CREE leds

[Buck91]

Been toying with the idea of upgrading the leds in my favorite pair of flashlights for a while now. Two Fenix lights, l1tv2 and l2tv2. Great lights that got bumped up to xpg r2 and xre something back when those were cutting edge. Trying to brig myself up to date and it looks like the Cree xp-l is the latest and greatest? What is the newest bin we are up to? I do have the manufacture bin chart. Also where are these things available now? At one point even dealextreme offered pretty up to date Stars and bare leds. No so much based on my quick search. Nothing o. Ebay either unless it was buried in the results.

Thanks!

 

[michiganstud]

I'm also here to find the same information. I have the surefire lights with the cree xml R2 or R5 dropins. They are bright, I think around 600 lumens.

I just purchased a T6 that us supposed to be 1,000 lumens, which is NOT even close to my current older LED.

I also see a U3 that's supposed to be 1500 lumens.

Also I'm seeing XPG....are those better than XML??

Can anyone advise what a good drop in is nowadays??

 

[staticx57]

Cree's latest cutting edge is the XP-L2, XP-G3, XHP50.2 and XHP70.2

To put it in perspective XML>XML2>XPL>XPL2. If someone is selling you an XML light it is either genuinely old which is ok if you know or it is crap.

MTG>MTG2>XHP70>XHP70.2
XPG>XPG2>XPG3
XHP50>XHP50.2 (this sits in between XPL/XML die size and XHP70 class die size)

XRE died with the Advent of XPG which has also long been eclipsed. There's a ton more out there these days in the Luminus lines, Nichia, and Osram too but something to get you thinking with Cree.

 

[staticx57]

Pflexpro makes some good P60 dropping but for LED the world has moved in since then and it is unlikely you will find much cutting edge in that space.

If you want to buy parts Mountain Electronics is a great source and is actually an OEM supplier of many modders.

 

[michiganstud]

Cree's latest cutting edge is the XP-L2, XP-G3, XHP50.2 and XHP70.2

To put it in perspective XML>XML2>XPL>XPL2. If someone is selling you an XML light it is either genuinely old which is ok if you know or it is crap.

MTG>MTG2>XHP70>XHP70.2
XPG>XPG2>XPG3
XHP50>XHP50.2 (this sits in between XPL/XML die size and XHP70 class die size)

XRE died with the Advent of XPG which has also long been eclipsed. There's a ton more out there these days in the Luminus lines, Nichia, and Osram too but something to get you thinking with Cree.

Thank you. I found a great resource, not sure if it has been posted here yet or not.


https://lightsngear.com/best-cree-led-comparison/

 

[Vox Clamatis in Deserto]

Thank you. I found a great resource, not sure if it has been posted here yet or not.


https://lightsngear.com/best-cree-led-comparison/

Thanks for bookmarking that guide :thumbsup:. Looking at a SureFire E1B-MV, it appears to have an XM-L2 emitter inside.

Wonder if I can drop this emitter in some 'old' green tinted SF EB1's and EB2's? Need to fire up my flow soldering equipment again...

 

[Buck91]

Cree's latest cutting edge is the XP-L2, XP-G3, XHP50.2 and XHP70.2

To put it in perspective XML>XML2>XPL>XPL2. If someone is selling you an XML light it is either genuinely old which is ok if you know or it is crap.

MTG>MTG2>XHP70>XHP70.2
XPG>XPG2>XPG3
XHP50>XHP50.2 (this sits in between XPL/XML die size and XHP70 class die size)

XRE died with the Advent of XPG which has also long been eclipsed. There's a ton more out there these days in the Luminus lines, Nichia, and Osram too but something to get you thinking with Cree.

SO how would XHP50.2 compare to the XPL2? Any ideas on vendors which would fill a small order?

 

[Agpp]

SO how would XHP50.2 compare to the XPL2? Any ideas on vendors which would fill a small order?

XML>XML2>XPL>XPL2>XHP35>XHP50>XHP50.2

But do note that:
* XHP needs different drivers
* it's floodier
* the dome is larger leading to fewer compatible optics
* XP-L2 and XHP50.2 tend to have high colour variances across beam. You need a colour-mixing optics to fix that
* XHP50 doesn't have this problem, but it has a large distance between dies leading to a dark hole in the middle of the beam. Solution: colour mixing or orange peel.

You can buy the LED f.e. from Kaidomain.

 

[ssanasisredna]

To put it in perspective XML>XML2>XPL>XPL2. If someone is selling you an XML light it is either genuinely old which is ok if you know or it is crap.

Not really.

Why the XML2 is slightly older tech than the XPL2, performance wise, they are very similar to the point of being indistinguishable depending on the application. If you want a thrower, sure the XPL2 has the advantage, but for a more floody / general purpose light, there is not going to be much difference certainly not in efficiency.

The XPL2, XHP50.2 , 70.2 and even XML2 all perform fairly similarly within their design parameters, but they are targeted at different applications / power levels with the XPL offering XML performance at a reduced price (though the flashlight vendor may charge more). HI versions of any of the above being designed for highly focussed applications, like flashlights that throw, at a hit in total lumens.

A U3 XML is not 1500 lumens versus 1000 lumens for a T6. They are about 15% difference in light output at the same current,practically as so few bin U3, they are at the bottom of the bin, so could only be 10% difference. That is not visible noticeable. The U3 XML2 has better output at high drive, so you may add another 10%, and the XPL2 may add another few % on top of that. The eye is a log response. You need a lot more lumens for noticeable change.

 

[staticx57]

Not really.

Why the XML2 is slightly older tech than the XPL2, performance wise, they are very similar to the point of being indistinguishable depending on the application. If you want a thrower, sure the XPL2 has the advantage, but for a more floody / general purpose light, there is not going to be much difference certainly not in efficiency.

The XPL2, XHP50.2 , 70.2 and even XML2 all perform fairly similarly within their design parameters, but they are targeted at different applications / power levels with the XPL offering XML performance at a reduced price (though the flashlight vendor may charge more). HI versions of any of the above being designed for highly focussed applications, like flashlights that throw, at a hit in total lumens.

A U3 XML is not 1500 lumens versus 1000 lumens for a T6. They are about 15% difference in light output at the same current,practically as so few bin U3, they are at the bottom of the bin, so could only be 10% difference. That is not visible noticeable. The U3 XML2 has better output at high drive, so you may add another 10%, and the XPL2 may add another few % on top of that. The eye is a log response. You need a lot more lumens for noticeable change.

This was more a generational view of things rather than an output view. The XPL superseded the XML2 in Cree's lineup and the XPL2 superseded the XPL. Anyone selling an XML today is either trying to get rid of ancient stock or they are selling a fake LED likely a latticebright capitalizing off the XML name.

Although if you want to start pushing things past their designed limits the XPL2 is the hands down winner.

 

[Buck91]

Great explanations thank you everyone

 

[jorn]

keep in mind that the xp-l got the same footprint as the xp-g leds, so you can just swap out the led. You need a new star/mcpcb if you are going to swap out a xp-g led with a xm-l led. And the xhp series of led needs a new driver because they are running on 6V or 12V. The regular xp-g xp-l, xm-l etc is running on 3V.

 

[Buck91]

Google and ebay are still failing me, I am having an impossible time finding an XPL on a 10mm pcb. Do these exist? Any retailer suggestions?

 

[staticx57]

Mountain Electronics

 

[Buck91]

Mountain Electronics

Perfect! No experience with this vendor but I placed an order today. They have exactly what I needed; One Cree XP-L 80+ CRI and one Nichia 219C 90+ CRI reflowed onto 10mm boards. Very excited!

 

[Buck91]

Does anybody have low current flux specs on the Cree XPL-hi? I can not find them anywhere. THey seem to only publish 1050ma but is there any numbers at, say, 350ma?

 

[archimedes]

Does anybody have low current flux specs on the Cree XPL-hi? I can not find them anywhere. THey seem to only publish 1050ma but is there any numbers at, say, 350ma?

Eyeballing the output vs current graph from the spec sheet, it looks (very roughly) linear at those low currents, so ... maybe about a third of the output at 350 vs 1050 ??

 

[Buck91]

I would agree with that estimation given the available data. Kind of disappointing; this gives it approximately the same flux as a XPG-R5... despite multiple generations of separation.

 

[staticx57]

It is likely to be at a bit lower voltage making it quite not effecient. It also has a bit higher ceiling you can drive it to.