Color rendition in that beam shot does look pretty good. Maybe TerraLux is telling the truth about the high CRI emitter.
I'm not aware of any high-CRI CREE XP-C emitters (XP-E and XP-G, yes, but XP-C, no)--if there is one, then it's a secret, but somehow I doubt that the LightStar 80 is THAT special.
That said, the one that I just bought does render colors very nicely, in my opinion, whatever its CRI may be. :twothumbs Here is a short review, of sorts, that I posted to the recommendation forum:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...t-flashlight&p=3834887&viewfull=1#post3834887
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...t-flashlight&p=3835329&viewfull=1#post3835329
I got a nice e-mail back from Scott at TerraLux. Here is a bit more information about this 2 x AAA penlight:
"CREE XPC and the CRI is >80
According to CREE's
XP-C data sheet, the typical CRI of the neutral white version is 75, not a minimum of 80. Whatever the truth of the matter may be, however, looking at the relative spectral power distribution graph, I'm impressed with the color balance represented by the green curve (neutral white). There is nothing special about the cool white and warm white XP-C emitters, but on paper the neutral white ones stand out against most other neutral white emitters, including the XP-G. I don't know why their typical CRI isn't higher, but regardless they're less deficient in many areas of the spectrum. That curve, regarding wavelengths longer than 525 nm, actually looks a lot like that of the neutral white Rebel emitter used in the high-CRI ZebraLight H51c, for those who are familiar with the latter, and renders colors very much like it in practice (not quite as good, but pretty close--sort of between the H51c and neutral white XP-Gs).
Even if the lumens are inflated a bit (or at the emitter instead of OTF), I could see it putting out 50-60 lumens, which is just about right for my needs.... a bit more than the Streamlight Stylus Pro.
It seems fairly bright, but probably not much brighter, if at all, than the "C4" (really a cool white XP-C, I believe) Stylus Pro.
I love that it has a momentary and comes on at a decent level..... 2 things that kind of bugged me about the Preon 2.
I wouldn't rely on the LightStar 80 as a survival flashlight, since it can cut out without warning and leave you in the dark, but as a penlight used intermittently and repeatedly for getting work done efficiently, it seems ideal. Personally, I think its color rendering would come in handy at times for getting work done efficiently, too.
I think it's great. I would say it's around 60 lumens, but I can't measure this. It is cool-white, but it definitely has a higher CRI. My HDS EDC high cri is still better, but this light beats all normal cool white lights.
Mine is definitely less than 60 lumens on fresh cells (alkaline), but not that far off. It's neutral-warm white (near 4000K and maybe a little lower) rather than cool white, which was a surprise--I guess we got emitters that are on either extreme of the 3700-5000K range of neutral white defined by CREE. It's good to hear that the cooler ones have good color rendering, and this is really why I bought this flashlight, but the one I got does such a good job that I can hardly complain. For some reason, all of the neutral emitters in the budget XP-C series are extra-good at color rendering, even though they are technically not high CRI.
The beam is rather throwy, I would have liked more flood.
The flood is not wide, but it is fairly bright, and while the hotspot is tight and throwy, there is a sort of "corona" around it that is brighter than the rest of the flood and a little wider than most hotspots. Overall, the beam seems quite usable to me. It shows artifacts, as you mentioned, but I'll take it over a typical 5mm LED's or incandescent's beam any day.
Battery rattle depends on the type of batteries used. with cheap aerocell branded batteries and eneloops from 2009 there is rattle. With duracell batteries and energizer ultimate lithiums there is no descernable rattle.
The Chinese-made Duracells that came with mine rattle like crazy, while American-made Duracells do not rattle at all.
For the money this light is great. I would say it's one of the best penlights around today. It's nicely built, is easily bright enough for most things, has a higher cri than most lights, and uses very common batteries. Some people might argue that it doesn't have a low mode, but this light isn't meant for going to the bathroom at night or going camping (although you could use it for that). For an electrition for example I think this would be really great.
That's right, it's a mid-budget work penlight, like an electrician or mechanic might use, and as such it's probably the best available right now (provided that it's as durable as it seems to be).