Bulb Comparison

[Ibn]

How close are those colors to the real deal? I'm just wondering why you didn't do a custom white balance (white bal card in tank...)?

 

[pixelpixi]

[quote author=Ibn link=topic=5876.msg73996#msg73996 date=1231786280]
How close are those colors to the real deal? I'm just wondering why you didn't do a custom white balance (white bal card in tank...)?
[/quote]

I think they're pretty close. On my monitor at home the images look fairly similar to the tank itself. There's probably some shift but it's the same shift in all images, so while the absolute color may not be quite perfect the difference in color between bulbs is accurate.

I didn't do a custom white balance using a reference in the tank because that would compensate for the color temperature of the bulbs, which is much of what I'm trying to compare. Our perception of color temperature works a lot like tinted glasses: if you put on glasses with green lenses, after a bit things don't really look green anymore. That's the point of a camera's white balance adjustment: to compensate for our perceptual adjustment to different lighting conditions.

When we look at a tank our eyes aren't adjusted to the lighting conditions of the tank, but rather the lighting conditions of the room the tank is in. I could have done a custom white balance using a white card in my living room, but I didn't want these images to be dependent on my living room's lighting conditions. I also wanted the images on a monitor in my living room to match the way the tank looks in my living room, so using the monitor's white balance is appropriate.

 

[Paradox]

I tried all of those 250 watt SE bulbs to find the perfect color and par for my tastes. I ended up liking the aquaconnects 14k the best..and of course they ended up the most expensive. Only problem I had was that the two bulbs I had burned a slightly different color for 2 maybe 3 months.

 

[pixelpixi]

[quote author=Paradox link=topic=5876.msg74091#msg74091 date=1231817679]
I tried all of those 250 watt SE bulbs to find the perfect color and par for my tastes. I ended up liking the aquaconnects 14k the best..and of course they ended up the most expensive. Only problem I had was that the two bulbs I had burned a slightly different color for 2 maybe 3 months.
[/quote]

What do you like about the aquaconnect and how would you describe its color relative to those others?

Fortunately for me, I just have 1 bulb so I don't have to worry about multiple bulbs matching exactly.

 

[Paradox]

Usually you have to sacrifice Par, the more blue you want, but the aquaconnect has the best of both worlds. More Par then some 10k bulbs, but with enough blue to make everything pop.

To justify the cost, most people report that these bulbs can easily last a year without much degredation or shift. Other bulbs last 6-8 months.

 

[pixelpixi]

Hmm. That sounds like a nice bulb. I might just have to try it out!

 

[ModernReefKeeper]

where would everyone recommend finding the best price on some "aquaconnects 14k's"

 

[tuberider]

[quote author=tuberider link=topic=5876.msg73993#msg73993 date=1231784963]
[quote author=Gomer link=topic=5876.msg73988#msg73988 date=1231784212]
I haven't tried it, but really want to.....Aquaconnect. They are quite $$ though (but supposedly last a lot longer than other bulbs)
[/quote]

IIRC Aquaconnect=Phoenix
[/quote]

Seriously

 

[Paradox]

In comparison to the other bulbs, The hamilton 14k looks a little yellower and much dimmer then the aquaconnect 14k. I purchased my bulb at Aquarium specialty. I dont think you have many options on where you can buy these bulbs.

 

[Paradox]

[quote author=tuberider link=topic=5876.msg74185#msg74185 date=1231870229]
[quote author=tuberider link=topic=5876.msg73993#msg73993 date=1231784963]
[quote author=Gomer link=topic=5876.msg73988#msg73988 date=1231784212]
I haven't tried it, but really want to.....Aquaconnect. They are quite $$ though (but supposedly last a lot longer than other bulbs)
[/quote]

IIRC Aquaconnect=Phoenix
[/quote]

Seriously
[/quote]

Ive heard of this comparison before as well, but the phoenix 14k was always only available in DE. Did they start making a SE version for the Phoenix 14k yet?

 

[tuberider]

No single ended version yet...

Basically you're buying a single ended Phoenix with the ACs

 

[iani]

Phoenix's are blue but they tend to wash out a lot of colors. Are the ACs like that as well?

 

[tuberider]

The ones I've seen did, that said I've only seen one tank with ACs, but boy did it look like a Phoenix lit tank, there was no crispness at all. If you check out Sanjay's site as well, the #s on the AC and Phoenix are identical.

Keep in mind that we're talking about 250w, the 150w Phoenix isn't as bad with the washout IME.

 

[Paradox]

i dont notice any washing out of colors. I like my reds and greens! Ill be showing on the tank tour if you guys wanna check it out.

 

[Gomer]

Eileen was (is?) running ACs, but I believe they are the 400watt versions.

 

[pixelpixi]

I added a Radium photo, taken with the same lens and all the same settings.