Had an eye opening moment with an LED flashlight

[JR-Orion]

This is probably common knowledge, but I just got my first LED light a few months back.

My friend and I were in a cave, and I was looking up at the ceiling with my LED headlamp. It was really pretty up there, with a shiny silver and white look. There was even some yellow and gold mixed in.

Well, I looked down and my friend looked up with his regular flashlight. The ceiling was brown in the orange-ish yellow light. You couldn't see the silver / white at all.

So yeah, I like LED lights.

Is it the pure white light of the LEDs that helps them show colors as they really are?

[Rick Brinkman]

Yeah...pretty much. But it goes both ways. I've been in caves where a regular light(tungsten) shows more than the LED.

Try an ultraviolet light(blacklight) sometime......

[YuccaPatrol]

You may have experienced a difference in the brightness of the two lights as well as a difference in the tint of the light.

Many LED lights are so white that they favor the blue wavelengths, actually distorting the true color.

In general (and Marduke may correct me here), incandescent lights tend to be on the warm side and most LED's tend to be on the cool side of the spectrum. But now more and more lights are being offered in neutral and warm tints.

I have a couple of photos of a cave salamander taken with a "cool" white LED and the same scene taken with a "warm" tinted LED. The warm tint provides for a more natural color. I will try to post these tonight to show the difference. When I used a warm tinted light to illuminate the scene instead of the cool one I had, the pictures came out so much better. For this reason, I just purchased a warm tinted light for the sole purpose of taking photos of things, especially animals, up close in caves.

[Marduke]

Yucca, why don't you post both pictures of that salamander and list what LED was used for illuminating each pic.

[YuccaPatrol]

I'll post them tonight when I get home.

[JR-Orion]

So this basically comes down to the color temp of the light, right?

I had to do some looking, since it's been a while since I bought it, but I have a back-light for my TV that is supposed to make for a more pleasing and accurate viewing experience when watching movies in a dark room. Checked the specs and it is a 6500 Kelvin bulb with a Color Rendering Index of 90.

[YuccaPatrol]

So this basically comes down to the color temp of the light, right?

That as well as there is a good chance that your LED light was significantly brighter too. With the latest LED technology, it is possible for a flashlight with one AA battery to be several times brighter than your typical Mag-Light or similar incandescent flashlight.

Here are the comparison photos. The first was taken using a cool white tinted LED flashlight and the second was taken using a neutral to warm tinted LED flashlight. In my opinion, the warm/neutral LED gives the most natural looking results.

[JR-Orion]

Great pics!

And yeah, the second one does look more natural.

[Ralph E. Powers]

Great pics!

And yeah, the second one does look more natural.

In a way yes and in a way no it doesn't... caves are generally cold places so the blue "feels" more natural.
Both are fine photos either way.

[Speleomander]

Sweet find on that salamander brooding her eggs.
It's not every day that the eggs of any large Plethodon species are located. Speaking of which-where was she found (what state)? There are many species in this genus that look nearly identical but have been separated based on genetic analysis, so knowing where it was found should narrow down the possibilities.

EDIT: For comparison, I thought I'd attach pictures of a similar species illuminated by LED light from a low end Petzl headlamp (and automatic camera flash). It's been my personal experience that the flash from my camera tends to produce excessive blue tint to these types of pictures unless they're illuminated well by another light source.

[Dwight Livingston]

Really nice pictures.

I think the cool lighting looks more natural, but then I've been LED caving for a while.

I suppose there is no natural lighting for caves.

Dwight

[Squirrel Girl]

I suppose there is no natural lighting for caves.

PS - Yeah, nice pics!