Derek Dean
Flashlight Enthusiast
EDIT 3-11-21 Just a quick note of interest, it's come to my attention that the regular LEE filters fade VERY quickly when used in front of LEDs. It is now HIGHLY recommended that you purchase and use only LEE ZIRCON filters, which are specifically designed to be used with LEDs. Zircon material is twice as thick and highly resistant to fading.
I found the Lee Zircon filter # 802, which is approx. equivalent to minus 1/4 green, to be nearly perfect for filtering ALL my Zebralights.
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Ok, I'll admit it, I've become a tint snob, and I used to agonize while waiting for a new light as to what tint the LED would be, but no more.
I've now found the joy of customizing the tint on all of my lights to EXACTLY the tint I want thanks to the Lee Filter Swatch Book, which can be found here:
http://www.shop.leefiltersusa.com/Designer-Swatch-Book-SWB.htm
And this is the European Contact page:
http://www.leefilters.com/lighting/contact/
And here is a link to the Rosco site, they have different versions available:
http://www.rosco.com/us/products/lighting.cfm
These little books contains hundreds of different colored filters, from light magenta to dark magenta, or light blue to dark blue, or light yellow to dark yellow, etc. Some even contains diffusing filters!
Each plastic filter is about 1 1/2" x 2 1/2". It can take a little time to find the right filter because there are so many colors to choose from, but it's honestly a lot of fun and not all that hard.
If your light has a greenish tint, then you'll probably want one of the pink (magenta) filters, while I found the XP-G R5 LED in my new NiteCore IFE2 (which seem to be more of a cyan, or green-blue tint) needed a light orange filter.
Each filter has a number. All you do is just hold each filter in front of the light and write down the numbers of the filters that seem to work well, and then after narrowing it down to 3 or 4, you finally pick the one that gives you the perfect tint.
What's the perfect tint? Well, not only did I use a white wall, but I would aim the light at a bookcase with lots of colorful books, and I went into the kitchen and aimed it at soup cans, etc. Then I went outside and looked at plants. I couldn't believe how much better colors looked when rendered with the correct filter in front of the light. AMAZING.
When you finally select the right filter, you'll want to cut out a small square of that filter about the size of the front glass cover. If you can get the bezel off of your light, you can simply remove it and place the glass on the plastic filter and trace around it with a pen and cut to size, then place the filter inside the glass front cover and reassemble (filter, glass, bezel)
On lights that I can't remove the bezel, I simply place the light, bezel down, on the filter and trace around it and cut it out, then taking my time, I'll begin trimming it until it fits down into the bezel area on top of the glass cover. Then I'll attach it using a reversible glue stick, and have found that it stays in place great. On my Jetbeam Bk-135A I didn't even have to use the glue stick, when I got it cut to size, I placed it down on the glass and it slid into place in a small groove. Neat!
The difference it makes in the quality of the light is dramatic, and usually with only a very small loss in light output, which is more than made up by having such a beautiful tint.
I can't recommend this enough. Now, every time I use one of my lights I really enjoy the quality of the light as much as the physical aspects of the light itself.
So, rather than complaining about green or blue tints, customize every light you own with this simple, inexpensive, and easily reversible solution.
I found the Lee Zircon filter # 802, which is approx. equivalent to minus 1/4 green, to be nearly perfect for filtering ALL my Zebralights.
=====================
Ok, I'll admit it, I've become a tint snob, and I used to agonize while waiting for a new light as to what tint the LED would be, but no more.
I've now found the joy of customizing the tint on all of my lights to EXACTLY the tint I want thanks to the Lee Filter Swatch Book, which can be found here:
http://www.shop.leefiltersusa.com/Designer-Swatch-Book-SWB.htm
And this is the European Contact page:
http://www.leefilters.com/lighting/contact/
And here is a link to the Rosco site, they have different versions available:
http://www.rosco.com/us/products/lighting.cfm
These little books contains hundreds of different colored filters, from light magenta to dark magenta, or light blue to dark blue, or light yellow to dark yellow, etc. Some even contains diffusing filters!
Each plastic filter is about 1 1/2" x 2 1/2". It can take a little time to find the right filter because there are so many colors to choose from, but it's honestly a lot of fun and not all that hard.
If your light has a greenish tint, then you'll probably want one of the pink (magenta) filters, while I found the XP-G R5 LED in my new NiteCore IFE2 (which seem to be more of a cyan, or green-blue tint) needed a light orange filter.
Each filter has a number. All you do is just hold each filter in front of the light and write down the numbers of the filters that seem to work well, and then after narrowing it down to 3 or 4, you finally pick the one that gives you the perfect tint.
What's the perfect tint? Well, not only did I use a white wall, but I would aim the light at a bookcase with lots of colorful books, and I went into the kitchen and aimed it at soup cans, etc. Then I went outside and looked at plants. I couldn't believe how much better colors looked when rendered with the correct filter in front of the light. AMAZING.
When you finally select the right filter, you'll want to cut out a small square of that filter about the size of the front glass cover. If you can get the bezel off of your light, you can simply remove it and place the glass on the plastic filter and trace around it with a pen and cut to size, then place the filter inside the glass front cover and reassemble (filter, glass, bezel)
On lights that I can't remove the bezel, I simply place the light, bezel down, on the filter and trace around it and cut it out, then taking my time, I'll begin trimming it until it fits down into the bezel area on top of the glass cover. Then I'll attach it using a reversible glue stick, and have found that it stays in place great. On my Jetbeam Bk-135A I didn't even have to use the glue stick, when I got it cut to size, I placed it down on the glass and it slid into place in a small groove. Neat!
The difference it makes in the quality of the light is dramatic, and usually with only a very small loss in light output, which is more than made up by having such a beautiful tint.
I can't recommend this enough. Now, every time I use one of my lights I really enjoy the quality of the light as much as the physical aspects of the light itself.
So, rather than complaining about green or blue tints, customize every light you own with this simple, inexpensive, and easily reversible solution.
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