on Amazon are good enough to get on the ballpark.

As far as color temp 5K is no brighter than 4K or 3K. All the color temp means is that the higher it is the cooler it is and brings out more cool colors like blue. Warmer colors are yellow and reds. 4K is a newer thing but many of us old folks are used to the older fluorescent lighting which was primarily sold in the 4K range.
 
tjlmbklr

tjlmbklr

AzB Silver Member
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Dan_B said:
I've tried them all, settled on 4000,

the last purchase was a bulb/recess can ceiling element

that had the switch for 5 color ranges,

then built an fixture to house 4 of them.



If I do another one it would be like the Predator arena lamp, two rows of 4 lamps.



I'd seen somewhere that the 4000 was favorite for video/picture lighting,

I concur, having played around with that too.
Click to expand...
Do you have any pics you can share or links of the lights you used?

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tjlmbklr

tjlmbklr

AzB Silver Member
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BobY said:
One Lumen over 1 square foot equals one foot candle. The only specs I have seen is WPBA listed years ago that every spot on the table had to have at least 48 foot candles. I would shoot for an average around 100 to take care of any fixture coverage issues. There is quite a lot of of lumen loss before it gets to the table surface (especially with the para louver style filters). With that being said assuming the light is mounted at the correct height so it is focused mostly on the table I would guess you would need around 5000 or 6000 lumens to be safe. I personally have a single edge lit 2x4 panel (4500 lumens) and average around 60-70 foot canles but always liked tables a bit darker than most. If you can get me more details as to the fixture you are building including reflectors and mounting height I can get you closer. You can club up on lumens and add dimming also to fine tune. The cheap light meters on Amazon are good enough to get on the ballpark.

As far as color temp 5K is no brighter than 4K or 3K. All the color temp means is that the higher it is the cooler it is and brings out more cool colors like blue. Warmer colors are yellow and reds. 4K is a newer thing but many of us old folks are used to the older fluorescent lighting which was primarily sold in the 4K range.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice. As for color temp, I'm aware they have no change in brightness, just the illusion of it. I think 5000k would be the best option for a table.

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TATE

TATE

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Silver Member
tjlmbklr said:
I intend to build my tables light from scratch. It will of course be LED and will be a wood box like a Diamond light. I figured I like woodworking and I want a project with an opportunity to make it match my table.

What color temp do you think is good? I like 5000k or higher for a workshop, but am thinking lower like 4000k might be best for a warmer homely feel for the table. Also, how many luman's do you think is needed for a pro-8' table? 8000-10,000 I would think would be good.

Any idea how many luman's the Diamond lights are?

Thanks im advance.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I tried 5000K LED's on my table and hated it, ended up bagging $100 worth of LED's. (I read the suggestion on AZ lol). The color was horrible especially against tournament blue cloth. I ended up with 3000K soft white and it's perfect. I didn't try 4000K. My suggestion would be to use dimmable bulbs so you can fine tune it if you like. The trend has been to go with cooler colors but you need something that is also easy on the eyes, let's you see the shots, and shows true home colors. I prefer the combo of brighter lights with softer color. Maybe you can test it with a 2X4 temporary fixture over your table with 5000K and see how you like it.
 
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rexus31

rexus31

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I stuck with fluorescents the custom GCI light i built; (8) 4ft tubes, 5000K, 2600 Lumens, 90 CRI. I had the same bulbs in the custom light I built for my old AMF table. The lighting is great.

49726405907_c8b922510b_b.jpg


48356912596_307f68f00a_b.jpg


50108373536_13084c782b_b.jpg


50107805568_079822ee98_c.jpg
 
F

FeelDaShot

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
tjlmbklr said:
I intend to build my tables light from scratch. It will of course be LED and will be a wood box like a Diamond light. I figured I like woodworking and I want a project with an opportunity to make it match my table.

What color temp do you think is good? I like 5000k or higher for a workshop, but am thinking lower like 4000k might be best for a warmer homely feel for the table. Also, how many luman's do you think is needed for a pro-8' table? 8000-10,000 I would think would be good.

Any idea how many luman's the Diamond lights are?

Thanks im advance.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Lighting preferences are highly subjective. I prefer a lot of light. Earlier this year I was in your situation searching the forums and finding a lot of conflicting information regarding table lighting.

In my situation, I had an existing low drop ceiling in my basement. There were four existing fluorescent lighting panels (2' x 4' each) around my table which I wanted to replace. Four panels for a table is overkill but it would've looked weird if I only replaced some of them.


I ended up going with new high performance LEDs which produce 5,000 lumen at 4,000K bright white.

The lighting is great for me. It's very bright but it doesn't hurt my eyes at all. However, going any brigher would be too much and likely cause discomfort.

If you're really unsure, buy a light with the following features:
1. Very bright but dim-able.
2. Adjustable color temperature settings.

I have a light like this on my porch. You easily set it to any brightness or color temp.
 
tjlmbklr

tjlmbklr

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
FeelDaShot said:
Lighting preferences are highly subjective. I prefer a lot of light. Earlier this year I was in your situation searching the forums and finding a lot of conflicting information regarding table lighting.



In my situation, I had an existing low drop ceiling in my basement. There were four existing fluorescent lighting panels (2' x 4' each) around my table which I wanted to replace. Four panels for a table is overkill but it would've looked weird if I only replaced some of them.





I ended up going with new high performance LEDs which produce 5,000 lumen at 4,000K bright white.



The lighting is great for me. It's very bright but it doesn't hurt my eyes at all. However, going any brigher would be too much and likely cause discomfort.



If you're really unsure, buy a light with the following features:

1. Very bright but dim-able.

2. Adjustable color temperature settings.



I have a light like this on my porch. You easily set it to any brightness or color temp.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I am thinking one 2x4 panel between 4000-5000k will be enough. Or if I can stack three 2x2 to make it 2x6. Unfortunately nobody sells a 3 pack so I'll have to get them separately.

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tjlmbklr

tjlmbklr

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
rexus31 said:
I stuck with fluorescents the custom GCI light i built; (8) 4ft tubes, 5000K, 2600 Lumens, 90 CRI. I had the same bulbs in the custom light I built for my old AMF table. The lighting is great.



49726405907_c8b922510b_b.jpg




48356912596_307f68f00a_b.jpg




50108373536_13084c782b_b.jpg




50107805568_079822ee98_c.jpg
Click to expand...
Looks great. I had to do a double take, I thought this was Joe Rogan's table he has in the back of his podcast studio.

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S

slach

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just an FYI, there’s a number of free phone apps you can use for measuring Lumens at various parts of your table. For me the middle of the table is highest Lumens and it drops off at the corners. I used three 2x2 LED panels (home depot, about $40 each, 5000k) centered over a 9ft table, mounted about 5’8” from the floor. Comfortable color and plenty bright in the corners, high enough to keep from banging your head or cue into... happy with it. The Lumens will vary on the table surface depending on how high the light is hung. With more Lumens you can hang higher, but you don’t want it so high so you’re always seeing a blinding panel. Think about hanging at a height to get an arena effect with the table bright and the rest of the room dim, that’s a nice look.
 
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