Cree XML: Dim Segments/Spots on the Emitter.

Well, I was screwing around with a magnifying glass and focused the emitter on my "1075" lumen Coast HP 550 and noticed that some portions of the emitter were dim relative to the surrounding diodes. I didn't notice this issue with any of my other cree or luxeon lights, but it's also worth noting that they use much smaller emitters than the XM-L. So, I was just wondering if anyone else who has a cree XM-L light had ever focused it on a wall and noticed something similar or if I'm just lucky. I attached a pic of the emitter below that I took by placing a welding mask between my flashlight and the camera. This worked, but it gave the picture a green tint.


Full Size Image (16mp)

I only have 1 Cree XML LED (a cool white XML2) that shows a couple of darkish spots on the LED, visible with a magnifying glass when the flashlight is on moonlight mode. It's not anywhere near as bad as your picture. I can't notice any effect on the beam or brightness. I just figure it's part of Cree's manufacturing tolerances, but I'm still glad I only can see it on one of my lights.