Malkoff drop in LEDs

prof student · May 29, 2008

I have read here & seen that LEDs do not allow you to see the true color rendition VS. incandescent lights. Some LEDS have a blue tint, some green, etc.....

It seem like Gene's Malkoff drop-ins are the most recomnded & used, though they seem (to me) pricey. But then again, I don't know much about the construction of them.

My questions are:

How good are they?
Do they have a color tint to them?
Are they consisten? (3 of Same LED flashlights can have different colors)
Are they the closest LEDs to show true color rendition?
Has anyone who uses them have or had any problems with them?

Force Attuned · May 29, 2008

Utilise the search engine on the top of the page. You'll find all you need to and then some.

Kato · May 29, 2008

prof student said:
How good are they?
Do they have a color tint to them?
Are they consisten? (3 of Same LED flashlights can have different colors)
Are they the closest LEDs to show true color rendition?
Has anyone who uses them have or had any problems with them?

They are the absolute best LED dropin I've used. I've replaced all of my P60/P61/P90/P91 lamp assemblies with Malkoffs.
They have a warm tint that allow for the best color rendition of any LED dropin I've tried.
Don't know if there's something better, but these are prety darn good.
No problems at all with any of mine. And if you were to experience any problems, Gene would take care of you. His customer service is outstanding. :twothumbs

PhantomPhoton · May 29, 2008

They are #1 for quality.

LEDs are separated at the factory into bins. One of the bins is for color. Gene Malkoff uses a very good color bin. It is one of the most neutral white LES lights I have.

No 3 are going to be exactly the same if you compare them side by side. That is the nature of LEDs and the semiconductor industry in general. Also, the human eye is incredibly good at picking out colors usually. But it is extremely unlikely you're going to get a bad one from Malkoff since they're all more or less made by one guy.

Color rendering is a sticky topic in LEDs. The Malkoff will do decently enough though it is hard to define best as we all have personal preferences and different eyes. These LEDs will still give better color rendition than many stock incandescent flashlights just because of the brightness factor.

I haven't had any problems yet using a old laser products SF6P.

dandruff · May 29, 2008

I have a malkoff but its the only p60 drop in i have, so i dont really have anything to compare it too directly.

i will say this in response. they are good. very bright. my m60 has a really good neutral tint.

in my opinion tint isnt that important. it only makes a huge difference when side by side with another light on a white wall. but then you are getting caught up in details and missing the point. yes perhaps it is true that leds in general do not render colour as well as incans, but you get something brighter AND with a longer runtime. in anycase, i think malkoffs are pretty good tint wise to most other leds. so...

embrace the future! get a led and dont worry about these little details. its utility is not really affected.

prof student said:
I have read here & seen that LEDs do not allow you to see the true color rendition VS. incandescent lights. Some LEDS have a blue tint, some green, etc.....

It seem like Gene's Malkoff drop-ins are the most recomnded & used, though they seem (to me) pricey. But then again, I don't know much about the construction of them.

My questions are:

How good are they?
Do they have a color tint to them?
Are they consisten? (3 of Same LED flashlights can have different colors)
Are they the closest LEDs to show true color rendition?
Has anyone who uses them have or had any problems with them?

Gunner12 · May 29, 2008

For LED vs Incan, both have their perks.

Most white LEDs do have all the colors of the spectrum, but the colors are more intense at the blue and yellow area(Blue LED + Yellow phosphor). Because of this, LEDs can make thing appear "flat".

But this is something our eyes can get used to.

As for malkoff, they seem to be one of the best.
LEDs are sorted according to(at least) output, tint, and color. Malkoff seems to pick a pretty neutral binned LED.
The Current gen Luxeons might be better, but they are hard to get a hold of and will require a different optic.
I haven't heard of any problems.

EV_007 · May 29, 2008

I just ordered a couple and look forward to them. Read and seen a lot of good things about Gene's stuff.

zven · May 29, 2008

How good are they?
Do they have a color tint to them?
Are they consisten? (3 of Same LED flashlights can have different colors)
Are they the closest LEDs to show true color rendition?
Has anyone who uses them have or had any problems with them?

I've only got one Malkoff, and for P60 lamps, I can only compare it to SureFire stock. Of those lamps, even including my various other lights, the M60 is certainly a contender for my favorite light.

1. They're quite good; I trust the quality of them about as much as SureFire's own quality, and I trust that for any error, flaw or whatnot, Gene will do his best to correct it.
2. The tint is excellent. Slightly blue compared to normal indoor lighting (60W light bulbs and such), but very white when used alone, and very white compared to any of my other flashlights. It's a cooler white than SureFire's P60 incandescent, but I would say it's more white.
3. I've only got one M60, so I can only guess as to the consistency of tint. From the reviews, I'd say they're very consistent.
4. I haven't gotten a chance to do a semi-scientific test of color rendition, so I can't say for sure, but judging from actual use, the M60 has the best color rendition of any LED I've used. And depending on your situation/environment, I'd also say it's normally a lot better than incandescents as well.
5. I've only heard of a few rare problems here and there, and in each case, Gene has made things right, so I don't think you have anything to worry about on that count.

Bottom line, it's an excellent drop-in, and you're very likely to be pleased with it. The only thing I might warn is that if you intensely dislike ringy-ness in your lights' beam patterns, you might be displeased with the M60. In actual use, this tends not to be noticeable, though, and I personally think the good (tint, runtime, brightness, etc.) outweigh the bad.

ElectronGuru · May 30, 2008

An old Maglite guy, I upgraded much of my Mag collection (including AA's and C's) with TerraLUXs. Then last year, I saw a consistent pattern of accolades for Malkoff upgrades. Brightness, color, durability, cooling, customer service. It didn't matter which criteria, every review was glowing. So I dove in with a 3C Malkoff.

The first week, it was proving itself in spades. The second week, I was buying my first SureFire just so I could have a small Malkoff. They both are the first lights I reach for and the only lights I take.

curlyfry562 · May 30, 2008

kato337 said:
They are the absolute best LED dropin I've used. I've replaced all of my P60/P61/P90/P91 lamp assemblies with Malkoffs.

They have a warm tint that allow for the best color rendition of any LED dropin I've tried.

Don't know if there's something better, but these are prety darn good.

No problems at all with any of mine. And if you were to experience any problems, Gene would take care of you. His customer service is outstanding. :twothumbs

I agree completely, the optics on the SF mods are down right amazing.

geonex · May 30, 2008

prof student said:
My questions are:

How good are they?
Do they have a color tint to them?
Are they consisten? (3 of Same LED flashlights can have different colors)
Are they the closest LEDs to show true color rendition?
Has anyone who uses them have or had any problems with them?

1) I'm no expert, but the color tint seems to be better than average for LEDs.
2) The two drop-ins I have (M60 and 3d M*g) are both excellent.
3) Well...they are -brighter- than my other drop-in LED mods (Terralux, etc). I leave this to the experts.
4) Both of mine are rock-solid. They are my go-to lights 9/10 times.

Between the quality of product and the customer service, I'd say you can't go wrong with Malkoff. They cost most than the competitors, but - in my opinion - they are well worth it. I'll likely be picking up an M60F (his new flood drop-in) shortly.

Best of luck.

stitch_paradox · May 30, 2008

prof student said:
My questions are:

How good are they?
Do they have a color tint to them?
Are they consisten? (3 of Same LED flashlights can have different colors)
Are they the closest LEDs to show true color rendition?
Has anyone who uses them have or had any problems with them?

1. They are really good, so good in fact that IMO, military should be contacting Gene right now to supply our troops with his drop ins. Every LEO and military ( some are spec ops) personnel couldn't believe the quality and performance of the Malkoff products. They would't believe that it was made by a flasholic here, they thougt it was a special light of some sort from DARPA.
2. They have the best tint among my LED experience. Warm white tint form better color renditions.
3. Regarding the consistency of the LED's colors. All I can say is I have owned 4 M60 and 2 mag drop in. I have given away 2 of my M60s but I can assure you that they are all %98 consistent in color and brightness. That goes for the mag drop in as well.
4. In my experience yes.
5. In my experience, NO. Gene's products has always been good to me, never failed me and I trust them. There's one thread here regarding a supposed optic failure from dud in singapore, Gene heard about it, contacted the dud and fixed things. Now talk about customer service! They have the best service they back up there products, and always a pleasure dealing with.
Now there are foreign imitators that are trying to copy Gene's creation (right down to his ad) But according to reviews of the products, malkoff is still the best!

EV_007 · May 31, 2008

So I just received two of Genes M60 drop-ins today. After feeding fresh primaries into my SureFire Z2 and swapping out the LA, I fired it up in a dark room and was VERY impressed. The reviews and positive impressions I've read were right on.

This is now my brightest, neutral tinted LED in my current humble collection.

I put the second drop-in into a G2 to compare beam profiles and tint. One is slightly warmer than the other, but this is only notifiable when comparing simultaneously.

The warmer tinted one reminds me of the Rebel 100, but a LOT brighter. Very impressed. The machining and attention to detail does not go unnoticed. You can tell he did his homework. Well done Gene. No wonder you have trouble keeping your stuff in stock.

I just missed out on the floody version, but am very pleased with the ones I have.

NA8 · May 31, 2008

I've only been in the game for about a year. I've picked up three malkoffs for Mags and three Fenix AA lights. No ugly problem with color tint on any of them. I think the worst of the tint problems were in the years before.

Malkoff drop in LEDs

prof student

Enlightened

Force Attuned

Enlightened

Kato

Enlightened

PhantomPhoton

Flashlight Enthusiast

dandruff

Enlightened

Gunner12

Flashaholic

EV_007

Enlightened

zven

Enlightened

ElectronGuru

Flashaholic

curlyfry562

Enlightened

geonex

Newly Enlightened

stitch_paradox

Enlightened

EV_007

Enlightened

NA8

Flashlight Enthusiast

Similar threads

Latest posts