Sekonic C-500 Prodigi Color Meter and LED light color temperature

[Santos Ramos]

Hello,

I just bought an old Sekonic C-500 Prodigi Color Meter. I want to use it to color match my Bi-Color LED video lights to tungsten and fluorescent lights.

If understand correctly, the TCLI score ( Television Lighting Consistency Index )does not represent the color temperature of the light source under test, but the accuracy with which it will reproduce the full range of colors in a subject at a set temperature.

This means that I should be able to use the Sekonic C-500 to set the correct temperature right?

I know my lights reproduce accurate light at 3200k and 5600k, but I cannot trust the number on the ballast.

I know that the Sekonic C-800 SpectroMaster can read TLCI and CRI. And, I'm not interested on reading the TLCI and CRI but the color temperature of the light!

I think this light color meter should work for my needs? any advice?

 

[Christopher A. Bell]

Honestly, it's probably quicker, easier and you'll get better results just trying to match them by eye on a good monitor. Do your LED's have +/- green adjustability, too?

Something I did when I bought my first set of bi-color LED's years ago, that didn't have actual "calibrated" dials or readouts, I hooked up my primary cameras and calibrated monitor and dialed the lights in while shooting in the pre-set color temps on the camera then "indexed"/marked around the dial. Maybe not scientific, but aesthetically it worked, and really that's what it's about. How does it look on-camera.

 

[Jeffery Anderson]

If I was working with a bunch of lights that were adjustable, like RGB or in your case, Bi-Color, I would probably put up a color checker card and record some tests with the camera you plan to use...

the monitor could get you very close too

 

[Mark K.]

An old-style colour meter (like the C500) isn't designed to handle discontinuous spectrum sources like LEDs. So you won't get reliable readings from it. You need a spectrometer (like the C700 or C800) for accurate readings from discontinuous sources.