Ott lamp opinion, part two

All about flies Fly Tying
1

Given the interest my part one seems to have generated, I did some more experimenting tonight. In part one, I compared the Ott light to an overhead fluorescent lamp and a compact fluorescent bulb, both of the natural light type that doesn’t cost extra in a store. I could not see a major difference in colors.

Given the way some people seem to really like their Ott lights, tonight I compared it to the light from my old standard round head fluorescent magnifying lamp and to a soft white incandescent.

In these latest two comparisons, there is a very definite difference in the colors of materials. To my eyes it was most noticeable on red chenille. It went from red under the Ott to a more brownish color under the standard fluorescent and the soft white incandescent. But no material’s color changed so significantly that it would have led me to chose an alternative material. (I’d feel differently about this if I was an artist mixing paints to achieve a precise hue.)

And there is no question that the optical quality of the Ott is far superior to that of my generic round head magnifier.

But I’m still where I was before in terms of the added value issue.

Better visualization of red isn’t going to make a difference to me when I reach for the red thread or the red chenille in my tying supplies. It is the only color of red stuff I have and it is not like I am going to go back to the store and look for a brighter or browner red material. I’ll just walk in and buy whatever is marked red and looks red to me.

And the better optical quality is offset by the fact that it takes me two hands to get the magnifier in and out of position with the Ott versus one hand with my former generic magnifier.

Again, I am not knocking the quality of the Ott. I’m keeping mine, albeit mostly cuz I don’t want the hassle of shipping it back or the hassle of explaining to my bride that I didn’t get my money’s worth when I decided to upgrade. But, if I didn’t have a decent tying lamp and magnifier before, I’d probably be happier with the purchase. And I suspect that Ott’s original advantage has been eroded by the subsequent introduction of standard and compact fluorescent bulbs with a more natural light tint than was available when Ott was introduced.

Hope this helps.

2

There are so many Daylight type lamps out there that are much less expensive than the Ott’s that I think the critical question is…How do they compare with the Ott’s?

3

The light from the Ott Light is very very nice. There has always been a couple of problems though. When they first came out they should have consulted some fly tyers before simply passing a sewing lamp off as a fly tying lamp. Then they came out with a very nice fold out lamp. Again the light itself was very nice. The problem has been that it has not been quite ‘high’ enough and the light itself did not reach out far enough over the top of the fly in the vise. I see tyers using them at an angle, the glare from the light in their eye sight. I made an extension wood base for mine but that still did not solve the problem of the lamp being far enough out over the head of the vise and the fly. Tyers that still use them at the shows I tie at have the fold out at an angle. I wish the lamp was several inches higher and that the folded out leg with the lamp “slid” out almost the length of the leg, so the lamp was more directly over the vise head. As I said the light ‘bulb’ itself is very nice. I just don’t think one should have to jurry rigs a tying lamp to have it in the position it should be at.

4

oldfrat;
After many years making automotive exterior trim plastic parts that had to be painted to match the sheet metal I learned that I had no eye for color!!
I found out that there were even several shades of black!
A paint engineer would show me a finished part in a $20,000 specialy lighted room and tell me there was too much blue in the green. My answer was usualy “Ok, if you say so”!
People that check color match’s have the good eye’s and are trained to “See the differances”.
So don’t feel bad we don’t all have the “Gift”,

5

I think the main benefit of the Ott flourescent light is that it is cool light, no 75 or 100 watt incandescent bulb just a few inches from my fingers.

Jim Johnson