Snow LEDs blue?

[Daekar]

I just received three beautiful brass-bodies Fujiyamas (3-LED) and I couldn't be happier with them but for one thing: the light is bluish. Ordinarily I wouldn't complain of blue light from 5mm LEDs, but it says in the Product Lineup:

The MOUNTAIN SERIES of Peak LED Solutions flashlights use a special custom LED that we refer to as Snow white because of its color tint. Unlike most white 5 mm LEDs that have a very blueish color, the Snow white LED is very neutral in color tint.

The LEDs in my Fujis are about as blue as the Nichia DS in my Arc AAA-P, except they don't have the nice warm halo around the blue center... they're just completely blue. Am I freaking out over nothing? I seem to remember seeing beamshots of other Peak lights that were pleasantly warm, so this caught me off-guard. Beamshots forthcoming...

 

[parnass]

My Arc DS tint is noticeably bluer than my Peak Matterhorn snow lights.

I have a limited edition Arc AAA Snow and it is about the same "whiteness" as my Peak snow lights. One of my 3-LED Matterhorns has a slightly yellow tint compared with the other.

 

[Daekar]

Hrmmm... thanks for the input, parnass. Here are some beamshots for your consideration:

L0D-CE modified with a neutral white ordered from Arrow, kit #XREWHT-L1-0000-00BE4, low brightness.

Nitecore SmartPD D20 with a Q3-binned neutral white emitter (factory-installed), lowest brightness setting:

Arc AAA-P DS:

Fujiyama #1:

Fujiyama #2:

Fujiyama #3:

All shots were taken with my Canon PowerShot A650 IS from a mini-tripod while on my bathroom floor. The white-balance was set to daylight for all shots, and the aperture was the same as well. The shutterspeed is different for different lights to adjust the brightness (note: the D20 was a tad underexposed, but the color is accurate). So... am I overreacting, or are those some darn blue emitters?

 

[parnass]

The Fujiyama's tint in your photo looks blue indeed.

Did you purchase the Fujiyamas new? Directly from Peak? Some of the older Peaks I bought used from other CPFers had bluish tints. Perhaps they were manufactured before Peak began using the "snow" LEDs. The Matterhorns I bought new from Peak were whiter.

 

[Daekar]

I actually just ordered them directly from Peak, and they got here pretty quickly after they got them in the mail. Spoke to Curt, actually, because in my online order I didn't have the chance to specify that I wanted momentary switches on all three of them. I'm looking at a paper they sent with the lights, and it says

Fujiyama Brass 3 LED, Color = Snow White, Power Level = UP-92cp

Do you think I should call them?

 

[Curt R]

The usual tint we normally use has not been available for months. We are forced to use what the supplier can give us. Sorry.

Curt

 

[Daekar]

The usual tint we normally use has not been available for months. We are forced to use what the supplier can give us. Sorry.

Curt

Well, I can't pretend that I'm not disappointed. :mecry: Part of me feels deceived because I wasn't given all relevant information, and part of me sympathizes with you regarding emitter supply problems. When push comes to shove, though, the machining and materials are definitely the most exquisite of any of my lights - they are compelling, somehow. Two of the lights are going to be gifts for ushers at my wedding, and they'll be blown away by the quality regardless of the tint. I'm keeping the third, with the hope that at some point I'll be able to get a neutral-tint head for the body. Thank you for being honest with me about this.

BTW - I'm still interested in that 2xAAA warm-white P4 or Rebel in stainless steel. Would you consider making one with a customer-supplied emitter?

 

[deusexaethera]

Huh. When did the tint change? I have a Peak light, a 3-LED Matterhorn, with a 7-LED McKinley on-order, both bought after New Years, and I'm plenty happy with the tint -- but then again, I guess I don't really have any basis for comparison because I lost my Arc P DS months ago, and pretty much anything is better than the tint on my old Arc-AAA BS.

 

[Curt R]

We received 4200 dash 29 LEDs the first week of March of this year and none of them were our requested tint. We still have about 300 left as of right now and will inquire soon about replacements. Hopefully the next batch will be better.

Curt

 

[Daekar]

We received 4200 dash 29 LEDs the first week of March of this year and none of them were our requested tint. We still have about 300 left as of right now and will inquire soon about replacements. Hopefully the next batch will be better.

Curt

They didn't send you what you paid for? And they wouldn't make it right? :shakehead That's pretty bad, I thought that it was standard practice for suppliers to abide by the terms of the purchase-order or initiate communications to make arrangements with the customer if they are unable to. Sorry you're having to deal with that, we're all crossing our fingers for your next shipment.

 

[deusexaethera]

So...next question...if I only have a single Peak light, and therefore no point of reference, how can I tell if I got the bluish LEDs? I mean, there is some variation in tint even within a single bin, so even if I buy a second light I won't have enough information to determine if one of them is "significantly bluer" than the other, besides personal preference. Unfortunately photos can't serve as reference points either, because of differences in color sensitivity between cameras and monitors.

(sorry, I've been reading about particle physics stuff all afternoon and I'm in a very technical mindset right now.)

 

[Daekar]

So...next question...if I only have a single Peak light, and therefore no point of reference, how can I tell if I got the bluish LEDs? I mean, there is some variation in tint even within a single bin, so even if I buy a second light I won't have enough information to determine if one of them is "significantly bluer" than the other, besides personal preference. Unfortunately photos can't serve as reference points either, because of differences in color sensitivity between cameras and monitors.

(sorry, I've been reading about particle physics stuff all afternoon and I'm in a very technical mindset right now.)

Just make sure your camera is on the Daylight white-balance setting and take shots like mine with several of your lights, we'll be happy to tell you how they come across to us. It is certainly hard to be sure of small variations when dealing with camera and monitor differences, but big differences should still be obvious. Trust me, if yours were as blue as mine you would not be in any doubt whether it was blue. Chances are, if you have to ask, you probably have normal ones.

 

[deusexaethera]

I probably do have normal ones, but my camera likes to show the light from my Peak as a bright electric blue, similar to the warning lights on subway tracks. No idea why.

 

[arty]

I just got two Matterhorns, and they are blue. They are not quite as blue as an old Arc, but they are not as white as two McKinleys that I have. The old one is whiter than the Matterhorn, and the newer McKinley is even better.

The LEDs in my Matterhorns are blue, but better - not as blue - as the Arc.