Simple question. Which is the preferred emitter for the Xin C8 V3: U2 or Neutral White-T6 3C? And why?
About to pull the trigger on the Outdoor Store’s XinTD C8. Don’t need 3000 words about which you prefer. Simple is fine.
“It’s brighter,” or “the U2 makes my bourbon look like green hydraulic fluid, so get the 3c.” Or whatever.
I gots to see what the big deal is with this holy grail Xin.
When a newbie comes on BLF for the first time, many say get the HD2010 or the Xin. I have almost snagged a Xin a few times. But then someone waves something shiny at me, and I get that light instead.
This time I am committed (or will be committed if I ever have to explain to a shrink why I need yet another LED light to add to my collection of 50-60).
Any help you can give about the preferred tint will be greatly appreciated.
I got the neutral because I didn’t have a neutral light like this. I have plenty of cool ones and am glad I went with the NW here. Very pleasing to the eyes, shows nice color. It is still plenty bright.
-looks brighter (more than it actually is)
-impresses more (yourself/others)
-can be more suitable for city use (this is subjective)
A neutral T6,
-looks weaker in comparison, but doesn’t make you see less.
-makes colors look better and doesn’t shine back as much glare
-can be more suitable for non-city use (again subjective)
Also, cool tints are usually preferred in throwers. If you are getting this light for the throw, you will miss the cool tint which gives better contrast.
If on the other hand you want this to be an all around/edc light you may enjoy the neutral tint which is softer on the eyes.
Go neutral is my take. You are trading down 1 flux bin, about 7% difference in total light, to get it. At max with the output an XM-L put out that’s basically an imperceptible difference (although seeing differently because of tint can make you believe there’s more or less differences.) The tint is an obvious and perceptible difference.
Pick the tint that you like and which makes the things you look at the most like they do under daylight. If you don’t have any neutral tints yet… you really should try at least once.
A cool white equivalent (I’m assuming that’s what you meant to say) of a T6 3C would be something like a T6 1A. According to CREE, at 700 mA, they should both put out a minimum of 280 lumens. They both have the same brightness bin. Any perceived difference in brightness would mostly be a subjective matter.
If you’re comparing a T6 3C to a U3 1A, you might observe a 15-20% difference, but that’s not an apples to apples comparison. You’re actually comparing different brightness bins.
That is not to deny the fact that the brightest bins available are almost always cool white. Mostly I’m just picking on your use of the term “equivalent” here.
What kind of contrast are you talking about? Black and white? Colour contrast is superior with a NW tint.
While the brightest binned LED will certainly have better throw, I’m convinced that lower binned NW tints, even though they aren’t quite so bright, enable you to see better. Some people might disagree with this, but I’m going to boldly (and perhaps even arrogantly) suggest that this is because some people just aren’t as discerning as others.
Yes, it’s better on black/white contrast, which is what contrast is. Eye cones are less sensitive than rods, so you mostly get the benefit from better color rendition with good illumination.
That said, NW is just far more please, so crank it up to high and enjoy.
Contrast is by definition distinguishing between two levels, and eyes are far more sensitive at the low end to luminance than color. That’s why you don’t see any when it’s dark out.
I’m not disagreeing with that. I am merely stating that colour contrast is a real thing, and is indeed a significant factor (how significant is situational). Superior colour rendition can result in superior colour contrast, which can aid visual perception.
Ubehebe, a real world example. I'm not a tint snob, so to me which to get depends on how you are going to use the light. NW is preferred for indoors, taking a walk or just generally checking things out. Color rendition is more natural. I use a lot of my lights for cycling, however. When I am tearing down the trail through twisties in the woods, I want high contrast and as bright as I can get, especially with my 55 year old eyes that don't have the night vision they used to have. CW may not be theoretically brighter, but it looks like it is and it seems to do a better job of pointing out high contrast to me - which can mean a log, a rock or a rut. Similarly, riding on an Illinois back road in the dark at 20mph, CW seems to do a better job of pointing out the potholes, cracks and rocks a split second before the NW light does. A split second at 20mph covers some ground and can be the difference in jerking the bike to miss an obstacle and smoothly avoiding it, which is critical in a group ride.
