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9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 OTT LIGHT. THE BEST DAYLIGHT QUALITY CFLDec 28, 2010
By Lightning
I have bought at least a dozen of these bulbs. There are a lot of things to hate about most compact fluorescent bulbs (slow to start up, burn out in a short time,expensive) BUT the Ott light bulbs are great. We use them as reading and work lights; my wife loves them in her sewing room. I've never had one burn out and they start up at full brightness instantly.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 not bad, but not the greatest thing since sliced bread, either.. and much cheaper at Lowe'sFeb 12, 2012
By AmaZoned
Due to Lowe's low price on this bulb, I decided to compare it with the GE 6500K daylight bulbs I've been using.
After careful examination, I can honestly say this OttLite bulb does not live up to the hype and comparatively high cost found at most retailers.
The color temperature is practically indistinguishable from the GE 6500K, which is rather cool (bluish).
There may be a very slight difference in color rendering with the OttLite bulb, as tested with various colors (and whites) of various objects, but it certainly isn't a big enough difference in CRI to justify the much higher cost found at most retailers. The relatively high color temp -- I don't believe this thing is anywhere near 5000K -- probably adversely affects its higher CRI in terms of improvements noticed by the user.
Admittedly, these were not scientific tests, with the only equipment being my highly calibrated eyes. But, that's what this bulb is being pushed as -- a superior bulb for humans to view and read by.
Now, if one were to compare using costly color analysis hardware, I'm sure the resulting graphs would be more impressive, but the majority are likely more interested in real world performance.
It also has a warmup time similar to that of the GE daylight bulb. At full brightness, the output seems pretty close among the two; slight advantage OttLite due to its lower (by 1W) consumption. Again, no lux meter was involved, just my own perception of lumen levels.
OttLite prefers to remain vague about the specs on their bulbs, presumably due to the supposedly intrinsic and undeniable superiority of them -- they're great, just because.. they are! Specs? We don't need no steenking specs!
I contacted them via email and was told this bulb has a color temp of "between 5000 and 6000", with a CRI of "above 90". They didn't answer my query as to its lumen rating.
OttLite doesn't bother stating specs on the packaging like the rest of the world -- "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." elitist mentality.
I discovered the specs are vaguely addressed in a hidden pdf document which explains their 508 technology. It isn't linked via their own website, which also may explain why tech support didn't simply refer me to the pdf (they probably are unaware of it!). It's peculiar that they'd prepare this document, which is clearly intended for the masses, and not link it on their own product site.
The color temp range stated in the pdf is also a bit different from what their own tech support tells customers:
double u double u double u dot ottlite dot com backslash pdf backslash 508_science dot pdf (seriously, Amazon, you could allow links to the product being reviewed)
I think you'll find 5000K-5800K (or 6000K) is a wide enough range to make quite a difference. Don't think 800-1000K is huge? Compare 2700K with 3500K bulbs and find out. Again, this OttLite bulb is so far on the cool/blue side that I'm confident it's much closer to the 6000K end that the tech support rep mentioned.
One may be tempted to believe that OttLite's aversion to explicitness is due to differences in observers, environments and situations. However, there are standards by which comparisons can be made -- unless, of course, one boasts proprietary technology, perhaps requiring specialized (certainly not standardized) testing methods, thereby conveniently rendering comparison to competitors moot and making any additional claims unactionable; see how that works?
Actually, such ambiguity leads the rational to conclude that manufacturing tolerances are such that the model's emissive characteristics can vary wildly between bulbs in the same batch.
That said, this is a decent bulb that's worth the 6 bucks Lowe's is charging for it, assuming it lasts anywhere near its rated lifespan (the one spec OttLite seems to be comfortable with, even printing it right on the box).
**edit: I forgot to mention that Amazon has this spec wrong -- on the box, it says 8,000 hours.**
Its output is at least as pleasing as GE's less expensive daylight bulb. One should not, however, be swallowed up in the marketing hype surrounding OttLite.
I haven't compared the OttLite with the BlueMax, but that's on the to-do list.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Easy ReadingApr 10, 2011
By Susan
A friend recommended this type of light bulb. The light is very white and it took me a day or two to get used to the change. But it makes things very clear and easy to read.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
I was blind, but, now I see.Jun 22, 2011
By Dorian
It is awesome how much clearer the written word becomes when using these bulbs. My wife and I can now read longer without the eye-strain our old "yellow" CFL bulbs caused.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
I was blind...now I can see!Oct 05, 2011
By Mike Webb
"Workaholic"
These lamps are amazing. My home office is 12' X 12' with a 10' ceiling height. I have 5 recessed cans in the ceiling with these lamps installed. They are much cooler than the halogen PAR lamps that were previously installed. My office temperature is reduced by 5 degrees. Colors are more vivid, and reading text clearly at a farther distance is greatly improved. The overall results are more comfort and less eye strain.
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