Fly Tying Light

[Zac 0]

Hello,

 

What is the best type of fly tying light.Either incadescent or halogen lights.Are vise lights such as Dyna-king and Mckenzie excellent lights for tying or do they emit too much heat.Are lights which emit natural light a better choice.Any advice appreciated.....thanks Zac

[Graham 0]

Hi Zac, I really don't know which is the best, but for years I've been very happy with my McKenzie. A few months ago I bought a second light which clamps onto the side of my tying desk, has a long hinged arm, and the head holds a round flouro lamp and in the center has a regular socket, and I put a 75 Watt reveal bulb in it. My tying area is lit up real nice now.

Another thing I realy like about the McKenzie is that it clamps onto my vise, is small and powerful, and goes with me on trips.

 

Graham

[mhackney 0]

Hey Zac,

 

I really like the Ott lights - they closely match natural sunlight so picking colors is much easier. The small desktop model puts out a lot of light, is cool (does not get hot), and has a nice natural ligt color. I'm a bit of a color weeny with my photagraphy and a lot of pro photographers use the Ott light to evaluate photos because it is very close to the D50 standard. I know a lot of other hobbiests use the Otts too because the colors look more natural with it. You can find them for $45-50 if you look around on the web.

 

Cheers,

Michael

[longears 0]

I had an ott light. I got rid of it and replaced it with a 4 bulb 4' flouresent fixture with a defuser above my bench . I also tye with a mckenzie atached to the stem of my renzetti. While i can't dispute the fact that the bulb housing on the mckenzie does get quite warm; I never find myself adjusting it so to me it's a none issue. I now get the "daylight" with the flouresent fixture utilizing daylight bulbs. Now all of the materials in my room are "natural colors" and not just what is sitting in the vise jaws. I think that once it is tyed to the hook it doesn't matter does it. you want to find out what color it is way before that. Just my thoughts, right or wrong

[Chase Creek 0]

Hi Zak. For years I just used a $10 desk lamp. Then went to 2 lamps, then bought a Ott-lite type natural light lamp. The difference is amazing. You get true colors, I think it's easier on the eyes at long tying sessions too. There are quite a few lamps that use the same daylight bulbs as the Otts, and are quite a bit less expensive. Paid $20 for mine.

[finhunter 0]

Hi Zak,

 

For a few years now, I have been using a lamp that clamps on the side of my tying table like the one Graham described, except inside of the round flouro light it has a magnifying glass that come in handy when tying small flies. I picked it up at a local flea market for about $15.

 

FH

 

[Zac 0]

Hi All,

 

Thank you kindly for the valuable info

 

Zac

[Ronn Lucas 0]

The more light you have the better. I use a drafting style 100W halogen light. It puts out tons of light and can be moved far enough away that any concerns about heat aren't a problem and it lights a wids area of my bench. With small lights, close to the fly, you will have a little bright area in a concentrated spot but the rest of your bench will be much darker which may make a difference finding stuff if your ambient light isn't also bright.

[Chase Creek 0]

I used regular desk lamps for years. Then got a light with a "daylight" bulb (Ott-lite) What a difference!! You can get a cheapie desk lamp and put a daylight bulb in it cheaper than buying an Ott-lite. Now I use the daylight one over the vice, and a small "under the shelf " light to illuminate the rest of the desk.