Decide between the Nichia 519a cool white or warm white?

[batman]

Hi all,

I've got the (2017) Surefire Aviator and am wanting to order a LumensFactory E-Series bezel to put on it from time to time for the nostalgia factor.
To power the LumensFactory E-Series bezel I'd like to run the LumensFactory E1-LED module but can't decide which of the Nichia 519a emitters is best for the overall usefulness and cool factor?
The Nichia 519a cool white emitter will produce 420 lumens at 5,700K, while the 519a warm white will produce 380 lumens at 3,000k. (I'm not interested in adding another Nichia 319a 4,000K neutral white emitter to my collection at this time, my old school M6 currently has one.)

Also, do LumensFactory numbers advertised on their website represent emitter lumens or OTF (Out the front) lumens?
Thanks for any and all comments, advice, ideas, etc.

Thanks!
Batman

 

[AMD64Brunette]

Warm white all the way.

 

[batman]

Warm white all the way.

I feel the sentiment. I've never had a 3000k LED..however back in the old days I had the original A2 which was a 3,300K incandescent. I'm almost afraid it will look like an old, anemic incandescent bulb if I go down to 3,000K LED. Hopefully I'm wrong!

 

[defloyd77]

Honestly I don't think you can go wrong either way.

The 5700K is a really unique experience having something that cool/high in color temperature, yet it makes everything look great with it's ability to produce deeper reds. It's like it's cool white, but somehow still warm.

I don't have any experience with the 3000K 519A, but if you don't have nostalgia for incandescents and the light they produced, you may want to go with the 5700K.

 

[aznsx]

The 5700K is a really unique experience having something that cool/high in color temperature, yet it makes everything look great with it's ability to produce deeper reds. It's like it's cool white, but somehow still warm.

Would that be 'stock', or are you into the 'de-doming' craze?

 

[defloyd77]

Would that be 'stock', or are you into the 'de-doming' craze?

I was referring to stock, but the 5700K looks great de-domed as well.

 

[batman]

Honestly I don't think you can go wrong either way.

The 5700K is a really unique experience having something that cool/high in color temperature, yet it makes everything look great with it's ability to produce deeper reds. It's like it's cool white, but somehow still warm.

I don't have any experience with the 3000K 519A, but if you don't have nostalgia for incandescents and the light they produced, you may want to go with the 5700K.

If I could handle both of them and see in person what they look like, I'm sure I could decide pretty easily. That's the hard part about this hobby so many times for me.

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

Normally I'm all for warm white, but 519A in 5700K is easily the most beautiful cool white I have ever seen. It's everything I ever wanted cool white LED light to be, and then some.

 

[defloyd77]

Normally I'm all for warm white, but 519A in 5700K is easily the most beautiful cool white I have ever seen. It's everything I ever wanted cool white LED light to be, and then some.

The really nice thing if you're a tad bit "OCD" like me and clashing color temps bug you and you find yourself with a group of other people with typical cheap flashlights, the 5700K isn't going to clash horribly as something warmer and you won't stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[jon_slider]

which of the Nichia 519a emitters is best for the overall usefulness and cool factor?

I will advocate for the 5700K

It is special, and more versatile.

It is what Hogo and Henry of HDS choose to carry..
Run with the big dogs ;-)

Which one do you like?:

white arrow 5700K, orange arrow 3000K

If you use your light mostly indoors at low output, the 3000K is more mellow... If you use your light in the cockpit at low output, 3000K is more subdued and less glaring, and will have less impact on your dark adaptation.

If youre going walking outside at night, the 5700K beam stands out more and looks whiter and brighter.

If your use is tactical, 5700K all the way.

If you use your light during the day, 5700K is better, it wont look orange.

 

[F89]

One thing to consider with the LF LED selection is that the 519a 3000K is high CRI while the 5700K is not as far as I know.

 

[jon_slider]

the 5700K is not as far as I know.

thank you for pointing that out
I would only want a High CRI 5700K

but maybe the OP does not mind Low CRI
is the stock LED Aviator, Low CRI?

 

[defloyd77]

It would definitely be a good idea to try and contact Lumens Factory and try to get confirmation on whether or not the 5700K is high CRI or not. My previous posts apply to the high CRI version.

I think a lot of us see Nichia 519A and just assume it's high CRI, I'm not sure I've ever seen the standard CRI variant offered in a light.

 

[jon_slider]

It would definitely be a good idea to try and contact Lumens Factory and try to get confirmation on whether or not the 5700K is high CRI or not.

Agree!

They dont mention the CRI, of the Cool White:

 

[batman]

I will advocate for the 5700K

It is special, and more versatile.

It is what Hogo and Henry of HDS choose to carry..
Run with the big dogs ;-)

Which one do you like?:

white arrow 5700K, orange arrow 3000K
View attachment 71378
If you use your light mostly indoors at low output, the 3000K is more mellow... If you use your light in the cockpit at low output, 3000K is more subdued and less glaring, and will have less impact on your dark adaptation.

If youre going walking outside at night, the 5700K beam stands out more and looks whiter and brighter.

If your use is tactical, 5700K all the way.

If you use your light during the day, 5700K is better, it wont look orange.

From this line-up I'd say the de-domed 5700K or the or 519a 4,500K look the most intriguing, but alas, LumensFactory does not offer either for the E1 drop-in lamp module. That being said, the 5,700K looks quite impressive too, and I think I'd be happy with it.
My Aviator output seems to be just about perfectly white with what my daughter describes as a touch of blue/purple. (I don't know what emitter Surefire uses in the Aviator.)

This next thought I have about the LumensFactory head may need to be another thread but it is related:

Since the Aviator uses a special flat clickie tailcap (allows for tailstand and protects the cap too), I wonder which E1 bezel is going to match that best from an aesthetic standpoint. The options they have are the original flat bezel, slightly crenualated bezel, strike bezels which don't interest me, a "smoothie" head unit and even a "teardrop" head unit which I believe is much larger and therefore not what I'm going for. All these year later and I'm just now stumbling into these after-market parts of my favorite Surefire series.

 

[defloyd77]

Agree!

They dont mention the CRI, of the Cool White:

View attachment 71380

The fact that they mention the 80 CRI of the neutral white makes me suspect the 5700K 519a is the *shudders* 70 CRI variant.

 

[jon_slider]

My Aviator output seems to be just about perfectly white with what my daughter describes as a touch of blue/purple.

sounds similar to the cool white 519a

 

[scalpel_ninja]

I own the LF 3000K E series module. The tint was nice, but I got bored and decided to de-dome it. Now it's about 2400K as @jon_slider shows in his line up shot. Still very nice for night time and indoor use.

I also ordered a custom programmable SingLED module from Tana with a Nichia 519A 5000K emitter. Tana felt the tint was so nice, he decided to add it to his line up of options going forward. He tried to convince me to leave it domed, but I still de-domed it. It is now around 4200K and one of my favorite drop ins to use because I like a bit of rosiness in my lights. If you're willing to spend a bit more for Tana's work and willing to wait a few weeks, I suggest you get one from him with the emitter of your choice.

As for aesthetics, I use the shrouded tailcap (Z68) with the hexagon-shaped head. To me, that head keeps the profile small and compact; the flats also act as an anti-roll feature. I can snap some photos if you'd like.

 

[Buff]

Very interesting. I am only just learning this aspect of light intensity for lack of a better all encompassing word. To me when ordering lights i almost always went with the higher "cool white"when the option was available. Then one day i realized(because i looked it up) that one of my lights was in that 4000k range and honestly i love the what i term calming effect it has on me when using it mainly around my house. It's a very floody light (Maratac Tri Flood) hence the name but it has caused me to rethink my choices when i have the option. I could only imagine 3000k-4000k lighting?
This domed and de domed is entirely new to me.
I have a Olight Baton 3 in 4000k-5200k on the way
And recently dug up a Wurkkos FC13 in that range i hadn't got out of the box yet as i had been using the same light in the cool white range for awhile. What a nice change.
Happy Lighting!

 

[Schokokeks]

I own the LF 3000K E series module. The tint was nice, but I got bored and decided to de-dome it. Now it's about 2400K as @jon_slider shows in his line up shot. Still very nice for night time and indoor use.

I have the LF 3000k 519A in a SP-6M. I think indoor vs. outdoor is a big determiner, as is your preference for what is "normal sunlight."

I really like warm-to-neutral lights, and find the 3000K great. But, warm lights don't produce as much light, so sometimes that's not great outside. My "outside" lights tend to be Neutral (4-5000K), and indoors, I like 3-4500K.

On the upside, if you've never tried a warm light outside, it may be a fun change of pace. If I recall, the warmer lights tend to increase contrast, which can be a preference or a dispreference (and why I think I settle for neutral for outdoor use).

I have some 5000K+ 519A that are high CRI. They're interesting for sure, but I don't like them.

I think Henry and Hogo carry those lights because they live in Tucson, where the sun is extremely bright and overbearing. I live much, much farther north (but have been to Tucson), and I am not a sun seeker, so most of my outdoors time is outside of 10 A.M. through 4 P.M. So, for me, high kelvin light doesn't translate as well as "normal outdoor light," since I'm usually hissing at the sun from the shadows during the time of day the light has that color. When I emerge into the late afternoon, the sun's kelvin range is much warmer, and I prefer that. Yellows and oranges are my favorite sunbeams (except on overcast days, where that super high kelvin seems to be "fit").

So, as weird as it sounds, maybe choose the CCT based on what time of day you like best (I think Henry suggest this to on the HDS site, and I think that's a very smart plan).