Bonky
Banned
more pics please! 
NiteCore EZ AA-W (Warm tint) Comparison Review
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kaichu dento
Flashaholic
I just got mine and the only improvement I can think of for the EZAAw is to have 4 levels instead of 2, with the first one being a true low and the present low being level 3. Just got it, already love it!
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StandardBattery
Flashlight Enthusiast
As of a couple days ago they were still available. You have to just note warm-tint in the comments on your order. If they don't have it they will let you know, I'm sure.
Nice comparison Vincent, as always! :thumbsup:
I particularly appreciate the detailed tint color comparisons. I've found even small tint differences can make a difference in distinguishing related colors (i.e. "warm" tinted cool white emitters are better than "cool" tinted cool white for earth-tones). I personally still prefer a warm-tint cool white myself for general use - but I can't quite get used to these warmed "neutral" white tints.
And I would point out my wife loves her cool-tint cool white Rebel RB080 Fenix L2T V2 - she uses it to match black socks in her sock drawer every morning. :laughing: I've had her try my warm-tint cool white Rebel RB100 Fenix L2D, and it is nowhere near as good - the difference is that noticeable. Needless to say, these neutral white tints are definitely not suited for that task.
FYI, for those interested, I did a quick comparison of various emitters and tints under roughly standardized conditions in my color and tint comparison review here. I still need to pick up one of those color charts like Vincent uses, but the "recognizable" objects should you give a general idea.
P.S.: NiteCore informs me that the revised EZ AA now supports Li-ion. Was there any mention of that in the packaging from your sample Vincent? I will be doing 14500 runtimes when mine arrives.
I particularly appreciate the detailed tint color comparisons. I've found even small tint differences can make a difference in distinguishing related colors (i.e. "warm" tinted cool white emitters are better than "cool" tinted cool white for earth-tones). I personally still prefer a warm-tint cool white myself for general use - but I can't quite get used to these warmed "neutral" white tints.
And I would point out my wife loves her cool-tint cool white Rebel RB080 Fenix L2T V2 - she uses it to match black socks in her sock drawer every morning. :laughing: I've had her try my warm-tint cool white Rebel RB100 Fenix L2D, and it is nowhere near as good - the difference is that noticeable. Needless to say, these neutral white tints are definitely not suited for that task.
FYI, for those interested, I did a quick comparison of various emitters and tints under roughly standardized conditions in my color and tint comparison review here. I still need to pick up one of those color charts like Vincent uses, but the "recognizable" objects should you give a general idea.
P.S.: NiteCore informs me that the revised EZ AA now supports Li-ion. Was there any mention of that in the packaging from your sample Vincent? I will be doing 14500 runtimes when mine arrives.
Many thanks for the input and comments.
I tend to agree with you (for now) -
my favorite tint is still that L2D-RB100 head on the Fenix L1D body.
But this warm tinted EZaaW is very interesting and I am admittedly infatuated with it (for now
)Has she/you tried the warm tinted LEDs? -
The tint of this EZaaW seems almost like the shot I took of the LED through Serengeti Drivers sunglasses -
which seem to enhance vision for me at the cost of some color rendition inaccuracy - but our eye/brain combination seems to compensate for this - hence the enhanced vision. eg: BluBlocker sunglasses (which I personally don't like) seem to do this well - but at a much more obvious yellow bias (to me) - whereas the Serengeti's seem not to have this obvious yellow bias.
I was really surpised by how well blues are still rendered with the EZaaW - perhaps the sharp peak in blue is just evened out as opposed to being merely blocked?
I checked both the packaging and enclosed instruction sheets - although they say New User Guide - there is no mention of 14500 or any specs for the acceptable operating voltage range.
I'd be very interested to know if these are spec'd to take Li-Ion 14500 safely.
Nice review:twothumbs
I strongly prefer the warm tint outside since it makes greens and browns easier to differentiate. The difference is bigger further away where brightness is lower.
Inside cool white is just as good.
The 5A Crees I have look pretty close to mid day direct sunshine as far as color is concerned.
Sverre
I strongly prefer the warm tint outside since it makes greens and browns easier to differentiate. The difference is bigger further away where brightness is lower.
Inside cool white is just as good.
The 5A Crees I have look pretty close to mid day direct sunshine as far as color is concerned.
Sverre
Hmm, in the interest of science, I just tried my "neutral" tint Fenix TK20 (likely Q2, 5A tint) in my wife's sock drawer, and it wasn't too bad. The browns of course were easy to tell apart, but surprisingly so were the blues (as you noticed). The blacks are still rendered best by my wife's cool-tint RB080 L2T V2, though.
Of course, the ability to discriminate whether someone is wearing matching socks in the wild is of limited usefulness to most (even among flashaholics). :laughing: I'm always curious to hear more stories of actual use outdoors.
This is where I find myself as well. I prefer a warm binned cool white LED.
The warm tints bring the yellows and reds out more outside. But I notice the contrast is decreased relative to cool tints as you mention here, looking at trees, leaves, etc, I prefer the extra contrast the cool tints provide to more reds and yellows present in total. And I tried to love the warm tints, I assumed they would be better outside and I just plain find cool more useful, contrast > color accuracy for me.
The jury is still out for me too....
I go between the warm'ish/pink'ish White Rebel RB100 and this EZaa-W.
Under photos the Rebel "wins" -
BUT our eyes do NOT behave like cameras/photos -
they adapt to light levels -
There have been numerous studies that show our eyes tend to see warmer tones at lower light levels as (neutral) "white" - please click on and read about the Kruithof curve - this was a revelation to many on CPF.
I think the warm tint of this EZaa-W is actually very well chosen -
but the problem with a flashlight is that it can be both lower light level or pretty high light level.
eg: all 130 lumens handheld and shining on the opposite hand - that's a LOT of light - and a cooler truer white would be "better" -
but shining at any practical distance and especially using the low to least disturb others - then we are talking lower light levels where the warmer tint comes into play.
Since I am a confirmed flashaholic - I like the warm tint - just so I can have variety (all my other LED lights are cool whites)
- and even at "ridiculously" high light levels - a warmer tint is kinder to the eyes and causes less dazzle than a blue-white......
Just my personal take on the matter -
I like having this EZaa-W -
it's NOT going to replace everything else -
but I do look forward to more lights with Warm tints.
Splunk_Au
Enlightened
Now looking as these color chart photos, all those who say that warm color improves color rendition doesn't seem to reason. Looking at the warm EZAA and regular EZAA side by side, the regular "cool" one seems to render color more accurately.
So where does this thing about warm led giving beter color rendition come from anyway?
So where does this thing about warm led giving beter color rendition come from anyway?
I looks very different outside, bigger difference when looking at things further away. Mostly it makes greens and browns stand out more.
Sverre
Our eyes/brain behave differently from a camera.
Cameras can only have a single white balance - and its behavior is relatively set/predictable.
Our eyes/brain adapt to the conditons/lighting levels -
at lower light levels we tend to see better under yellow-red tints -
this is through evolution/conditioning -
eg: sunset and sunrise, seeing by fire and candle light.
As mentioned before, there have been accredited scientific studies of this pheonmena -
please click on and read about the Kruithof curve -
" The colour sensation of a given light mixture may vary with absolute luminosity, because both rods and cones are active at once in the eye, with each having different colour curves, and rods taking over gradually from cones as the brightness of the scene is reduced. This means, for example, that light with a colour temperature of 6000 K may appear white under high luminance, but appear bluish under low luminance. Under the same low luminance conditions, the colour temperature may need to be adjusted to, say, 4700 K, to appear white. This effect leads to a change in colour rendition with absolute illumination levels that can be summarised in the empirical Kruithof curve.[3]
As the brightness of the scene decreases, the brightness of red colours decreases more rapidly than those of blue colours, this being the so-called Purkinje effect. "
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windstrings
Flashlight Enthusiast
Thanks Vincent, your posts were exactly what I needed to find!
I appreciate your analytical approach so I know I'm not just imagining things!
Even in the picture above, the warm seems less intense but you can see the plaque and read it on the wall much better.
When I view the outside shots, the cool seems harsh and artificial. While everything is crisp and bright, I can't get into the picture and live there... I can't "warm up" to it!
The warm shots do seem better with these relatively low output lights.. on the higher settings however.. like you say, the cooler kelvins seems to show colors better and bring things to life.
I'm used to playing with HID lights and I love the 4300Kelvin because it turns night into day, but at lower light levels that frequency starts looking fake, but when dealing under 100 lumens or so, I now appreciate the effect that the warmer tints bring.
This post was most enlightening:
The warmer tint "to me" looks like I'm peering into the woods in the evening when the suns light is tinted a bit warmer and its very comfortable and pleasing to my eyes.. even on the computer monitor. It makes me feel like "I'm there" rather than looking with a light that my eyes normally never encounter in the natural environment.
I"ve heard allot of comments about how many folks in the LED world like the warmer colors for outdoors but no one really spelled out why.. all they know is that they like it.
Thanks for your homework and sharing on the subject!
I appreciate your analytical approach so I know I'm not just imagining things!
Even in the picture above, the warm seems less intense but you can see the plaque and read it on the wall much better.
When I view the outside shots, the cool seems harsh and artificial. While everything is crisp and bright, I can't get into the picture and live there... I can't "warm up" to it!
The warm shots do seem better with these relatively low output lights.. on the higher settings however.. like you say, the cooler kelvins seems to show colors better and bring things to life.
I'm used to playing with HID lights and I love the 4300Kelvin because it turns night into day, but at lower light levels that frequency starts looking fake, but when dealing under 100 lumens or so, I now appreciate the effect that the warmer tints bring.
This post was most enlightening:
The warmer tint "to me" looks like I'm peering into the woods in the evening when the suns light is tinted a bit warmer and its very comfortable and pleasing to my eyes.. even on the computer monitor. It makes me feel like "I'm there" rather than looking with a light that my eyes normally never encounter in the natural environment.
I"ve heard allot of comments about how many folks in the LED world like the warmer colors for outdoors but no one really spelled out why.. all they know is that they like it.
Thanks for your homework and sharing on the subject!
Thank you very much for the feedback.
As I said with flashlights - it's a very personal thing - after all we are on CPF! :duh2:
However it's nice to see the psychological explanation.
Another "difficulty" with flashlights is the possible range of usage and brightness levels - 100 lumens with a close handheld task is very bright - so a blue'ish white is "better" - but 100 lumens shone at a distant object is "dim" - where a warmer tint may well be more pleasing/"better".
I personally like to use lights at lower levels - not just because I don't like to waste batteries (I use rechargeable LSDs - so that's not really an issue) - but because I am always aware I may have to turn the light off and be able to continue to see in the dark - hence my enthusiam for lights that can reach low levels.
That's why I started to find out more about why people liked warmer tints outdoors. In this LONG thread -
Puny LED flashlights (Not!) + COLOR RENDITION Comparison
which only started to point out LED flashlights had started to overtake even the "ultra bright" xenon CR123 lights (the SureFires and Scorpions of this world) - the discussion quickly turned to incandescent being better outdoors, and color rendition was not widely understood (eg: CRI being quoted) so I did a lot of finding out and discovered the Kruithof curve - see my reply to milkyspit in Post #123 and subsequent discussion.
(there's a kind of index in the first post of that thread)
windstrings
Flashlight Enthusiast
Yes, while in my boat, I'll fish in the dark and watch the stars etc and "hide from the bugs!", but when I catch one, I'll put on my light.. or when I need to do some tedious work like retying a line.
Maintaining night vision is good if possible. And having what you see look natural is even better!
When doing close work, I won't need or want intense blinding light and while looking at the distance I will.. in both case the warm tint will excel!
There you go!
That's the same reason I like warmer tinted LED lights.
I find incandescent too yellow for my tastes - regular cool white LEDs are well.. too cool :duh2: and I have warmed up to warmer tints - they seem to have the just the right compromise for my usage.
combinatorix
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2009
- Messages
- 58
Hope its OK bumping this thread.
I was just wondering, is there any difference in runtime, brightness, or heating on high mode between the two versions of the light?
thanks
I was just wondering, is there any difference in runtime, brightness, or heating on high mode between the two versions of the light?
thanks
No problems bumping this thread - do it all you want....
My understanding is that if the electronics are the same, and as long as the LED emitters are not drastically different in electrical characteristics - the runtime normally will be basically the same.
As for brightness I had a direct side-by-side comparison beamshot between the EZaaW and the regular cool white EZaa - I'll paste it here:
EZaaW vs. NiteCore EZ-AA both High NiMH
visually and in the beamshots they look pretty close in brightness.
However the very different tints makes the comparison/judgment difficult -
so I removed the color from the photos by deSaturation -
these show that the regular cool white is a just marginally brighter than the warm version - but not by much and probably would not make that much practical difference - whereas the tint can make a lot of difference in the ability to see well.
The light does get warm on high - but then I normally don't have the light on high for long periods of time, so I can't really comment on how "hot" it might or might not get -
the fact the EZaa uses brass parts in its head probably will help dissipate the heat on a small flashlight. you might want to ask selfbuilt this question since he has done runtimes on high so would have observed if it gets hot or not.
As for any difference between the Warm and cool white versions I would guess, and it is only a guess, that there probably would not be that much difference in heat......
