What about the CRI hype (color rendering index)

use whatever light makes you happy

if you dont care about Full Spectrum light,

you might enjoy a green light, since it has the highest efficacy:
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ā€œthe human eye features ā€a peak sensitivity at 555 nanometersā€:Luminous efficacy - Wikipedia (in the green region of the visible light spectrum).ā€

Some people think high-CRI is only useful for white wall hunting. Not going to change those people.

I personally notice the difference a lot in daily use. My EDC lights all have high-CRI emitters. The lights that donā€™t have them arenā€™t really EDC lights anyways.

Iā€™m not a gun guy but Iā€™m also not shining at the wall. Iā€™m using my flashlight in the forest so thereā€™s a lot of green and brown (sometimes some yellow). Color temperature affects green (higher CCT=more blue=green gets pale and blueish), CRI affects browns and yellows (higher CRI=higher R9/red=juicier browns).

You sure youā€™re not making a strawman and itā€™s not actually just people preferences ? just like you prefer cold CCTs, low CRI for better efficiency.

In your case you have much, much more choice since flashlights are predominantly cold white and low CRI, so itā€™s all good right ? I guess I donā€™t understand what is the point of this thread, especially since this is a recurrent topic.

a green filter lowers efficacyā€¦ if efficacy is the priority, you need a green LED, not a filter

I agree green is monochromaticā€¦ it just has the highest efficacy,
I only suggested it as you mentioned that efficacy is your highest priorityā€¦

maybe you dont really want highest efficacy after all?:slight_smile:

choices are good
I like green much better than redā€¦ but I like High CRI most of all

but, dont copy me, unless you share my priority, which is Full Spectrum Qualityā€¦ not partial spectrum Quantity

maybe read more

:+1: :slight_smile: :smiley:

Exactly. There is no correct and same answer for all people. Just like a whole lot of other things in life, the answer depends upon many variables.

I have made the journey from ā€œI must have the absolute most number of lumens possible and the color/CRO does not matterā€ to where I do look at the CRI and what the intended use is. I have a few very bright, low CRI lights that fulfill certain uses. Most of the lights I use frequently have high to very high CRI and I can see the difference. Seeing, or appreciating that difference, took some time to develop to where I gave it some serious thought.

ā€œDifferent strokes for different folksā€ as we used to quip back in the 60ā€™s. :laughing:

There is nothing here to have an argument over.

Walking in the forest was where I first really noticed how much better I liked the illumination qualities of my then-new high CRI light compared to the max lumens lights I had been using.

I used to be all about efficiency. But then I had a hike where a poor CRI made it hard for me to distinguish the details of the trail under my feet. This was slightly dangerous and made me much slower. And required my full attention to tread carefully.

Since then, I think that flashlights shall have high enough colour rendition. But so far I failed to determine what exactly is high enough. :wink:

Also, world in high CRI and below BBL just looks better. I like to live in a good looking world.

It is not simply the efficacy of the led. What colors the eye sees best is also a consideration.

It is for phosphor converted green, but not direct green ( XP-E)

For example CSLNM1.F1 (PC green) : 400~630lm at 1A
CSLNM1.TG (white, 5700~6000K) : 280~450lm at 1A

Usually LEDs below BBL have better or hi cri

Thatā€™s true only at certain levels of CRIā€¦.once you get past 9895 LEDs tend to be close to the BBL.

more Full Spectrum Quality, top pic with High CRI

more Lumen Quantity, bottom pic with Low CRI

if you just want to know if the pan is boiling over, a green light would suffice, and would use less battery power

since I use rechargeable batteries, runtime is not a priority for me. My priority is Spectrum Quality. I use my flashlights to illuminate things with Red in them.

Things that Look Redder, taste betterā€¦ LOL

As the colour management specialist in print industry I must say, that colour reproduction is key factor.
Mike

But not too much below, Iā€™m not a fan of rosy tints.

Some people cant see colors or recognize them. Im sorry for them.

Me too, Iā€™m thankful I can see all the colors.

Also, choosing a low CRI light over a high CRI light for walking around the woods at night is kind of like choosing to eat spaghetti with just a spoon. You may not realize it, but youā€™re just making more work for your eyes.

I dealt with Pantone color printing using high-end CYMK printing devices in my career.

People often didn't calibrate their (RGB) monitors; it's time consuming and the equipment is somewhat expensive. Then they whined about "the print doesn't match my monitor". Well... duh! This, under low CRI, cool white fluorescent lighting no less. Walk them outside into daylight & see how the colors on the same print change; the look on their faces was priceless.

I find low CRI/cool white acceptable for long distance throwers. I prefer warm-ish high CRI on my floody lights for closer use and will happily pay extra for it.

slmjim

Acceptable doesnā€™t mean good. Warmer light actually punches better through not so clean air.

Low cri and cool LEDs are useless even harmful. They should be restricted by law. Proper search lights should be warm for better fog and dust penetration