Color reference beam shots (including XP-G R4, Quark Ti R5, MD4 Wildcat)

[eddyg]

These are my first beam shots -- I hope somebody finds them useful / informative.

Note that all shots contain a Gretag-Macbeth ColorChecker Classic in the image to help judge how the tints of the various LEDs affect color rendition. Quoting from the web site (emphasis mine):

The ColorChecker® 24 Patch Classic target is an array of 24 scientifically prepared natural, chromatic, primary and gray scale colored squares in a wide range of colors. Many of the squares represent natural objects, such as human skin, foliage and blue sky. Since they exemplify the color of their counterparts and reflect light the same way in all parts of the visible spectrum, the squares will match the colors of representative sample natural objects under any illumination, and with any color reproduction process.

All of these shots were taken with the exact same exposure settings and white balance, approximately 12 feet from the front of the light to the color target, so they should be directly comparable to one another.

Note that the LEDs bin and tint referenced in each image are to the best of my knowledge and are not guaranteed. (Unfortunately I don't have the tint information for the Quark XP-G R5?)

The beamshots shown below are:
Reference, LF2XT, LF3XT, M30W, Nailbender XP-G Drop-in, M60WF, Olight M20 Premium, Quark AA Titanium (Li-Ion), Quark AA Titanium (LSD NiMH), Nailbender Mag 3D Mod, MG L-Mini II (warm), MG L-Mini II (warm) with Turbo head, Malkoff MD4 Wildcat
(each image is also labelled)

(Click images to enlarge)


For reference, this set of beamshots is available on Flickr here.

You can also check out some "beauty shots" of my Quark Titanium AA Tactical:
.

 

[strinq]

Re: Color reference beam shots (including XP-G R4 and Quark Ti R5)

Great post! Good job. :twothumbs

 

[eddyg]

Re: Color reference beam shots (including XP-G R4 and Quark Ti R5)

Thanks string. My Malkoff MD4 Wildcat just arrived in the mail, so I added a beamshot of it as well.

 

[Saint_Dogbert]

Standardized the color rendition chart for the studio strobe control and the Quark Tactical AA w/XP-G R5, correcting for differences in color temperature, exposure and contrast. The small color swatches show the true values used on the color checker chart. See if you can tell which is the LED...

 

[recDNA]

Explain in more detail please? I get the little boxes are the true colors and the big boxes are the colors with the XP-G but what is the flashing about? And what do you mean by guess which is the led?

 

[Beacon of Light]

Explain in more detail please? I get the little boxes are the true colors and the big boxes are the colors with the XP-G but what is the flashing about? And what do you mean by guess which is the led?

Not sure I get the meaning of the flashing either...

 

[compasillo]

Nice beamshots Eddyg and a great job. Very helpful.

:twothumbs :twothumbs :twothumbs

 

[AnAppleSnail]

Not sure I get the meaning of the flashing either...

It's showing Studio-lit and then LED-lit to compare them.

 

[Saint_Dogbert]

Yes, the small boxes are the actual color values of that color checker chart, and remain the same for each frame of the GIF. Honestly, they don't really need to be there but I just threw 'em in anyway. I guess they act as a frame of reference for the larger squares around the small boxes, which switch between the studio lighting and the Quark w/XP-G.

 

[Beacon of Light]

So what does it mean that the 2 lighter green squares don't really change color with either studio or LED lighting? Is this because of that greenish cast of the XP-G?

 

[Beacon of Light]

Also the orange block (1st column, second row) looks closer to the true color with the Quark LED lighting than a true studio lighting? That seems odd.

 

[eddyg]

Updated OP to add the L-Mini II with a warm (7-binned!) MC-E driver, with both the regular head and the turbo head.

 

[MrGman]

Actually you are trying to show 2 different things at the same time which is contradictory to having the color reference. All of the photos should be shot for correct exposure for the color chart from the light source so that they are of the same relative brightness level, only then should you be able to compare colors. By having some lights that are far brighter than the others and the colors being washed out from over exposure versus other pictures that are very dim you are not getting true color references. So this single set of charts doesn't really do justice to the colors by also trying to show the differences in brightness.

for the good color reference shots I would also zoom in and not try to also use the same photo to show overall beam patterns. At least not the entire beam of each.

 

[Saint_Dogbert]

Yes, that was one issue that I noticed, there is some glare with the bright/floody lights that is obscuring some of the targets. Maybe consider cropping with a longer lens and setting exposure with a gray card. However, I did compensate for differences in exposure in my cheesy animated GIF comparison.

@Beacon: I don't really know, as I just threw that chart thingy together for fun, sans any real knowledge. However, I would guess it is because there is a large peak in the green area of the spectrum of emitted radiation from an LED, and so is comparable to the relative amount of radiation from the studio strobes at similar wavelengths.

That orange block looks closer to the true color because it is actually from the studio strobe image. Pay close attention to the reds and purples, and you should be able to see which is the LED (think less saturated).

 

[DHart]

Great beamshots, eddyg, thank you!