Enhancing Low Light Conditions

Are there any colored bulbs that will enhance low light room conditions?

For example, when filming in a room with low light, will red, green, or black light bulbs brighten the picture on camera? I know infrared lights will but I am looking for something that will screw into a standard light bulb socket to help enhance the picture captured on camera.

Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks.

Why not use an ordinary light bulb? Don't forget to white balance or you'll have a reddish tint to everything. Alternatively, buy some full spectrum bulbs and you'll get a "whiter" light. It still might be good to WB.

Colored bulbs will help, since they add some additional light, but they will likely make everything looked colored. IR won't work with most cams since they have built in IR filters.

Good luck.

Dennis

I am not certain that I am understanding your question.

This is my first interpretation of your question.

Use the brightest bulbs that you can in every fixture in the room. Make sure to check the limit though, or you could have a fire. Clear bulbs are a couple of percent brighter than frosted bulbs but you can run into a problem sometimes with the harsh shadows that they may cast.

Most standard table lamps will easily take 150 watt bulbs, small lamps usually take around 60. Colored bulbs will not increase the light, in fact they will decrease it, the tint itself, filters out several percent of light transmission.

This is my second interpretation...

If you are saying that you want dim light, so as not to disturb a subject, such as a sleeping baby, but you want to preserve as much detail as possible, I don't have an answer. Bulbs are cheap, you can experiment and maybe learn some interesting things along the way and share your new knowledge with us.

I do know that black light will give a very weird effect, not natural at all... glowing teeth and lint show up easily. I would try red and blue first, as they are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Try the auto white balance on each one and try manual white balance on them too. See what happens and let us know! Sounds like fun.

Nick

I thought about my last post and it suddenly dawned on me that a colored light probably cannot do anything to help. White light is a balance of all of the colors in the spectrum and it seems that it would yield the most contrast and brightness possible for any given number of lumens. Still, I could be wrong.

Nick

I thought about my last post and it suddenly dawned on me that a colored light probably cannot do anything to help. White light is a balance of all of the colors in the spectrum and it seems that it would yield the most contrast and brightness possible for any given number of lumens. Still, I could be wrong.

Nick

Thanks for the input. You are correct about the subject being a baby. We have our camera set up on a tripod at the foot of our son's crib and then hooked to our TV in our room so that we can see and hear him when he sleeps

Right now we are using a lamp to light up the room at night but it still seems too bright and I don't want my kid to get used to sleeping with so much light in the room. I was hoping a colored light wouldn't be as bright but would help him show up better on camera.

Thanks again for the responses.

Why not go to a nightshot camera under an invisible infrared lamp? Many Sony camcorders have this feature.

We have our camera set up on a tripod at the foot of our son's crib and then hooked to our TV in our room so that we can see and hear him when he sleeps.

You might consider Wisecom Mini Color Camera w/Night Vision and Audio
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=141724

I played with one in a local Sams. Impressive. The friendly salesman would not turn out the lights in the store so I could see how well it worked but shielding it with my hands it had a very good image in darkness. The unit is small, the spec sheet does not say but it is about 3 inches wide. Click on the "See a larger image" and the image appears to be life-size.



Rich

You might consider Wisecom Mini Color Camera w/Night Vision and Audio
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=141724Rich

I should have thought of this. I have one of these cameras at my front door and it works great. In total darkness it looks like daylight. I run it to the aux input on my TV. When I am watching TV all I have to do is press a button and I can see anyone outside my front door.

If there is an easy way to route your cable, this is an easy solution. You can also hook it up to your VCR and use it as a nanny cam.

Nick

I should have thought of this. I have one of these cameras at my front door and it works great. In total darkness it looks like daylight. I run it to the aux input on my TV. When I am watching TV all I have to do is press a button and I can see anyone outside my front door.

If there is an easy way to route your cable, this is an easy solution. You can also hook it up to your VCR and use it as a nanny cam.

Nick

How does this camera hardwire to your TV? Through the coax?

Also does it have a tripod mount on the bottom?

How does this camera hardwire to your TV? Through the coax?

Also does it have a tripod mount on the bottom?

It has RCA connections, just like a VCR, one for video and one for sound. The swivel-mount base has two screw holes in it. Mine is just screwed into the door frame of my front door but in your application you may want to attach it to block of wood or something else so that you can set it anywhere and move it to another location if you need to. You could just glue the base to something if that would work better. This camera is really small... about an inch square (without the base).

Nick