Recently a new fellow at ForoLinternas came asking about a tool for nighttime photography. He needs a light with overall nice light output distribution, you know, TIR or zoom torches. I also spoke with him about CRI, standard illuminants and stuff like that, and he agrees a high-CRI emitter is a must. Also, it would be quite nice if all of the available driver modes were PWM free, I believe.
I've narrowed down the search to some sort of 26650 host, preferably. With a high-CRI 219C R9050, XM-L2 CRI90+ or triple 219C (no matter if it is a zoomie, its the flood what matters), what would be your recommendations?
One of the reason I've gone the 26650 way is the guy likes the Warsun X50/X65, and the fact that, with this format, a completely PWM-free LD-29 driver could be used.
As Jeromemel touched on with the COB suggestion - does he specifically need a FLASHLIGHT?
Because if his need is just a high-CRI LIGHT SOURCE, his options are more open, and something other than a flashlight may suit his need better. For photography you often want a physically large light source to create diffuse lighting (hence umbrellas in photo studios). Light emitting from the small head of a flashlight (no matter how floody) is essentialy a point source and will cause harsh undesireable shadows. If he is open to ideas such as using high-CRI COBs or SMD strips for a light pannel, etc that will give him more options.
Is this for portrait/studio (short exposure) or light painting (long exposure) photography? I find that using beam diffusers (such as the Convoy diffuser - review link in my signature) or just waving a floody light around during a long exposure will result in even light distribution. PWM is not an issue unless you are using video, or exposures are short.
Below is 3x Convoy S2+ with 1A, 4C, and 7A tints (at 10% power) with diffusers.
Below was created by waving a LED Lenser P7.2 (I think) around in a circular motion during a long exposure.