I really love the new 2008 T-series from INOVA.The T1 has always been a favorite and the warm tint of the latest model is icing on the cake.Are there any other brands offering warm tinted lights ? I know some of the Rebel led lights are pretty warm but it seems to be hit or miss with those lights.Also from what I can garner from Lumileds website warm tinted leds are not as bright as cool tinted ones and will use more energy to make bright light.Even with that I think there is some demand for led lights that consistently deliver warm tints.Are there any other brands providing warm TFFC K2s or other leds with warm tints in thier lights?
Anyone besides INOVA making lights with a warm tint?
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boosterboy
Enlightened
the new Streamlight Super Tac uses the K2 TFFC, with a relatively deep reflector.
MikeSalt
Flashlight Enthusiast
Lummi did offer a replacement emitter and board to fit into the Raw and Raw NS/TI/Al on the old website. I cannot find it in the new site but I am sure you could fire an email off to Rob Cheetham regarding this warm emitter choice. If you are quick, you may catch the limited run of Raw Al flashlights currently on offer. That is the beauty of Lummi design, it is completely modular, so the user can swap emitters (pre-mounted on PCB) at their leisure. I have the Raw Ti, and it will save me a fortune being able to easily update the emitter and board, rather than having to buy a whole new flashlight when the new Crees come out.
TerraLUX is also using the TFFC K2 but I am not sure if they are the warm tinted ones.The Orb Raw looks interesting but it is probably out of my price range.Not much feedback here,maybe the demand for warm tinted lights is too small for anyone else to start making them. :candle: A Streamlight Survivor with a warm tinted TFFC K2 would be on my short list.
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BabyDoc
Flashlight Enthusiast
I have found that my SureFire L1 to be warm compared to my other Cree lights. There seems to a LED lottery with any model light, but I have heard others here say their L1 had a creamy white color.
Having said that, I don't think just a warm colored or tinted LED necessarily gives correct color rendition, if that is what you are really seeking. I have been very interested in color myself and disappointed by the current crop of LED's that they really can't come close to an incadescent in terms of correct color rendition. By color rendition, I mean the ability of a light to accurately reflect the spectrum of colors the light is expected to illuminate. Many lights illuminate white walls beautifully with a lovely white, even warm, circle, but they fail to otherwise reflect the colors of the world they are really needed to illuminate. People illuminated look pale or blue. Greens look grey or blue, too. Most LED's are not balanced in their color spectrum and particularly fail to accurately show reds and pinks. The later is the bigger test of color in a light in my opinion. I suspect you are seeking a warm LED because you, too, are troubled by the blue cast your current LED gives to everything it illuminates.
High CRI (color rendering index) LED's are available in home lighting but have not generally been used in flashlights. Having said that, I have had the pleasure of using a prototype flashlight with a high CRI LED made by another CPF member. I can't say much about this light because it is not near the marketing stage, other than to say it has great color rendition and proves to me that LED's will be able to compete with incadescents soon in terms of color rendition. I doubt, however, there is going to be great demand for such a light, since there is some loss in lumen output needed in order to gain the better color rendition (the way this was explained to me is there has to be a thicker layer of different phosphors in the high CRI LED, which hinders a bit the output). Most manufactures sell more lights only by offering more lumens, because that's what most people want right now. ( It sort of reminds of the the big flat panel TV's. Many people buy these for the big screen size and don't even connect them to high definition services. Some don't know what they are missing; some wouldn't appreciate what they are missing even if it was pointed out to them. Big is better to them; quality is meaningless).
Nevertheless, I think higher CRI lights will be forthcoming. If not aimed at the general marketplace, they will be available for small niche group who not only want those lights; they absolutely need them.
Having said that, I don't think just a warm colored or tinted LED necessarily gives correct color rendition, if that is what you are really seeking. I have been very interested in color myself and disappointed by the current crop of LED's that they really can't come close to an incadescent in terms of correct color rendition. By color rendition, I mean the ability of a light to accurately reflect the spectrum of colors the light is expected to illuminate. Many lights illuminate white walls beautifully with a lovely white, even warm, circle, but they fail to otherwise reflect the colors of the world they are really needed to illuminate. People illuminated look pale or blue. Greens look grey or blue, too. Most LED's are not balanced in their color spectrum and particularly fail to accurately show reds and pinks. The later is the bigger test of color in a light in my opinion. I suspect you are seeking a warm LED because you, too, are troubled by the blue cast your current LED gives to everything it illuminates.
High CRI (color rendering index) LED's are available in home lighting but have not generally been used in flashlights. Having said that, I have had the pleasure of using a prototype flashlight with a high CRI LED made by another CPF member. I can't say much about this light because it is not near the marketing stage, other than to say it has great color rendition and proves to me that LED's will be able to compete with incadescents soon in terms of color rendition. I doubt, however, there is going to be great demand for such a light, since there is some loss in lumen output needed in order to gain the better color rendition (the way this was explained to me is there has to be a thicker layer of different phosphors in the high CRI LED, which hinders a bit the output). Most manufactures sell more lights only by offering more lumens, because that's what most people want right now. ( It sort of reminds of the the big flat panel TV's. Many people buy these for the big screen size and don't even connect them to high definition services. Some don't know what they are missing; some wouldn't appreciate what they are missing even if it was pointed out to them. Big is better to them; quality is meaningless).
Nevertheless, I think higher CRI lights will be forthcoming. If not aimed at the general marketplace, they will be available for small niche group who not only want those lights; they absolutely need them.
It's not only color rendition but improved contrast I am looking for.Sometimes LED light tends to "wash out" an outdoor environment and details of objects are not as obvious.I suppose this is probably related to color rendition.Indoors the problem doesn't seem to exist as any tint will work fine.From what I have read here it also seems to vary from person to person.
I have a number of lights with Seoul,CREE and Rebel LEDs and the tints vary but the tint from my new INOVA T-series lights look like incan next to those lights.My non-flashohlic son even asked me "Is that light supposed to be yellow?" when I first turned on the T1.Next to a real incan they still look whiter but these are not like any of the other LEDs I have seen.The only LED I have that compares is a Rebel in a Tiablo A1.I have three Tiablo A1s(well,one belongs to the wife now)and the other two have tints you would expect from an LED.They are also brighter than the warm one.I don't know if INOVA will continue to use warm LEDs but I hope so.It looks like they could get better output from cool white TFFC K2s and as you mentioned so many want the "brightest" output available.
I just got a 2008 T2, and I am not sure I would necessarily call it warm. It's yellowish with some green. I don't consider it better than the cool tints. Perhaps it is even worse. I need to compare it to another one to determine if this is the typical new "warm" tint though or I just got screwed in the tint lottery.
strinq
Enlightened
The Fenix TK20? People have been raving about it for a long time lol.
Does neutral white count? They're way warmer than the cool whites. 4sevens are offering them for the Quark lights.
Does neutral white count? They're way warmer than the cool whites. 4sevens are offering them for the Quark lights.
rookiedaddy
Enlightened
Mine the same, in fact, it gives me a better colour rendering. I was given the chance to select among 4 different units, each with their own tint. I've chosen mine with a central spot of a little greenish rather than pure yellowish as it appears to be a tad brighter than the rest. There was one unit that particular caught my attention, it has a cool white. So, yes, I would say it's some tint lottery. I also don't think Inova ever advertised the T2 to be of warm tint. Bought mine after being "poison" by one of the forum's member... lovecpf
I've posted some beam shot comparison https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/232169 to compare TK20, T2 and T10 a month ago...
NonSenCe
Flashlight Enthusiast
over a year old thread bumped up..
i think currently there are tenfold times of lights that offer warmer tints than there was in early 2008..
still rare, yes. but steadily increasing numbers
i think currently there are tenfold times of lights that offer warmer tints than there was in early 2008..
still rare, yes. but steadily increasing numbers
