Best HiCri?

Tommygun45 · Jan 25, 2012

Looking for a good light to use for cooking. Meat mostly, and outdoors. I want a good hi-cri light that will render the pinks and reds of the meat the best so I can tell when its cooked appropriately.

I had an M61HCRI but it was a bit too pink. I found that my M91W rendered the colors better and so I sold the HCRI.

Leading vote getter right now is an H51Fc but I am also looking at a HDS with the HCRI emitter, if it ever comes out. Only problem is it doesn't have a clip and I'd also like to be able to put this thing on my head or clip it to a hat. Thanks guys.

skyfire · Jan 25, 2012

i was going to suggest the M61 HCRI...

the M61HCRI is much pinker than all my other high CRI XP-G lights that i have... which is strange because its all using the same XG-G bin from Craig at illuminationsupply.:shrug:

HDS is taking orders for their Rotary, using the high CRI XP-G.
i used to own the older model with SSC P4 hi CRI. and the color temp is higher at around 3700k and has a brownish tint to it. one of the best looking beams ive ever seen. the HDS might be a little heavy if you strap it to a hat.

the ZL H51Fc is a good choice, cause its a headlamp, allows you to easily handle the grill with both hands. the tint on it, is more neutral than warm compared to the hiCRI XP-Gs.

The_Driver · Jan 25, 2012

For the ultimate tint/cri combo you would need a McGizmo Sundrop (93+ CRI and 5500K). A close second would be a McGizmo Haiku high cri.
The H51Fc only has a CRI of 80-85 I think. The McGizmos and the HDS EDCs have 93+. Except for the McGizmos all high cri lights have a very warm tint (making everything look a little too redish or brownish).
The cheapest thing to do would be to either hang an overdriven halogen-bulb there (CRI: 100

) or mod a headlamp of your choice with a 4000K high-cri SSC-P4 (probably the only high cri led with 4000K+ you can buy). If you can live with a color temp of 3300K the best choice would probably the Nichia NNSL219A-H1 with 93+ CRI and 3300K (can be bought from a German retailer for example, don't know about digikey). It has the same package size as the XP-G and basically the same electrical characteristics (up to 1.5A), but a much more even tint compared to the SSC-P4.
In the end it depends on how much you want to pay and how good the light source needs to really be.

Z-Tab · Jan 25, 2012

A nice carbide lamp might be fun.

I think the M91W is probably a good choice if you're doing LED. I have found that for grilling, the more light, the better. The 400 Lumens is a lot compared to total darkness, but it's still not much compared to normal kitchen lights.

archimedes · Jan 25, 2012

While the Nichia 083 and the Nichia 119 are both high CRI, I have found the former to be better as a "looking inside a dark computer case for colored wires light" and the latter better as a "checking the outdoors grill at night cooking light" .... although, of course, YMMV

BarryH · Jan 25, 2012

Good lighting is great to have while cooking outdoors but if you want your meat done with spot on accuracy get a Thermopen instant read thermometer from Thermoworks. They are a little pricey but worth every penny! :thumbsup:

Diablo_331 · Jan 25, 2012

I have a two lights with a Nichia 119 and I love the tint in both of them. One is a sc51c and the other is a Peak eiger hi cri from Oveready. The eiger is warmer at around 3-3500k by my eyes but the sc51c is 4000k and is the most beautiful beam that I have personally come across. I'll be purchasing a h51cf very soon for the exact reason that you made this thread.

csshih · Jan 25, 2012

from person experiences, the drive current can really change the tint of high cri Crees, you can get a light yellow similar to an overdriven incan if you crank the current to ~1.5A!

Craig

jamesmtl514 · Jan 25, 2012

I use my M91W when tending to the grill. It always impresses me. The only downside is I have it in a C3, it's a little cumbersome.
I'll post my impressions when the new high CRI acquisitions arrive.

Tommygun45 · Jan 25, 2012

Thanks for the replies guys. I haven't gotten to that point where I start modding my own lights yet. Im sure its down the road though. I had been using the M61HCri in an E2d/VME and it was alright, but the whole setup made it a little heavy to hang from my hat when over a grill. Also it only had one output mode. I find the full 400+ lumens out the the M91W are a bit much, but the low mode on the MD3/hi low ring tends to be somewhat too low as well. Since I need to fill a headlamp void in my light arsenal I was leaning towards the H51Fc so it could serve both purposes. But hearing that its only around 80-85 isn't that great of news.

What about using an incan? Like an original E1e or E2e? I have no more incan bulbs as I sold all of them, just a Mag 2C. But wouldn't that be ideal? Except for the lack of output and short run times of course but they are pretty close to 100 Cri if Im not mistaken.

Those McGizmos are incredible but I cant drop 300+ on one light. Maybe one day.

JohnnyLunar · Jan 25, 2012

I have the M61HCRI, and the Zebralight H51Fc. As you mentioned, the M61HCRI has what I call a "peachy" tint - somewhere between pink and orange. What a fantastic beam pattern though! It is my first choice in outdoor exploring lights.

The H51Fc is much more neutral than the M61HCRI. It just looks plain white to me. The convenience and versatility of the little Zebralight headlamps cannot be overstated. If I were going to be doing any kind of cooking/grilling outside in the dark for extended periods of time, this is the light I'd use, strapped to my head.

But when I am grilling on my back porch, only going outside occasionally for 1 minute at a time to check and flip the meat, putting the Zebralight's head strap on and off repeatedly gets old quickly. My ultimate solution for now is a Surefire E1E, running a Lumens Factory HO-E1R on an AW RCR123, stuck in my mouth for hands-free operation. It gives me about 39 lumens of 100 CRI for 38 minutes. The Zebralight is a lot harder to hold in the mouth, due to it being an angle light.

An even better incandescent option that you can still easily and comfortably hold in your mouth would be an E2E, running any of the brighter, whiter Lumens Factory bulbs. The EO-E2R is a little power house at 117 lumens for 38 minutes on 2xRCR123s. I don't know if the tint would be white-hot enough for your needs, but it sure would be a tight, intense little 100 CRI beam! If you are looking for something to use for more than a minute or 2 at a time, I think the Zebralight H51Fc is a fantastic choice.

And now that I think about it, my Surefire A2 would be great for this purpose, as it's incandescent beam is just about the whitest I've seen. The white (more blue) LEDs in conjunction with the incandescent beam give it a really unique bright-white tint, and it's form factor is still "mouthable". Some A2 Aviator fanboys would probably rather die than slobber all over their beautiful A2...

RI Chevy · Jan 25, 2012

Tommygun45 said:
Looking for a good light to use for cooking. Meat mostly, and outdoors. I want a good hi-cri light that will render the pinks and reds of the meat the best so I can tell when its cooked appropriately.

I had an M61HCRI but it was a bit too pink. I found that my M91W rendered the colors better and so I sold the HCRI.

Leading vote getter right now is an H51Fc but I am also looking at a HDS with the HCRI emitter, if it ever comes out. Only problem is it doesn't have a clip and I'd also like to be able to put this thing on my head or clip it to a hat. Thanks guys.

If you did not like the tint of the M61HCRI, did you think of trying just the M61W? Sounds like that would fit the bill just right. Or the M61L.

Tommygun45 · Jan 25, 2012

JohnnyLunar said:
I have the M61HCRI, and the Zebralight H51Fc. As you mentioned, the M61HCRI has what I call a "peachy" tint - somewhere between pink and orange. What a fantastic beam pattern though! It is my first choice in outdoor exploring lights.

The H51Fc is much more neutral than the M61HCRI. It just looks plain white to me. The convenience and versatility of the little Zebralight headlamps cannot be overstated. If I were going to be doing any kind of cooking/grilling outside in the dark for extended periods of time, this is the light I'd use, strapped to my head.

But when I am grilling on my back porch, only going outside occasionally for 1 minute at a time to check and flip the meat, putting the Zebralight's head strap on and off repeatedly gets old quickly. My ultimate solution for now is a Surefire E1E, running a Lumens Factory HO-E1R on an AW RCR123, stuck in my mouth for hands-free operation. It gives me about 39 lumens of 100 CRI for 38 minutes. The Zebralight is a lot harder to hold in the mouth, due to it being an angle light.

An even better incandescent option that you can still easily and comfortably hold in your mouth would be an E2E, running any of the brighter, whiter Lumens Factory bulbs. The EO-E2R is a little power house at 117 lumens for 38 minutes on 2xRCR123s. I don't know if the tint would be white-hot enough for your needs, but it sure would be a tight, intense little 100 CRI beam! If you are looking for something to use for more than a minute or 2 at a time, I think the Zebralight H51Fc is a fantastic choice.

And now that I think about it, my Surefire A2 would be great for this purpose, as it's incandescent beam is just about the whitest I've seen. The white (more blue) LEDs in conjunction with the incandescent beam give it a really unique bright-white tint, and it's form factor is still "mouthable". Some A2 Aviator fanboys would probably rather die than slobber all over their beautiful A2...

Thanks for the responses. And honestly its usually me just holding the light and my girlfriend doing the cooking. I just like having the option of putting anything on my head. Is it possible to get the H51Fc onto the brim of a baseball cap and have it look forward? I'd rather not have to put that whole headlamp setup on top of my head if I didnt have to, as you are right, seems a bit tedious. But I would want that option for walking around more frequently when hiking or searching for wood or something around a campsite.

Tommygun45 · Jan 25, 2012

RI Chevy said:
If you did not like the tint of the M61HCRI, did you think of trying just the M61W? Sounds like that would fit the bill just right. Or the M61L.

I have an early run M91W. I think its pretty close in tint compared to the M61W? Maybe not. I have an M61L and LL but they are a bit cool for this use.

I have a rotary with a diffuser and its my constant always with me light. I wonder if a hcri rotary with a diffuser would be the perfect fit for this, sans the ability to strap it to me hat. Maybe I could get a head harness thing. I think Ive seen them at lighthound for like 10 bucks, a nitecore model I believe.

UpstandingCitizen · Jan 25, 2012

@ the OP: don't cut your meat to check for doneness! Just use a thermometer, or use your finger to poke it. :thumbsup:

The_Driver said:
The H51Fc only has a CRI of 80-85 I think.

Zebralight states that typical CRI is 85.

Diablo_331 said:
I have a two lights with a Nichia 119 and I love the tint in both of them. One is a sc51c and the other is a Peak eiger hi cri from Oveready.

The SC51c actually uses a Phillips LUXEON Rebel led.

archimedes · Jan 25, 2012

Tommygun45 said:
....What about using an incan? Like an original E1e or E2e? I have no more incan bulbs as I sold all of them, just a Mag 2C. But wouldn't that be ideal? Except for the lack of output and short run times of course but they are pretty close to 100 Cri if Im not mistaken....

All of the incandescent lamps will be 100 CRI, but the higher powered ones will have a more useable tint. I had also thought about the E1E, but agree that the A2 is probably the best choice for output and tint (maybe 50 lumens at 3700K?). The LF replacement bulb may be driven a little harder than the stock MA02 lamp ... at least it looks a bit more neutral ("brighter and whiter") to my eyes.

Tommygun45 · Jan 25, 2012

I have an A2L that I kind of find unusable to it not being bright enough. Would you recommend I do a flip of her on the MP and get an original incan A2, or perhaps L2 instead? I think a few of them are floating around.

Websniper · Jan 25, 2012

I don't own one, but I've been considering one of the Terralux 2 x AAA which claim a high CRI (though they refuse to state which emitter) and have a rubber end which can be used for a bite grip on the end of the light. You can't possibly go wrong for $20...

davidt1 · Jan 25, 2012

Tommygun45 said:
Thanks for the responses. And honestly its usually me just holding the light and my girlfriend doing the cooking. I just like having the option of putting anything on my head. Is it possible to get the H51Fc onto the brim of a baseball cap and have it look forward? I'd rather not have to put that whole headlamp setup on top of my head if I didnt have to, as you are right, seems a bit tedious. But I would want that option for walking around more frequently when hiking or searching for wood or something around a campsite.

You don't have to wear it on your head if you don't want to. Wearing around your neck is one way to use it hand-free. This, IMO, is the most discreet way to use a ZL headlamp.

Diablo_331 · Jan 25, 2012

UpstandingCitizen said:
@ the OP: don't cut your meat to check for doneness! Just use a thermometer, or use your finger to poke it. :thumbsup:

Zebralight states that typical CRI is 85.

The SC51c actually uses a Phillips LUXEON Rebel led.

You are in deed correct! Not sure where my head was...

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