Published Dec 17. 2018 - 5 years ago
Updated or edited Oct 28. 2021

Crystallin Task Light

My search for a great fly tying lamp may be over. This one is close to ideal for my purposes

Over the vise
Over the vise
Martin Joergensen

I was contacted by Victoria who represents Light Polymers, a manufacturer who makes lamps. They would like me to have a look at a lamp from their Crystallin series of work or study lamps, which they gathered would be good for fly tying.

I have long been on the quest to find a good lamp, and even though I have been pretty content with my cheap Ikea Jansjö lamps, they are not ideal, typically giving a pretty harsh light that casts many shadows.
So I jumped at the opportunity to try something else.
The lamp arrived a month or so ago, and I plugged it in and started using it immediately.
And I am very pleased!

I have used my massive LED panel for tying a few times, and the light from this new lamp is comparable in quality, but not quite as bright, which is a good thing. Bright is OK, but blinding is a problem. The LED-panel has typically been turned way down when I have used it for tying, and only cranked up for photo tasks.
The Crystallin Gold Task Light as it's called can also be turned up and down. The base has an on/off touch spot and a row of dots indicating level. On the lowest level it's dimmed and warmish in the tone, while the brightest level is powerful enough to be able to satisfy even a demanding tyer, and can even be used for photography. The nominal power is 500 Lumen or 1,200 Lux.
The light is absolutely even and shadowless, and really nice to work under. The tone is slightly warmish, but not colored in any disturbing way, so judging subtle material hues is no problem at all. The light has been designed to be very gentle on the eyes, with no flickering, no harmful UV light and a color temperature of 4000K, which indeed makes it slightly warm in tone, and pretty close to early sunlight.

And I am very pleased!

Touch panel
Touch panel
Martin Joergensen

The lamp is compact and easy to store – even bring along for fly tying events and such, but still large – and not least high – enough to offer plenty space for the hands while tying and wrapping thread and material. At the same time it's low enough to avoid shining any bright light in you eyes. It's made from ABS plastic, and light enough to be handy. It weighs in at just over a kilo or 2 lbs. with the converter.
The lamp sits on a flat base, and will rotate. The base has a size and height, which makes it sit perfectly next to my vise base. You can tilt the lamp itself away and towards you, but it doesn't have unlimited dexterity like some lamps. I haven't missed any movement while using it, but of course a goose neck style lamp can be adjusted more than this lamp.
The lamp comes with a converter and a long cable, but people outside the US have to use a small adapter to get it to fit the local wall outlet. I had an adapter laying around, and was able to plug the lamp into 220 volts without problems. The converter works fine with both 110 and 220 volts. As an added bonus, the base has a built-in USB plug, so you can plug in a phone, an extra small lamp or something else that requires a USB's 5 volts current.

The price for the lamp is about 60 US$, which makes it more expensive than the ultra cheap Ikea offerings, but certainly way less expensive than many of the recent dedicated fly tying lamps. Light Polymers has two models, the other model being white and providing a much warmer light, hence the name Crystallin Orange Study Light.

Facts, links

Power: 12 Watts (with 7 levels, USB port)
Input Voltage: AC 110-240 Volts
Brightness: 500 Lumen/1,200 Lux
Beam Angle: 120 degrees
Dimension: 345*295*45 mm
Weight: 1.22 kg

Light Polymers website.
Crystallin website.
The lamps can be purchased through Amazon
Gold Task Light, app. 60 US$ plus postage.
Orange Study Light app. 80 US$ plus postage.

Please notice that none of these links are affiliate links. I get no profit if you buy a lamp.

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Comments

Grant Banes's picture

Great idea!!!...

That was a great idea. I bought a different brand from Amazon Canada. It's so much nicer to tie with that light. I'm getting older and my eyes are not what they once were, works awesome. Link below.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07FK98YSK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s0...

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