Ordered SS and SS colored, tube for each, Nichia for each.
I already have a (newer, w/washers under the screws) Manker E14 with Nichias, all 4 LEDs have the same rose tint on moonlight setting and the beam is a pure, neutral white on higher settings. I agree with Freeme about the high-CRI of the Nichia emitters, it is very evident to me and I also have well-trained eyes (photographer and graphic designer, have calibrated many monitors, films, and applied color-correction professionally since the late 80s in print and digital). The color rendition of these emitters is absolutely stunning compared to any other constant-on hand-held artificial light source I have ever seen - I wouldn't hesitate to use this light in a pro setting for accurate color. It's that good.
Also - I have those same Nitecore 18350s as Freeme, and the new 3500ma Orbtronic 18650s (protected) are significantly brighter on turbo - the other settings look too similar to differentiate if they differ at all. Moonlight is moonlight, no matter what battery, as far as I can tell by eyesight alone. I have also tried "de" brand protected 18350s, and it would only flash (once, like a camera flash) trying to go into turbo, so protected 18350s may not work at all settings unless someone knows of a specific one that will.
Anyway, can't wait for the 2 new ones to get here! Thanks, Freeme!
OTF tint of XP-G3 is much closer to netural white (under 6K). There could be slight shift of tint due to optics? I will try to pop out optics of XP-G3 version to verify over the weekend.
Sorry to keep asking questions, but is there a deadline for pre-ordering these? I want to make sure I don’t miss this one, but I’m still on the fence about the XP-G3 vs. Nichia (leaning towards the XP-G3), pending more info about the XP-G3 color/tint.
@freeme: Thanks for the pictures comparing emitters.
However, as you mentioned it, DCs do all sorts of processing and white balance adjustments that may differ from one pict to the other resulting in non comparable images. To have a better idea of the tint difference between emitters you would need to shoot all the lights side by side in one picture so that the corrections are the same for all. My 2cts…