Incandescent bulbs have been around since, well, since Edison invented them 130 years ago. And, yea, the technology has changed a bit, but the basic concept remains: a wire filament is energized with electricity, which heats it up so much that it glows. Kinda like a camp fire or a candle. This creates two problems: (1) the filament eventually burns up and (2) lots of energy is wasted as heat. Fluorescent technology and LEDs go along way towards solving both of those problems.

As we repeatedly learn, the promises that the latest and greatest technologies make are often exaggerated. LEDs are expensive and produce light with unusual qualities and fluorescents flicker, buzz and don't seem to last nearly as long as they told is they would. Enter the next-generation in State of the Art lighting technology: Incandescent bulbs. Seriously!

Previous advances have involved better filament materials (tungsten), finer structures (high surface area coils) and better gas chemistry (halogens). The latest innovation is to encase the filament in a tiny, form-fitting capsule that reflects heat back in a way that helps sustain the incandescence. Fascinating!

I know from a video perspective, I would rather use incandescents, if only because of some irrational sense of comfort with the older tech. On the other hand, I truly hate shooting under hot traditional lights: I'd love to see what these bulbs do to the ambient temperature of a studio.

References:
* Incandescent Bulbs Return to the Cutting Edge, NYTimes, July 5, 2009.