We all noticed the difference when the CD was invented I believe. Friends of the turn-table argued that its specific sound was more pleasant, not necessarily more natural. Not sure if we all heard by how much the sound was degraded when mp3 players came out. I did immediately, and I still find mp3 terrible.
You had a difficult start into HCRI with the Samsung LH351D. I don’t like their tints down to maybe 2700K, where it is more yellowish than greenish. But I guarantee you’ll be able to identify a 219B sw45k light. I see it the other way round as has been described here: It is an eye opener after you were exposed to Cree lighting. It’s like switching from TV tube to HD LCD panel.
We can kinda guess the results of the poll but I’d be half interested in seeing it. I only have very mild colour blindness (a little of green and yellow) but it probably explains my low interest in high cri. Sure I see a difference when comparing low and high cri but I’m more of a practical type where any light is better than no light.
I often shop by “high CRI”. Even if it is missing some of the red spectrum or it isn’t perfect, I’m more likely to find lights that look nice to my eyes in that category. That said, a light done well is good thing.
Now that we are getting into summer, I’ve been able to find some nice wooded spots with pretty leaves, different bark tones, little flowers or fruits, etc. Switching back and forth between SST-20 at 2700K, LH351D at 3500K, Nichia 219C at 4000K, and XHP50.2 at both 3000K and 4000K; they all look decent. I don’t know that one blows the others away. They all look a little different, with the biggest differences being at the extremes of that spread. Of course, the differences are also more noticeable when switching back and forth or shining side by side.
Going for regular nature walks at night, I tend to enjoy just grabbing whatever I feel like taking. It adds to the experience. There are only a few quirks I’ve noticed. Really warm lights seem to look best when the world is green. As the world gets more brown and tan, I don’t like how things look with the 3000K and 2700K lights mentioned above. I’ve also found that 4000K looks great in concert with strong moonlight. I often reach for my Nichia 219C lights when the moon is shining.
I see a clear difference in high CRI LH351D 4000K and the SST20 4000K vs. cool white Cree XP-G and XM-Ls. There is a difference not just in colour rendition but in depth perception on a subtle level (such as a PC aluminium fan grating, if it is partially full of dust I see the difference in where what I see is, i.e. behind it and at the front (dust level), whereas with the cool white LEDs it looks to be all at the front, flat like a photo. This was quite interesting. I had tested long ago with cool vs. neutral white LEDs outdoor in relation to use on bicycles, but now, for inside the house I found high CRI to be better in this respect here too, and something else: low CRI LEDs give me a feeling that something is off (missing in colours).
For me inside the house high CRI is more important than outside…
I tested with various LEDs, e.g. with a yellow spirit level (Stanley Fatmax): 1. 6000K, 2. ca. 4000K neutral white (XP-G 5B1), 3. 4000K neutral white 90 CRI LH-351D, 4. 4000K neutral white SST 20 95 CRI. The result is that between each of them there is a clearly visible difference of increase of vibrance of the yellow. It looks most washed out with 6000K and most vibrant with the SST20 4000K.
The SST20 lights up everything in a manner that is pleasant, I don’t care much for the LH351D though it’s better in some ways than the low CRI neutral white LEDs but it has a weird yellowish tint shining on white, whereas with the SST20 I don’t get that impression at all.
had the same experience when I received my very first high CRI light. It takes a while to get used to the light quality. Using the light in the garden, on skin, on flowers, etc will also help to see the difference.
I’ll add my 2¢ here I suppose. LH351d has not impressed me with color representation, esp with the dome on. Sliced and at high currents and a tint correction film/spray it’s a different story- but then by that point any advantage of the samsung is gone imo. Domed SST20 in 4000K under narrow pebbled TIRs are my go to for now. Best tint IMO comes from 9080 nichias with a duv around –0.0020 and 4000-5000k. My absolute favorite tint/cct/everything is an e17a quad with mixed 3500 and 4500k. For warm, 2000K e21a is my go to. For throwers, I find the osrams cw to be somehow acceptable. I have 75cri 4000K MTG2s that look great next to an FC40 95CRI due to lower duv of the CREE. I nearly puke everytime I turn on my Armytek Dobermann with 6500k XPL HD Domed cw XHPs have the same effect. 3A/3D HIs though become bearable again. The lower duv+cct and better color-over-angle of the HI make the same CRI night and day difference to me.
Moral? R9, duv, COA, CCT, Rg, Rf/CRI in mostly that order. Any single variable can ruin it all though IMO.
I’m hopeful for lower duv bins of the Luminus to arrive in 3500/4000k. Praying for a 95cri SST40. Also hopeful the B35AM works out for us with below bbl tints.
CRI at night can matter to some people. My truck has the old style HIDs (xenon) with a deep purple/dark blue color. They don’t blind oncoming traffic, but I always thought that other cars had weird colors whenever I had my headlamps switched on.
It is the same with any other light application, riding a bike, hiking, walking your dog, etc…
I can’t say I am feeling it either. CRI I think is critical as a doctor or a lab technician but for the rest of us us that walk their dogs and work on cars, not really feeling it.
I get what you mean. I’ve been walking through meadows and along the edge of the woods at night lately. All the different plants and grasses at different heights with scrolling shadows look richer with a warmer tint. I don’t know how much CRI plays a role. I’d have to check back to back but I seem to get the same effect with XHP50.2 and XHP70.2 at 3000K as I do with SST-20 at 2700K.
If something appears or looks different at different times and in different circumstances, how do you know which one is the real one. We know an apple is supposed to be red but if one led shows it as bright red and one shows it as a duller red, which one is closer to reality?
Even two people using the same light source will see the apple differently.
Domed cw XHPs have the same effect. 3A/3D HIs though become bearable again. The lower duv+cct and better color-over-angle of the HI make the same CRI night and day difference to me.