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FAQ Lights: Wattage, Brightness, Light Levels & EVUpdated a year ago

Terminology

At last, viable LED light bulb for photography and videography have arrived on the scene. Now we are talking even lower power consumption for a comparable light output and those watt consumption numbers continue to go down. "Wattage" is no longer a valid reference point, however "Lumens" is.

Lumens is the stable measurement of light output that will not vary as LED light bulbs continue to get brighter and more efficient. So here are some numbers and charts for you to keep in mind when shopping for lighting. It won't be long before referencing incandescent bulbs is totally a thing of the past, so learn your lumen numbers now. Simply put, the higher the number, the brighter the bulb.

Lumens

The lumen (lm) is the SI derived unit of luminous flux, a measure of the total "amount" of visible light emitted by a source. Luminous flux differs from power (radiant flux) in that luminous flux measurements reflect the varying sensitivity of the human eye to different wavelengths of light, while radiant flux measurements indicate the total power of all electromagnetic waves emitted, independent of the eye's ability to perceive it.

Lumens are related to lux in that one lux is one lumen per square meter. The lumen can be thought of casually as a measure of the total "amount" of visible light in some defined beam or angle, or emitted from some source. The difference between the units lumen and lux is that the lux takes into account the area over which the luminous flux is spread. A flux of 1000 lumens, concentrated into an area of one square meter, lights up that square meter with an illuminance of 1000 lux. The same 1000 lumens, spread out over ten square meters, produces a dimmer illuminance of only 100 lux.

Electrical power equivalents for differing lamps
Light Output (lumens)
Electrical Power Consumption (watts)
Incandescent
Compact fluorescent
LED
200
25
3-5
n/a
450
40
9-11
6-8
800
60
13-15
9-12
1,100
75
18-20
13-16
1,600
100
24-28
18-22
2,400
150
30-52
30
3,100
200
49-75
32
4,000
300
75-100
40.5


EV / Lux / FootCandle Conversion

The unit is defined as the amount of illumination the inside surface of a one-foot-radius sphere would be receiving if there were a uniform point source of one candela in the exact center of the sphere. Alternatively, it can be defined as the illuminance on a one-square foot surface of which there is a uniformly distributed flux of one lumen. Thus one foot-candle is equal to one lumen per square foot or approximately 10.764 lux. In the motion picture cinematography field, incident light meters are used to measure the number of footcandles present, which are used to calculate the intensity of motion picture lights, allowing cinematographers to set up proper lighting-contrast ratios when filming.

EV / Lux / FootCandle Conversion Chart
EV
Lux 
FC
EV
Lux 
FC
−3
0.313
0.029
8
640
59.5
−2
0.625
0.058
9
1,280
119
−1
1.25
0.116
10
2,560
238
0
2.5
0.232
11
5,120
476
1
5
0.465
12
10,240
951
2
10
0.929
13
20,480
1,903
3
20
1.86
14
40,960
3,805
4
40
3.72
15
81,920
7,611
5
80
7.43
16
163,840
15,221
6
160
14.9
17
328,000
30,442
7
320
29.7
18
656,000
60,885


Exposure Value (Ev) & Corresponding Settings

Photography is all about capturing light, colors and moods. Photographs act as an imprint for all the beautiful moments or striking views perceived by human eye in its lifetime. This art of capturing moments and beauty, requires mastering the understanding of exposures. Exposure is a very basic and essential element in photography which helps in creating mood and envisioning the photographers perspective and viewpoint. The exposure is measured in Ev which stands for 'Exposure Value'. This chart relates lighting conditions to their exposure values, while this chart isn't much by itself it is a good indicator of the light levels.

Ev0 = f/1.0 at 1 second
An Ev increase of 1 = halving of light admitted

Exposure Value Chart - Ev and Corresponding Shutter / Aperture Settings

F-Stop
Shutter
f/1
f/1.4
f/2
f/2.8
f/4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22
f/32
1 sec
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1/2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
1/4
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1/8
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
1/15
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
1/30
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
1/60
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
1/125
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
1/250
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
1/500
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
1/1000
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
1/2000
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
1/4000
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22


Exposure Value Equivalent Examples Chart
EV
Lighting Situation
EV
Lighting Situation
-6
Night, away from city lights, subject under starlight only.
6
Brightly lit home interiors at night. Fairs, amusement parks.
-5
Night, away from city lights, subject under crescent moon.
7
Bottom of rainforest canopy. Brightly lighted nighttime streets. Indoor sports. Stage shows, circuses.
-4
Night, away from city lights, subject under half moon. Meteors (during showers, with time exposure).
8
Las Vegas or Times Square at night. Store windows. Campfires, bonfires, burning buildings. Ice shows, football, baseball etc. at night. Interiors with bright florescent lights.
-3
Night, away from city lights, subject under full moon.
9
Landscapes, city skylines 10 minutes after sunset. Neon lights, spotlighted subjects.
-2
Night, away from city lights, snowscape under full moon.
10
Landscapes and skylines immediately after sunset. Crescent moon (long lens).
-1
Subjects lit by dim ambient artificial light.
11
Sunsets. Subjects in deep shade.
0
Subjects lit by dim ambient artificial light.
12
Half moon (long lens). Subject in open shade or heavy overcast.
1
Distant view of lighted skyline.
13
Gibbous moon (long lens). Subjects in cloudy-bright light (no shadows).
2
Lightning (with time exposure). Total eclipse of moon.
14
Full moon (long lens). Subjects in weak, hazy sun.
3
Fireworks (with time exposure).
15
Subjects in bright or hazy sun (Sunny f/16 rule).
4
Candle lit close-ups. Christmas lights, floodlit buildings, fountains, and monuments. Subjects under bright street lamps.
16
Subjects in bright daylight on sand or snow.
5
Night home interiors, average light. School or church auditoriums. Subjects lit by campfires or bonfires.
17-21
Rarely encountered in nature. Some man made lighting.


References Used:

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