Yup, there are many important factors when it comes to choosing an LED in a light. I typically go in the following order:
Color Temperature - The first thing I do is check to see if the color temperature is adequate. Typically I want 4000K to 5000K. If it’s too cold or warm, the other stats don’t matter. I’m not interested unless I can mod it to swap in an LED in my color-temperature range.
Lumens and Intensity - both together determine how much light appears on target. It doesn’t matter how good the CRI is if the LED doesn’t actually light up what I want to see to my satisfaction. In small EDC lights, Nichia 219B fails this test for me. As a result, I currently only have one light with that LED installed (ROT66, which makes up for the low output by having nine Nichia 219B installed).
CRI - I find it’s easier and more pleasant looking at things with high CRI with high R9. This is why most of the lights I’m currently using are equipped with SST-20. I’m willing to accept a loss of 1/3 to 1/2 of the maximum output and intensity on target in order to get high CRI in my EDC.
Tint - Rosy is better than green. And a very green tint may override better CRI. That said, I will accept some slight greenish tint in order to have better CRI. I used to prefer rosy-tinted XPL-HI 5D, but now my preferences have evolved to prefer SST-20, most of which are more green (FD2 bin being the exception). However, I prefer even the greenish SST-20 bins to XPL-HI nowadays. The low-CRI with low R9 just makes things look a bit flat.
The more my flashlight looks like an actual fire, the happier I am with it.
However, when walking around dog crap, or traveling by foot, I prioritize CRI over lumens. If I want to see something far away without regard to CRI, I use a LEP. For the size, weight, battery consumption etc, a LEP beats anything else that’s easily portable by such an overwhelming margin that I see no reason to buy most other throwers anymore.
For close range = High CRI
For medium range = w1’s or w2’s
For long range = LEP
I’m still waiting on Simon to put b35am’s in more hosts though. That may be my new go-to for mid-range.
My friend jon_slider I hope you are well
I was not going to enter the thread, but in this case I believe a point must be done.
It is true that the poll is about CRI, but if so, in my opinion this should not be a reply option:
Example: my EDC lights don’t have High CRI emitters, because my choice was mostly done due to CCT and Tint (ex: 4000K, yellow/rosy). Not about “High Lumens”.
Also, opposing “High CRI” to “High Lumens” doesn’t seem to be accurate, as I may have High CRI with High Lumens and lots of output and still not being my best option.
Example: I have a flashlight with Luxeon MZ 5700K 90CRI, powered by a high drain battery and a CC/FET driver. And I have another flashlight, with 3 x Nichia 219C 5700K 90CRI, powered by a high drain battery and FET driver.
They are in different settings (host, cells, reflector/TIR), both CCT are the same, there is probably few variance in CRI, and I can probably hit more lumens with the Luxeon.
Still I prefer the Nichias to the Luxeon MZ because the Nichias give me a “pure white beam” feeling, while the MZ seem to have a tint shift that alters my perception of colours (even being high “renderized”).
So, this is cannot be about “High CRI” vs “High Lumens” as a simple opposition.
Last but not least:
- Yes, I like some High CRI emitters, and have some lights with them, although currently I don’t EDC any light with High CRI.
No, High CRI emitters are not a priority for my EDC lights, as I also value other aspects when picking the LEDs for my EDC lights, namely CCT and Tint.
Yes, 90+ High CRI is Highest Priority, for my EDC. High CRI is more important to me, than High lumens of Low CRI
No, 90+ High CRI is not Highest Priority for my EDC. High Lumens are more important to me than High CRI.
The second sentence for both options don't really make much sense unless you include more options for this poll, like UI, color temperature etc... because I don't think it's about high lumens vs high CRI.
But if it's really about lumens vs CRI, maybe the title should change?
Ok, but trying to separate color rendering from the entire package of Light…I mean that’s what rayfish was attempting to do (poorly and with apparent bias). It’s mostly people new to emitter tech/our hobby that might over-focus on just one aspect like CRI and they’ll inevitably discover that narrowing purchases based upon that will lead to disappointments at times.
Given the new poll options, I vote that high cri is not a priority. As mentioned earlier, I consider literally every facet of a light (form factor, ui, driver, beam profile, cct, duv, tint deviation within beam) before I consider the cri.
It just so happens that quite a few of my smaller more edc-able lights have high CRI.
And I see the wording on the poll changed yet again, now asking if CRI is “highest priority”.
After some thought, I changed my vote in the poll from “YES”, to “NO”.
This is because, while CRI is high priority, for me it is NOT the “highest” priority. That would be color temperature. Followed by lumens and intensity.
90 CRI at 6500K? …. NO THANKS!
90 CRI at 2700K? …. NO THANKS!
90 CRI but only 200 lumens and 500 lux on target when I want 1300 or more with 10k lux? …. NO THANKS!
Incidentally, the wording in this poll has changed so many times I doubt any results can be trusted.
Most people who voted probably did so to one of the prior wordings rather than the current one. It’s not really possible to tell what people actually voted on.
It sounds like you are saying that if I had a choice of 2 lights, both of which were completely identical in beam profile, output, tint, size, runtime … and all other factors EXCEPT one was low-CRI and the other was high-CRI, which one would I choose?
That’s a very loaded question. With no tradeoff, of course everyone would choose the high-CRI option. You’re not sacrificing anything so why not? Even those who don’t care much for high-CRI would still choose the high-CRI option in answer to that question. The answer is a bit meaningless.
In reality, the question buyers ask is much more complex. There is almost always a tradeoff to picking the high-CRI option. Usually in the form of lower output or intensity, worse tint, a different color temperature, or reduced runtime.
High cri on my edcs is not the highest priority. I prefer high cri, but I need some other things more. I need a pleasant beam, which usually means duv equal to or below 0. It also means the color temperature has to suit my preferences. I generally like 4000K to 5000K. But it also has to be something that clips in my pocket well and won’t activate accidentally. So I’m willing to settle on CRI.
I will say, when the warranty on my house’s bulbs runs out, I’ll be switching to something 90+ CRI.
Especially in EDC use, not the hit in lumens hurt, but the lesser runtime imo. Thought about this after you edited the poll to restrict it to EDCs, and found out I made a good compromise with my CRI80 Olight i3E ;).
I would definitely sacrifice 25% lumens in order to get high CRI.
However, if I had to sacrifice 50% lumens, I would have to think about it. I would probably prefer an 80 CRI LED at 3,000 lumens over a 90 CRI LED with low R9 at 1,500 lumens. Everything else being equal.
I hope you are well 
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