I just received my Armytek parcel this afternoon. The model I ordered is a Wizard Nichia (4500K with 90CRI) but the tint is horrible ! I mean, really ugly. I have modded flashlights with 219b, 219c from many batches and nothing looks like that.
Even neutral bin from cree looks better.
I have sent an email to Armytek with picture sample. I will see if they accept to replace the light.
The Wizard Nichia was out of stock for several weeks (according to Armytek > Asian market receives directly from China warehouse) So, this is the latest batch (it has the LVP)
You can judge by youtself on this picture,
Even the 219C 5000k R9050 suddenly become pinkish compared to the Wizard Nichia (and experts know that the 219C 90cri is already on the green side!)
That doesn’t look very good. My wizard Nichia looks like your 219b… Have your tested it on colours to see if it’s actually high CRI? Looks more like an xhp50…
Honestly if you want high-CRI and a truly rosy tint, you need to stick to 219Bs (and accept the limitations in output and lights that they can be modded into/they make sense for) or use minus green studio light filter on the lens. There isn’t much sign this will change soon, as most or all the emitters being purpose-designed to have a below BBL tint and very high CRI/R9 are intended for area lighting, primarily for produce and aren’t really suited for flashlights. In some cases they are just adding in red LEDs to the array/fixture for increased red rendering/saturation.
I’m with Virence that if true color accuracy is the goal a tint far below BBL isn’t really desirable, which is why you may have seen complaints about Optisolis being “greenish”, because Nichia was attempting to most closely match sunlight… including it’s duv. Getting the most visually pleasing light possible is another issue altogether.
Yeah, I’d probably stick on a filter to de-green it a bit. I doubt any mfr would consider a light “defective” just because the color’s not purty enough. They might, you never know, but I wouldn’t count on it. Can’t hurt to try, though.
The 144A version is not green. It is about on the BBL, which is better than most Cree emitters unless you get the A or D tint bins. However, when you compare any flashlight with the 219B sw45k, it will look green. If you don’t compare it, it’s pretty neutral.
I took measurements of all of Armytek’s flashlights. The DUV values are the tint measurements.
Yes, I purchased this light because it has high cri, but not a crazy rosy tint like the 219b 9080…
Based on all reviews I found online, the tint should be less greenish than the 219C but not as pink as the 219b9080… I am quite disappointed… Even the neutral white XML2 from H03 looks more neutral…
Or my eyes are spoiled by Nichia’s good oldies, or I really get a shitty bin (!)
Overall, the light only looks likes “clean creamy white” on turbo. Other levels are greenish.
The thing is most of the 80CRI from cree and Nichia looks quite good when pushed above 3A.
I am waiting Armytek answer.
Overall, the Wizard host V3 is nice. The new headband clip is great, the switch is much more better than my V2 and V1… Protuberance of the magnetic charging connection makes the light is less stable on vertical surface (90 angle) than the non rechargeable model (but the magnet itself is powerful)
Charging stopped around 4.1…V (usb adaptator light is too bright, need to be covered at night, if close to bed)
NICHIA NV4W144AR 5050 SMT LED 1050lm 5000K (90CRI)
NICHIA NV4W144AR 5050 SMT LED 1050lm 5700K (90CRI)
If Armytek refuse to exchange my green Nichia, maybe the best would be to order one of it and swap it? The board is the same, so I would have to just pop-out the bezel and re-flow (?) The Wizard Nichia runs at 12V right ?
Even my 219C 5700K is more NEUTRAL than the Wizard Nichia. I cannot tolerate such a tint variation .
(By the way, on this picture, the 219C 5000k looks more like my 219C 5700k…)
First batch of Wizard’s Nichia was nice, all the pictures posted online were neutral white (creamy white, slightly pink). Now, I get that greenish tint from latest patch (!)
It looks like they downgrade to a lower CRI bin… I mean, the 219b is a reference in pinkish tint, side by side with the 144, this one still look very nice:
From zeroair.org review :
Tint vs BLF-348 (Killzone 219b version) - bellow is my sample :
If the camera was doing a mistake, the 219b would look also different, but they have the same tint…
I really doubt they will warranty it, this isn’t a semi-custom or custom light where you’re guaranteed a great tint. I think you just had unrealistic expectations for the 144A… which compared to TONS of other emitters still looks much better.
Probably will save yourself time and effort by just getting some minus green filter.
I don’t think these pictures are fair representations of real world usage. I understand you’re trying to show the differences and this is a pretty easy way to sort of show that. In real-world usage you’re not going to be close enough to any object to see a hotspot. And unless you’re a white wall inspector real world usage should not be a problem. Also you’re saying it’s somewhat green, you’re saying it’s somewhat khaki, I’m not following along. I think in the picture above with the four lights you should swap the last two positions and retake that picture. But also again farther back from a wall or object because if we’re seeing any sort of hotspot it’s too close.
Plus, a LED more rosy than the other makes it always look greenish. Seems to be a rule (just for me, that’s how my eyes work) that among two WW/NW LEDs in comparison one is rosy, the other one is greenish. I have a dedomed 219B sw45k D200 behind honeycomb TIR (really an extreme). As soon as I switch it on, all 219B sw45k D220 lights are instantly green.
How do you explain that nice tint in this picture ?
There is not a single hint of green compared to one of the “Best Pinkish famous Tint in Town”.
I have modded flashlight with with Nichia bin for more than 15 years… I know how react camera sensors and human eyes. If I had a 144 bin closed to those reviewers one, both my eyes and camera sensors would NEVER see such an amount of green from that flashlight.
Armytek don’t want to exchange the light (bla-bla, lottery tint) It’s a 90$ flashlight, more expensive than a semi or custom unit from Virence or Emisar.
With such a greenish tint, the lost of lumens is not worth it. Beside a Hot turbo burst that cannot last, any of my other modded light are as bright as this green 144.
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