Cri?

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

So what's the deal with CRI?

I know it means Color Rendering Index and that is has to do with how well it can "render colors" at any given color temperature but I don't understand that. Given two bulbs, both at exactly 4100k and one bulb is CRI 65 and one is CRI 82.....how will it look differently to my eye or on my camera?

Second, what is a "good enough" CRI for digital moviemaking? I heard one place that over 80 is good, then I heard over 90, then I heard it needs to be mid to high 90s. I bought some fluorescent practicals locally that were 3500k (close enough) and they have a CRI of 82. When I put them in and point my PD170 at the subject, they look fine.

 

[GenJerDan]

It's the "purity" of the color, more or less. A higher number will have a purer white.

For instance, a low CRI fluorescent might have a stronger green element to it. (Common)

Shooting digital and manually white balancing make the CRI not quite as vital as it would be for film. (In most cases, white balancing will compensate for the imperfect color content of the light.)