Been away for a bit - what's the state of play now?

[digitaldave]

I've been away from here for a while, last time I was here the MC-E and P7 were the top of the pile LEDs. I've done some skim reading and seen reference to some new LEDs, for example the SST-50, SST-90, XPG.

1) What are the brightest LEDs now? I think it's the SST ones but I have no idea how bright they are compared with the MC-E and P7.

2) Where does the XPG fit in?

3) I fancy getting some new drop ins for my 6P, would the XPG or SST be the better options?

If there are some good threads on the subject, post some links and I'll go and have a good read .

Thanks,

Dave.

 

[Max_Power]

Just answering one question that I actually have a strong opinion on.

For the majority of uses, a more efficient LED is going to be the better choice in a flashlight. Therefore I would tend to choose an XPG over an SST. If you really need 500-700 lumens with good throw, regardless of power consumption and heat dissipation issues, then the SST is a better choice. (I'm putting one on my shotgun.) SSTs are not more effficient than the previous generation of LEDs, but they can dump heat faster, so you can drive them harder.

And then there is tint. XPGs have tended to be greenish, and are not yet available in warm white. I can't address the tint situation for sst50.

There oughta be an FAQ for this stuff. There probably is one but I don't know where it is.

Max_Power

 

[DragonFlame]

I've never been a fan of multi-die LEDs, so I have relatively little knowledge of them.
SSTs are multi-die LEDs I presume and indeed they offer a lot of lumens. Efficiency is probably on par with MC-E. A lot of heat to deal with (to be expected at that level of power).
The new XP-G from Cree on the other hand are single-die devices. Aparently the efficiency is somewhat improved over the XR-E. I can't recall right now by how much. The package is also (obviously) different from that of the XR-E. I believe it's smaller (but I'm not sure about this). Neutral and warm white versions are expected sometime in 2010, probably in the first quarter.

DF

 

[Rod911]

SST-50 and SST-90.

If I'm reading the data sheets correctly, the PhlatLight's SSTs are more efficient than Cree's MC-E. Also, the newer SSTs are one single large die compared to the 4 dies of the MC-E, eliminating the 'donut-hole' effect, however, it still ends up creating some artifacts at close range.

 

[slappomatt]

the way I understand it the SST LED's have a very large die size so they are not inherently good throwers, just like the multi-die Led's but they don't have the hole like the multi-die. The XP-G is also larger (slightly) than the older XP-E and XR-E LED's but it IS more efficient.