The fourth stage of flasholism - becoming a "tint head"?

I admit I've not paid much attention to tint once I/we moved past 5mm angry blue LED's to the Luxeon lottery (which I generally won and had no cat urine green lights so I just accepted tint as one variable that was by and large uncontrolled). So I haven't paid much attention to tint really - most lights I've had and still have generally tended toward cooler ends but I just didn't focus much on it.

But since I've had a few more customized choices - and begun to experiment with some different tints now that they are more readily available and selectable - I realize I've started to develop distinct preferences. To wit - I just bought a 3000k nailbender XML drop in wanting to experience a warm tint and I have to admit I'm not digging it. I like my Zebralight H31w a good bit which is a warmer tint but not overly "yellow" but man that 3000k emitter is almost hotwire colored to my eye - maybe even moreso than a hotwire... Now I get that really cool tints are also starting to bother me a bit - leaving me I guess in the on the fence neutral (skewing to cool I suppose if given a choice) type guy... my K2 TFFC TVOD seems still just about perfect.

So while I didn't get those always requesting tint selection I think after all these years I am perhaps now slowly joining your camp ...

1) I have always liked yellow and green (warm) tints from the Luxeon days. They have always worked better outdoors where depth perception is far more important than indoors. Indoors, just about anything will do, but blue is eye straining and headache inducing. Ever been in a VW with the ridiculous blue dash lights they had? Couldn't even focus on them. I remember posting about my favorite TV1H I got in a Nuwai Q3 (remember those?) that worked so well outdoors for me.
2) I really like 4000-4500K tints. 5000k is still too cool and compared to 4000k with it's more even color distribution, though it is close. 3000K always comes with too big a flux bin premium. Q2 3000k XP-G? Not for me. R4 XP-G 4500k - YES! I have one of those in my U2A and it is the perfect tint and output boost. There are (were, but I have some) R2 neutral XP-E's.
3) I think the K2 TVOD - I still have one running direct drive in a SureFire L1 head (see my avatar) and it rocks - is still a little cool for me. I have two other L1 heads (gen2, gen3) with K2 neutral 220L@1A 4000-4500k and though the Vf bins are E instead of D (~3.3Vf, not <3.1Vf) they run well DD (little over 1Amp for ~45 minutes on a 17670) and will live forever doing that. ...uh, sorry, little off topic there...
4) Yes, I do think tint snobbery is one of the last tenants attained of "flashaholism" (never liked the term, but there has not yet emerged a better one) and I am a definite tint snob. "Hi, my name is Mark... *Hi Mark* ...and I have been a tint snob for five years now."
5) Welcome to the CPF version of AA.

If the tint is stage 4,
then perhaps there is a stage 5 - CRI once you pass the tint stage?

After that, there'll still be the ultimate stage, the lux stage. Neither the tint nor the CRI will matter if there's not enough photons to see...
One day, maybe there'll be a flashlight that can lit up the dark-side of the moon, I wouldn't care about the Tint or CRI...

ma_sha1 said:

If the tint is stage 4,
then perhaps there is a stage 5 - CRI once you pass the tint stage?

After that, there'll still be the ultimate stage, the lux stage. Neither the tint nor the CRI will matter if there's not enough photons to see...
One day, maybe there'll be a flashlight that can lit up the dark-side of the moon, I wouldn't care about the Tint or CRI...

Click to expand...

Well that is an interesting point as I have a 2.8A driven SST50 light that is indeed a Wall Of Light - doggone thing lights up my backyard like it's noontime and that on an AW IMR16340 no less (albeit not for very long, and I do have an 18650 body option as well). The tint is quite cool but I'm OK with it as it is my brightest light by a wide margin...

Blindasabat said:

1) I have always liked yellow and green (warm) tints from the Luxeon days. They have always worked better outdoors where depth perception is far more important than indoors. Indoors, just about anything will do, but blue is eye straining and headache inducing. Ever been in a VW with the ridiculous blue dash lights they had? Couldn't even focus on them. I remember posting about my favorite TV1H I got in a Nuwai Q3 (remember those?) that worked so well outdoors for me.
2) I really like 4000-4500K tints. 5000k is still too cool and compared to 4000k with it's more even color distribution, though it is close. 3000K always comes with too big a flux bin premium. Q2 3000k XP-G? Not for me. R4 XP-G 4500k - YES! I have one of those in my U2A and it is the perfect tint and output boost. There are (were, but I have some) R2 neutral XP-E's.
3) I think the K2 TVOD - I still have one running direct drive in a SureFire L1 head (see my avatar) and it rocks - is still a little cool for me. I have two other L1 heads (gen2, gen3) with K2 neutral 220L@1A 4000-4500k and though the Vf bins are E instead of D (~3.3Vf, not <3.1Vf) they run well DD (little over 1Amp for ~45 minutes on a 17670) and will live forever doing that. ...uh, sorry, little off topic there...
4) Yes, I do think tint snobbery is one of the last tenants attained of "flashaholism" (never liked the term, but there has not yet emerged a better one) and I am a definite tint snob. "Hi, my name is Mark... *Hi Mark* ...and I have been a tint snob for five years now."
5) Welcome to the CPF version of AA.

Click to expand...

I agree on flashaholism - no better term I can think of and I do remember the Nuwai QIII - still a bit of a benchmark on several fronts.

I fired up my Peak Pacific LuxIII the other night and it still has as nice a beam and tint of any light I've had. Not the brightest but a very creamy neutral leaning a bit to warmish...

As to the bolded text - since I'm just dipping my toes into the depths of really understanding some of the more technical terms (this despite too many years of this habit) - can you explain the bin flux premium? It might explain part of why I'm not crazy about the drop in as it seems, well, to put it sort of bluntly not quite as bright as I'd expect a 2.8A driven XML to be ... perhaps that is the premium to which you refer?

I much prefer my tints in the 4000k area.

Gotta have at least one warm tint light for the living area during a power outage; the cozy and welcoming warmth is relaxing and guaranteed to be significant-other approved.

Ive defintely grown a preference for neutral tint. Ive also got a HCRI in the 3700K range too that I am really liking.

There are some very nice LEDs out there, but if your serious about your tint, you owe it to yourself to at least check out this thread:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?320811-Changing-LED-Tint-With-Filters

For about $5 ($7 for 2 books) you will get a book of small filters that you cut to size and install behind the front glass of your flashlight. There are enough variations to get you very close to your ideal tint.

Of course, there is generally a trade-off, a small loss of light, but that's generally the same trade-off we make when going from the latest bin cool white to a neutral or warm tint LED.

In any case, it's certainly worth a look. Have fun!

Not sure if its stage 4 for me.

Stage 1) Asking which is the 'Brightest AA light?'
Stage 2) Moving upto CR123's then buying several 'cheaper' lights in the space of a month, brighter the better.
Stage 3) Arguing that your lights are just as good as the likes of HDS / McGizmo etc.
Stage 4) Buy a HDS / McGizmo.
Stage 5) Realise more lumens isn't always better.
Stage 6) Start to sell your 'cheaper' lights
Stage 7) I am here, saving for my next HDS / McGizmo.

For me it was

Stage 1: Lumens
Stage 2: LUMENS!
Stage 3: High CRI
Stage 4: HIGH CRI LUMENS!

:devil:

mvyrmnd said:

For me it was

Stage 1: Lumens
Stage 2: LUMENS!
Stage 3: High CRI
Stage 4: HIGH CRI LUMENS!

:devil:

Click to expand...

Alternative Staging

1. Any bright flashlight
2. 18650
3. 16640
4. AAA/AA with XML T6 or U2
5. AAA/AA with XML T6 or U2 + High CRI
6. All of the above, next to the bed. Charger nearby, checking flashlights day and night, rotating batteries, walking around at night with 0.02 lumens.
7. Transilluminating your hands or face at midnight in front of the bathroom mirror. Spooky!

Gatsby, I'm with 'ya on this one. Been through the stages. And tint is definitely what I look for mostly nowadays. I've found my favorite tint so far comes from my ZL SC60w. Advertised as 4200k. Just love it. BUT, I also just picked up a Peak Logan HiCRI from the marketplace. Hasn't got here yet, but I'm real excited about getting it. It will be my first HiCRI light, and if my neutrals are any indication, plus the prodding you get from other fellow CPF'ers here, probably gonna be hooked for life on being a "tint head" as you called it. (like that term BTW, we should officially adopt it here! lol) Anyway, when my Logan shows up, I'll probably wanna chime in here once more to report my feelings. I have a couple HDS lights, and love both as neither is really all that cool. Especially the 170 with the GDP. But from a strictly "tint" perspective, the little SC60w is my fav ATM.

Stage 0: Play w/ fire on a stick as a child
Stage I: M@G lights
Stage II: AA LED light w/ modes
Stage III: CR123 / 18650 light
Stage IV: multi-cell / multi-emitter light cannons
Stage V: SureFire Lights [lots of 'em]
Stage VI: Custom Titanium Lights
Stage VII: Sell off lights and return "Fire on a Stick"

Yes, that is what I am referring to. As an example, the high CRI XP-G is Q2 flux bin (last I checked) where flux bin is a rating of the lumens output at a set Amperage applied to the LED. The typical Amps for rating output is 350mA, but some LEDs are spec'd at different Amp levels. Q2 is what a 2008 Cree XR-E was able to hit with 94 MAX Lumens per Watt. But you can get an R4 Neutral XP-G that is 138L/W max! That is a 47% increase. And the high CRI lights I have don't give me much better color to my eyes than most neutrals LEDs I have and I have passed a colorblindness test with flying colors.

Gatsby said:

As to the bolded text - since I'm just dipping my toes into the depths of really understanding some of the more technical terms (this despite too many years of this habit) - can you explain the bin flux premium? It might explain part of why I'm not crazy about the drop in as it seems, well, to put it sort of bluntly not quite as bright as I'd expect a 2.8A driven XML to be ... perhaps that is the premium to which you refer?

Click to expand...

Interesting to see the different paths.

OP: I went from tint preference to CRI/tint preference. You're likely about a year or less away from this step.

My stages:
1 - Bright lights
2 - More Bright lights
3 - Brighter lights
4 - Brighter lights and onto lithium
5 - Brighter lights with more throw
6 - More Different batteries
7 - More brighter lights with more throw
8 - Huge lights with insane amounts of lumens and throw
9 - Neutral lights with good output
10- Small EDC sized lights with low low
11- Different interfaces
12- Mini's of all tints and bins

And now I'm onto step 13: EDC sized and throwers in high CRI

Cataract said:

Interesting to see the different paths.

OP: I went from tint preference to CRI/tint preference. You're likely about a year or less away from this step.

My stages:
1 - Bright lights
2 - More Bright lights
3 - Brighter lights
4 - Brighter lights and onto lithium
5 - Brighter lights with more throw
6 - More Different batteries
7 - More brighter lights with more throw
8 - Huge lights with insane amounts of lumens and throw
9 - Neutral lights with good output
10- Small EDC sized lights with low low
11- Different interfaces
12- Mini's of all tints and bins

And now I'm onto step 13: EDC sized and throwers in high CRI

Click to expand...

10 or 11 is where I'm at. Though I think the order is different for everyone.
1) lights for everywhere
2) try every emitter
3) battery types
4) throwers
5) multi emitters
6) floody lights
7) tint testing
8) smallest possible edc
9) user interface junkie
10 ultra lows and 4 or more bedside lights

being a tint head isn't necessarily a sequential stage, I think I started out preoccupied with tint before I learned the difference between lumens and lux, or anything about scotopic vision or battery chemistry.
still figuring out "bins", they are like trays or something. ;-)

mrlysle said:

Gatsby, I'm with 'ya on this one. Been through the stages. And tint is definitely what I look for mostly nowadays. I've found my favorite tint so far comes from my ZL SC60w. Advertised as 4200k. Just love it. BUT, I also just picked up a Peak Logan HiCRI from the marketplace. Hasn't got here yet, but I'm real excited about getting it. It will be my first HiCRI light, and if my neutrals are any indication, plus the prodding you get from other fellow CPF'ers here, probably gonna be hooked for life on being a "tint head" as you called it. (like that term BTW, we should officially adopt it here! lol) Anyway, when my Logan shows up, I'll probably wanna chime in here once more to report my feelings. I have a couple HDS lights, and love both as neither is really all that cool. Especially the 170 with the GDP. But from a strictly "tint" perspective, the little SC60w is my fav ATM.

Click to expand...

Did you get the High CRI XP-G or Nichia 119 (Oveready) version?

krevo said:

Did you get the High CRI XP-G or Nichia 119 (Oveready) version?

Click to expand...

Gotta be honest with you krevo. The buyer didn't say, and I didn't ask! lol I'll let 'ya know when I get my paws on it though. I wanted for two basic reasons. It will be my first HiCRI, and because I have another Peak Logan QTC that I really like. So, it just seemed like one of those "gotta have it" lights! lol :devil: