Cree XP-G 3000k 90+ CRI vs Nichia 219 4500k 92 CRI: which one do you prefer and why?

[phips]

Concerning your measurements: do you think the Nichia could perform better when driven within its specifications?
(Nichia rates it up to 1.5A constant and 2A pulsed.)

To answer my own question:
Looking at the spec sheet, there is forward current vs luminous flux graph.
Between 1.5A and 2A there is no drop or anything, so I assume the efficiency measured by Lux-RC is also accurate for lower currents.

Nonetheless I ordered a custom headlamp (my first... dorkiness here I come) with the Nichia emitter

 

[Sparky's Magic]

My triple from Wright Bros. (Matteus) is a superb 3x219 Nichia. Driven at 4.5A it has great flood, color rendition and the tint is gorgeous - So good, in fact, that my search for the best tint (for me) is over! :twothumbs

 

[tobrien]

sorry to bump this thread, but i found it incredibly informative and helpful. thanks guys!

 

[Anders Hoveland]

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but I had to brag.

I am rather partial to my Oslon SSL 4000K emitters. 90 CRI minimum, 96 CRI typical.
That is really cutting edge, there's not many other LED emitters with a CRI that high. But I didn't just get these for the color rendering. It has a better ratio of longer azure blue wavelengths to shorter blue wavelengths than some of the other emitters that have similarly high CRI ratings. Ah, that elusive 485-490nm part of the spectrum, so beautiful. Ever seen a 488nm DPSS laser beam?

I was going to get it in 4500K, but I plan to use these emitters for something special, they are not going to be standing alone, so I did not want that blue spike in the spectrum to be too big. I also got a really good price on the 4000K.

These emitters put the Nichia 219 and Nichia 083 to shame. Okay, maybe not quite to shame, but the spectral graph does look like a modest improvement, comparing the two.


I do also have a few Yuji violet-emitter ≥97 CRI LEDs (amazing quality of light, doesn't seem like "LED" light at all) but unfortunately I have a condition that makes me sensitive to violet wavelengths (skin feels sore and aching eyes), and I intend to use these for room lighting, so the violet-emitter approach was not really compatible with me.

 

[archimedes]

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but I had to brag.

I am rather partial to my Oslon SSL 4000K emitters. 90 CRI minimum, 96 CRI typical.
That is really cutting edge, there's not many other LED emitters with a CRI that high....

I was going to get it in 4500K, but I plan to use these emitters for something special, they are not going to be standing alone, so I did not want that blue spike in the spectrum to be too big. I also got a really good price on the 4000K.

These emitters put the Nichia 219 and Nichia 083 to shame. Okay, maybe not quite to shame, but the spectral graph does look like a modest improvement, comparing the two....

I don't know how many flashlights are currently using Osram emitters, but I have one with an Oslon SSL150 (3500K) and agree that these are special ...

 

[tobrien]

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but I had to brag.

I am rather partial to my Oslon SSL 4000K emitters. 90 CRI minimum, 96 CRI typical.
That is really cutting edge, there's not many other LED emitters with a CRI that high. But I didn't just get these for the color rendering. It has a better ratio of longer azure blue wavelengths to shorter blue wavelengths than some of the other emitters that have similarly high CRI ratings. Ah, that elusive 485-490nm part of the spectrum, so beautiful. Ever seen a 488nm DPSS laser beam?

I was going to get it in 4500K, but I plan to use these emitters for something special, they are not going to be standing alone, so I did not want that blue spike in the spectrum to be too big. I also got a really good price on the 4000K.

These emitters put the Nichia 219 and Nichia 083 to shame. Okay, maybe not quite to shame, but the spectral graph does look like a modest improvement, comparing the two.


I do also have a few Yuji violet-emitter ≥97 CRI LEDs (amazing quality of light, doesn't seem like "LED" light at all) but unfortunately I have a condition that makes me sensitive to violet wavelengths (skin feels sore and aching eyes), and I intend to use these for room lighting, so the violet-emitter approach was not really compatible with me.

that is awesome! I've never heard of Yuji but dang

 

[Anders Hoveland]

The Oslon SSL150 family also has very high efficiency for a high CRI LED, 87 lumens per Watt at 3000K, 97-121 lumens per watt for the 4000K.
They were really focusing on trying to achieve both high CRI and high efficiency here. Comparing the spectrum to some other really high CRI LEDs, it looks like the Oslon SSL150 sacrificed just a little of the deep red wavelengths. That probably is one of the reasons for the higher efficiency. The red phosphor they are using seems to be centered on around 630nm. What is amazing is that it is still able to achieve 96 CRI without quite as much of the deep red as some of the other really high CRI LEDs have.

 

[recDNA]

The Oslon SSL150 family also has very high efficiency for a high CRI LED, 87 lumens per Watt at 3000K, 97-121 lumens per watt for the 4000K.
They were really focusing on trying to achieve both high CRI and high efficiency here. Comparing the spectrum to some other really high CRI LEDs, it looks like the Oslon SSL150 sacrificed just a little of the deep red wavelengths. That probably is one of the reasons for the higher efficiency. The red phosphor they are using seems to be centered on around 630nm. What is amazing is that it is still able to achieve 96 CRI without quite as much of the deep red as some of the other really high CRI LEDs have.

Are any of the Oslons used in flashlights?

 

[archimedes]

Are any of the Oslons used in flashlights?

I don't know how many flashlights are currently using Osram emitters, but I have one with an Oslon SSL150 (3500K) and agree that these are special ...

Mine is in a custom Spyglass ....

 

[tobrien]

question: is Oslan related to Osram?

 

[recDNA]

Osram makes it

 

[AndyF]

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but I had to brag.

I am rather partial to my Oslon SSL 4000K emitters. 90 CRI minimum, 96 CRI typical.
That is really cutting edge, there's not many other LED emitters with a CRI that high. But I didn't just get these for the color rendering. It has a better ratio of longer azure blue wavelengths to shorter blue wavelengths than some of the other emitters that have similarly high CRI ratings. Ah, that elusive 485-490nm part of the spectrum, so beautiful. Ever seen a 488nm DPSS laser beam?

I was going to get it in 4500K, but I plan to use these emitters for something special, they are not going to be standing alone, so I did not want that blue spike in the spectrum to be too big. I also got a really good price on the 4000K.

These emitters put the Nichia 219 and Nichia 083 to shame. Okay, maybe not quite to shame, but the spectral graph does look like a modest improvement, comparing the two.


I do also have a few Yuji violet-emitter ≥97 CRI LEDs (amazing quality of light, doesn't seem like "LED" light at all) but unfortunately I have a condition that makes me sensitive to violet wavelengths (skin feels sore and aching eyes), and I intend to use these for room lighting, so the violet-emitter approach was not really compatible with me.

I agree with you, I really like this emitter!.

I have a DatiLED module in my Aleph mule and a triple P60 drop-in in a Malkoff MD2 host.


Sent from my iPhone using Candlepowerforums

 

[tobrien]

Osram makes it

ohh okay. thank you!

 

[si638]

There is new LED bulbs made in Glass, not plastic, looks exactly lime incandescence.

 

[Anders Hoveland]

Yes, the Oslon SSL150 4000K high CRI has an excellent color tint, and fairly excellent quality of light. Everything is a colorful, plenty enough for displaying artwork, but I did notice the colors seemed just a tiny bit less saturated (greyish) than some other high CRI LEDs. I was thinking maybe they did not get the phosphors exactly right, but interestingly I noticed the same type of thing when I went back into my room lit by an incandescent bulb. I think the greater presence of cyan wavelengths is responsible, since it has overlap with all 3 human color receptors to some extent (that is the reason why cyan appears a little whitish). I also noticed the same type of phenomena experimenting with combining different color LEDs to make white light, when I added a 495nm cyan emitter. Again, the color rendering of the Oslon definitely could not be described as "greyish", this is just a sign that it more closely imitates "natural light", and this effect is very subtle.

As for how the light "feels", it feels somewhere between a regular high CRI (94-95) LED and natural sunlight. The light seems about 40 percent "softer" than a regular 80CRI LED at 4000K. I mean sometimes when things are illuminated under white LED light everything appears a little "glittering" and hard to focus, you can get "LED eye" (at least some people experience this).

The red color rendering is perfectly fine, but if you pay very close attention you can see that some red pigments are not quite as saturated deep red as they are under natural light. Again, very subtle.
I'm sure they could have achieved 97 CRI typical rating with this LED if they had chosen to sacrifice some efficiency using a slightly deeper red phosphor.

I am not sure, but the color temperature seemed like it might have been just slightly more than 4000K, but maybe this was just because I was in a darkened room and using only one emitter (the Kruithof Curve effect).

The Oslon emitter does have a smaller footprint than Cree. Soldering the emitter to the heat pad is challenging, and I ruined several heat pads and a few emitters that got too much solder on them. It takes some practice.

 

[recDNA]

Is the old xpg 3000k "hi cri" led really 90+ cri? Since finding that most 219b are really sub 90 cri I am suspicious of all claims until measured by someone here I trust.

 

[Littlelantern]

I rely on my trusted spark sd6 headlamp modded with xml -2 3000k warm white,it does a perfect job for my barbecuing job and the xml 3000k shows clearly the true color of the burning charcoal .

 

[recDNA]

That's hot!

 

[Anders Hoveland]

Is the old xpg 3000k "hi cri" led really 90+ cri? Since finding that most 219b are really sub 90 cri I am suspicious of all claims until measured by someone here I trust.

You may have a point there. "95 CRI typical" often means it is more like 94, in actuality.
It can be difficult to pin down the CRI of a light source to a precise value. That is why the more reputable manufacturers state "90CRI minimum, 95CRI typical".
They know roughly what the CRI is, within a certain range, but it can be difficult to be sure exactly. Theoretically the CRI could be even more than the "typical" value, though that is probably unlikely. The manufacturer would likely err on the side of the higher value.

However, the stated CRI values are still useful, for comparing LEDs from different manufacturers against each other. If you have seen an LED rated "95CRI" and you are thinking about getting another LED with the same rating, at least you know what you are going to get.
I actually checked the spectral graphs in the datasheets of different high (>94) CRI rated LEDs, and the graph for the Oslon SSL150 appeared to compare favorably.

Another thing to consider is that CRI only tries to quantify color rendering. Even if the color rendering index was perfect, it still would not really tell you exactly how close the spectrum was to natural light. 95 CRI does not mean the light source is 95% like natural light.


Another thing I wanted to mention, although the regular color rendering index does not really take into account red saturation as much it is probably should, using a red phosphor that is not really as deep red as it should be can still throw off the CRI somewhat, because then a larger proportion of orange wavelengths are added than would be found in an ideal black-body curve. Then to compensate for this, because it would throw off the color tint, there has to be a slightly lower ratio of yellow wavelengths. So using a less-than-ideal red phosphor can lead to throwing off the color rendering in the middle of the spectrum to some degree. This is not a huge effect, but it does start to become a factor when dealing with very high (95+) CRI spectrums.

 

[recDNA]

Anybody measure the cri of the supposedly 90+ xpg 3000k? No offense but I don't care about the oslon since none of the flashlights I would consider offer it. I never even heard of a modder offering it. No threads here on triple oslon mods. LOL