Tint is used rather broadly on flashlight boards. It is actually a technical term that is separate from Color Temperature (CCT)
For example, Look at the CCT 5000 Kelvin below.
Some people call this the beginning of Cool, but it would also be correct to say it is Warmer than 6000k. Confusion is eliminated by referencing the Color Temperature Number. Warm, Neutral and Cool are also valid terms but I want to stay focused on Tint first.
Look at the 3S Tint “bin” (box). It is a 5000k(+) Color with Yellow Tint. Compare that to the 3U box. It is a 5000k(-) Color with a more “rosy” tint.
LEDs do NOT have all the colors of sunlight. LEDs start out making a lot more blue than red. To make an LED produce Red, requires coating it with a phosphor that produces Red. In the process the total amount of light making it out of the reflector is lower when a phosphor coating is added to an LED. You get a light spectrum closer to sunlight by using a phosphor, but you give up lumens.
Now for sunlight. On the Color and Tint chart below there is a faint Dotted Line, called the BBL (BlackBodyLine). This is the IDEAL color and tint of an LED to MATCH sunlight at that given Color Temperature. Sunlight at Noon has a different Color Temperature than at Sunset.
For any given Color Temperature, most people will prefer the LED Tint that is closest to or BELOW the BBL. That is why we hear of people saying they like the Rosy tint of a Nichia (generally this means the LED has a phosphor coating that increases RED output.) CRI (color rendering index), goes UP as RED output goes UP. If you start with a Cool white 6000K LED, and add a phosphor to increase red output, the CCT will drop. For sake of example, in the case of a 4500K 90+ CRI Nichia 219b, the lumen output will drop along with the CCT (Corrected Color Temperature).
So, a 6000K XP-G2 will be Cooler and have more lumens than a 4500K Nichia. The Nichia will have higher CRI, will show reds better. The XPG2 will be brighter. For sake of reference, the Lumintop Tool with XP-G2 has a CRI of about 70, a Color Temperature of about 6000 kelvin, and will produce 110 lumens on high. The same Tool but with 4500k Nichia is 90+ CRI and produces 80 lumens. The 30 lumen difference is significant. If you had an 80 lumen light, and you could get an extra 30 lumens out of it, that is an increase of 38%!!!
So a lot of flashlights are sold based on having the highest Brightness. It drives the consumer market. That is how people compare lights, at first. After a while, some flashaholics begin to realize that cool white light does not really show the true color of some things very well. They then begin to appreciate the High CRI LEDs, for which the term Nichia is often used, because Nichia is like the Kleenex of high CRI LEDs. It is what they specialize in, their market niche. Anytime someone says Nichia, the implication is High CRI of 90+, and along with that it implies a warmer CCT than Cool White (which most people would agree includes the 6000k CCT). People also know that Nichia means less bright.
It is a tradeoff, if you want more red, you give up some brightness and some coolness.
Now for what makes some people prefer 6000k over 4500k
- given the same flashlight, a 6000k LED will be brighter. People prioritize brightness when they first learn about criteria to choose a flashlight.
- 6000k will show less Red. People looking at things that are red will prefer a different LED, even if they have to settle for less lumens.
Someone looking for a person, or their dog, 50 feet away in the backyard, will prefer the 6000k light. They want the most brightness (which also means the light will have the most throw). They want to see far, and brightly. In this use scenario, more lumens is more useful, than more Red rendering.
otoh, someone cooking a steak in their backyard, cutting it open to check if it is done, will prefer the High CRI light, even though it is less bright. At arms length they do not need maximum brightness, but they do need to see if the meat looks red or not. This scenario favors the Nichia.
so, which “tint” (actually color temperature), someone prefers, depends on how close or far the target is. Whether they need to use maximum or if medium is enough. And whether they need to see large forms, or want more emphasis on the ability to show reds.
This is where the ambient light comes into play. During the day, say 12 noon on a sunny day, my brain and eyes are adapted for bright light at high CCT. If I want to use a flashlight to look at things under the hood of the car, I will prefer a CCT that is in the 6000k range, over one in the 4500k range. The 6000k will seem more white, the 4500k will seem more orange. And the 6000k will be brighter, which is more necessary, when my eyes and brain are in ambient sunlight adaptation.
So, mechanics, and people who work under cool white light, will prefer 6000k light.
otoh, my house lighting is 3000k incandescent (incandescent light is more full spectrum than LED lighting). After being under 3000k lighting for an hour or more, my brain and eyes adapt to that Color Temperature. The brain basically does what a camera does when it sets its white balance. In this case 3000k becomes the “normal white” for that ambient Color Temperature. Now if I turn on a 6000k LED flashlight, the beam seems very blueish and glaring. Where as a 4000k LED will seem whiter and brighter than ambient, but not so harsh as 6000k
For someone like me, that uses a small AAA flashlight around the house in the evening, to look for some wiring behind the TV, or look for some shoes at the back of the closet, my 3000k or 4500k flashlights will be preferred, over a 6000k light. Because the ambient light I am operating in, has set my brain’s white balance to a warmer Color than Sunlight at noon.
Since I dont have a dog, do not work as a car mechanic, and do not use a flashlight to hunt for intruders in my back yard, a 6000k light is not my priority. Since I do like to have a small AAA in my pocket, that I can use to check if the steak is done when grilling in the dark, or to find my red slippers in the dark corner of my closet, or to do other things at arms reach where seeing red things correctly matters, I “prefer” a 3000k or 4500k led. I also want them to be High CRI. Since High CRI is a priority for me, I mostly avoid lights with 6000k Color Temperature. Usually a 6000k LED will only have about 70CRI. It will not produce enough red to show red objects as red. They will look more brownish than under full spectrum sunlight, or incandescent light.
Bottom line, the Color Temperature we prefer, changes with the Color Temperature of the background lighting our brain is adjusted to at the time.
Whether or not one prioritizes High CRI, depends on how important the ability to see red is, for a given flashlight application.
Looking at food with a flashlight will favor High CRI choices. Looking at things at close range, will favor low brightness and High CRI. Looking for a red tabby cat up a tree in the dark will favor higher brightness and High CRI. Looking for a black labrador running around on a football field in the dark, will favor high brightness and CRI will be a lower priority.
