Ott-Lite question ...

I was thinking of getting the little folding one for my occasional night-time living room scrapping. DH swears up and down that the light is blue-tinged and not pleasant. Since he and I have the same feeling about light in general (we HATE fluorescents, and all the new CFL bulbs pretty much just give us migraines) I take his dislike seriously.

Does anyone else NOT like the Ott-Lite?

I love them.

The Ott doesn't have a blue tinge (unless you buy a colored ott bulb), it just blocks out the yellow. It's a "full spectrum" bulb which is the closest to natural sunlight. I personally am a very firm believer in full spectrum lighting (Ott isn't the only one that makes FS bulbs). I find that I have much less eye strain, headaches, etc. I get migraines from CFLs too, and these don't cause any headache at all for me. This is very different than fluorescent, even though they both produce a very white light. Most standard bulbs have a lot of yellow to them and we are used to that now, so anything else looks kind of blue.

Worst case, get one and return it if you hate it.

I have one and use it all the time. It's not blue-tinged.

I have an Ott light that Bill bought for nearly nothing at a garage sale (no surprise there, huh Kara - you know him). We have such dim lights in the ceiling fan fixture overhead that the Ott really helps.

To me the color is a tad off but still, I use it to brighten my work space. If we had really bright overhead bulbs I probably wouldn't use the Ott.

I don't take it to crops like so many do but it does help me match papers and colors.

Thanks, all. Jarvae, I completely agree about full-spectrum lighting, and we generally use the GE Reveal bulbs for general purpose. DH just disagrees that the Ott-Lite truly is that, although I half suspect he may have formed this opinion from looking at a knock-off, and/or looking at one in an overly-yellow store environment. Good point about being able to return it, I almost never return anything so I sometimes forget I can do that, lol.

Henri, I don't like bright overhead lighting at all! I prefer nice ambient overheads - good light but not bright, and then proper lamps and task lighting.

My scraproom is not designed with good lighting in mind - just the ceiling fan bulbs. If I designed a room for scrapping, it would be very different and would have good overhead lighting and other sources of light. More windows too for natural daylight to stream in over my scrapbook work area. Nothing is as good to me as natural light.

I don't have an Ott lite, but I have a "generic" brand that I bought at a hardware store. I like it. Is it as good as an Ott? I don't know. But, it seems to work for me ok, and it was a third of the price. You could maybe try a cheaper one for less investment and see what you think of it. I don't notice a blue tinge to it, but yes, it is definitely different light then what we are used to in our homes. I think it does help for color matching and comparing.

I agree with everyone...OTTs are great for task lighting, but I wouldn't want an OTT house. I prefer the normal warm lighting for general atmosphere, but in our reading corner, over computers and for crafting, I wouldn't use anything else now that I know how well they light.

Also, I sit right under a ceiling fan OTT light at my 'puter desk and there is no heat from it like you get from some lights.

Sometimes I walk into my office and out of habit try to turn the light on. Oops...it is on, but it looks like natural light so I'm thinking the ceiling light isn't on.

Use a coupon and they're really not that expensive.~Judy

I didnt' know you could get them for ceiling fans. Do they come in different watts?

• Henri Jean Said:

Yes, they have different styles and watts. If you go to the ottlite website and on the right-hand side click on Bulb Finder, you can see their various bulbs. They even have make-up mirror/bulb sets and growth lites for plants.

Anyway, we first bought a 15 watt, but I only have a skylight and an exterior door for my natural light in my office and it didn't seem quite bright enough. My hubby's computer is right under two windows so he's happy with the 15W.

We went back to J's and bought me a 25W. On the website, it shows that a 15W is equal to 60W regular bulb; 20W=75W; 25W=100W. They also have long u-shaped bulbs to replace those with magnetic ballasts.

At J's, with a good coupon, we bought the Cambridge set that has a floor light plus a desk light, so that gave us our reading corner and my craft table. Perfect :>)

I think I'm going to have to check Lowes and Home Depot and see if they have them for my ceiling fan.

They should, but if you have a good coupon from J's, I don't know if J's wouldn't be cheaper. I think 100W is the most my ceiling fan is supposed to have (and probably not that much!), so the 25W OTT is as big as I need anyway.

That is what I would need too.

I love mine and I hate ugly lighting. My Ott reminds me of natural daylight. Cheery.

Lunie

I couldn't craft or read with my Otts....we have 3 in our home.

It took me about a day to get used to the OTT lighting. It just looked so strange in my rooms that my brain couldn't figure out what had happened. The other night we had two lights on almost next to each other...an OTT and a regular one. What a difference! Day-after-day I start thinking the OTT light is normal, but there is definitely a difference! I'm sure, like everything else, it works for some and not so much for others. For me...I'm a happy scrapper :>) ~Judy (and like someone has already said...they can be returned...but give it a day or two to get adjusted to it)

The space where I have mine does not have much natural light. I have mine higher up on a shelf -- not on my desk, with the light directed toward my desk, so maybe it is more diffuse than having it shine right down on a project... IDK but I love that little Ott.

I love the OTT lights too. I don't think they look blue. Ii have three in my craft room. One one each counter.

I'm kind of like Lunie—my crafting OTT is up on a 4-drawer file cabinet, shining down on my worktable. It also has a handle so the light can be re-directed. I probably just have mine set the way I like it :>) The ones in the fan lights are up at the ceiling (duh), so again, the light is somewhat diffused before it gets to what I'm working on.

I had wanted a little table light, but I barely find room to scrap, let alone find room for a light while I'm working~Judy

Not only do I prefer my full spectrum light for crafting, I have gone over the edge. I can not stand the yellow lights at all. First it was the kitchen, then it was the office, soon after the entire basement followed suit. My house is now 80% 5000K bulbs and I like it much better.

My husband will kill me if I take the chandeliers out, so a few yellow lights will remain.

I put the 4 ott lights I bought last night in the ceiling fan and WOW! It's like I'm outside when I'm in my office. And I have noticed that it is easier on the eyes and my colors are all more vibrant.

"Grumble...grumble....grumble.....why do you all do this stuff to my wallet??? Now, I'm thinking I need some Ott bulbs for some of my lights!!