@ZoomieFan, for easy comparison:
Convoy S2+ 219C 4000k
Convoy S2+ SST-20 4000k
Convoy S2+ XP-L HI 4000k
Convoy S2+ XM-L2 4000k
You will then see the difference in beam and tint.
One of the best ways to learn about Tint and CRI is to compare the Sofirn C01 3200k High CRI, Sofirn C01 5600k High CRI, and the Fenix E01 6200k Low CRI
Hotspot overexposes part of the pic, and the Low CRI makes reds look brown:
Floody even beam, in a Daylight Color Temperature:
Gotta Love the Warm Yuji when its time to get mellow with a FireLight Color Temperature:
You cant really tell differences in brightness without a light meter.
And you cant really tell differences in CRI by looking at green plants, you need red things.
Here is a test of CRI for the layperson
Rare photo of man being alive and dead at the same time (High cri vs early gen LED flashlight)
Low cri cool white is more efficient that High CRI warm white, but, efficiency is overrated. Spare batteries eliminate my concerns about efficiency, so I can enjoy the Color Temperature and CRI I prefer.
Tint and cri is a totally different conversation . you may have 100% cri and a tint that makes you want to puke .
The trick is try lots of tints and figure out what offends your sensibilities and which ones you like ...tyhen buy up the ones you like before they disappear . Even tints from the same bin aren't exactly the same and if compared side by side you'll know which one you like better . I find that knowing what you hate is easier then knowing what you like or can tolerate ..//I hate green and dislike dull beige /
Cri gets better depending on how hard they are run. cri being lower on low and better with more current being run thru them .
Emitters of different manufacturers will each have a different characteristic like more or less throw / more flood and also be more efficient or less etc .
So being to anal about numbers or trying to be too specific about runtimes or efficiencies probably just won't work . better cri and warmer tints will always be a lower bin and less lumens per watt so there's always a trade off for higher cri.
Lots of noobs who have no experience have only an output number as a basis of reference so they grab onto brightest as being the best. that would be like buying a car just by horsepower numbers and nothing else .
I'd go try newer high cri emitters in multiple tints and see which ones you like and then buy a handful of those emitters till you find another one you like … truth is we generally like or dislike tints .. not low or hi cri //everyone likes hi cri / people just have a tendency to tie the two together .
I agree
however, to the OP, Tint means CCT and CRI…
Maybe you can help educate him
with specific examples
A few years ago, when I was trying to learn about tint; I did like Zulumoose did. I bought three Convoy S2+’s.
- S2+ color / LED / Bin / Tint / CCT (visual observation)
- Red / XM-L2 / T4 / 7A / 3125K (very warm)
- Green / XM-L2 / T6 / 3B / 5175K (fairly neutral)
- Blue / XM-L2 / U2 / 1A / 6700K (very cool)
Then I bought some LED’s with different tints & swapped them around.
I came to the conclusion I like the tint from 2D (5700K) to 3A (5000K) the best in most instances. As far as High CRI goes, I can take it or leave it. Tint & beam quality are more important ’to me’.
Yeah, most likely I need a lot of education on Tint and CRI.
A lot!
I’m mostly looking for visibility.
Post #11 has some perfect examples to explain what I mean
The 3 flashlights:
The two flashlights on the left are best because I see structure in the wall. The one on the left has no such detail.
The light on the far right has a hot spot that washes out a lot.
In this situation the light on the left I certainly wouldn’t buy.
From the other lights I would pick the middle one purely based on the hotspot.
Winner Sofirn C01 5600 High CRI
On the colored sheet.
I would reject the Fenix E01 based on the hotspot regardless of the color rendering. The washed out hotspot, while very bright, hides all detail.
The other two are equally good for me. Good detail in both.
The skin is also equally good for me. Well perhaps the red is better because it might have more detail. But that depends on what the skin really looks like.
Back to the sheet.
I most certainly see a difference between the second and third picture.
What would I pick?
The answer to that leads me to the other part of my original post. Efficiency.
If efficiency was equal I would pick the light that looks most like daylight. But…I could be very wrong again, when reading specs it always CW with the highest lumen output. I’ve seen lights in with the high CRI version only outputs half the lumens compared to the 6500K version of the same light.
Why is that?
Is it because high CRI lights have half the efficiency of 6500K lights?
Is it because high CRI lights can handle less power.
To restate the same questions: Which led gives higest lumen/watt.
I prefer ‘real daylight color’, but not if it costs me half the runtime or half the brightness. But I might if it costs me 20%. But I haven’t really figured that number out for myself.
Contrast is a word that should have been in the above post.
I want to be able to read the label on a paint can. The text on those metal tags on an old rusty boiler in a basement.
Those things are more important for me that exact color.
How about a p60 host and 3 or 4 p60 drop-ins? They got them cheap nowadays.
1. You will not easily notice a 40% difference in brightness.
You will usually get a 20-30% difference of brightness with same color temperature and 90CRI vs 70CRI, and that is hard to notice.
2. High levels of CRI is very important for color rendition and contrast.
So, for an inexpensive light, I would recommend the Convoy S2+ SST-20 4000k for absolute best color rendition.
that is a great suggestion!
.
The 5600k Yuji LED in the Sofirn C01 is more efficient (brighter) than the 3200k LED\
The 5600k has better CRI, and is closest to daylight.
I hope you enjoy it.
I think the 3200k is worth getting also, so you can form your own opinions about the differences.
I also think a set of convoys could be good,
for my taste, they would have to be High CRI, preferably 219b
I agree with your observations that High CRI is generally Less Lumens. You will want to form some opinions about what lumen levels you find practical for your needs. Indoors we use much lower levels, Im mostly indoors. The Sofirn C01 is an indoor, close range, light.
The Convoy is more capable at higher brightness levels, and outdoors where larger distance may be involved, its also bigger and heavier.
Always trade offs… which is why I have more than one light… each has something I like, none is perfect
I tend to group my lights by battery size…
AAA… Sofirn fits here
16340… Olight fits here
18650… Convoy fits here, there is also a short body option for 16340 size
Im personally not inclined to use 18650… its a great option, but a bit bigger than I choose to carry
I have a lot of AAA, I stopped using them when I dove into 16340 lights… Its my happy place at the moment.
which brings up another suggestion
1. Klarus Mi1C Cool White Aspheric, cool white low cri option only
2. Klarus Mi1C Cool White Ti and Copper reflector beam cool white low cri option only
and
3. Klarus Mi1C High CRI reflector beam
the third one is the best pick of the litter for my High CRI bias
but its a 4000k 219c, and will look a bit warm, or yellow, during the day… maybe not ideal… but, lights are full of compromises.
the first 2 Klarus are not High CRI, so for me, would only be acceptable as modding projects
.
.
regarding reading lettering on a plaque of label, an aspheric lens makes a more useful reading light than one with a hotspot
the Sofirn C01 produces a nice even beam, like an aspheric lens, its just not very bright… you will be able to read the label, but you will need to be within a few inches…
lights with hotspots have other strengths… you will probably discover that Get Both, is the Better answer 
True not in visibility. But I guess I would notice it in the time a cell lasts.
That means the 90CRI is 20-30% less efficient. Right?
I think I can best explain this with an example. Set a flashlight with ramping at the exactly the minimum brightness needed to see. While perhaps only possible in theory and a totally useless test I think it means the 90 CRI uses 20-30% more power to reach that minimum visibility level. A 20-30% shorter runtime?
Is that correct?
Contrast. That’s a very important thing for me.
I have a S2+, somewhere….
Not sure it’s exactly that one, but I usually buy NW.
@ZoomieFan, yes the 90CRI one will usually be 20-30% less efficient.
So، at low power levels, you will need to boost power by 20-30% to get 20-30% more brightness.
You won’t really need to though, since you won’t notice the difference.
Yeah, get them all!
Are you a flashlight salesman? lol.
Seriously I’m fully aware a lot of things are a matter of taste.
Likely also ‘medical conditions’ should be figured in. Good or bad eyesight. It seems that hardly anyone has perfect color vision.
So yeah, I have to buy several to test, but I want at least avoid buying what I very likely dislike….
Understood, but there comes a point I see the diffrence because that 30% makes the difference between seeing nothing and barely seeing something.
I’m very well aware that walking trough the woods is way different than measuring something in a lab with calibrated equipment.
Some on this forum call themselves tint snobs.
Others are brightness snobs.
I guess I’m a runtime and contrast snob.
When I read ‘20-30% less bright’ I’m not thinking about dim lights but reduced runtime.
It’s all about finding a balance between things. You cant have a 10,000 lumen light that runs 5 hours on a AAA cell.
I just keep asking all those seemingly useless details to make a less uninformed decision on my next flashlight buy.
Will it be perfect? Likely not. But hopefully it will be closer to perfect…
Makes me think about another aproach. A general purpose light that’s fine for most tasks. A 18650, 21700 or 216650.
But as an extra a AA or AAA that’s really great for reading labels. Just close range. No high lumens. I’ve once read that blue is best for high contrast (map reading) so for that light I would even consider a blue light. Even if it only has 30% efficiency of white.
Efficiency is only part of the equation for me
I agree that Low CRI is going to be more efficient, but, for me, Low CRI is not acceptable
so my math says
a 90 CRI light has 29% more CRI than a 70 CRI light
and yes
the 90 CRI light will be 29% less bright, for the same runtime.
I wont accept 29% more runtime from Low CRI
since Low CRI is simply not acceptable, for my snobby self
what I see is essentially a direct tradeoff between CRI and runtime… I will take the CRI over the runtime, every time. Thats just my personal preference… Low CRI need not apply
I wish I had such a strong view as you have Jon. Then I could sleep tonite
Seriously, I have preference and more strongly dislikes. I can indeed buy a dozen lights and just check them out.
But I don’t want a dozen S2+’s one is enough.
Besides of that I want to learn. Even if it’s mostly useless theory, I want to learn.
And I did learn from the answers.
Done learning? Far from. But at least I know in which direction to look.
So I keep asking……
If my only use for a light would be reading tags like below. Both new and old. What tint or color would be ideal? When I write color I also include for example blue and red.
I would recommend the 5600k Sofirn C01 for those label reading tasks, because the Tint is not too green, not too blue, not too yellow, its just daylight white.
The most important factor is beam distribution, so I would want a beam with no hotspot
imo the Aspheric beam of the Yuji LED in the Sofirn is ideal for label reading, I like it even better than a Mule. I dislike beams with a hotspot for reading labels, because of the need to avoid glare, it tends to force me to move the light around more, to find a balance between the hotspot and spill, in order not to be blinded by the glare, caused by the difference in brightness between hotspot and spill
otoh, outdoors, looking down a path, trail, sidewalk, a beam with a hotspot is much better, it projects into the distance in a way that an Aspheric or a Mule simply do not.
Aspherics an Mules are better for reading, beause the beam is excellent when illuminating a flat surface at an equal distance from the observer, such as when reading a plaque or label.
beam examples:
imo the Yuji LED lens is Aspheric, and I personally find that more useful than a mule.
l-r Aspheric lens, 47s Mule, Sofirn C01
l-r Aspheric, Sofirn, Mule
imo the Yuji LED is fantastic indoors, and at close range
I do not consider it an outdoor walking light, but it does work great for seeing food while sitting at a picnic table
Besides the little AAA Sofirn C01, I like the aspheric lens in the Aluminum version of the Klarus Mi1c.
I also like the McGizmo Sundrop with High CRI LED, but, thats not in my budget.
.
I would use a beam with a hotspot to see down a tunnel, but when looking at cave paintings, I would want an Aspheric.
was watching Netflix the other night, like most nights, and noticed these beams:
can you see why I like the Aspheric, top, better than the little hotspot, on right?
Probably you’d be better of with a TIR.
Recently, i have replaced the reflector of an S2+ with a 60 degree TIR, which gives a nice widely spread uniform beam. (The 4C tint looks great now)
If you want to read tagplates, you do not want a very bright hotspot which makes them unreadable, it will reflect too heavy. (Believe me)
Besides that, only the side will be readable with a bright hotspot.
Agree. And if you want it cheap get them even in parts, you cannhave them probably below $10 per dropin. Less space and waste.