Tint vs CRI

LED Flashlights – General Info
1

Lets talk about how important tint vs CRI is to you. While I’m very familiar with the conceptual differences, over the past couple of years I have kind of lumped my tastes together into a warm/neutral high CRI category. Generally I’ve gravitated towards 4000k high CRI, especially the sst-20. It just seems like the best balance to my eyes. Of course, I’ve been happy with various lights are warm as my 3000k M361/219 and as cool as my 5000k 319a quark. MY eyes generally don’t see much difference between a mid-80’s CRI and mid-90’s.

Today I noticed something funny. I just received two new lights but in the neutral-cool white tint and low CRI (70+). One with a Cree XPG (2?) and one with a SST-40. Both lights are around 5000-5500k. The funny thing is they look great. Not just good but GREAT. Colors are every so slightly less pronounced but seem to be pretty well reproduced within the spectrum and certainly seem distinct (ie: its easy to tell different colors apart and generally what the actual color is) throughout the spectrum. The “wash out” I usually find so unattractive with low cri high cct emitters is basically not present. Even the 5700k 219c is too washed out for my eyes normally. Now I’ll have to play with these lights after dark where the cooler tint wil be much more pronounced than during the day (even in a dark basement or room during the day) but what is going in here? Did I just stumble into two rather good samples or is there more to this than just CRI and temp?

The XPG light I purchased planning to swap to an SST-20 and the SST-40 light I got to try a different emitter. Now I am not sure its worth messing around with the xpg > sst-20 swap…

2

Did you use them in the dark outside already?

3

I think its because you eyes were adapted to the same color temperature so the light seemed more natural than having to adjust to a different tint.

4

I agree completely

I also have xpg led that look good during the day

even old school CW can look good during the day,

perceived Tint, when the brain is daylight adapted, will be different, when the brain is adapted to incandescent

Apparent color temperature also changes when environmental lighting, and resultant brain white balance, change. A light that looks white during the day, will likely look blue at night. etc

5

I gotta say, they still look pretty good at night. The XPG is definitely losing the competition but that SST-40 really has tint nailed. Just a hint of rosiness but not enough to make it look goofy. Even better than my 2nd run M91BN :open_mouth:

Is this typical for SST-40? I’d love to want a high CRI, but this thing is just….Good.