Turns out I love high CRI

[NimRock]

I just picked up a high CRI Quark mini CR2, and I have to say I love it. I know it's not as bright, not that I have a normal mini to compare it to, but the colour of the light is so much nicer on the eyes than the white LED lights I have.

Looks like I'm converted.

The problem I now have, is I am finding the mini CR2 a little thick and heavy, I used to use an ITP A3 EOS, which was a nicer width, but somewhat longer. So what I need is something the width of a AAA light, and the length and brightness of a CR2, and in high CRI. Sadly the only options there I'm aware of are a touch out of my price range.

[HotWire]

If you like high CRI lights, you'll love incandescent flashlights!

[rickypanecatyl]

If you like high CRI lights, you'll love incandescent flashlights!

I've heard about those before! Like close to a 100 CRI?

Seriously anyone know what is the CRI of the typical LED vs High CRI LED? Do warmer colors usually have higher CRI #"s.

Are HID lights typically high CRI? Are Halogens really close to 100?

[The_Driver]

A typical cool or neutral white led has a cri of 70-75.
Warm tinted leds often have a cri of around 80.
Cree's high-cri leds all have a very warm tint.
HID lights are similar to leds. The cool-tinted ones also might have a cri of around 70 or even 60 sometimes. The high cri can have have an even hogher cri than the best leds (these bulbs are used in store lighting for example). High cri hid bulbs are noticebaly less efficient than the most efficient models and often times way more expensive.

Halogens have a cri of 99-100 and a higher cct than normal lightbulbs. They are more efficient.

[csshih]

Technology is moving, the cree high cris(90+) were all around 3000K, now the nichia high cris(92) are 4500K

Craig

[The_Driver]

Technology is moving, the cree high cris(90+) were all around 3000K, now the nichia high cris(92) are 4500K

Craig

I know I ordered a few of those. I also own a modded Novatac with a Nichia 183 4500K CRI, which is basically the smd version of the 219.
These Nichia leds have been around for years now but nobody until now has been able to get a hold of some in reasonable quantities except for McGizmo.

[Tana]

I LOVE HI CRI... as long as they are in 4500-5000K range...

[CarpentryHero]

A Preon1 hi cri with a 10440 migh be close to the same brightness as your CR2

I've heard of a handful of people running the 10440 cell in a preon1 so it should work if your comfortable with the battery chemistry.
I have the Hi cri; preon1, preon2, cr2 and the AA2 and I agree the 3 volts worth of hi cri is much more appealing.
I'm not sure of how else to get 180ish lumens in an
Aaa sized light other than to pick a more powerful battery type.

[Help]

As wide as a aaa but short as a cr2 with high cri... Sounds like you're describing a peak eiger 10280 hicri

[ti-force]

I've heard about those before! Like close to a 100 CRI?

Seriously anyone know what is the CRI of the typical LED vs High CRI LED? Do warmer colors usually have higher CRI #"s.

Are HID lights typically high CRI? Are Halogens really close to 100?

Here's my understanding of CRI- CRI stands for Color Rendering Index. CRI is a system that was devised to label different light sources on a scale of 0 to 100, (0 having the lowest color rendering ability, and 100 having the highest) based on how well they reproduce multiple colors under a specific temperature of lighting (tint color) by directly comparing the samples to a reference light source of the same temperature, or tint.


So it's possible to have a CRI rating of 100, and a color temperature of 3500 Kelvin (yellow/orange like some incandescent bulbs), while another source also has a CRI rating of 100, but a color temperature of 5300K (white like noon sunlight).

[RedForest UK]

It's important to remember though that CRI is always based on a black-body radiator (incandescent) light of the same CCT. The subjective similarity in colour rendering to that is what determines the CRI rating, not an objective higher accuracy of colour reproduction. In fact, as black-body radiators of low CCTs are somewhat deficient in short wavelength light the meanings of high CRI and full-spectrum (accurate) colour reproduction are not actually the same, as many seem to assume.

[Illumination]

I bought a set of hi-cri Quarks... way too warm for me. Kept a Quark Mini CR123 for the collection but doubt I'll be using it much. Looks too much like a candle on steroids. The Cree hi cri leds are something like 3000 k or less.

Looking forward to trying the Nichia 219... higher CRI -- AND -- more neutral tint. 4500 K!

[CPFBiology]

The ability to delineate browns from greens really takes the cake.

I love my High CRI lights. Most of my lights are "warm" as well.

[NimRock]

It's definatly the depth perception that I'm enjoying, I use my light mostly to walk at night without tripping and such, as I walk with a limp.

I find that normal LED's while bright, do tend to 'wash out' and leave me with less depth perception.

I can't find much info on the Peak Eiger lights mentioned, google has failed me.

[Kevinkw1]

I bought a set of hi-cri Quarks... way too warm for me. Kept a Quark Mini CR123 for the collection but doubt I'll be using it much. Looks too much like a candle on steroids. The Cree hi cri leds are something like 3000 k or less.

Looking forward to trying the Nichia 219... higher CRI -- AND -- more neutral tint. 4500 K!

Lolz! Candle on steroids! I'm warming (pun intended) to high cri, but there doesnt seem to be that many choices on the market. I was looking at the free XML bins and isn't like the t 2 bin supposed to be high cri? Or have I got that all wrong?

[0dBm]

"So it's possible to have a CRI rating of 100, and a color temperature of 3500 Kelvin (yellow/orange like some incandescent bulbs), while another source also has a CRI rating of 100, but a color temperature of 5300K (white like noon sunlight)."
Yes, it depends on what the standard is.

[BabyDoc]

Sometimes having a high CRI light is not just a matter of esthetics. It is a matter of necessity.

For example, using conventional LED penlights for medical use is generally problematic, especially when trying to look at mucosal inflammation. Most LED's exaggerate the blue portion of the spectrum and minimize inflammation enough that you may miss seeing it.

Terralux Lightstar 80 package which contains a HIGH CRI LED AAA x 2 flashlight, states that "high CRI are desirable when working with electrical systems involving multi-colored wires, as in automotive repair, HVAC, telephone systems and other applications."

It is therefore not surprising that a light with a high CRI LED, that can render colors of wires accurately, may also useful in medical work. As a pediatrician, I have found the $20 Terralux Lightstar 80 to work nearly as well in a medical setting, as the $400 SunDrop Light that McGizmo made for me a few years ago.

[rickypanecatyl]

A typical cool or neutral white led has a cri of 70-75.
Warm tinted leds often have a cri of around 80.
Cree's high-cri leds all have a very warm tint.
HID lights are similar to leds. The cool-tinted ones also might have a cri of around 70 or even 60 sometimes. The high cri can have have an even hogher cri than the best leds (these bulbs are used in store lighting for example). High cri hid bulbs are noticebaly less efficient than the most efficient models and often times way more expensive.

Halogens have a cri of 99-100 and a higher cct than normal lightbulbs. They are more efficient.

Thanks for the explanation. Can I get a confirmation on those HID CRI #'s though... it was just I had heard that most HID's were closer Halogen CRI levels than LED.
Along with that, would anyone know if they make 50 watt, Hi CRI HID bubls that would work in BiXenon projector beams?

[p97z]

Peak makes a nice Hi CRI AAA light called the Eiger... I love mine! Runs forever!

[Ualnosaj]

I just picked up a high CRI Quark mini CR2, and I have to say I love it. I know it's not as bright, not that I have a normal mini to compare it to, but the colour of the light is so much nicer on the eyes than the white LED lights I have.

Looks like I'm converted.

The problem I now have, is I am finding the mini CR2 a little thick and heavy, I used to use an ITP A3 EOS, which was a nicer width, but somewhat longer. So what I need is something the width of a AAA light, and the length and brightness of a CR2, and in high CRI. Sadly the only options there I'm aware of are a touch out of my price range.

Hang on though do you like "high CRI" or do you like warm LEDs that just happen to have a higher CRI

My Haiku 3S is High CRI but isn't "warm" by the same Quark standard (I have quite a few 4Sevens "high CRI")

[pjandyho]

I personally love warm tinted lights. Anything resembling incand in CCT is what I am sure I will enjoy using, but my favorite high CRI light would still be the McGizmo Haiku with 4500K Nichia 119T emitter followed by my HDS High CRI legacy clicky with SSC P4, both of which are my personal favorites. They really do render colors better than any other warm LEDs. Personally I don't think 4Sevens high CRI lights are really really high in CRI. They don't render colors as well as even some of my other warm or neutral white lights and just looks more yellowish throughout. Malkoff M61HCRI (which is also using an XP-G platform) seems to do a much much better job in rendering colors than the 4Sevens lights.