Not-So-Bright, High Color Rendering Rec?

[WrecklessDerek]

I need a flashlight that will allow me to select the day's clothes in the wee hours without flipping on the bedroom light (and, thus, waking my wife).

I'm posting this in incandescent lights because Carrot's Guide says they're good for color: crucial when you're trying to differentiate between black and navy blue socks!

The other characteristic would be that it's not too bright, since I'm using it close up (believe me, I've already tried some of my more powerful pieces for this task and my dilated morning pupils did NOT thank me!).

Who knows, maybe just I need a plastic, dollar-store jobber in this situation? (Right, like THAT would be any fun.)

Thanks,



Derek

 

[RobertM]

I hate to say it, but...Mag Solitaire or 2AA MagMini? If you don't like the artifact infested beam of the Mags, I'd recommend the Lumens Factory Inspector Pen light (I run mine on 2xAAA Sanyo Eneloops). I don't think that you would really want anything much brighter. I've about blinded myself in the middle of the night with my little SF E1e.

Robert

 

[mudman cj]

Actually, incandescent lights do not output a lot of blue, which is what would aid you in discerning blue from black. For that purpose an LED light would be better. A higher CCT incandescent (whiter - not yellow) would be better for seeing shades of green and brown than an LED.

If you want one light source to do it all then consider a high CRI LED such as a 4000K CCT Seoul or a Nichia 083 high CRI LED. The Nichia is what is used in the Sundrop. Other than that, these LEDs are hard to come by in flashlights unless you DIY. I heard there is an under cabinet light at Lowe's that uses the Nichia LEDs though.

I use a combination of the above since they are all at my disposal.

 

[TITAN1833]

These are led and expensive, but you have to experience for yourself the colors these bring out,and they go low too
Sundrop or maybe when available a Aleph McMule 3S High CRI

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

Another nice LED IMHO is the Cree Q3 5A bin.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Actually, incandescent lights do not output a lot of blue, which is what would aid you in discerning blue from black. For that purpose an LED light would be better. A higher CCT incandescent (whiter - not yellow) would be better for seeing shades of green and brown than an LED.

Being an "Incan Jockey" for better outdoor image discrimination, I wanted to independently validate this claim to see if it panned out on a practical basis. Admittedly, I tend to use mostly LED's for indoors, but I anticipated being able to challenge this assertion to some degree...but rarely is mudman much off the mark on anything.

I have a colored socks drawer with a wide variety of mostly black & navy blue, and a few other assorted colors. I just got back from testing with an early LED (more blue), warmer LED, & AAA, AA Mini-Mag incans, and an AW Multi-Level driver using FiveMega 1.5D 1331 WA incan bulb.

Without any doubt, the bluer LED showed dark sock colors best, then warmer LED, then the WA 1331 Incan on High (but was too bright). I don't have any red/green/yellow socks, but a few brown. Hopefully JTR won't see this post.

 

[lctorana]

As an incan jockey myself, I feel really sheepish about this, but I have a Luxeon LED with the bin code referred to as "Puke Green" in a torch that I expressly keep for exactly this purpose.

In low light, it renders clothing colours more readily than anything else I possess. Better than vacuum, argon, krypton, xenon, halogen or high-pressure incan bulbs. Better than Crees, P7s or any other LED. Better than any colour of CFL or CCFL.

I'm not saying it is the best for colour rendering, accuracy, or it would look good lighting up a bowl of fruit, a motorbike or Eva Green. But it does help me sort my socks on dark winter mornings. For my eyes, anyway.

There, I have a LED torch I actually use. OK, I've said it.

 

[WrecklessDerek]

Many thanks, folks, a wealth of information!

About these early LEDs and Luxeon LEDs: is there a particular product that's ideal, particularly low in brightness?

I found a few products that said 3 watts and 5 watts -- I guess the lower the better?

Also, what's a good price to pay?

Thanks for your continuing patience!

 

[mudman cj]

You don't need much output just to check socks. Even an LED driven at 3W is more than you need. May I recommend something on the order of 0.5 to 1 W drive level such as a Streamlight Microstream (1xAAA for $16) or Streamlight Styplus Pro (2xAAA for $20)? A light like that might even find its way into your pocket.