Night trekking with HDS clickies. Mainly High CRI. **PHOTO Intensive**

pjandyho

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Oct 29, 2003
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Singapore
**EDIT - Exactly one month before 17th May 2013, James was diagnosed with liver cancer. He put up a good fight but unfortunately the cancer cells won the fight. He has since left this world on 17th May 2013. May he rest in peace and God bless his soul.

Rest In Peace CPF member tankahn**

The thread in this link is dedicated to James

Hi fellow CPFers,

During the last few months I had spent some time gathering photos from my HDS clickies on a few of my weekend stay on an island just northeast of mainland Singapore, and I thought that maybe it is time I share some of the photos with all of you here in CPF. Below are just some quick notes before I begin.

In view of the fact that I must travel light, I could not pack along my tripod and extensive camera equipments for these trips. Photos are all done on a Nikon D3s with ISO ranging from 6400 to 12800 so you may notice some noise (graininess) in the photographs. The primary lens I had mounted on my camera is a manual focus Nikkor AI 35mm f/1.4 and occasionally I would swap it over to the Nikkor AF-D 50mm f/1.4, AF-D 60mm f/2.8 micro, or AF-S 105mm f/2.8 micro.

Unlike our eyes which is able to see a huge dynamic range from the darkest shadows to the brightest highlights, digital camera still has it's limitation in capturing the full dynamic range compared to what we could see. That explains why we often see beam shots with nicely exposed side spill and grossly overexposed hot spot, or we would see a nicely exposed hot spot with impossibly dark, or non-existent side spill, thus giving us the impression that there isn't any side spill at all. With that said, trying to capture these beam shots proves to be a real challenge. Many times I had to rely on Surefire's F04 diffuser to smooth out the beam profile so that my camera could achieve the feel and look resembling what my eyes see.

If you look at the photos, you would have noticed that most of the photos are lit using the HDS 100 lumen high CRI clicky with a few comparisons to the 140 lumens guaranteed tint and 170 lumens tactical. My objective is not to portray the beam profiles of the individual lights but rather to capture the colors presented by the LEDs so that all those who are keen in purchasing the high CRI HDS clicky would understand what makes it so good for use in nature especially. I apologize that there would be no white wall beam shot photos here.

With me on the trip are my good friends James, also a CPF member, and Alan. Both James and Alan are kind enough to grant me the privilege of sharing their faces within some of the photos here. They have also been of great help in helping me hold the lights while I am shooting. This allows me to position the light source exactly where I had wanted. Without them these photos would not have happened.

I am not a botanist nor am I a naturalist so I wasn't able to accurately identify what are some of the plants, insects, or animals taken here and I seek your understanding in regards to this. If some of you could identify what you see, you may notify me and I would put it down.

So, without further ado, let me just go on with the sharing.

For most of you here, I believe you may not have seen or tasted this tropical fruit. It is known as Durian, aka King of Fruits. It has a pungent smell but tastes wonderful. Durian is a fruit well revered in all of tropical South-East Asia, but due to it's rather pungent smell one either loves it or hates it.
HDS High CRI clicky
AHP-0022.jpg


During the durian season we would move around the island looking for potentially good trees and then await patiently for the fruit to drop from it's branches. In this photo you see Alan in dark blue with a 120 lumen Surefire E2DL, and James in yellow, with a HDS high CRI clicky.
Both of them lit up with my HDS high CRI clicky and a tight crop to show James holding a HDS clicky
AHP-0006.jpg
AHP-0006a.jpg


Durians grow along the branches of the tree. This particular tree is quite tall so I had to light it up using James' warm white Quark 123^2 turbo and Alan's SF E2DL.
Quark warm white Turbo & Surefire E2DL
AHP-0007.jpg


As I was saying, we waited below for the durian to drop before picking them up. James almost got hit on his head when a durian fell and "exploded" just inches from him, and we joked about him having these durian "cum shots" all over his feet.
High CRI clicky
AHP-0019.jpg


We have Alan here opening the durian for us.
High CRI clicky
AHP-0020.jpg
AHP-0021.jpg


And a side by side comparison of a durian lit up with a HDS high CRI and a Zebralight H60w neutral white.
Left, HDS high CRI, and right, Zebralight H60w neutral white
AHP-0013.jpg
AHP-0012.jpg


Don't want to bore all of you with my durian photos. There are some nocturnal creatures there. Owls, civet cat, snakes, mouse deers, and so on but they seem rather elusive. We managed to spot a juvenile Spotted Wood Owl. Here are two shots showing you the comparison in colors between the Surefire LX2 and the HDS high CRI clicky. I am not able to get any shots of the owl's frontal profile whenever the LX2 was used. The owl seem to turn it's head away whenever I had the LX2 on him.
Left, Surefire LX2, and right, HDS high CRI clicky
AP1_3129.jpg
AP1_3138.jpg


Some bugs, a Hammerhead Worm of Bipalium genus (thanks to Don, edc3 for pointing it out), a slug, and a scorpion which I have no idea what their names are.
All HDS high CRI clicky
AP1_3072.jpg
AP1_3379.jpg

AP1_3086.jpg
AP1_3060.jpg

AP1_3057.jpg


Further down the trek we came across some coconut trees about 30 meters out which I thought would make good targets for showing all of you the difference in color rendition from all the HDS clickies.
Left, high CRI; right, 140 GT; bottom, 170 tactical

AP1_3120.jpg
AP1_3121.jpg

AP1_3122.jpg


I saw how nice the moon seem to compliment this coconut tree and I asked James and Alan to help me light up the entire tree with our HDS high CRI clickies which they happily obliged.
2X HDS high CRI clicky
AP1_3094.jpg


An almost withered tree lit up with two HDS high CRI clickies. Alan lit up the front with my high CRI clicky using a Surefire F04 diffuser and James helped light up the tree from the side with his high CRI clicky but without any diffuser.
2X HDS high CRI clicky

AP1_3112.jpg


Here are some more comparison between the 100 lumen HDS high CRI clicky against the 140 lumen HDS guaranteed tint clicky
Left, high CRI clicky; right, 140 GT clicky

AHP-0016.jpg
AHP-0017.jpg

AP1_3047.jpg
AP1_3048.jpg


See how the high CRI brought out the colors between the greens and the browns?
All HDS high CRI clicky

AP1_3387.jpg
AP1_3123.jpg


And also how some of the colors on this house appear with the high CRI clicky?
HDS high CRI clicky
AP1_3108.jpg


Saw some guys fishing near the jetty and they caught a snapper. Couldn't resist taking a shot.
The cool light is from their friend's headlamp and Alan (in photo on right) just lit them up with his Quark MiNi 123 warm white.
AP1_3105.jpg


Here is James with his Zebralight H60w neutral white and a HDS high CRI clicky in his hand walking back to our campsite. The smoke you see was from the mosquito repelling coil that he carries in a canister. Alan helped me light James up with my high CRI clicky for the shot.
HDS high CRI clicky

AHP-0010.jpg


So, after all the walking we would head back to our campsite. James would be in-charged of lighting up some mosquito repelling coils and Alan would do us the honor of cooking a simple but yet delicious meal before we go catch our shut-eye.
All HDS high CRI clicky
AHP-0001.jpg
AHP-0003.jpg

AHP-0011.jpg
AHP-0018.jpg


Well, that's it. I hope you all enjoy viewing this as much as I enjoy writing them.
 
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Tally-ho

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Apr 6, 2010
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France
gaga%20hurle.gif
AWESOME BEAMSHOTS !!!

Thank you for the great pics, much appreciated.
 
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pjandyho

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 29, 2003
Messages
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Location
Singapore
gaga%20hurle.gif
AWESOME BEAMSHOTS !!!

I guess that this thread is going to be very popular and much appreciated.
Thank you very much.

To all, I hope you enjoy it. It is 4:45am here in Singapore and I am going to bed now.

Thanks for viewing.
 

sgt253

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 17, 2004
Messages
877
Location
Chicago, Illinois
Absolutely phenomenal photos! Thank you for posting. The comparison of both the high CRI and the cooler lower CRI leds was the straw that broke the camel's back for me! I definitely will be getting a high CRI soon...


Regards.
 

Tuikku

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Mar 31, 2010
Messages
363
Very entertainig to read this kind of posts.
Brought smile to my face, thanks! :)
 

mcnair55

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Oct 27, 2009
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North Wales UK
Fantastic,love members stories with pics and that egg has made me hungry,so an egg sandwich is now in order I think.:thumbsup:
 

pwatcher

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Jan 19, 2010
Messages
615
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
This is fantastic for demonstrating the differences in cool vs warm vs high CRI. Great job and thanks for the effort in planning these pictures out and then organizing and posting them here!

Very helpful, and I've bookmarked this thread!

:thumbsup:
 

PaveHammer

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Sep 12, 2010
Messages
43
Location
Kingston, Ontario
As much as I see the utility of the High CRI as a photographer (I do dabble a bit on my own, and not as much at night, though I'm sure I'd dedicate myself to night shooting were I to own the High CRI), seeing the three lights hit the 30m palm grove sold me on the 170T. On the lower settings, moonlight and above, the 170T doesn't need to have such a glaring hotspot, and can be useful in a wide range of situations, but is still able to reach out and touch something where the High CRI cannot.

I can't afford both. I wish I could, and I'm selling off gear every day, but I'm running a pretty bare-bones operation here, and if I can only have one HDS light, I feel that my money is best spent on the utility I would get from the 170T. I love the colour rendition, I love the soft tones and distinguishable browns of the High CRI, but on those opportunities where I would ABSOLUTELY NEED the brightest thing on two wheels, I can't say no to the extra lumens of the 170T. It would still be useful as an EDC light on lower settings, while giving you the ability to light up someone's world should you ever need to.

Thank you for the beautiful shots, though. It just seems that they sold me in the other direction than most that have posted or will post. ;)

Keep up the great work! An excellent review of the best lights on the market, from what I've read.

Brad
 

Belstaff1464

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Sep 6, 2010
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Brisvegas
Thanks very much for highlighting the pros of the High CRI. You have provided a wonderful service to the CPF community. Your report will be invaluable to those trying to decide which HDS model to buy. I wish I had this sort of info before I bought my 170Cn. At the time, I was concerned that the advantages of the High CRI would not apply to me because I have red-green colourblindness. Now I realise that they just make things look more natural. Some of your pics with the High CRI look like they were taken during the middle of the day.

I was waiting for Jimmy1970 to get some stock of the High CRI so I could experience it for myself but now I won't have to. Thanks again.

:twothumbs
 

Bass

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Oct 26, 2009
Messages
408
Location
UK
That is a fantastic write up and some great pictures :thumbsup:

It is interesting to see the difference with the 140GT. The high CRI does a very nice job.

BTW - if you like your CRI HDS, you would love a McGizmo Sundrop :twothumbs
 

badtziscool

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 13, 2006
Messages
1,722
Ahhh. Durians. You either love them or hate them. And I hate them. The flavor and texture is awesome but I can never get over the smell.

Good thing you guys didn't get hit in the head by one of those things. That's how people literally get killed standing under those trees.

I think these two photos shows the difference really well why a warm light doesn't mean high cri. The high cri pic seems to have more depth and color range than the warm pic, even though the color temp and shade of the pics are almost identical.

And a side by side comparison of a durian lit up with a HDS high CRI and a Zebralight H60w neutral white.
Left, HDS high CRI, and right, Zebralight H60w neutral white
AHP-0013.jpg
AHP-0012.jpg


And these two pics show that color range really really well. Notice how the green of the leaves are almost identical shades but the reds and browns are shown in their natural color rather than being washed out with blue. That's what high cri does for you right there.


Here are some more comparison between the 100 lumen HDS high CRI clicky against the 140 lumen HDS guaranteed tint clicky
Left, high CRI clicky; right, 140 GT clicky
AHP-0016.jpg
AHP-0017.jpg
 
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experimentjon

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Apr 5, 2010
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Location
Honolulu, HI
Awesome shots. The coolest part was seeing how durian grows. I didn't know that it grew on the branches. Now, I'm super excited for my High CRI lights. And even if I was still on the fence about buying one, these shots would have convinced me.

Beautiful artistic shots with some of the trees. Thanks for sharing!
 

derfyled

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Jul 29, 2006
Messages
1,058
Location
Canada
Thanks for taking us trekking with you. Very nice creatures. I think that some of your pictures might be the best comparison shots I've ever seen.

:thumbsup: :kewlpics:
 

jimmy1970

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Sep 6, 2008
Messages
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Location
Brisbane, Australia
Those are really great photos - I especially like the following photos showing the vast improvement in depth perception with the HDS Clicky HI CRI100.:thumbsup:
The first photo is the cool white LED & the second is the HI CRI 100!!
AP1_3129.jpg


AP1_3138.jpg
 
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