Olight Ti S Mini Rainbow PVD, w Neutral White LED

jon_slider · 2018-09-09T19:04:15.000Z

Well, Ive been curious about the NW LED in the Ti S Mini for some time. I finally bought one in Rainbow PVD, as a gift to one of my daughters. But first I had to do a few comparisons.

Left to right, N219b 4500k 9080, Neutral White Ti S Mini, Cool White Rose Gold S Mini, Cool White Olight S1 Mini

after all the great things Ive read about the NW Ti S Minis, I honestly do not “get” it. The beam is a greenish yellow. I am not impressed. I do like the rainbow PVD a lot, however, it scratched easily when removing the clip. Plus the button on this particular light is very difficult to actuate.

I did some weight comparisons as well
the copper Tool w Eneloop AAA weighs 47 grams.
The Ti S Mini w a 16340 weighs 51 grams, which is about 1/3 more than the
Si Mini w 16340, that weighs just 38 grams.
the Rose Gold over Copper S Mini is 70 grams w 16340.

My “favorite” Olight, for tint, is the CW S1 Mini. It is not green like the Rose Gold S Mini.

each light has its own outer beauty, otoh, Im a total snob, and lights with Low CRI seldom stay in my pocket for long

I cant say Im very impressed with the Olight TIR, it has a series of about four of pointed artifacts around the broad hotspot. The central beam is pretty even, except on my S1 Mini, which sadly has a star artifact in the center of the beam.

I hope the next generation of Olight 16340 lights improves in CRI. I have the S1 Mini High CRI, but the XP-G3 has terrible green corona around the hotspot, I cannot recommend it.

my Family of Olights

S1 Mini High CRI on the left, then the yellow/green tinted Ti S Mini, the green tinted S Mini, and the relatively white S1 Mini CW. However, the photo sees the Red content of the High CRI, but my eyes see a lot of green that does not show in the pic:

in an effort to put the tint of the High CRI S1 Mini in perspective, here it is between the 219b 4500k and the Cool White S1 Mini

There is green and greener, S1 Mini High CRI on right

Ti S Mini NW in middle, yikes!

Ive read posts where people Rave about the NW Ti S Mini LED… clearly we dance to the beat of a different Tinter

ps, forgive the bites my cat took out of the “white wall”, I need to reach for a new piece of copier paper soon

…

As a backup battery carrier, and as a lightweight Low CRI EDC, I would recommend the S1 Mini CW the most. S1 Mini have an extra mode from the S Mini, and the tint of the Cool White S1 Mini is more even across the beam, and looks whiter, than the tint of the High CRI S1 Mini. The S1 Mini also have a red LED in the switch, to warn when its time to recharge a LiIon. The S Mini have no low battery indicator.

I found the claimed lumen specs for each of the Olights to be very accurate, and the range of modes very useful. I appreciate the Moonlight level, the impressive Turbo modes, and I find the Low and Medium to be well spaced at useful levels. The Olight UI is also very easy to teach to a newbie. Overall Im a fan of the Olights, I just wish they were Nichia compatible…

I like small and light weight, yet still powerful lights. imo these Olights can hold their own against an HDS Clicky in standard configuration. But some of the recent HDS have exceptional Nichias, that the Olights simply cannot touch.

The S1 Minis have magnets in the tailcap, not something I care for. None of the S Mini nor S1 Mini have any way to connect a keyring, I wish the tailcap had place for that. Maybe in the next generation. I do like that the Olight clips work on a hat, that can be very convenient, though I usually remove clips, to enjoy the smaller form factor without it.

MascaratumB · 2018-09-09T19:13:27.000Z

jon_slider:

My “favorite” Olight, for tint, is the CW S1 Mini. It is not green like the Rose Gold S Mini.

Thanks for your comparison and demonstration of all these lights, in different colours and materials!
When I saw the image, my toughts were like yours! Despite it is a CW tint, the S1 Mini seems to be the most consistent, at least in this comparison!

The externals are very nice looking, though! :+1:

I hope your daughter is not a tint snob, otherwise she’ll not be happy with the look of that beam Ehehe!

jon_slider · 2018-09-09T21:33:37.000Z

MascaratumB:

I hope your daughter is not a tint snob, otherwise she’ll not be happy with the look of that beam Ehehe!

yes, I actually feel a little bad giving her a Low CRI Light… I have a fantasy of sacrificing the High CRI S1 Mini, to harvest the TIR, as it is the only Nichia compatible optic in the line up. Then install an N219b 4500k 9080 in the Ti S Mini.

One thing I dislike about the High CRI S1 Mini TIR is that it is frosted… did I mention Im very picky? LOL

btw, the CW S1 Mini has the largest diameter beam, I like that, as I favor wide beams for my personal use style, which tends to be close range and mostly indoors. The TIR in the Olights works great outdoors too, on the higher levels these little lights are quite impressive.

The Olight UI has several features I like, for example, the double click to Turbo is very useful at times, and the triple click to strobe is convenient for street crossing in my urban environment. I also like the shortcut to moonlight, and sometimes I even use the timer function at bedtime, just for fun

MascaratumB · 2018-09-09T22:02:37.000Z

jon_slider:

MascaratumB:

I hope your daughter is not a tint snob, otherwise she’ll not be happy with the look of that beam Ehehe!

yes, I actually feel a little bad giving her a Low CRI Light… I have a fantasy of sacrificing the High CRI S1 Mini, to harvest the TIR, as it is the only Nichia compatible optic in the line up. Then install an N219b 4500k 9080 in the Ti S Mini.

Eheh, with so many High CRI lights in your collection I understand the pain of giving her that light, but let her refine her taste and later you can give her a better one! Or eventually do that mod
I guess I wont risk opening my S1R or the M1T, although they would be better with a warmed LED.

jon_slider:

One thing I dislike about the High CRI S1 Mini TIR is that it is frosted… did I mention Im very picky? LOL

Hum, putting some DC-Fix over the optic won’t help to make that effect? I never tried on mine, I may have to check it out!! :nerd_face:

jon_slider:

btw, the CW S1 Mini has the largest diameter beam, I like that, as I favor wide beams for my personal use style, which tends to be close range and mostly indoors. The TIR in the Olights works great outdoors too, on the higher levels these little lights are quite impressive.

The Olight UI has several features I like, for example, the double click to Turbo is very useful at times, and the triple click to strobe is convenient for street crossing in my urban environment. I also like the shortcut to moonlight, and sometimes I even use the timer function at bedtime, just for fun

Hum, I guess the timer option was the one I never used! The other things on the UI, oh yeah, I love that! Direct access to any of the types if modes is actually awesome.
I wish the tints were a bit different, though, they would be more pleasant to the eye! Still, these are great flashlights, & I sure you won’t regret gifting it

jon_slider · 2018-09-11T02:31:02.000Z

Found a coin purse to hold a spare battery and charge cable, ready to gift to a daughter that likes rainbows and unicorns, or to a Dad that just needs an excuse to buy stuff.

travis · 2018-09-11T16:54:48.000Z

That neutral is much too “warmish” for my tastes…

TheShadowGuy · 2018-09-11T17:51:06.000Z

I have an Olight S1 mini rainbow Ti as well. The tint is ugly but I love it anyway for the UI and appearance.

I had one of the original S1 (from the first run, IIRC) which was a bit bluish but didn’t have beam artifacts.

Geuzzz · 2018-09-11T17:57:19.000Z

Unbearable tint indeed.

jon_slider · 2018-09-11T18:00:08.000Z

I also really like the rainbow PVD, and the Olight UI. The tint I dont care for at all, but my real issue is the Low CRI. Im hoping Olight will suprise us with a High CRI 16340 light, using the Luminus SST-40 LED. djozz has some outstanding info about it, and Im a huge fan of the warm orange tint.

Test of a Luminus SST-20-W 3000K 95CRI led Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts

[image] I have built a Convoy S9 shorty with this led. Current 160mA/880mA/1.85A, output on high 350 lumen. That makes the efficiency of this flashlight on highest setting about 50 lm/W which is not bad for a light this warm and high CRI. Important for the performance of this high CRI SST-20 is how the beam looks like and how the tint/CRI is affected by the (OP-)reflector and lens (the lens of the S9 does not seem to be AR coated, which is nice for very high CRI builds) The beam is a beauty, …

djozz:

The beam is a beauty, I say 219B-quality:

The light quality in the hotspot:

The light quality halfway the spill:

So compared to the bare led, in such a build you loose a small bit of CRI and the rosiness is a bit less, in fact the hotspot ended up almost on top of the Black Body Line. If you really want to retain the rosiness of the bare led you need to use this led in an aspheric lens flashlight.

mortuus · 2018-09-20T07:45:23.000Z

I like the tint of the rainbow, dont see why its a big deal, sure its not the best cri but it works…

would be a dream if they did a small baton with a warm white tint.

jon_slider · 2018-09-20T15:49:38.000Z

mortuus:

I like the tint of the rainbow, dont see why its a big deal

many people feel the way you do, they think the NW Ti S Mini Tint is great!
Im hard to please, the Ti S Mini has to compete with my Nichias:

Im so disappointed with the Low CRI Ti S Mini, that Im offering it for sale at a loss, $40 shipped conus, to the first person to PM me they want it. I will also ship to Europe, Scandinavia, or Great Brittain, if you pay the shipping, which is about $14.

mortuus · 2018-09-20T16:33:51.000Z

wow okay, ja for that price im sure u will sell that one fast, good deal for someone!