When does color matter?

[Ksailork]

I have to admit that over the years I've come to be comfortable with off-colored tints from LED flashlights. However, now there seems to be choices even within the same flashlights.

My question is then, what tasks do you find it critical (or beneficial) to have truer color? Warmer color?

 

[sqchram]

Not from any sizeable personal experience, but from other opinions I have read, but can also identify with.

A warmer led, or an incandescent that more closely matched the visible light spectrum of the sun renders color better to what we're used to viewing in daylight. Out in a forest you can see the greens and browns more easily and accurately.

Incandescents cover a broader spectrum of wavelengths than LEDs generally I believe.

In the world of HID, a cool 6000k-20,000k bulb is white-blue to very darkish blue - and I belive the redshift pheonomenon makes our depth perception more difficult rather than a 4200k or warmer bulb.

 

[jhc37013]

It seems the right tint is in the eye of the beholder my eyes tend to like as white as possible. I have found the newer Surefire LX2, E1B and E2DL to be perfect for my eyes and my eyes have a hard time using anything else.

 

[Search]

My 6P (NB R4 drop-in), E1B, and first batch (single-mode) E2DL have what I consider perfectly white tints. I don't want a warm or cool tint. I like my just perfect, god I'm so lucky tints.

When does it matter? Never to me. Unless you were a EOD tech and you had a very angry blue LED then you should probably worry.

 

[Sgt. LED]

For me personally warmer color matters most when my eyes are open and I'm looking at something.

So that's pretty much any time I am using a light.

 

[OceanView]

My question is then, what tasks do you find it critical (or beneficial) to have truer color? Warmer color?

These are two rather different situations you're asking about. Few of us probably need "true" color from our flashlights. I remember ICUDoc's situation as a pediatrician, looking into the mouths of his young patients, as someone who needs accurate color recognition to make a correct diagnosis. McGizmo's Sundrop seemed to fill his needs very well.

For me, it's just a strong aversion to cool tints, therefore it's just a person preference. Cool tints just bothers my eyes for some reason. Which is isn't uncommon. Bluish glare bother a lot of people in various situations, not just with flashlights. (I also hate the light from HID headlights, too).

In contrast, neutral/warm tints from an LED are just more comfortable to me. I don't necessarily care if the color is "true".

 

[parnass]

Color consistency matters indoors to this extent. I have a few lights in which the central hot spot is yellow and the spill is not. I cannot use them for checking for stains on walls or floors because the hot spot creates the illusion of a stain.

 

[burntoshine]

For me personally warmer color matters most when my eyes are open and I'm looking at something.

So that's pretty much any time I am using a light.

same here.

 

[was.lost.but.now.found]

Well, you wouldn't be a true white waller if you had a slight green or blue tint now would you? Because then you'd be a green or blue waller.

 

[hyperloop]

My question is then, what tasks do you find it critical (or beneficial) to have truer color? Warmer color?

Well, having LEDs (warm and cool tints), i'd say that for tasks like geocaching, i'd prefer warm tints especially at night as this makes navigation easier, white light seems to 'flatten' the terrain and sometimes can be dangerous as the unevenness of the ground isnt clearly shown.

I'd think warmer tints are also more critical for the medical profession, wanted to gift my doctor a AAA light and he said no thanks, it cannot render colours accurately enough for him especially when he peers down a throat lookin for inflammation. The white tint just washes it out.

An electrician friend said warm tints are better when he has to sort through masses of different coloured wires.

 

[Illum]

in the distinguishing of colors that exist between the primary colors...

 

[yalskey]

I never really understood the whole warm color thing either. Yeah, I get the fact that it's closer to the color of sunlight, which our eyes have adapted to, but for me it just looks sickly yellow. Give me pure white any day.

So since that's my opinion, it means that all you people who like warm tints are wrong. You might want to correct yourself by thinking what I think.

[tongue-in-cheek]

 

[gbelleh]

I prefer warm tints, but not as warm as incandescent. Cool tints tend to make things look washed out to me. Especially outdoors, everything looks kind of gray. Warmer tints bring out more depth and color. But this difference isn't usually critical to me.

I do find it beneficial to have a warm tint when scanning my yard for animals at night, or when walking my dog.

 

[hoongern]

Honestly, I'm not sure that it is the cool tints which causes the washing out, but rather the CRI. (I.e. daylight which is cool 6000K+ looks great to me, 100 CRI)

 

[I Know Nothing]

I find tint differences are more noticeable at the lower output levels.

 

[Oddjob]

Over the past couple of years I have become less and less concerned with tint so long as it is not too far to the warm or cool ends of the spectrum. For what I use lights for, colour rendition is not an issue.