I just have to ask--What's the obsession?

[Theo]

I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

What is the obsession with specific, seemingly almost imperceptable, shades of white in an LED light?

I mean, some $35-$40 units are being sold with aa additional premium of over $25 just because they have an 'exceptionally white' tint.

And I see folks as prizing a specific light, over and above the other 10,000 produced that month, because they think it has an whiter color.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want a lime-green tint on a $150 light, but it seems a little anal to get out a color meter and measure the output of a given LED in order to have "the perfect white light".. I for one like a slightly blue or purple tint to my lights, I think it adds a 'high'tech' look to the light, and is pleasing to the eyes at night. Green tints are annoying, and if a light was lime green or something I would send it back. But I'm not going to pay a premium for the 'top 3% of the whiteness' in a batch of lights. Or worry about a slightly green tint, especially on under-driven LEDs.

So, please explain the obsession to me.

 

[raggie33]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

to me when it has a bad tint it makes what im looking at apear to be odd colored.also i like the detail that goes into the mkaer chooseing the best tint etc etc

 

[JohnK]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

Well, I certainly am one who WON'T own a "greenie".

Color rendition is more accurate with a white light, things just don't look "right" with a dominent off white tint, whatever it is.

I have kept several lights that weren't perfect, but they do have to be good.

I have been most pleased doing business with "Third Shift", as he hand selects the tints, and is honest about that. I don't mind at all paying a bit more, knowing I am getting WHAT I WANT, and not having to return a bad light.

Anal, yea; I won't own an inaccurate rifle either.

 

[DBrier]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

It is the quest for perfection.
Some people do it with coins, paying very high rates for a coin in a little better condition, some do it with cars, spending hundreds of dollars to gain that last horsepower, etc.
Once you progress past the point of the general population and view flashlights as more a hobby and facination, you will know. The same goes for brightness, and size.
Until someone makes a light that is as tough as a Surefire, puts out the light of a Surefire Beast, in the size of an Arc AAA, that will run for 12 months, has a runtime plot like an Opelec Newbeam, and puts out perfect white light, the quest will continue.

 

[dimwatt]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

Even though I am a "newbie" I have had a lot of experience with flashlights as a former police officer. I have to agree with JohnK about both the light and the inaccurate firearm

It is very important for police and security personell (and many other professions) to see colors as accurately as possible for obvious reasons. Also have been a published pro photographer, any tint or false color is highly annoying to me. If the light is a few shades off of perfect it probably won't matter to the average light user so it's no big deal.

Remember, I'm a newbie, but my first mod is going to have a near perfect white 3 watt Luxeon from Lambda. Yes, I paid a small premium for the best available but if your going to drop 40 or 50 bucks modifying a AA Mini M*g, $5 more to get it the best it can be is worth it to me. Every modern firearm that I own is stainless steel rather than blued so you could call me anal also

Arlen....dimwatt

 

[AlecGold]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

you pay a 320 Euro for an U2 and get a bluish tint. Mmmmh, well, eeeehm, where did I pay that amount of money for?
But on a relative cheap KL1, old model which I got for 30 euro, with a blueish tint I won't complain.
To me a tint isn't always bad, but when "investing" a lot of money for a light which is expected to last a 10 years of intensive use, I want a (near)perfect tint.

 

[cratz2]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

Well, I admit that I don't tend to get too bent out of shape over certain tints. A lot of folks really like the slightly bluish HID tint and I personally would prefer a slightly pinkish tint (to my eyes, this hurts color rendition the least) but I would be pretty upset if I paid over $50 for a light and it had a pronounced blue tint.

Of course, I think it's kind of funny that someone that is a member of such a specific forum as this one with the word 'Flashaholic' under his name would not embrace the idea of someone searching for his or her idea of perfection.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Theo]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

Actually, I totally understand the desire for a GOOD tint. I was inquring more about the significant extra dollars some spend to get that last 1%.

And I can even related to that. I was just looking for some quantitative vallues put into words.

I've been fortunate. All my lights so far either have been only slightly 'warm' or slightly 'cool'. And I own several Surefires. The L2 of course is a bit green on low power. And if a U2 was noticable blue, I too would send it back.

But what is 'noticably' blue? How much blue would cause you to send it back?

What most intrigued me is a B/S/T thread about some Nuwai QIIIs that went for under $40. But for that top 5% of pure white tint, the price, if I remember right, was in the neighborhood of $75. That's a big jump. For $75 you can get into a SF that will blow away, in every way, a Nuwai. It doesn't matter what you spend, or the tint, a Nuwai will still be a $35 light. (BTW, I bought a Nuwai, but I only paid 'retail' for it)

Now, to show you that I do have perspective, I really, really want a U2, or maybe my second L2, L4, or my third L1. A few years ago, before I had to wear bifocals, I was an optics freak. High, high end binoculars. A grand or $1200 for a pair of Leicas. $3500 for a spotting scope. Why? Because the optics and construction are the pinnacle of perfection. Once you've used a pair of Leicas for a while, NOTHING ever satisfies again. Nothing. But a $200 pair of Pentax is still a $200 pair of Pentax, no matter how perfect (for Pentax) they may be, or how much of a premium you shell out to get that last 1%. They are still 1/50th the binocular of a Leica.

Just my perspective.

 

[Anglepoise]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

Anyone that spent $20.00 on a Lux I Star O when they first came out , will never forget the dreadful color of those
early LEDs.Enough to put one off for life<g>

 

[Hookd_On_Photons]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

My first Luxeon light was a CMG Reactor. This was waaaay back when, during the infancy of Luxeon flashlights... maybe 2 years ago? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

The beam looked reasonably white to me, until I bought an Arc LS and compared the tint. Ugh, green! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

My visceral reaction was "man, I got ripped off!"

I don't mind blue or purple tinted Luxeons, for some reason. Maybe because they resemble HID (or pseudo-HID) headlights? But I can't stand green!

 

[daloosh]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

It wasn't til I got here that I ever heard the term cat-urine green. And you know, when I saw that, I knew I was home!

Wingerr showed me his CMG Reactor, it made me puke a different shade of green. Why do we obsess over V1 or TW or SW? I see the difference and it makes me unhappy. (There's a bit of the search for perfect in there too.)

Of course, in the real world, looking at something in the backyard or campground, the tint doesn't matter at all. But as a hobbyist, I do pull out a couple lites and shine them on the ceiling, so do you, and what you see is green or warm or blue, and it makes a difference!

Before I sent my KL1 to Chop, I hated it's green color. A bunch of bucks later, I said, cool! That made it worth it.

daloosh

 

[zoltar]

Post tints please

This question has come up before. I asked something similar a while back as a "newbie." Can somebody who has a few of these post some beamshots? I mean, a sensitive digital camera would show the color tints.

 

[junior]

Re: Post tints please

What's even more amazing is that some "expensive" lights still cant guarntee good tint. I mean if a dorcy has bad tint oh well, not out much, but if a higher end light over 50-100bucks can't guarntee it, i cant see spending the money.

 

[wmirag]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

It comes down to this:

There's a lid for every pot.

The basis of the world economy is "person A wants something person B has -- and is willing to trade for it". Value is in the eye of the beholder, in this case LITERALLY!

 

[Gene]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

This is a good thread and has been done before but it's still good to visit this subject now and again. I'm one of those "weirdoes" in that anything blue or purple is on my "sh*t list". I'm like most folks and prefer pure white beams, (and the only pure white beam I have is my KL5), but a little green in the tint is much more acceptable "TO ME" than blue or purple.

I had a couple of the early KL1's and KL3's and their sickly purple beams always made me want to scream! You know, it all boils down to what your individual eyes perceive just like what sounds good in music. Rap and hip-hop is all the rage now, (especially with white folks), but it's all flash with little substance just like minor color differences. My eyes "DO NOT" perceive green as easily as other folks. My eyes "DO" perceive blue or purple easier than most other folks perceive green and "MY EARS" perceive rap or hip-hop as crap. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif To each their own!

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

While I prefer a pure white beam, I think that a slightly bluish tint in an LED flashlight gives it an HID look, usually prompting a "WHAT is THAT?" reaction. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[cratz2]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

I've been pretty fortunate with Luxeons. Of course, all but two have been bought used so I had some idea of what I was getting.

With non Luxeons, one thing I've noticed is how stunning of a difference there can be and even more so, the difference that comparing two lights can bring. I have a cheap 3xAAA lux light (not an MXDL) that has a very pink/purple tinted LED. I really don't mind the tint. My X5THA looks generally blue-ish white until I shine it on the wall next to the pink-tinted light then suddenly, the X5THA looks unbearably green with blue swirl.

I also don't understand how a single not overdriven LED (Peak N cell prototype) can be so blue. All of my Infinity Ultras are bluish. My Peak 1xAAA prototype is even more blue but I swear, the N cell light is literally half way between a white LED and a blue LED.

 

[paulr]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

If the flashlight is a utilitarian object, minor amounts of tint usually aren't important. It's like your car will still get you to work and back perfectly well if there's a few dings here and there. Your watch will still tell time if there's a scuff on the finish.

This is an enthusiasts' board and as such, we don't consider flashlights to be purely utilitarian objects here. We're connoisseurs, we appreciate good flashlights as prized creations in their own right, and sometimes even as works of art. We spend inordinate amounts of time pointing the lights at the wall and photographing the beam. We buy textured reflectors for Maglites that cost more than the Mags themselves do, in order to get rid of those stupid rings and lumps that the smooth Mag reflectors create. And with LED lights, we like uniform and neutral color, and any deviation from that color neutrality jumps out and bugs us, just like you'd notice a stain on your favorite shirt.

So, we aim for lights without such stains. It just shouldn't be so surprising.

 

[mossyoak]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

i personally like a slight blue tint it seems brighter and has this cool "HID effect" and i can't stand a moss green color led

 

[357]

Re: I just have to ask--What\'s the obsession?

I can live with SLIGHT blue or pink tint. In fact, the pink tint in a couple of my Surefire L series (L2s) really gives it a nice "different" look.

What I dislike is strong green tints, and also eratic rainbow tints (like beams that have multiple colors). For example, My two new style KL1s have blue, purple, green, and yellow all within the same beam--the color separated by either bands or rings. If I am going to get tints, I'd prefer a solid color rather than a rainbow color.

An example of a vile green tint is one of my Longbow Micras. So green, that it looks like a combination of cat #1 (some folks on this board don't like the "u" term, so I'm not using it), mold, and vomit.