XM-L2 T6 neutral white or Nichia 219?

Hi all,

Was corresponding with a well known (at least here) modder of lights about possibly doing a 219 swap into a light for me as I couldn't seem to find one with both a high CRI emitter and all the features I wanted. He mentioned that in his words "I personally like XML2 5000K dome on. Better beam and similar tint although CRI rating is not as good."

Thoughts...? I have two lights with the 219 and really like them, to the point that it seems everything else in inferior in some way. However the light in question does come out of the box with the option of a "neutral" XM-L2 T6 which is what I assume is what he was referring to (per the Cree datasheet cool is 5000 K - 8300 K and neutral is 3700 K - 5000 K)

Obviously I'd rather save a few bucks and buy the off the shelf light if it's really going to make me happy, but not if I will be able to notice the difference in CRI.

thanks for any comments!

since you are not mentioning the light no one can help you, it could have any led in it. you should look for beam shot comparisons of said light to get a rough idea of what youy might get if the vendor used the same leds for all the lights.

SWM V11R. If I were to order one it would come with a XM-L2 T6 as mentioned above.

Does it mention what tint bin it is? T6 is the flux bin.

The "neutral" version of the light is advertised as a 3C but the XM-L2 datasheet doesn't explain what that means, it only refers to "neutral"

http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/C... Modules/XLamp/Data and Binning/XLampXML2.pdf

N8N said:

Obviously I'd rather save a few bucks and buy the off the shelf light if it's really going to make me happy, but not if I will be able to notice the difference in CRI.

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I have both LED's. You WILL notice a difference in CRI if you go looking for it. The 3C XM-L is nice, way better than a cool light. If not compared to a HCRI light, colors look so much better than with a cool light. You can also belt out WAY higher lumens than a 219 can reach. But, the 219 will render colors much truer than the 3C XM-L. As you can see, I did not choose, I got both (more than once).

Thanks for the comments, that was exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. I'll leave this in case anyone else wants to comment, but I may be ordering one modded with a 219 soon unless someone talks me out of it, as color rendering is more important to me than total output; i bet even with a 219 a V11R has more output on high than my last EDC Fenix E11 and I am primarily looking for *lower* modes and better color rendering not brighter in a replacement.

Another thing to keep in mind when choosing between these LEDs is the beam pattern. XML is generally more floody and has a much larger hotspot than 219s. I prefer flood in an EDC light so I used some diffuser film over the lens of my Eagletac D25C with the nichia emitter to get rid of the annoyingly small hotspot.

Odd that you should mention that specific light as it is in my pocket right now, it would be perfect for me if the modes worked on a Li-Ion...

Neutral (4500-5000K) is where I generally am happy with tint - that works great for me. (XPGs, XRE, XML, MT-G2, previously SST50)
I do have a high CRI (84) XML2 that I am happy with - probably more like 3800K to 4000K
219B yes, love CRI, output okay.

As long as it's general use and I'm not comparing beams directly the neutral works fine for me. I use lights in industry (pulp & paper).
6500K has no depth perception with no ambient light around - if you are in closed facility with no other light source. Incan or 4500K does...

Well, I bit the bullet and ordered a Vinh-modified V11R with 219... should be here Monday. I also ordered the extension tube from Illumination Supply for max flexibility.

How much is that mod? Which 219 LED does he use A or B? The light is 2.4 current boost?

here's the thread on them

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...7-WTS-V11Rvn-amp-RRT01vn-900-Lumen-Pocket-EDC

I'm not sure which 219 he's using, as I understand the differences are mostly a slight boost in efficiency and a slight difference in tint, so it was mostly unimportant to me (unless I decide I don't like the tint in which case I'll be upset, but c'est la vie.)

I have been comparing neutral and cool white for a few years now for video lights

Using a Nitecore TN12 as an example, I have found the best neutral white results from adding the 25mm nitecore diffuser to the cool white TN12

any plastic diffuser added to a cool white LED lowers the color temp as well as the output and eliminates the color banding effect that you normally get without a difuser

A diffuser added to a neutral white version will again lower the color temp and make the light a bit warm

So for close up work (under) 30 feet, the 5000K emitters look fantastic with a difuser

I have also tested several types of plastic bags and found the subway sandwich bag to provide the best free difuser without altering color temp too much

try the subway bag with a rubber band to see if diffusion is really what you want instead of a new emitter

The outer spill on a cool white TN12 has a bluish color band that is eliminated entirely along with the spill giving you a solid flood wall of beautiful diffuse light when using the nitecore diffuser

The subway bag may give you less flood and a minimal oval shaped hotspot due to the thickness and composition but will give you an idea of what is possible

The 5000K emitters give you better throw for long distances and a good diffuser gives you a very neutral white flood for close up work

Maybe someone here can compare the actual color temps between a quality diffuser on a cool white emitter to a neutral with and without a diffuser ????

I prefer the 4400-4500k XML2 T6 neutral white.

Tint looks very similar to the Nichia 219A and prettier than the Nichia 219B.

The difference in CRI is barely noticeable. Pretty much only noticeable when you hold both lights side-by-side.

Combine that with 3x the lumens and the XML2 is the clear winner.

Fireclaw18 said:

I prefer the 4400-4500k XML2 T6 neutral white.

Tint looks very similar to the Nichia 219A and prettier than the Nichia 219B.

The difference in CRI is barely noticeable. Pretty much only noticeable when you hold both lights side-by-side.

Combine that with 3x the lumens and the XML2 is the clear winner.

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I agree with this...unfortunatly there's a BIG "IF". I only prefer the XM-L2 IF the tint is good. It varies widely, so you could end up with a green, yellow or some random ugly tint. The Nichia on the other hand is pretty consistent - I've had a cooler and warmer version but always a nice tint.

markr6 said:

I agree with this...unfortunatly there's a BIG "IF". I only prefer the XM-L2 IF the tint is good. It varies widely, so you could end up with a green, yellow or some random ugly tint. The Nichia on the other hand is pretty consistent - I've had a cooler and warmer version but always a nice tint.

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Yes, it seems that Nichia's tint binning is tighter. I have quite a few samples of both for comparison. Also, the 219 doesn't seem to have the major tint shift between spill, corona, and hotspot.