How important is lighting to you?

ssbn610g said:
Where I play my league's at, they have 2 crappy lights over each table. Huge shadows all over the table especially near the end rails. Shooting a cut shot on an 8 ball or 6 ball is a problem as I sometimes can't see the edge of the ball. I would play my leagues somewhere else if there was a viable option close by. I try to arrive an hour early so my eyes acclimatize to the dim light.

Al
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Has anyone ever taken in their own LED flashlights and attached them to the table light? Now that they're so cheap and lightweight and take little power to operate, maybe that is an option?

The beer companies' lights are getting lamer and lamer, as if they were made for foosball tables, not pool table....tiny bulbs and short.

Jeff Livingston
 
decent dennis said:
What bugs the heck out of me is when you go into a place and they have the lights hung 5 feet off the table bed.
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OK
I'll bite.
Is 5 feet off the table bed too high or too low, in your opinion? :D

World Pool-Billiards Association

15. Lights
The bed and rails of the table must receive at least 520 lux (48 footcandles) of light at every point. A screen or reflector configuration is advised so that the center of the table does not receive noticeably more lighting than the rails and the corners of the table. If the light fixture above the table may be moved aside (referee), the minimum height of the fixture should be no lower than 40 inches [1.016 m] above the bed of the table. If the light fixture above the table is non-movable, the fixture should be no lower than 65 inches [1.65 m] above the bed of the table. The intensity of any directed light on the players at the table should not be blinding. Blinding light starts at 5000 lux (465 footcandles) direct view. The rest of the venue (bleachers, etc.) should receive at least 50 lux (5 footcandles) of light.

Regarding the original question:
Priority One - Lighting
Priority Two - Table
 
There's an Iowa company that invented lighting for night time car racing so the drivers don't get dizzy with normal pole lighting. They also did the rainbow lighting on the white house a few weeks ago.:rolleyes:

I've thought that maybe they'd be able to light a pool table, not from above, but from under the rails maybe as they do the racetrack.

Anyway, just thinking out loud. Here's the website:

http://www.musco.com/


Jeff Livingston
 
chefjeff said:
Has anyone ever taken in their own LED flashlights and attached them to the table light? Now that they're so cheap and lightweight and take little power to operate, maybe that is an option?

The beer companies' lights are getting lamer and lamer, as if they were made for foosball tables, not pool table....tiny bulbs and short.

Jeff Livingston
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What a good idea. I have a 3 light level LED headlamp for working on motorcycles, I might bring that with me next week. I have mentioned the light level to the owner directly before. I must mention, when they turn on some of their other lighting, the light level is almost acceptable but they do not turn those on all the time.

Al
 
ssbn610g said:
What a good idea. I have a 3 light level LED headlamp for working on motorcycles, I might bring that with me next week. I have mentioned the light level to the owner directly before. I must mention, when they turn on some of their other lighting, the light level is almost acceptable but they do not turn those on all the time.

Al
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Wearing a Headlamp while you play is original, and funny too.

Getting a memo off to Earl immediately...
 
Donny Lutz said:
Having outstanding vision until my late fifties, a poorly lit table actually gave me an advantage over many players.

But at almost 73, it's a different story. I need adequate lighting. But just as important is not too much lighting. I have a friend who has a Diamond table at home, but built his own lights. They are too high and too bright. I have to wear a hat with a brim to fight the glare.
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Exact-a-mundo ....... If I'm playing where the lights are high and bright,
I carry a Golf-style Visor with a long bill to help eliminate the harshness.
If I happen to be playing in Bar League with very dim lighting, I'm Screwed !
 
I've had a 7' table at home for about 10 years now. The owner of the place where I play league gave me a light that needed a ballast. I fixed it and have been using it since. It gives what I call average light and coverage. I wanted it to be close to the conditions of the average table in the places I play as the league travels around.

About 4 years ago I had cataract surgery (yea I'm old too) and have had to make adjustments and lighting seems play a larger part now. I'm still adjusting to the shadows and how the light meets the edges of a ball or rail.
 
chefjeff said:
Has anyone ever taken in their own LED flashlights and attached them to the table light? Now that they're so cheap and lightweight and take little power to operate, maybe that is an option?

The beer companies' lights are getting lamer and lamer, as if they were made for foosball tables, not pool table....tiny bulbs and short.

Jeff Livingston
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You could get one of those miners hat lights:D
 
Miner's lights, awesome idea! You could even use them to blind your opponents when they're on the money ball.

Oops, sorry for the miner inconvenience!
 
JAMSGOLF said:
See, this kind of comment lets me know what my real playing "speed" is compared to you...light-years away! (Pun intended) I'm just glad when all my bulbs are lit...and yes, I mean either way with that comment! LOL

Kidding aside, that's super smart and great commitment and attention to details that could really matter in a big match! :)
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At one time, I only used soft white bulbs. When I would play on a bar table that had fluorescent, I would feel....for lack of a better word.... different. I will post a couple of pics of the different lighting conditions when I get to the table. The color of the cloth CERTAINLY looks different.
 
light quality

Table is 8 foot

4 lights.. the two end lights are cheap brooder lights I purchased at the local farm store.
Insides are painted flat black to prevent spotlighting. Pictures taken after 5 min warm up.

The second pic is using spiral fluorescent. 60 watt equivalent. Bright, crisp, clear.

The third pic is 60 watt equivalent soft whites. Soft....fuzzy....dim.

BIG difference between the two. Don't take that staement face value. 60 watt equivalent soft white is quite bright.
It just does not seem to make the targets as defined as the fluorescent. Maybe that would change on blue cloth?
Don't know. There is not many tables in this area that have blue cloth, so it doesn't concern me as it might you.
 

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Like with buckshots photos.. You have a long shadow of the ball your aiming at ( depending on what side your on) yes the ball is crisp on one side but the other side is darker.

I guess i was asking more about shadows..
 
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So 9ft table, the recommendation is 4 8ft fluorescent light bulbs? I believe thats whats in a diamond light.

Just seems like a lot of lighting for my 15x26' enclosed garage. During the day, very minimal lighting would be needed. The room has 13 windows, so more than enough light is getting in.

I'm about to repaint the ceiling and will need to get a new light fixture.
 
Darkridder said:
Is proper lighting a huge concern to you?

Does shadows from the balls distract you or shadows from the rail?

I ask cause when my table got setup i had my buddy come over and play and he quickly told me that my table wasn't the best to play on cause of the shadows from the rails and the balls. I put a LED light above it and it's much much better.

So i was curious if you ever not played cause of bad lighting.. Or if it's not a concern to you cause you've went hamb..

Thanks.
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Just the sun light bothers me for playing.
 
I don't believe anyone has mentioned cloth color. In the past month I have replaced my Simonis 860 "Spruce" with Simonis 860 "Powder Blue". The balls stand out more day or night. I really like it.

Here is my pool room:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=5245700&postcount=959

I've had several player friends tell me my lighting is good. But one player friend always complains about shadows, etc.

I have 3 pendant lights, each with 60W Bulbrite KX-2000/3M bulbs. These bulbs are pencil shaped and about an inch long, so you can not see the bulbs unless you look under the pendant fixtures. There are also 7 can lights in the ceiling, high wattage, on a dimmer.

I think it's good lighting, but as my eyes continue to get worse I may just shove $2 100W bulbs from Target in there.
 
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