Color temperature/flash gel for indoor fluorescent

[mr_marks]

<p>Hi, in general most references will say to use green flash gel for fluorescent lit environment. I was at this event where where the indoor fluorescent light did not have any greenish tint and was more like daylight to the naked eye. Does fluorescent light have different color temperatures? Should I use a green gel for my flash? What's your experience like? Thanks for all inputs.</p>

[john_a5]

<p>Modern fluorescent lights have all sorts of different color temperatures. Some are more like tungsten, some daylight and then the old green ones, which are more common these days in industrial/shop settings--and there are lots in between as well (go to your local hardware store and you will see all the selections available. I used to have to worry about these sorts of things when shooting architecture on transparency film, but rarely worry about it anymore. In an event situation like a wedding, the flash generally provides enough light on the main subject to make the image look "normal" and the other lights create an ambiance which is usually more immediate than perfect color balance anyway. Sometimes there are so many different sources, like wall sconces, window light and varying downspots and fluorescent light that you can correct for one only to find others go garish and don't look as natural as they might if you had done nothing. In rare cases, I suppose things could get ugly and some post would be necessary to fix it up a bit, but I don't see that very often (if ever).</p>

[walter_degroot]

<p>what he says is correct.<br>

Older films and older flourescent lights cause color problems<br>

newer films do work better and the lights do vary a lot.<br>

wait until LED lighting become available<br>

a new set of problems will arise.<br>

a Flourecent tube does not have a continuous spectrum.<br>

and some parts of colors are missing and this you cannot see this . sometimes the film can.<br>

some commercial places have really sickly looking lighting.<br>

but unless they bought a truckload of tubes they will all be used up in a few years,<br>

In do not know the effect with digital sensore,. that is something I have not seen discuused.</p>

[pierre_shap]

<p>a 1980's minolta color meter II, will tell you the offsets, which you then look up on a chart for your gel's..</p>

<p>you will find used color meter II's on ebay for around $300</p>

[bill c.]

<p>I agree with the previous respondents. Florescent lighting is a kettle of fish, all of different species, and the LED/florescent replacements will give us a whole new set of challenges. However, if you suspect that there is any kind of greenish tint to the light, here's a dodge that might mitigate much of the problem, and can be used as a general approach when you can't get a read on the exact color temperature.<br>

Put a 30 magenta filter over your lens. Put a 30 green filter over your flash. Use the flash as the main light, and drag the shutter as much as is feasible to bring up the room lights in the exposure.<br>

While it may not be exact, the 30 magenta is usually a good ballpark filter to use with florescent. It will be an exact match for the light coming from the (green filtered) flash. Any green from the ambient will be close to properly filtered out, and any non-green ambient that gets into the mix will have a magenta cast, which is usually preferable to green. However, as mentioned, if there are full-spectrum daylight florescents in the mix, or LED's, all bets are off.<br>

Set your camera to daylight balance or RAW for this technique, do NOT set the color balance to florescent. You've already corrected that with the filter. Best of luck, -BC-</p>