**NEW** Nitecore EA8

[weklund]

Received my EA8 .... "Green" tint .... I don't get it. What is up with Nitecore QC on these lights?

This photo is of the beam tint on level 2 @ 2 feet on white wall.

​

 

[AnAppleSnail]

Guys, tint comes from Cree, not Nitecore. Tint shifts at lower drive levels, as well. And it will always look funny if you pick the wrong CCT on your camera.

 

[thedoc007]

Re: Prefer the EA4W

I took my dog and my EA4W and EA8 out for a walk tonight. If I needed to see things 500 yards away, then the EA8 would be great. The beam on the EA8 is quite hot in the center and provides less usable spill than the EA4.

I do not share the common obsession with "long throw" lights. I wish there were some modern (CREE XM-L U2) lights out there with Orange Peel, lots of spill, and lots of battery life.

I will be returning the EA8.

I can't understand why you are surprised by this...the EA8 is obviously geared more toward throw. If you didn't bother to pay attention to the reviews or even just the specs (60000 candela is a dead giveaway!), I think that is on you.

 

[weklund]

Guys, tint comes from Cree, not Nitecore. Tint shifts at lower drive levels, as well. And it will always look funny if you pick the wrong CCT on your camera.

I own a EA4 CW for comparison. I am a proficient photographer and the color rendition in attached photo is accurate. EA4 holds true to CW "white" tint at all output levels. My EA8 is greenish ... no doubt about it. It is tolerable at high but who runs there lights constantly on high or turbo. The tints in all Nitecore literature for the EA8 are all pure white which I find misleading. I do not blame Cree ... I blame Nitecore quality control. If I purchase a CW light, I want the tint to be white at all levels.

Per Nitecore Brochure

Real Life ... My EA8 Level Two Setting ... 50 Lumens

​

 

[AnAppleSnail]

I own a EA4 CW for comparison. I am a proficient photographer and the color rendition in attached photo is accurate.


If I purchase a CW light, I want the tint to be white at all levels.

​

It just can't be. That is not how white LEDs perform when driven at constant current. This is one reason I prefer neutral-white LEDs, because the tint-shift seems more subtle to my eyes. I will briefly list the difficulties in claiming what 'white' is, or whether a photo accurately renders color. This is not meant to attack you, but to point out how difficult color comparison is, especially when computer screens are in the way. What gamma is your monitor set to? Mine? Are you on a CRT or an LED screen? LCD? What is your backlight type, and what compression was used to convert light into RGB? RGB into web RGB?

Further, what is 'white' tint? White is non-tinted light, by definition. However, the characteristics of 'white' itself change with brightness. And perception of white is another animal entirely. Other light sources, recent light sources, primary (This light) and secondary (All other light) source intensity also affect your perception of white. A constant-tint LED (PWM control) will appear to change tint as it decreases in output. A constant-current LED has a real tint shift as well.

Cree's tint bins are big enough to drive a truck through. I ordered and received four identical-bin, same-tint Cree cold-white XM-L LEDs. Driven in series (Identical-current) they have very different tints, especially below 100 mA. Not only do they start at a different tint, their tint shift was different. Maybe you got a lemon in one, but could easily have had it the other way around. I have a quite expensive light whose drive circuit is designed to minimize this shift. It uses some current control and high-rate PWM to reduce that effect, but it is still there.

What is the solution? You could try to ignore it. Your eyes adjust to almost any light source. You could buy neutral-white, reasonable-tint LEDs (5A, 5B, 3C, etc). You could wheedle a choice tint bin out of Nitecore. But with Cree's tint bins as they are, the really good ones are snapped up by fixed lighting, and the oddballs put in single-LED use. Like flashlights. The present market structure leads to this situation of notable tint and tint shift. Sorry about that.

 

[weklund]

It just can't be. That is not how white LEDs perform when driven at constant current. This is one reason I prefer neutral-white LEDs, because the tint-shift seems more subtle to my eyes. I will briefly list the difficulties in claiming what 'white' is, or whether a photo accurately renders color. This is not meant to attack you, but to point out how difficult color comparison is, especially when computer screens are in the way. What gamma is your monitor set to? Mine? Are you on a CRT or an LED screen? LCD? What is your backlight type, and what compression was used to convert light into RGB? RGB into web RGB?

Further, what is 'white' tint? White is non-tinted light, by definition. However, the characteristics of 'white' itself change with brightness. And perception of white is another animal entirely. Other light sources, recent light sources, primary (This light) and secondary (All other light) source intensity also affect your perception of white. A constant-tint LED (PWM control) will appear to change tint as it decreases in output. A constant-current LED has a real tint shift as well.

Cree's tint bins are big enough to drive a truck through. I ordered and received four identical-bin, same-tint Cree cold-white XM-L LEDs. Driven in series (Identical-current) they have very different tints, especially below 100 mA. Not only do they start at a different tint, their tint shift was different. Maybe you got a lemon in one, but could easily have had it the other way around. I have a quite expensive light whose drive circuit is designed to minimize this shift. It uses some current control and high-rate PWM to reduce that effect, but it is still there.

What is the solution? You could try to ignore it. Your eyes adjust to almost any light source. You could buy neutral-white, reasonable-tint LEDs (5A, 5B, 3C, etc). You could wheedle a choice tint bin out of Nitecore. But with Cree's tint bins as they are, the really good ones are snapped up by fixed lighting, and the oddballs put in single-LED use. Like flashlights. The present market structure leads to this situation of notable tint and tint shift. Sorry about that.

I respect your opinion. As others have posted with the similar "Greenish" issue. Mine has a green tint despite computer screen setting, white balance, light source ie. incan, flourescent, tungsten etc. It is green. You can defend your opinion all you want ..... My light has a green tint.

 

[InquisitiveInquirer]

I respect your opinion. As others have posted with the similar "Greenish" issue. Mine has a green tint despite computer screen setting, white balance, light source ie. incan, flourescent, tungsten etc. It is green. You can defend your opinion all you want ..... My light has a green tint.

I guess i'm not the only one that got a lemon. Sorry to hear about your green EA8. Talking with the seller, we reached a compromise and i ended up keeping mines even though it's green. Not too happy about it, but it's alright. Curious what you plan on doing with yours?

 

[tatopus]

 

[markr6]

Fantastic photos as usual, tatopus! And WOW those Eneloop Pro batteries look SOOO much nicer than the ugly US "XX" labeling.

 

[tatopus]

Thanks, markr6!)
It's eneloop for domestic japan market. The usual XX (HR-3UWXA) in cool plastic blisters.

 

[weklund]

I guess i'm not the only one that got a lemon. Sorry to hear about your green EA8. Talking with the seller, we reached a compromise and i ended up keeping mines even though it's green. Not too happy about it, but it's alright. Curious what you plan on doing with yours?

Sorry to hear of your membership in the Green Tint EA8 Club. I sent my EA8 back for refund. I feel sorry for the dealers as they expect to forward lights as advertised to end users. I have owned many an advertised CW light that had a nasty green tint to the beam and just lived with it. Not this time ... I am going to try out a neutral EA8W and wait for a nice white CW version to show up on the Market Place. I did notice that the tint became less of an issue in the high and turbo modes. Low modes were hideous.

I love my EA4 CW.

 

[Patriot]

I respect your opinion. As others have posted with the similar "Greenish" issue. Mine has a green tint despite computer screen setting, white balance, light source ie. incan, flourescent, tungsten etc. It is green. You can defend your opinion all you want ..... My light has a green tint.

Weklund, AppleSnail has some good points but here's the way I see it. Others have been complaining of recent green tints. Small differences in screens are a valid thought but if you look at 5 or 10 different computer screens and it's green on every screen to everyone who views it, then it's sufficiently green to have a complaint. Olight recently went through this and still is, as far as I know.

You could probably quash any debate by posting 2 or 3 different pictures with other known, good tints, auto WB on. The camera will average it provided there's similar lumen output but that's usually pretty definitive.

 

[AnAppleSnail]

Weklund, AppleSnail has some good points but here's the way I see it. Others have been complaining of recent green tints. Small differences in screens are a valid thought but if you look at 5 or 10 different computer screens and it's green on every screen to everyone who views it, then it's sufficiently green to have a complaint. Olight recently went through this and still is, as far as I know.

You could probably quash any debate by posting 2 or 3 different pictures with other known, good tints, auto WB on. The camera will average it provided there's similar lumen output but that's usually pretty definitive.

Really though, if the light doesn't please you then it's not good enough. I'm just saying that:

1. Most of the flashlight companies struggle with tint when they sell on brightness bin. Remember FourSevens' S2 bin problems?
2. It's tough to compare greenness over the web.

 

[EngrPaul]

WHAT?

The anti-glare coating of the EA8 causes the greenish beam.

I have a neutral white version and it is green compared to lights I have that are not A/R coated.

I modified multiple lights with Neutral White and was surprised by the variation in greenishness. I thought it had to do with the binning of the LED's, so I swapped emitters. The green tint stayed with the lights instead of following the emitters. Then I removed the front lens and noticed the big shift in apparent tint.

The greenish lens I have is on the Jetbeam TC-R3. It has the same purple reflections and greenish appearance of the reflector through the lens that the Nitecore EA8 does, but to a greater degree.

It seems rather foolish to me to send back a light because of the slight greenish hue that occurs when shining the light on a white wall. That's like taking a car back that has heat-rejecting glass.

 

[Likebright]

Re: WHAT?

I got my EA8 a couple of weeks ago and didn't even know it had a green tint till you guys said it did.
Now looking at it yep it might be a bit green but only shows up in the spill on the lowest power output.
I say the light rocks! Green tint and all. It has a great throw and the spill is quit adequate. I use it with the Enloop RC batteries.
The brightness ranges are just about right. The low is a great addition and something that wasn't on my EA4.

 

[Timothybil]

Re: WHAT?

I bought my EA8 during the Thanksgiving/Christmas sales last year, but haven't had a chance to really try it out till tonight. I had gone to the neighboring 'big city' to buy groceries, and knew it would be after dark before I got home. So I threw my EA8 in the coat pocket and took it along. I live in a small Iowa town of about 600 people, so it is easy to find a country road with no artificial lighting in sight. I picked a local state road that has a power line running along it. I parked next to one pole, and was able to see six more poles down along the line. When I got home I fired up Google Earth and measured the distance. 487 meters. I am impressed that it comes that close to the stated throw of 490. I will be the first to admit that it is relatively easy to pick out a 40' wooden power pole at that distance, but almost impossible to see if someone was trying to hide behind it. But the next furthest pole was 400 meters, and I could see it clearly enough that I could have picked up someone standing there. All in all, an impressive performance.
I had originally planned to buy an EAX for the 2000 lumens, but when I compared the two, and saw that the only performance difference was the lumen output, with no difference in throw, the price difference made up my mind. But I am kinda eying that TM06. Oh well, when I win the lottery I'll get one, along with a TK36. Till then, I'm happy with what I've got.

 

[RemcoM]

Re: WHAT?

Dissapointing light, bad throw....many have measured only 34000 cd, instead of 60000 cd.

Buy a Olight M2X UT Javelot, with mine tested at 180000 cd, or go for a other ultrathrower.

I only say, what i have read, and heard, no more....i not own this light.

 

[hurld]

My Ea8 has great throw for a AA light, slightly better than my Fenix TK41. The Olight M2X isn't a AA light has a large head and no where near the functions & brightness levels as the EA8. Apple's to Oranges