High CRI Nichia 119 Haiku is ASTONISHINGLY GOOD!!

[fyrstormer]

Hmm. Mostly I'm curious to see how the Hi-CRI emitter stacks up next to the warm and cool XP-Gs. I know it'll be dimmer, but I want to see what the difference actually is.

 

[pjandyho]

I think the high CRI head will be the next thing I am gonna get. I will just swap between the XM-L head and the high CRI head.

 

[PoliceScannerMan]

Just ordered a complete CRI mule (with new style clip), and a CRI haiku head. Damn you Dan!! (And Scout)

 

[pjandyho]

Just ordered a complete CRI mule (with new style clip), and a CRI haiku head. Damn you Dan!! (And Scout)

You won't regret getting the high CRI Mule. I just received mine a couple hours ago and it truly is awesome. Love the tint and the super smooth beam. It is surprisingly small too. When I look at photos here of the Mule, it never occurred to me that it would be small until I received it. Beautiful light.

 

[run4jc]

Just ordered a complete CRI mule (with new style clip), and a CRI haiku head. Damn you Dan!! (And Scout)

:goodjob:

When you get the Haiku, give it a day - or two. Like Scout said, when you first receive it you might think, "huh?" Then you use it, and use it, and use it...and next thing you know, it's about the only thing you EDC. Mine is with me 90% of the time. I carry a 6V Makai XML and sometimes a 6V Haiku XML for the early dog walks, but the rest of the time it's that high CRI Haiku. 90 lumen is plenty, and the tint is spot on, or should I say "lack of tint...." :thumbsup: And as pjandyho said, the mule is awesome, too. Best photography light I've ever owned. Congrats!!

fyrstormer, I haven't forgotten your photos - been kinda busy - hopefully this afternoon!

 

[pjandyho]

And as pjandyho said, the mule is awesome, too. Best photography light I've ever owned. Congrats!!

I suspect this Mule is going to see a lot of action with me.

 

[nbp]

Aren't the Mules fun?! They are unlike any other light I've ever had, but oh so useful. I've got two and probably could be talked into another. :naughty:

 

[pjandyho]

Aren't the Mules fun?! They are unlike any other light I've ever had, but oh so useful. I've got two and probably could be talked into another. :naughty:

Sure they are but due to their limitation since the Mules are very dedicated lights, I have yet to find out what else I could do with it other than photography and use around the house. I hope I will see more usage for it, and I would be sure to post my experience in the "What did you use your McGizmo for today?" thread when that happens.

 

[fyrstormer]

When you get the Haiku, give it a day - or two. Like Scout said, when you first receive it you might think, "huh?" Then you use it, and use it, and use it...and next thing you know, it's about the only thing you EDC. Mine is with me 90% of the time. I carry a 6V Makai XML and sometimes a 6V Haiku XML for the early dog walks, but the rest of the time it's that high CRI Haiku.

It's funny like that, isn't it? There's a quotable quote I heard somewhere, that "technology is something that doesn't work properly yet," and the case-in-point was a comparison between computers and chairs -- nobody considers chairs technology anymore, because they've been around so long and the requirements for any chair to work properly are understood by everyone. Gizmos aren't quite that good, but they do a great job of conveying a sense of durability and reliability -- and then backing it up that sense with their real-world performance.

[/quote]90 lumen is plenty, and the tint is spot on, or should I say "lack of tint...." :thumbsup: And as pjandyho said, the mule is awesome, too. Best photography light I've ever owned. Congrats!![/quote]My main interest in the Hi-CRI Haiku is that lack of tint you mention. I have a homemade Hi-CRI Haiku, and it has a wonderful warm tint that still renders greens and blues surprisingly well, but for a photography light the emitters Don chooses for his Hi-CRI offerings are the best.

Maybe I should figure out a way to have you compare Don's Hi-CRI Haiku to the one I made, to see how the tint and brightness compare. If nothing else, my version uses a "normal" 667mA driver instead of the lower-power 500mA driver Don's version uses. :devil:

fyrstormer, I haven't forgotten your photos - been kinda busy - hopefully this afternoon!

No rush. Thanks for being willing to humor me in the first place.

 

[fyrstormer]

Sure they are but due to their limitation since the Mules are very dedicated lights, I have yet to find out what else I could do with it other than photography and use around the house. I hope I will see more usage for it, and I would be sure to post my experience in the "What did you use your McGizmo for today?" thread when that happens.

I suspect the 6V Mule XM-L would be more useful as a general-purpose light, but the 6V Haiku XM-L has a small enough reflector that it produces a very floody beam as well. I'm not sure which setup I would prefer as a high-performance floodlight. I suspect the 6V Haiku XM-L might win that competition by a slight margin.

 

[pjandyho]

I suspect the 6V Mule XM-L would be more useful as a general-purpose light, but the 6V Haiku XM-L has a small enough reflector that it produces a very floody beam as well. I'm not sure which setup I would prefer as a high-performance floodlight. I suspect the 6V Haiku XM-L might win that competition by a slight margin.

I believe this to be so. Anyway I still love the 3S Mule High CRI. It does project a very nice tint and that is enough for me. I could see myself using this more and more often doing close up photography in my trekking and camping trips. The super smooth flood light is just awesome for photography.

 

[run4jc]

I suspect the 6V Mule XM-L would be more useful as a general-purpose light, but the 6V Haiku XM-L has a small enough reflector that it produces a very floody beam as well. I'm not sure which setup I would prefer as a high-performance floodlight. I suspect the 6V Haiku XM-L might win that competition by a slight margin.

I agree. Having the luxury of owning a Haiku XML and 6V High CRI mule doesn't really qualify me to comment on the XML mule, but for my uses the XML Haiku is an amazing floodlight, with just enough focus on the beam to give it a very minor hot spot and a small amount of throw. My mule pretty well limits use to things 5 or 6 feet away......

 

[nbp]

I've got a 3V Mule XM-L if I can lend any thoughts. It puts out some light let me tell ya. A 6V would be a monster.

 

[nbp]

Andy, I would be curious if you put the XM-L LE in the Mule what you think of it. The tint will be cool obviously, but you're looking at twice the output I think. From a pure 'lighting stuff up' perspective it is superior. Big die, lots of lumens. But you lose the nice color rendering and tint. Might be a fun experiment, just to try it. With the floody beam, I find more lumens to be better. Even my neutral XP-G Mule has a LE build by maxpeeds, and I think the high is driven at 750 mA or so, so it should be equivalent to the high on my Haiku, 180ish lumens. I find it lights up an area pretty well. It did a really nice job illuminating my campsite back a month or so ago. That Mule and the T1A were the only lights I used over that weekend.

 

[pjandyho]

I don't think I want to risk taking out the XM-L driver since Don is offering me an exchange for a high CRI one and I wouldn't want to damage it. In fact, by the time you are reading this, it should have been with the post office waiting to be sent to Don.

 

[nbp]

They just screw in and out, no problem. It's not too big of a deal, especially when going to the Mule, everything's safe in there. It's just certain LEs with certain reflectors can crash into each other I think. Oh well. The other thing you could do would be to put the Nichia LE from the Mule in the Haiku to get a feel for it. It's not the proper reflector of course, but it might give you an idea what it's like.

 

[pjandyho]

They just screw in and out, no problem. It's not too big of a deal, especially when going to the Mule, everything's safe in there. It's just certain LEs with certain reflectors can crash into each other I think. Oh well. The other thing you could do would be to put the Nichia LE from the Mule in the Haiku to get a feel for it. It's not the proper reflector of course, but it might give you an idea what it's like.

I realized I scuffed the XM-L head a bit, probably from my 5.11 tactical pants or something. I don't think it would be fair to send a scuffed head back to Don when he is trying to help me out, so I have decided to keep the XM-L head and buy the high CRI head from Don. I too think it is better this way so at least I could swap the head around for different usage. Since I am keeping the XM-L head now, I will try swapping out the XM-L into the Mule tonight. God, I feel so awefully poor all of a sudden.

 

[fyrstormer]

Without seeing a picture of the scuffed head, all I can say is unless you dropped it on something made of rocks, it's almost certain the scuffs could be polished out with Dremel red polish and a paper towel. That's how I refinish my titanium lights after months of EDC usage.

However, I'm sure you will find ways to use both the XM-L and the Hi-CRI versions -- and if you decide you don't want one, the Custom B/S/T forum is a very effective place to sell the one(s) you don't want to keep.

 

[PoliceScannerMan]

:goodjob:

When you get the Haiku, give it a day - or two. Like Scout said, when you first receive it you might think, "huh?"

I dont know man.....

I love it, and the mule right outta the box!!

More later:

 

[PoliceScannerMan]

Here's a quick cell shot against white blinds to show how much warmer the Nichia 119 Eiger is compared to the cri haiku.

McGizmo on bottom.