The LED with the Best Tint

[moon lander]

Which led has the best tint? Im looking to start making indoor lights, the Crees i get from DX dont have a very good tint for indoor lighting.

Im sure oppinion varies on this subject, but what's your favorite led and bin among the newer leds? To quote a couple of comments from another thread:

Quote: datiLED: I am a huge fan of the WO and VO tint Seoul LED's. They outperform anything else in their class.
Quote: 2xTrinity: The VOs are very nice, The only thing I've seen that beats them for quality of light is the Cree WH bin, which is even warmer still. My VO Seoul and WH Cree lights make all other LEDs I have look "angry blue" by comparison.

From this thread: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=167291

I suppose i prefer warmer tints as the Crees i have now strike me as too blue. ive never seen one that struck me as too yellow but im sure its possible. The Luxeon Rebels i have seem to have a rosy tint, maybe a little purple, its kinda nice but probably not for long periods of time. What are your opinions on what the tint should be like? Any specific LEDs come to mind? Any links on where to get them would be helpful too, or if this has already been discussed, a link to that thread would be great.

 

[easilyled]

As you say, I think this varies so much from person to person.

I prefer as close to white as possible - a hint of coolness as in X0,
or a hint of warmth as in W0 (in luxeon and Seoul tint bins) are both
perfectly acceptable to me.

In a Cree WC approximates W0/ WD approximates X0

What doesn't appeal to me so much is a hint of green. I find that compared
to a tint that doesn't have this, that it looks a little "dirty" on a white wall.

However there are others that positively welcome this and contend that
in fact the green improves outdoor colour rendition and counteracts
the "ghostly" cast of the beam that many hate about leds compared to
incandescents. :shrug:

Greenish tints tend to be those with X1, V1 in luxeons (not sure if they
are in Seouls) and maybe WH in Crees.

 

[Flying Turtle]

They all seem to be a little bit different, unless you mod your own. Of all my factory stock lights, the Civictor may have the most pleasing tint. It is slightly warmer than most others. Other folks might find this less pleasing. Of my Cree lights (JetBeam CLE and Rexlight), both are very white.

Geoff

 

[easilyled]

They all seem to be a little bit different, unless you mod your own. Of all my factory stock lights, the Civictor may have the most pleasing tint. It is slightly warmer than most others. Other folks might find this less pleasing. Of my Cree lights (JetBeam CLE and Rexlight), both are very white.

Geoff

I don't think you can generalise about makes of lights as they can all have differently
binned leds in them depending on what's available.

I think you have to know the bin-code of the led for a bit more predictability
and even then there is a lottery within each bin-code. :shrug:
(apparently more so for Cree-XREs and Seoul-SSC-P4-Us than luxeons)

 

[FlashCrazy]

I don't think you can generalise about makes of lights as they can all have differently
binned leds in them depending on what's available.

I think you have to know the bin-code of the led for a bit more predictability
and even then there is a lottery within each bin-code. :shrug:
(apparently more so for Cree-XREs and Seoul-SSC-P4-Us than luxeons)

Well said.

I've found the SSC P4 U's to be really consistent. After modding 50+ lights using SSC P4's in SWO and SVO tints, I haven't noticed any real tint variation. The Vf's have been really consistent too. I've only had one of the SVO's off in that area. I get them from PhotonFanatic.

 

[datiLED]

In my experience from working with the Seoul LED, the WO tint is a pure white, not yellow or blue at all.

The VO tint is warm, and very appealing. This would be my first choice for inside use. It is also very nice for use outside, as the colors are more natural IMO.

I am biased toward the Seoul LED's over the CREE's. This is a personal preference based on my perception of the performance increase and useability of the modified light. YMMV.

datiLED

 

[ash_c]

I don't read much CPF, but I wanted to chime in...

It seems as though many people refer to 'white' as if it is some absolute standard (e.g. "as close to white as possible", "pure white, not yellow or blue at all"). What is your reference for white? Typical incandescent light is technically 'white'; it's merely at a lower color temperature. 'White' doesn't really mean anything without a reference. A good reference might be noon sun which is about 5500 Kelvin (in the middle-latitudes). I suspect this is roughly what people reference white to, although our eyes/brain are very good at adapting to a given ambient light after a short period of time and interpreting it as white. Even midday sunlight differs depending on the time of year and latitude.

IMO manufacturers should supply color temperature (maybe of the brightest part of the beam) of the LED and CRI (color rendering index) also. CRI is a way of describing how good the spectrum of the light source is (independent of the color temperature value). Incandescent bulbs usually have a CRI near 100 (100 is perfect, because an incandescent filament is so close to a blackbody), but a color temperature of about 2700 Kelvin.

That would save us a lot of work when talking about the tint of a beam.

 

[moon lander]

good point. i guess my ideal tint would be like the morning sunshine (great for photos). probably on the yellow side. for indoor lighting id love to mimic the sunlight you get around 9am in northeastern US.

 

[easilyled]

I don't read much CPF, but I wanted to chime in...
It seems as though many people refer to 'white' as if it is some absolute standard (e.g. "as close to white as possible", "pure white, not yellow or blue at all"). What is your reference for white?

Good question and yes, the various methods of measurement you have
described are the best scientific way of quantifying colour.

However even then no two people will perceive a fixed colour-temp. the
same way and 5000K may look warmer to one person than another.

Then even in the same individual, I've heard that it changes with age
as the cone photoreceptors in the eye change over time :shrug:

I find that its often only when comparing led beams to each other
that it becomes easier to see which beam is most lacking in any obvious
tint other than neutral.

This is then "white" for me. That is probably all that matters.

I have found that the bin-codes that are supposed to be the whitest
ie. X0 and W0 in Seouls and luxeons coincide with my perception
so I suppose that I'm in the "normal" colour perception range if
there is such a thing.

 

[AndyTiedye]

Added to LED Fixed Lighting Threads

 

[2xTrinity]

Then even in the same individual, I've heard that it changes with age
as the cone photoreceptors in the eye change over time

I believe it has more to do with the cornea/lens than the receptors themself -- they "yellow" over time, that is, become more and more opaque to blue, and especially more opaque to violet and near-UV.

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

My two favorite LEDs are the WO LUXIII that Chop put in my KL3 a few years ago, and one of the two DX Cree modules I got recently. I think both are WHITE and I have a pretty fair test to prove it to MY satisfaction!

I have PLENTY of blueish, purpleish and even pinkish LUX and a three blueish Crees and a blueish SSC. OH and a greenish LUX V!

 

[Rob187]

My personal favourite - whether it is the 'best' or not is debatable - is my SSC SWO in my Waion VB-16. It is now my benchmark tint.