Shoutout to the old-school desk lamp I swapped for an LED strip

I used to have this big halogen desk lamp that threw a ton of light but also made my whole face sweaty after 2 hours (gross, I know). Then last fall, I got a 4-foot LED strip for like $15 on Amazon and stuck it under my monitor shelf. The difference is huge - no glare on my screen and my eyes don't feel fried at 4pm anymore. Has anyone else made the jump from a traditional desk lamp, or are you still team spotlight?

3 comments

3 Comments

caseywalker7d agoMost Upvoted

I had a similar experience with one of those old halogen lamps. That $15 Amazon strip you mentioned though, those usually have a pretty low color rendering index. I swapped mine for a slightly more expensive LED bar with a CRI of 90 or higher, and it made a real difference in how colors look on paper and on screen. The cheap strips can sometimes cast a weird green or pink tint on everything. It's not a huge deal if you just need light, but if you do any photo editing or reading of documents, it matters more than you'd think. You might not notice until you try a better one side by side.

cora_west57d ago

Oh yeah, I actually read something about that recently! Some lighting engineer did a whole breakdown online about how CRI is measured and it's wild how much those cheap strips can mess with your perception. I remember them saying that anything below 80 CRI basically makes reds look kind of muddy or brown-ish. Not something you'd ever catch unless someone points it out to you.

vera_green697d ago

Wait, have you ever tried one of those higher CRI LED bars after using a cheap strip? I totally feel you on the halogen sweat thing, same here it was nasty. I grabbed a $20 strip from Home Depot and thought it was fine until my buddy brought over his name brand one. It was like someone turned on sunshine mode compared to my weird pinkish glow. Made me realize how much I was straining without knowing it. It's wild how much a few bucks more can save your eyes from that fried feeling.