Fenix L2D Rebel RED filter uses???

[watchdog2001]

I ordered a red filter for my Fenix L2D rebel because I thought it would be cool to have. I got to thinking today,other than the "neat to have factor" I wonder what uses have others who bought red filters for this or other Fenix LED Rebel or Crees lights have thought of. Let us hear some applications for this combo.

 

[Marduke]

Night vision preservation is the primary use of red light (unless you work in a dark photo developing room). Although, you would need to use it in low mode for it to work in this manner, as too bright of a light in any color will ruin your night vision.

 

[Calina]

I like fishing and often use worms as bait.

I hunt for earthworm at night and since they are afraid by white light I use a red filter over my light. They don't "see" the red and are easier to pick that way.

 

[FliGuyRyan]

When you don't want to wake your room mate up at night after browsing CPF at 3 in the morning.

Also, the military kinda requires red sometimes ;-)

P.S. I do notice though that mine is inbetween red and orange, although more red... but still.

 

[crislight01]

the red filter is great , it fits very well in the headlamp , on low it gives you a very discreet light

 

[watchdog2001]

Is the Fenix red filter a plastic lens or glass? I've read on some site stating it's glass but for the price, I have a hard time believing it.

 

[ElectronGuru]

As I understand it, there are two colors that preserve night vision, red and green. Green also enhances contrast for seeing detail. But red has the exclusive and tactical benefit of being hard to see from a distance, so the operator can see the paper in front of them without giving away their position.

 

[crislight01]

Is the Fenix red filter a plastic lens or glass? I've read on some site stating it's glass but for the price, I have a hard time believing it.

from fenix site it states: "Made with a toughened ultra clear glass lens with AR coating and high temperature resistance."


but i personally dont feel it as what you could call glass in a generic way maybe it is glass melt with other substances..if someone knows more about this please share

 

[R11GS]

I'm a hard core red-believer.

I have spent many, many nights outdoors and also enjoy night flying. Nothing like red to keep dark adapted eyes dark adapted. My own experience is that the only use for green is that you can use "less" of it and it gives better map viewing, etc., but it does not preserve night adaptation as well as red. You can really up the red output and still not lose that night adaptation where a green source that is bright will take away that dark adaptation.

Very useful when I wake up in the muy dark too. Eyes are super night adapted at that point and I pretty much only use red then.


I got the red lens for the Fenix. I would be very interested in seeing the filter spectrum on these lenses. They are much more "orange" than most of the other red lenses I own. For example the SF red lens for my 6P appears much "redder" than the Fenix lens. This is true no matter the source. In other words if I put the Fenix lens on the 6P it is not as red. The SF red lens on the Fenix is much redder than the Fenix lens on the Fenix too.

But the non-Fenix red lenses on any white LED light I have are horribly dim. The Fenix red lens is quite a bit brighter on white LED lights and also somewhat brighter on incandescent lights.

I think that the Fenix lens must let a lot more of the shorter wavelength light that the LED's put out than all the other red lenses I use. But this is the same shorter wavelength light that munches up dark adaptation.






So I have to question how well the Fenix red lens will do at preserving night vision. Particularly on a bright setting.





OTOH, aside from LRI's Fusion and Proton, these are the first LED lights I've found that offer a white/red solution in one light, and certainly the first LED "throwers" in red. I've been longing for a red/white solution and while for close up the Fusion is a decent headlamp solution, I have yet to find *any* good LED red solution for throw.

I'm working on modding an L1D with a red Cree. This should be interesting and have great spectrum for preserving dark adaptation and have good throw. But it will be a two light solution instead of one for both red and white. It still may be the best I can do at this point short of creating an entirely new light.

A P3D with red lens at max is a tad perceptibly brighter than the 6P with the SF red lens. But I'd bet you lose more dark adaptation with the Fenix combo than the SF. I'll have to get out and do some empirical testing for giggles.


We'll see.......

 

[matrixshaman]

uses: red light district

 

[luigi]

As I understand it, there are two colors that preserve night vision, red and green. Green also enhances contrast for seeing detail. But red has the exclusive and tactical benefit of being hard to see from a distance, so the operator can see the paper in front of them without giving away their position.

That is incorrect, any color can be used to preserve night vision it just depends on the intensity.
The visible spectrum goes from red to violet with green in the middle:
(IR) - red - orange - green - blue - violet - (UV)

The eyes are less sensitve to red and more sensitive to violet so when you use red light you can use more intensity without destroying night vision and that is why red is popular for night activities.
You can also use blue for night vision but since the eyes are much more sensitive to blue than red you will have to use a much lower intensity.

Green is popular because it is in the middle of the spectrum and is the color that the human eyes can distinguish the better, we can see many shades of green much more than shades of red. Green is also invisible to night vision equipment and that makes it a popular color for tactical operators.

Hope it helps.

Luigi

 

[ElectronGuru]

Green is popular because it is in the middle of the spectrum and is the color that the human eyes can distinguish the better, we can see many shades of green much more than shades of red. Green is also invisible to night vision equipment and that makes it a popular color for tactical operators.
Luigi

I would like to hear more about this.

Red is better at preserving night vision and green is better at not being seen by night vision equipment. So which (and I'm being serious) is better for an actual modern military/war environments, like reading a map at 2am in the desert - while under fire?

Thanks

 

[R11GS]

It is not true that all colors preserve dark adaptation. Long wavelength reds are the only colors that do not significantly destroyed rod cell's rhodopsin (visual purple). Other colors can be used at low intensities, but any other colors besides long wavelength reds will chew up rod cell's rhodopsin to some extent and if they are at all bright, ruin dark adaptation. Long wavelength reds can be used at much higher intensities than any other colors without ruining dark adaptation.

The eyes are most sensitive to green and so it is commonly used in dark environments because it can be used at the lowest intensity. But if it is high intensity, bye-bye to dark adaptation.

Since most maps use a lot of red lines, red is lousy for map reading and is generally lousy for color contrast. This is another reason low-intensity green (if monochromatic like an LED) and low-intensity yellow (if wide spectrum like a filtered incandescent) is used a lot for night use.



As far as night vision equipment, it depends on the photocathode material used, but if my recollection is working (it's been twenty years since I studied various photocathode materials and their spectral response) most have similar enough sensitivities at red and green this is not going to make much difference. Any light source, even dim ones, regardless of color pretty much light up night vision equipment like all get go. FLIR is a completely different animal of course.



Pilots and sailors almost exclusively use red for cockpits and pilot-houses at night. Low intensity, wide-spectrum yellow has been a favorite for map reading because of the red issues for maps.

 

[ElectronGuru]

Sounds like green is the way to go for low intensity applications. Thank you.

 

[FliGuyRyan]

My only complain it what R11GS said about the red filter being orange. Being in the Army I don't know if my commander would let orange slide... :-/

 

[R11GS]

It's definitely well on the redder side of orange, but compared to the several other red lenses I have for preserving dark adaptation on incandescent lights, it is nowhere near "as red".

 

[Marduke]

I have the same problem with my red 3-led NiteIze dropin. It's much too on the orange side for my tastes. I much prefer a deep red.