Advantages and disadvantages of color temps?

Raccoon, I don’t know, can someone help me?

ZoomieFan, neutral is probably best for that.

Although there are those far more qualified to explain, yes, the light produced by a hotter body will emit more blue light, however, I believe that the naming of 3000K light as “warm” simply relates to the orangy colour we perceive, which I agree, on a technical level, causes confusion.

The hotter an object is the more blue light is emitted by it.
Just think about red and white glowing steel. Which is hotter?

The Wikipedia explains it very well.

Red to yellow colors look like fire and the sun, so they are called ‘hot’, blue-ish colors look like water and ice so they are called ‘cool’. That convention probably comes from long before astronomy became popular and certainly came from artists, not from metalworkers or anyone that had access to high temperatures. Actually reaching 6500K (6200ºC!!!) in a controlled setting is very hard and would destroy any container so deriving the color of 6500K wasn’t possible until physics theories were developed from year 1858 to 1900.

Lookit your hot/cold knobs on your sink (if they have red/blue dots or something).

Ice/cold = blue, fire/hot = red.

So bluer light = “cool”, redder light = “warm”.

The End.

versus

…or

versus

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So warm / hot is red.
But you have no red when you have a low CRI LED.
This is why high CRI and especially high R9 values are important, especially for warm white LEDs.
With a low CRI warm white Cree LED skin tones still look greenish, whereas with incandescent light (tungsten) you have red in copious amounts, which looks nice and cozy.

The color of a flashlight can be matched to the color of the environment.

Lets start with two flashlights, one is 3000k, the other is 6000k.

Now lets use them in two different ambient light scenarios, outdoors in sunlight, and indoors under incandescent light.

Lets mix it up and see what happens

Scenario:
Sunlight, working on a car, using a flashlight to illuminate dark, shaded areas around the motor.

1. The 6000k light will look less different than the ambient sunlight that our brain is adapted to at the time.

2. The 3000k light will look much more orange than the ambient sunlight that our brain is adapted to at the time.

Conclusion, the best choice for working on a car during the day is the 6000k light.

Scenario:
Indoors under 3000k incandescent house light, using a flashlight to illuminate a dark closet.

1. The 6000k light will look much more Blue and glaring, than the ambient incandescent light that our brain is adapted to at the time.

2. The 3000k light will look very similar in color to the ambient incandescent light that our brain is adapted to at the time.

Conclusion, the best choice for looking in a dark closet, after the brain is adapted to 3000k light, is the 3000k light. Otoh, if I have been outside in the sun, and I come inside to illuminate a dark closet, the 6000k light will seem more natural, and the 3000k will look ridiculously too orange.

Suggestion

  1. During the day, shine each light on the ceiling of your kitchen, no electric lights on. Notice the 6000k looks not very blue, but the 3000k looks very orange.

2. At night, shine each light on the ceiling of your kitchen, this time with electric incandescent lights on. Notice the 6000k now looks very blue, while the 3000k no longer seems very orange.

Iow, our brain sets its white balance to the environment (this adaptation takes 30 minutes). A flashlight that matches the white balance of the environment will look most similar to what the brain is white balanced to at the time.

So, 6000k is best when the brain is adapted to 6000k, and 3000k is best when the brain is adapted to 3000k.

Additional observations I have made. A flashlight will seem “brighter”, if it is a higher color temperature than the brain is white balanced to at the time. And, a flashlight will seem “dimmer” if it is a lower color temperature than the environment the brain is white balance adapted to, at the time.

Another example
Wake up in the middle of the night in full dark. Use a 3000k light to avoid obstacles on the floor. This temperature will be relaxing, and it will be easier to go back to sleep.

Now try a 6000k light, notice it seems very blue, glaring, and makes it harder to get back to sleep.

Now reading a book in full darkness, the 3000k will be more pleasant, the 6000k will be more glaring.

Then reading a label on a soup can in a supermarket, the 3000k will suck, and the 6000k will work better :slight_smile:

Bottom line is our brain changes its white balance in response to the ambient light. Our flashlights will differ or match our brain adaptation to cool or warm light. A flashlight that approximates the white balance of the brain at the time, will look closest to what the brain is adapted to at the time

therefore,
during the day, I prefer a cooler light. At night, I prefer a warmer light.

IF I had to only choose one light, I would choose 4500k… it will be more orange than sunlight, but not as bad as 3000k. And the 4500k light will be more blue than incandescent, but not as bad as 6000k. Therefore, the 4500k is sort of a least bad of both worlds :-), its an average…

I have a 3000k light on my nightstand, a 6000k light in my car, and a 4500k light in my pocket :slight_smile:

or…

vs 

That’s a great explanation jon_slider!

So I need a flashlight with color settings :slight_smile:

Yes, choices are good

As a general rule of thumb, the more Ks you have the cooler it is. :sunglasses:

Example : All of ma friends says 4K TVs are cooler than 2K TVs :wink:

If you have the same LED. Say example, Cree XP-L2. It will be able to produce more lumens at 6500k than the same LED at 3000k. Tint preference does not depict color actualization. That is determined by CRI. It’s just some people like Coke and some like Pepsi. Except Coke doesn’t fill their cans as full.

The part to Raccoon was a joke.

To walk at night a warmer tint is better to see the terrain in front off you

I think the 3 articles below are really worth reading. As a sneak preview I’ll say that low lumen may improve your vision…. :slight_smile:

Short and simple

How the eye works

Why green gives better night vision and bright light of any color compromises night vision

Thanks for the explanation jon_slider. It explains what I’ve observed. My part-time retirement job is giving 4 wheel drive tours of the San Andreas Fault in the So Cal desert area, and the tour includes entering a few small structures. I bought a few of the grey Convoy S2+ 7135X6 u2-1b flashlights when Gearbest had them on sale, and also have a BLF A6 with a warmer temp. I’ve tried both on the tour, and the u2 1b’s seem to do a better job lighting up the inside of the structures on sunny days (which means most days in the Colorado-Sonoran Desert).

Only thing i can add to what has already been said is that some tints have been found to see through fog and smoke better than others. :disappointed: