Table Light intensity

GrayBeard

GrayBeard

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
That may not be exactly the right title for this topic, but it's at least approximate. I've been researching table lighting, and
according to the WPA Tournament Table & Equipment Specifications, "The bed and rails of the table must receive
at least 520 lux (48 foot candles) of light at every point".

I downloaded a light meter app to my iPhone and measured the Lux at surface of my table at multiple points. The
highest measurements were about 260 lux at the head spot and foot spot. The light dropped off to about 90 lux in
the corners. Of course I have no way of knowing how accurate the light meter app is, but it should at least put me in
the ball park. I have a couple of 4 foot fluorescent shop lights hanging end-to-end 46" above the table surface. They
contain 4 - 4' 4100K T8 bulbs.

I was surprised my lights performed so poorly (per the WPA standards) because the light seems adequate when I'm
playing, however, there have been times that I have wished for a little more light because my 67 year old eyes
aren't getting any stronger and can use all the advantage they can get.

I'm wondering how many others have checked their lighting like this and if my results are better or worse than average. I
admit that my lighting solution was on the cheap side because I was trying to hold costs down. The light fixtures were
about $20 each and I seem to recall the bulbs being about $8 each.

I did get a pool table light when I bought the table off of Craig's List, but it was one of those 3 – bulb incandescent lights
which I'm certain wouldn't match the lighting of my fluorescents. I'd love to have a Brunswick or Diamond light, but
they're out of my price range and I've never seen any for sale on Craig's list. I’m very interested in the LED panels that
some have posted about, but I’m a little apprehensive that there are no good guidelines for selection of the LED
panels yet.

I'd be interested in hearing what others are using for lighting, and if they have measured the output of their light fixtures.
 
Interesting topic..... I just bought the app to check mine. 305 in the middle of the table, 90 something around the edges. My light setup is a 4 bulb fixture with 100w 6500deg LED bulbs. Seems bright enough to me, it could stand to be a little brighter maybe.... but I cant imagine what their standard would look like.

Mine look bright enough? :thumbup:
 

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I have two 2X4 LED 5000K panels above my table.

I am getting over 9000 lux at the center, and over 600 at the head and foot rails.

The lowest I have is 300 along the side rails.

I downloaded the lux camera app for the iPhone, and I am wondering if it needs calibration. My table is well lit to my eyes, I am just not sure these measurements are accurate.
 
I wouldn't worry about what is recommended as much as what is comfortable for you.

Lighting recommendations are standards or guides lines that like anything else is based on averages or what they think will offer the best for the most people to limit eye fatigue.

I wonder how many tournaments really have lighting according those?

I laugh about this as I think of all the times that I have played under a single 60 watt bulb or a 3 bulb light where one was burned out or they had mismatched watts.

I just installed 2 4ft LED lamps that are now on sale at Costco for under $30 each over my 9 ft table. It gives enough light for me and more that the 4 tube flourescent that they replaced.

Will have to get that app and check it out.

🎱
 
Last edited:
GrayBeard said:
That may not be exactly the right title for this topic, but it's at least approximate. I've been researching table lighting, and
according to the WPA Tournament Table & Equipment Specifications, "The bed and rails of the table must receive
at least 520 lux (48 foot candles) of light at every point".

I downloaded a light meter app to my iPhone and measured the Lux at surface of my table at multiple points. The
highest measurements were about 260 lux at the head spot and foot spot. The light dropped off to about 90 lux in
the corners. Of course I have no way of knowing how accurate the light meter app is, but it should at least put me in
the ball park. I have a couple of 4 foot fluorescent shop lights hanging end-to-end 46" above the table surface. They
contain 4 - 4' 4100K T8 bulbs.

I was surprised my lights performed so poorly (per the WPA standards) because the light seems adequate when I'm
playing, however, there have been times that I have wished for a little more light because my 67 year old eyes
aren't getting any stronger and can use all the advantage they can get.

I'm wondering how many others have checked their lighting like this and if my results are better or worse than average. I
admit that my lighting solution was on the cheap side because I was trying to hold costs down. The light fixtures were
about $20 each and I seem to recall the bulbs being about $8 each.

I did get a pool table light when I bought the table off of Craig's List, but it was one of those 3 – bulb incandescent lights
which I'm certain wouldn't match the lighting of my fluorescents. I'd love to have a Brunswick or Diamond light, but
they're out of my price range and I've never seen any for sale on Craig's list. I’m very interested in the LED panels that
some have posted about, but I’m a little apprehensive that there are no good guidelines for selection of the LED
panels yet.

I'd be interested in hearing what others are using for lighting, and if they have measured the output of their light fixtures.
Click to expand...

Are you measuring the light or the table surface? You should be measuring the light itself, with the phone placed upside-down and as low to the table surface as you can and still be able to read the display. My app has a "hold" button that allows me to poise my finger over the button and press the screen when I am low enough.

If you measure the table surface, you will be measuring the light coming off the cloth itself. That will be lots less, and will even be dependent on the color and condition of the cloth. For photographic purposes this, is the reading you want, but to measure the intensity of the light reaching the table, you need to meter the light source itself at table level.
 
Tony_in_MD said:
I have two 2X4 LED 5000K panels above my table.

I am getting over 9000 lux at the center, and over 600 at the head and foot rails.

The lowest I have is 300 along the side rails.

I downloaded the lux camera app for the iPhone, and I am wondering if it needs calibration. My table is well lit to my eyes, I am just not sure these measurements are accurate.
Click to expand...

That seems about right for those lights. How high are they above the table surface?

I have three 100W equivalent CFLs set 36" above the table surface. I get just over 6000 lux in the center, but light falls off to around 300 lux at the corners of my oversize 8 footer. That sounds like an enormous difference, but the human eyes and brain don't register light the way a meter does, so it looks OK to play on.

A 4-light fixture would give better light at the ends, but the one I have looks nice and I'm less likely to bump my head on them when shooting at the ends of the table.
 
Sloppy Pockets said:
That seems about right for those lights. How high are they above the table surface?

I have three 100W equivalent CFLs set 36" above the table surface. I get just over 6000 lux in the center, but light falls off to around 300 lux at the corners of my oversize 8 footer. That sounds like an enormous difference, but the human eyes and brain don't register light the way a meter does, so it looks OK to play on.

A 4-light fixture would give better light at the ends, but the one I have looks nice and I'm less likely to bump my head on them when shooting at the ends of the table.
Click to expand...

They are 49 inches above the table bed. I would have liked them about 5 more inches higher but the soffet they are straddling would not permit them to be any higher.
 
GrayBeard said:
That may not be exactly the right title for this topic, but it's at least approximate. I've been researching table lighting, and
according to the WPA Tournament Table & Equipment Specifications, "The bed and rails of the table must receive
at least 520 lux (48 foot candles) of light at every point".

I downloaded a light meter app to my iPhone and measured the Lux at surface of my table at multiple points. The
highest measurements were about 260 lux at the head spot and foot spot. The light dropped off to about 90 lux in
the corners. Of course I have no way of knowing how accurate the light meter app is, but it should at least put me in
the ball park. I have a couple of 4 foot fluorescent shop lights hanging end-to-end 46" above the table surface. They
contain 4 - 4' 4100K T8 bulbs.

I was surprised my lights performed so poorly (per the WPA standards) because the light seems adequate when I'm
playing, however, there have been times that I have wished for a little more light because my 67 year old eyes
aren't getting any stronger and can use all the advantage they can get.

I'm wondering how many others have checked their lighting like this and if my results are better or worse than average. I
admit that my lighting solution was on the cheap side because I was trying to hold costs down. The light fixtures were
about $20 each and I seem to recall the bulbs being about $8 each.

I did get a pool table light when I bought the table off of Craig's List, but it was one of those 3 – bulb incandescent lights
which I'm certain wouldn't match the lighting of my fluorescents. I'd love to have a Brunswick or Diamond light, but
they're out of my price range and I've never seen any for sale on Craig's list. I’m very interested in the LED panels that
some have posted about, but I’m a little apprehensive that there are no good guidelines for selection of the LED
panels yet.

I'd be interested in hearing what others are using for lighting, and if they have measured the output of their light fixtures.
Click to expand...

Great thread! I have a similar set-up to you and I'll take my measurements when I get home from work and post them.

Another question is, were those standards made by the WPA from studies done on eye fatigue from long hours focusing in inadequate light?

Great information that you posted, thanks.
 
Cardigan Kid said:
Another question is, were those standards made by the WPA from studies done on eye fatigue from long hours focusing in inadequate light?
Click to expand...

48 Foot-candles puts it at the top of the "visual tasks of high contrast or large size"; and that bottom of the "visual tasks of medium contrast or small size" categories. Putting it on par with Libraries (general lighting) on the low side, and Drafting tables on the high end.

Thank you kindly.
 
Sloppy Pockets said:
Are you measuring the light or the table surface? You should be measuring the light itself, with the phone placed upside-down and as low to the table surface as you can and still be able to read the display. My app has a "hold" button that allows me to poise my finger over the button and press the screen when I am low enough.

If you measure the table surface, you will be measuring the light coming off the cloth itself. That will be lots less, and will even be dependent on the color and condition of the cloth. For photographic purposes this, is the reading you want, but to measure the intensity of the light reaching the table, you need to meter the light source itself at table level.
Click to expand...

I measured the light with the iPhone lying flat on the table surface, facing up towards the lights. That would be measuring the light falling onto the table surface. That seemed to make the most sense to me. Is this not correct?
 
TheBook said:
I just installed 2 4ft LED lamps that are now on sale at Costco for under $30 each over my 9 ft table.��
Click to expand...

This makes me wonder if the lights you have are the equivalent of the LED replacements for T8 bulbs that I have seen.
Has anyone tried replacing their fluorescent bulbs with LED replacements?
 
GrayBeard said:
I measured the light with the iPhone lying flat on the table surface, facing up towards the lights. That would be measuring the light falling onto the table surface. That seemed to make the most sense to me. Is this not correct?
Click to expand...

You definitely want to measure the light at the table level. I don't know why you would have such a low reading. If I read your post correctly, you have a total of four 4' lamps hanging about 46" above the table surface. They should give you an output of roughly 12,000 lumens compared to my light output of about 5000 total lumens. My lights are about a foot closer to the table bed, but I don't think the light falloff would be that much at only a 10" height difference.

The main thing is to not measure the light coming off the cloth, since that would be a measurement of reflectance and not of the light falling on the table. Reflectance will be a lot less since light is being absorbed by the surface. It will also vary depending on the color of the cloth, with darker colors reflecting a lot less light, thereby giving very low readings.
 
I have a Gossen Luna-Pro Professional light meter. I have to solder in a new 9V battery connector into it before I can use it. Maybe I'll do that a little later and compare the two readings to see if my app is working OK or not. I know the Gossen meter is accurate to less than 1/3 stop.
 
I would not trust anything on that WPA table spec page. Its full of typos, and by their specs, I don't think even a Diamond table is legal.

Regarding the light readings, I too downloaded an iPhone app called "Light Meter". My readings were close to your. I think 300 lux in the middle, dropping to 80 lux or so near the ends. The table is visible just fine:)

I had my phone pointed down on the table bed. I had it sitting on top of an upside down wine glass, with the camera lens overhanging the glass, so that the distance from the phone to the table was exact for each measurement I took.
 
70-90 Foot-Candles. The perfect solution is start wide and go inward (Two - 2x8' Strips) and you have a killer setup with no shadows and you can see the edge of the ball by the rails (regardless of color).
 
I just downloaded an Android light meter and here were the results - YMMV

This app doesn't use the camera it uses the ambient light detector that the phone uses for reactive dimming of the screen. I have no calibration equipment, but did come across something interesting.
If I laid the phone flat in the corners of the table, it gave me a reading of 30-45 lux. If i tilted the phone towards 45 degrees facing the light, suddenly I was getting a reading of 545 lux. I think measuring flat on the surface of the table on the corners is not the ideal way to do it, the sensor should always be pointed at the light source for the most accurate reading.
My fixture is ~36 inches off the surface of the table and is a 3 bulb fixture with frosted glass (no reflecting downward) and each fixture has a 100W equiv. LED bulb in it. 1300 lux in the middle of the table.
 
JasBy said:
I just downloaded an Android light meter and here were the results - YMMV

This app doesn't use the camera it uses the ambient light detector that the phone uses for reactive dimming of the screen. I have no calibration equipment, but did come across something interesting.
If I laid the phone flat in the corners of the table, it gave me a reading of 30-45 lux. If i tilted the phone towards 45 degrees facing the light, suddenly I was getting a reading of 545 lux. I think measuring flat on the surface of the table on the corners is not the ideal way to do it, the sensor should always be pointed at the light source for the most accurate reading.
My fixture is ~36 inches off the surface of the table and is a 3 bulb fixture with frosted glass (no reflecting downward) and each fixture has a 100W equiv. LED bulb in it. 1300 lux in the middle of the table.
Click to expand...

Hey, Jasby, since we're not too far from each other, maybe we could get together to see if we can reconcile the
differences in our measurements. I'd like to know how my lighting compares to your incandescent lighting.
PM me if you're interested.
 
GrayBeard said:
That may not be exactly the right title for this topic, but it's at least approximate. I've been researching table lighting, and
according to the WPA Tournament Table & Equipment Specifications, "The bed and rails of the table must receive
at least 520 lux (48 foot candles) of light at every point".

I downloaded a light meter app to my iPhone and measured the Lux at surface of my table at multiple points. The
highest measurements were about 260 lux at the head spot and foot spot. The light dropped off to about 90 lux in
the corners. Of course I have no way of knowing how accurate the light meter app is, but it should at least put me in
the ball park. I have a couple of 4 foot fluorescent shop lights hanging end-to-end 46" above the table surface. They
contain 4 - 4' 4100K T8 bulbs.

I was surprised my lights performed so poorly (per the WPA standards) because the light seems adequate when I'm
playing, however, there have been times that I have wished for a little more light because my 67 year old eyes
aren't getting any stronger and can use all the advantage they can get.

I'm wondering how many others have checked their lighting like this and if my results are better or worse than average. I
admit that my lighting solution was on the cheap side because I was trying to hold costs down. The light fixtures were
about $20 each and I seem to recall the bulbs being about $8 each.

I did get a pool table light when I bought the table off of Craig's List, but it was one of those 3 – bulb incandescent lights
which I'm certain wouldn't match the lighting of my fluorescents. I'd love to have a Brunswick or Diamond light, but
they're out of my price range and I've never seen any for sale on Craig's list. I’m very interested in the LED panels that
some have posted about, but I’m a little apprehensive that there are no good guidelines for selection of the LED
panels yet.

I'd be interested in hearing what others are using for lighting, and if they have measured the output of their light fixtures.
Click to expand...

I have the same set-up, two four foot shop light fixtures hanging end to end, about 3.5 feet above the table. I'm measuring 941 lux at center table at 344-450 lux at the corners.
Im using four Phillips 32 watt F32T8 DX fluorescent light bulbs which are rated at deluxe daylight.

You may just need to upgrade the bulbs. I did that after reading another thread about a year ago and it made a huge difference.

Here's a link to the ones I have from home depot....

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Philips-4-...uorescent-Light-Bulb-10-Pack-422949/203466585

I think they were about $8 each.
 
Some lighting info

Small lighting source leave hard shadows with sharp edges like the sun ( hard lighting )
large light or reflected light or scattered light doesn't leave a shadow.


All lighting that is
Emitted ( Continuous Florescent Lighting ) ( CFL ) is polarized light.
Scattered (Clouds, light passing through cloth or paper, dust smoke)
Refracted ( Light passing through Glass water plastic ).
Reflected ( light that has been bounced off of anything) Like the moon.
The light now has Electromagnetic polarized Waves attached to it like a parasite,

So if you have a reflector or a light softener under your pool table lighting then your lighting is now Polarized light.
To be exact electromagnetic Polarized wave's. ( EMPW ).
When EMPW strike all non metallic smooth surfaces it creates Electromagnetic polarized reflection AKA ( Glare )

There is also direct reflection and UV reflection and the study of light which could be talked about for decades...

For any reason you feel that you have a reflection or glare issue , you can stretch linear polarized film over or actually under your lighting and it will remove the glare from the pool balls and rails .......

http://www.polarization.com/polarshop/

Just info.............
 
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