I had someone request that I build them some XP-L2 Convoy S2’s recently and thus ordered some more of the V5 E3 LED’s from Arrow.
These seem a lot nicer then the first one I had, maybe the stress test caused a tint shift? This one while still cooler then the claimed 5000k IMO was not nearly as bad, just a hint of blue in the beam.
I also tried printing off some super tall centering rings that went to the top of the dome and the tint shift was not improved, although it did make the beam even colder. It makes sense as the tint shift comes at the edge of the spill which is the light that doesn’t hit the reflector. This can be seen visually when I was playing with the centering ring. I honestly thing the tint shift comes from the yellow tinted dome they are using now.
It is hard to explain but the angles I was seeing the tint shift were where the die itself could not be directly seen and only the dome. Has anyone sliced the dome on one of these to see what difference in makes?
I also noticed that a deeper reflector makes a BIG difference int he tint shift. The S2+ reflector has a very noticeable “ring” of tint shift but the S2 reflector is just a hint of tint shift around the edge for the most part. The hotspot itself also looks better and closer to the claimed 5000k as well.
My guess is the rated tint is the average of all light produced, so the larger the reflector and the more light mixed into the beam, the better it looks.
Overall the S2 OP reflector produces an acceptable beam with minimal tint shift although still a lot more then older Cree’s. I am curious what a larger reflector would do, I might toss one in a C8 I have laying around.
I also ordered a 4000k XP-L2 80 CRI, I just have not decided what to put it in yet.
Oh, the S2’s both made a bit over 2000 lumens with 20AWG, NXP FET’s and a 30Q. They also get hot.
In other news, thanks to the donation of CRX I have a few more tests in the works, including an XP-L V5 for comparison to the XP-L2 V5.