Wow, you are really f---ing obsessed with this. You know that, right?

i agree that white LEDs in GI will retain more of the designer's intention, but doesn't this ultimately boil down to individual preference? taste is subjective after all.

Thank you Calvin, I love seeing stuff like this. And I love how you detailed it, right down to the focal length and aperture. I would like to see more.

Who's claiming that? I mean, blue light making things blue isn't exactly a shocking conclusion.

I notice better contrast on the playfield art with the white light. The other ones reduce the highlights of the art by quite a mile.

I suppose he only uses white lights on his Christmas tree.

Only the cool kids have all white lit Christmas trees.

I think you should keep this blue lighting - it's fantastic!

312171-i.jpg

Colored lights would be best suited when used far away from the central art that is above the flippers. If the playfield art sucks, then whatever, go ahead and save it with new colors.

EDIT: with a game like PotC, the playfield art sucks and can use some warm colors (there and everywhere)

What's it look like with a blue on top and a white on bottom? Gotta mix it up man.. Blending is where it's at. White or warms on artwork with whites or warm colors etc. that's how you get that artwork to pop

whoops..posted in wrong thread...

That's not strictly true actually. Which is why for instance the 3 color GI on my METLE works pretty well. When all three are lit the color spectrum is pretty balanced by the cool white.

Interesting, and well done.

I am not sure who feels that colored bulbs dont affect the color of artwork on a playfield....certainly
you clearly show that, and my thanks for taking the time to share. I think what it does, is make the game more interesting to some people.
I know I change colors, (and I use them sparingly) in my GI, to mix it up and renew my interest.
My analogy. I am with my wife 38 years....She will change the color of her lingerie, even though I know
its the same game I am playing.....Sure, it changes the tone of her white skin...but I am just fine with that!

i love diodes that emit light. especially colored light

I only use white in my GI because I like the art on the pf to look as the artist intended. On the Space Station pf the GI socket holes are marked with a G for green and W for white so the game will look a certain way for normal and Green Mode. Cool idea. I know some people color different areas of their games and if that's what they like that's fine by me.

In other news: Water makes things more wet than dry....

Something i dislike a lot on modded games is coloured GI for the exact reasons.
It's even worse when used behind translites...

I do like single warm/cold white coloured LED gi, makes the game less 'dull'/'old' looking compared to the newer ones.

I think the problem you have is just with the words that people are using to describe. In the Pinbot's example, the red and blue lamps draw attention to the fact that the artist intended there to be a red and a blue robot arm depicted in the playfield, the intention is not to actually manipulate the artwork color that is there with colored lighting.

It's also really simple for me to see the art without any color distortion at all, I simply turn off the game.

Nothing is worse than when someone tries to "enhance" a translight by putting colored bulbs behind it.

"Hey, there is a blue gem on her belt, lets put a blue LED there and look at a giant blue blob!".

I disagree. I think it looks stunning.

277887-i.jpg

It's too saturated, all the subtleness of the original image is lost, like the work of an amateur cinematographer who keeps boosting the levels in his CC application.

Those scuba divers in both corners are lost in a blob of blue.

Maybe if they made LEDs that are less saturated, such a process can work.

I don't have art critics coming over to my house to play pinball. I have friends and family, and you know what?..they just absolutely love it. And so do I.

The layman opinion is not what this thread is about. We're quite aware of their affinity for bolder, louder, pow pow pow!!! And these people buy pinball machines and think that they are artists all of a sudden, then they try to sell their badly modded table for extra money thinking they made me a favor.

Like the opening post stated...

So I guess that answer is........
It depends.
On the person, game, LED, original art, room lighting, intent, etc., etc............

It's always complicated.

Whether you like the effect or not, the loss of the scuba divers in the above example is an objective truth.

The following shows how clearly visible those scuba divers actually are:

image-1.jpg

I don't quite see the point of this thread.

Ok, so colored GI LEDs ruin the artwork on playfields and translites. I agree 100%.

Some people obviously still like and use them even though they are well aware of the facts.

It's their games, so why care?

I guess I just don't care enough about the original artists intentions. I'd rather have a colourful playfield then a 100% acurate original art package.

I like to mod my games. If I add a toy to the playfield would you get upset because it doesn't match 100% continuity with the rest of the art package?

I like what I like

led.jpg

This thread really brings the notion of being anal to a whole new level.

my personal preference is more in line with what calvin12 is saying than against it, but i hate the way it's being presented ("these are the FACTS and the misguided fools who disagree will NEVER change their minds!").

i encourage people to get creative and do what they think looks best. my tastes have evolved over time, who's to say they won't continue to do so. it's your game, do what you want.

I've decided that I like cool white LED's in the GI of my machines for the most part. Some color here or there I've decided is OK, but it's the exception, not the rule.

Translites, I'll use color very sparingly, normally just to reduce brightness these days.

One thing I do not do, however, is worry about what someone else likes to do to their pinball machines. Life is too short, right?

kinda what it all boils down to. white or color matching LEDs under inserts, frosted or 2 LED clear dome for GI is all I use. frosted 555's in backbox so it's not "spotlighty". VERY seldom will use 1 or 2 bulbs to enhance a specific feature of the artwork on a translite.
I think this is called "tastefully done" and use that term a lot.

the "before LEDs and after LEDs" photo isn't accurate.
I love LEDs - WAY more than yellow incandescent - but the photo of the hottie should be on the left and a transvestite with caked on makeup with overblown bowtox features on the right.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Vdj3Sfs65nI/maxresdefault.jpg

I disagree todd. you should *always* agree with what I said, regardless of what your thoughts are

while I agree that the GI should always be white. warm vs. cool depends on the machine and placement of the bulbs. the only use of color that I found to be pleasing is intensifying inserts (such as blue and green) with color matching LED bulbs. using color with inserts in the yellow/orange/red spectrum end just appears to change the color of the insert.

LMFAO..

You guys are so epically clueless it's amazing.

You really think that anyone give's a rats fart about your "artistic skill"....AT SELECTING GI BULBS? ...give me a break. Next thing I know I'm gonna see a game for sale from you loons with the "Illuminated by a master artiste`" tagline. Clearly not, or else this discussion would not be happening over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

Which one of you two turds was at Texas Pinball Festival last year putting the Thank You for Not Using LEDS signs on games? At least Calvin did go out of the way to make the differentiation between narrow spectrum and cool/warm white LEDs. That's at least a step further than most zealots in this argument go to.

312638.jpg

Thanks for the comparison.

I have yet to LEDify a pin, but plan to at some point, so a comparison like this is helpful to me for deciding what I want to do with colored vs white LEDs.

I prefer to use warm/cool white in my GI as well, and usually only use colors in inserts. But...to each their own. If you like it, do it. I don't care what others think about what I do with MY games.

Looking at your post count, it seems you waisted too much of it already.

Sure enough, looking at your game room... your tables look like crap.

Keep barfing on them all you want.