What! CREE LEDs with inconsistent tint? Say it ain’t so. 
Frankly, they are like snowflakes… no two are alike.
I would also describe the 3C like that, But always when comparing two tints at the same time it's easier to spot the differences. When I find myself in the woods using the 3C it does a very good job, not really illuminating any red or white objects in the woods.
A lot of the tint variation people describe can be due to how hard the LED is being driven.
Actually I can see how the same LED "changes" tint due to the reflector type.
I have 3 nichias and put side by side one is more green one is more red and the other is more tan/kahki..When comparing them to other lights they always look much better But i wanted to say that even within the finer hues of a tint they all have their own character and aren't the "perfect emitter "
The 4C is IMHO the best nw cree out there and I really have very little love for the xml It has dounut holes ,halos with varying colors.. the bins seem very varied and in general i think they are crappy emmiters .It's not that I love throw and hate flood ..i just think the xpg2 is much much better overall .
I think 3c xmls are universally the worst stinking tint ever made horribly green and pushed down the throats of Neutral white lovers like brussel sprouts ..I'm mad as hell and I ain't taking it any more
No more brussel sprouts !!!
Lol that’s the spirit!
Cool white seems lot brighter, but neutral just appears more like natural light. IE, sunshine I guess.
Imagine the 3C bin was bisected into upper and lower regions; the lower half (being a tad north of the black body locus at 700mA) could be dead-on at full drive—quite desirable!
Truth. Too bad. I like the idea behind how the new Luxeons are binned. Maybe Cree should ketchup in that regard? Or, alternatively, at least offer an EasyWhite option for all their popular emitters? As a flashlight enthusiast I demand justice
+1, especially with XM-L. Deeper reflectors usually fare better with N/WW XM-L as far as mitigating a nasty yellow hotspot when reflector diameter is large.
I’m inclined to agree. I’m lucky to have one 3C that only appears green when compared to incandescents and Nichias. The rest have been too yellow or green. Why the abundance of 3C and not tints from 3A or 3D parallelograms, which at least contain the black body locus?
In most applications I am a CW fan. I only have one NW light which I ordered by mistake but have fallen in love with since. It is an XP-G2 3D 5000k. I have to admit that when I shine this light on flowers or dead leaves it makes them look much more alive and natural. I have some XML dedomed lights that have a warm yellowish tint which I do not like at all. In my eyes the color rendering of these is worse than the CW by far. I would like to order a Nichia light just to compare to my XP-G2 3D. They both appear to have a slightly Rosey tint.
My XML2 T6 3C’s from Mouser have a tan tint. I really like them, but I want to experience the Nichia 219 B10’s.
The MT-G2 have some minimum 90 CRI bins but the tints are 2700 and 3000.
i have to agree on the xp-g2 3d tint, it really is very pleasant in use, its also a killer thrower J) just with a nice usable tint as well.
Going off topic, I see me building more xp-g2 lights than xm-l2 lights, you get impressive throw, usefull spill, nicer tints imo and the lumens are comparable to your average xm-l budget light. You also dont need to drive them as hard, which gives everything else an easier life - springs, switches, heat in host, cells. I only see xm-ls as useful in flooders now.
I agree .. the xpg2 3d isn't too bad
I have a few xpg 3d's too
In order I'd say ...nichia / 4c /5b / 4b /5c/ 3d/7c ..there are some nice cw emitters too but usually older stuff that I have no idea what bins they are xre xpe xpg etc....
I have always picked pink or red over green