An Ode to Tungsten Lighting: Long Live the King

You can't fix what's not broken.

In the middle of the technological arms race of LED lighting, it's easy to overlook the timeless allure of traditional tungsten lighting. While LED options continue to gain popularity for their energy efficiency and versatility, there's something inherently magical about the warm glow of tungsten. Skin tones look more natural and healthier. Everyday objects are the same color in the camera as they are in real life when lit by tungsten units and white balanced to 3200 K. Somehow, it just feels better. And better yet, it's not just a feeling - it's backed by science.

Color Accuracy

These graphs show a comparison of the SPD (Spectral Power Distribution) of three different lighting sources. I'm simplifying things quite a bit, but this basically shows you the ability of each source (Tungsten, Filtered Daylight, and LED) to produce each wavelength (color or hue) of light. What's the first thing you notice?

Look how smooth the Tungsten graph is compared to the LED and Filtered Daylight graphs. Look at the spikes on those two! Tungsten is a warm source (3200 degrees Kelvin), so it is going to be able to produce the warmer colors stronger than cooler colors. But it is so much more even than the others. LED can't even raise a candle (pun intended) to it. Daylight, at around 5600 degrees Kelvin, is a bluer source, so that part of the spectrum is higher. But it doesn't look as smooth as tungsten. Why? Well, daylight is filtered by the atmosphere, which knocks out parts of the spectrum, like punching little holes in the different colors. It's funny, because we often think of real daylight as being a pure white source, able to illuminate each color of our world 'perfectly' and true-to-life, but that's actually not quite the case!

I even measured the CRI of sunlight (Color Rendition Index, a 0-100 scale that basically tells you how close to a pure white source you are / how high the color accuracy actually is) and I can tell you that it definitely is not 100. Tungsten, on the other hand...is like 99. You can't really get much better than that!

Tungsten is King

So basically what I'm trying to say is, tungsten light sources like your ARRI & Mole-Richardson Fresnels and open faces, which are sitting collecting dust all over Hollywood and beyond, relics from a bygone era that are being sold and traded for the next new LED light, are actually better light sources than real daylight! And of course better than current LED technology for that matter. Those are golden relics that everyone is overlooking. To this day, tungsten reigns as the King of Light.

Budget Friendly

Tungsten lighting is a simple technology. It's the same technology that has been used for over a century. You run an electric current through a piece of tungsten in a contained piece of glass (usually filled with halogen), it heats up, and emits light. It's not rocket science at work here. So, this kind of thing isn't really expensive. And it's become even cheaper with its decline in popularity for favor of LED's, which are becoming even more expensive. No computer chips or wireless capability is necessary in tungsten lighting, so you can save a lot of money. You get more bang for your buck.

Can't Beat the Heat

I know what a lot of people are thinking. Tungsten sources are hot! And they use a lot of power. Sure - they aren't exactly efficient units. Most of the energy used to power them actually is lost in heat than to light. And yes. These are certainly drawbacks. But the thing is, none of these drawbacks interfere with the quality of light you're getting. With LED's, you are sacrificing that quality in the name for efficiency and convenience. But if you're on a stage with lots of power, do you really need to sacrifice that quality?

Not the end all, be all

For how great tungsten is, it isn't everything. In fact, for location work, you barely see Tungsten anymore, unless you are going for a warmer look. I love tungsten but I work mainly with LED's now. You have to admit that they can do things that tungsten could never do.

Our Astera Titan tubes are what dreams are made of

Take the Astera Titan Tubes. These lights really are a game changer. Battery powered with up to 20 hours of charge time, bright, high color accuracy, ability to do all kinds of color temperatures and full RGB... you name it. They're amazing. They can do all kinds of effects that you couldn't even dream of with tungsten. And they make tried and true effects like the Poor Man's Process (lighting a stationary vehicle to make it look like its moving) even easier. Bygone are the days you need to manually aim your lights around. Now you can just put these up and program it. And you can even control the lights on your phone or tablet that we include with the free Astera App.

With lights like these, its easy for people to get caught up in new technology. But we can't forget the classics. Tungsten units are still on our rental shelves and on the shows we light. And I think they always will be. Because when it comes to the quality and color of light, you just can't get any better. I really feel like Tungsten is the new Vinyl. I could see it making a comeback, and I know a lot of gaffers and DP's who still feel the love for these lights.

So what do you think? Do you still use Tungsten? Let us know in the comments.

Sources

https://research.ng-london.org.uk/scientific/spd/?page=info