ledmitter_nli
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2012
- Messages
- 1,433
By casual observation is there a big difference?
Edit: (woops meant to post in the LED forum)
Edit: (woops meant to post in the LED forum)
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I was really scrutinizing CREE's emitter labeling and starting to figure out all the nuances.
Not only are there actual tint labels to contend with, but tints have their own CRI order codes. Like the the 5C bin which I've learned has a CRI variation from 70 Typical, 80 Typical and 90 Minimum.
Cutter is evidently using 70 Typical for my R4-5C1 --> XPGBWT-01-0000-00GE5 <-- where B = XP-G2 | 01 = 70 CRI Typical Out Door White.
Damn. Almost as perfect as it could have been. There is an 80 CRI Typical but you take a Flux hit going from [R4] 130 Flux @ 350mA to [R2] 114 Flux @ 350mA. Or about 12% (192 less lumens) in my quad translated.
So a difference of 10 CRI that would be barely perceptible in the first place isn't really worth it.
If you find you've posted in the wrong forum, click the report button and request your thread be moved to the correct area. There's a very good chance staff will not see your report within your thread.Edit: (woops meant to post in the LED forum)
If all the other light characteristics are the same, not usually. It depends on the SPD of the light and which colors you are viewing by it. I find that tint and CCT are far more noticeable (And glaring, when inappropriate).
Knowing I lose nearly 200 lumens of output with the higher CRI LED (in a quad array) makes me think it isn't worth the step down and I should just adopt the Nichia 219's instead.
Side by side, with the right color samples and the same CCT, yes you will be able to tell the difference. With different CCTs, nope you will have no clue between 80 and 90, though between 70 and 90 yes probably.
The key here is that you will know they will be different. I can create an 80CRI light and 90CRI light of "similar" CCT, but you may like the 80 better if I give you more color gamut and/or saturate certain appealing colors.
Semiman
200 lumens is nothing in a quad array for output. Most people with a side-by-side comparison can't tell 1100 from 1300 lumens. However, it does make about 10% difference in runtime, if you're targeting a given output instead of a given current.
I can tell. It is mostly by comparison to other LED sources with known CRI ratings, and I have collected several of them. So, for example, if I can see the color rendering looks a little better than a Cree TrueWhite fixture, but not quite as good as high CRI PAR retrofit fixture, I conclude that the CRI must be in the range of 92-95 CRI. I look at skin tones, the appearance of red colored objects, whether various green colored objects appear deep forest green or yellowish green, and compare their appearance under halogen. When I have so many different light sources at my disposal, with a range of different CRI ratings I can use for reference, it becomes easier to say "this light source feels like it should be around 94 CRI". I am very particular and can notice subtle differences in light quality. Why should this be so surprising? There are practiced people in the industry who can instinctively differentiate between 4000K and 4100K with relative ease. I am not saying that everyone can do this, but there are people who can. When it comes to LED, I can definitely differentiate between 92 and 95 CRI. In fact, I can observe the subtle difference between 95 and 96 CRI, or the light appearance characteristics of my 96 CRI blue-emitter LED compared to a 97 CRI violet-emitter LED. It is not really noticeable, but it is observable. The closer the CRI is to 100, the easier it is to differentiate between small differences in CRI ratings. Could I tell the difference between 83 CRI and 85 CRI ? Probably not.The only thing I am wondering is how you can be so deluded to believe that you can tell the difference between 94 CRI 93 CRI 95 or even 90.
I am fully aware that how the light looks is not the same thing as actual color rendering. There is tint, "softness"/"harshness", beam distribution, and other qualities of the light which are difficult to quantify.I think you have deluded yourself to believe that because the light looks good it must be high CRI which is not true,.
The CRI rating is, in one sense, rather meaningless to what type of light people prefer. Two different light sources could be completely different, have completely different spectral characteristics, but still have the same CRI rating. But the closer you get to the value of 100 CRI, the more the spectra must conform to the black body curve, so at 98 CRI there is very little variability among different light sources. The fact that people like the light from incandescent bulbs does not mean they like 100 CRI, it just so happens that an incandescent bulb has 100 CRI. You could put a filter over the light, reducing the CRI down to 90 (but not changing the tint too much) and chances are they would still prefer this incandescent light over something else.most people prefer a bulb that is not 100 CRI,
I can tell the difference between 80 and 85 CRI, at least when it comes to LED. 80 CRI seems a little greyish, 85 CRI seem more adequate. It would probably be very difficult to tell the difference between 80 and 84 CRI, not sure if I would be able to do it. It would not be much of a problem to differentiate between 90 and 95 CRI. It's not some huge obvious difference, but it is not so hard to look at it carefully and tell, especially if they were side by side and I was comparing the two. I probably could not tell the difference between 90 and 92 CRI.a variety of CRI between 80 and 95 and you would have a hard time guessing within 5 to 10 CRI.
I agree. In most cases people would not be consciously aware that the lighting in their room was 80 CRI instead of 85 CRI. That does not mean it would not affect them. Things clearly look much more colorful under 90 CRI illumination than 70 CRI illumination. Working under 70 CRI light all day, it would be like the life had been sucked out of the room, it would get a little dreary. Higher CRI is better. 73 CRI is better than 70. There is incremental benefit, even if the benefit is too small to notice.The vast majority of people can tell a difference between two things via the difference itself...but are unable to identify the "ranking" of those two items individually, especially if only shown ONE.
That's one way to look at it. Another way to look at it is that color rendering might even be more important, since the eye has more trouble discerning color at low light levels.And for FLASHLIGHT's, especially if USED at night, with night adapted vision, you are essentially seeing in black & white, and all the crap about CRI is a cruel joke. If NOT night adapted, it can at least still make a difference.