How 'white' is white?

How \'white\' is white?

Hi,

I've seen some describing how 'white' the Pelican M6 is in some of the threads. However, after getting myself one, the beam seems to be on the yellow side (though whither than my cheap incandescent lights, but the color is no where near to those of white LEDs. Does my PM6 belong to the 'yellow' category, or is it because I am too used to the 'whiteness' of the LED lights?

Thanks!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: How \'white\' is white?

You'll quickly find that after using a high-quality WHITE led light that no incandescent look as white in comparision. Even my A2 now looks yellow compared to my L4, McModule, ARC AAA LS MOD, KL4 1-watt MOD, etc.

Re: How \'white\' is white?

"White" light is all relative, I'm afriad. There was a time when it was common to hear folks describing all Surefire incandescent beams as "pure white." Well, that was never the case, of course. But Surefires really did offer about the "whitest" light of any incandescent flashlight. But as Ray points out above, white LEDs will always make incandescents appear yellow or orange.

Be fair, and compare your PM6 to a Mag. If your Pelican is whiter than that, then smile and be on your way. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif If you want to see beams much closer to "white," stick with LEDs.

Re: How \'white\' is white?

Even with the LED's, I have yet to see what I would call an "appliance white". Many of the LED's by themselves are "white" but you compare two and all of a sudden one has a greenish tinge and the other a blue tint. I have yet to see one that stays white! In the big picture, I don't think it matters much either. I love LED's but they DO drop the ball when it comes to returning true reds. I think sometime down the road when UV LED's are used to excite the phosphor, we may see a fuller spectrum of light but until then..............

- Don

Re: How \'white\' is white?

Arent there longevity problems with UV LEDs? This is why i havent gotten particularly excited about those quantom dots, UV LEDs dont last very long (look at how many people are concerned about the 1000hr 5 watters). I thought the longevity problem would be inherent in any UV LEDs, caused by the nature of UV light itself, or are there ways of solving this problem?
Still hoping they will find the correct chemistry for a 'real' white LED......

Re: How \'white\' is white?

White is definitely relative. All of my flashlights put out white light. Some are just whiter than others. Personally, I think that white white is over rated. I've found that my lights with the warmer tints do a better job of cutting through the night than my lights with the whiter or cooler tints.

Re: How \'white\' is white?

Kakster,

The UV LED's do degrade the epoxy envelope they are in if you are speaking of the typical 5 mm. If you look at Nichia's UV LED's, although expensive, they have glass lenses. I understand that at a meeting of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) some months back, Nichia showed a UV based LED with a phosphor coated glass lens that put out a very white light. I suspect that these are a ways down the road but my comment was that I think it will require this type of LED for full spectrum light. Admittedly, what the He$$ do I know anyway though. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

- Don