Who else wonders where the neutral tint options are?

*Let's try to keep this to discussing what lights we would like to see offered in neutral, some of us have gotten a little away from the OP, including myself*

This was originally my post in response to a question asked in the E20 thread by Fenix about neutral tints:

"I know this question wasn't directed towards me but I would like to chime in on the neutral tint subject. When trying to determine the colors of automotive fluids or the colors of dirty wires, a cool white tint washes out the color making it hard to determine it from a distance, which most of the time you are when working on vehicles and planes, where neutral tint helps to show the colors more accurately. Also when trying to paint match something a neutral tint light will allow for better color rendition of the paint than a cool white will. Another big plus for neutral tint is when hiking at night. A cool white light tends to turn most foliage into a grayish-white color instead of greens and browns as well as cause small animals such as squirrels and rabbits to blend into the foliage; neutral tint fixes those issues. It has also been my experience that neutral tint does better at cutting through rain, snow, fog, smoke, and dust better than a cool white as there isn't nearly as much glare.

Basically my point is a neutral tint light has a lot better color rendition than cool white which can be important to some people and I think the masses would actually see the difference if there were more available options to them. Yes there are neutral tint lights available but not without hunting them down online which the average person isn't going to do when buying a flashlight. I'm not sure why manufactures are so against using a neutral tint led instead of a cool white or at least having it as an option but it is sad to see such a missed market. Right now I can think of only five AA powered lights that are neutral tint and none of those are as simple to operate light for most people like this new E20 would be (Well maybe the HL50 is but its primary design is a headlamp).

I would love to get one of these lights to have as a work light and hiking light as I have grown to appreciate the simpler lights like this and even prefer a reverse clicky over a forward clicky as I feel it works better for mode changing, but the lack of a neutral tint turns me off. I don't mind to let somebody use my lights when working on something as a group but I hate having to take the time to explain how the UI works on most of my lights, this light would solve that problem greatly.

I hope that helps to explain why so many of use prefer a neutral tint over cool white and maybe it will be taken into consideration on a future light. I love the three Fenix's I have, just wish they were neutral tint, and would like to get more but the lack of neutral tint options, and those darn side switches, turn me away from most of your AA options."

Who else would like to see more neutral tint options, especially in the E series which are simple to use everyday lights?

P.S. I refer to neutral tint as being in the 4000K range, in my opinion even 5000K is still cool white

Great post +1
I'm polar opposite.
Though I'm OK with options, and in my thinking, these would be limited to online sales.
Fenix seems to be busting out on retail shelves locally to myself.

Myself still lumen junky and go fit the bigger numbers on the box as most consumers do. So this would be a great option, just might have to be ordered though.
Still, good post, well reasoned and pleasant to read.
Cheers.

I wonder why some manufacturers have a good selection of neutral tint lights and others offer few or none at all. I've read posts from manufacturers and dealers saying neutral tint lights sell very slowly and they don't like offering them.
Are manufacturers and dealers who offer lots of neutral tint lights making a mistake ?

Thanks for the kind words and I have started seeing Fenix more in retail as well, just not the complete product lines or the good prices of Fenix Outfitters/Fenix Store. I would be ok with it having to be special ordered, as long as the option was there. I can't afford to buy a bunch of lights but would pick up a few neutral tint models.

There are a many neutral options still available. I don't want to list them here in the Fenix-Store thread, but they are pretty well known. High-CRI Nichia 219B emitters appear in single- and multiple-emitter designs. The Cree XM-L2 Easy-White emitter has begun to show up in flashlights from one popular maker.

In addition, there are others, albeit with reduced CRI. You can't go wrong, for instance, with the neutral-white Cree MT-G2 emitter. Lot's of flashlight makers use it, including Fenix.

The old adage that you must sacrifice high output if you want neutral tint is no longer true. Not by a long shot. If Fenix or anyone else does not want to make neutral-tinted flashlights, that's okay with me. I just won't buy their cool-white models!

The one exception right now is dedicated throwers. There are not many (nay, any) good neutral throwers out there.

I would tend to agree, since getting the Fenix HL50 neutral and the Zebralight SC52wL2 & SC5w I dislike the cool tones of my other lights.

The improvement in colour rendition is essential for working on machinery, and I much prefer it for in the house and reading.

I would love a neutral white Olight S20 or other S series light

The small loss of lumens is worth it.

I understand there are manufactures who produce neutral tint lights and there are options but I'm primarily looking at AA lights which aren't nearly as plentiful as 18650 lights. I don't mind 18650 for general use but for pocket carry I prefer the slimness of a AA light. I do have an eagletac D25A2 that I love and have considered the Thrunites and Armyteks but are not a fan of side switches.

How do these look to you guys?
Two lights, last picture is side by side.

Tac Gunner said:

I understand there are manufactures who produce neutral-tint lights, and there are options, but I'm primarily looking at AA lights which aren't nearly as plentiful as 18650 lights. I don't mind 18650 for general use, but for pocket carry I prefer the slimness of an AA light...

[I am] not a fan of side switches.

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I pocket-carry a popular 1xAA flashlight that features a high-CRI Nichia 219B. Cost me only about $35 shipped. It has a reverse-clicky tail switch. Modes are nicely spaced: 0.09, 3, 30 and 140 lumens.

Recently, another popular flashlight manufacturer delivered 500 lumens from a single NiMH battery! Unfortunately for you, that was in a flashlight that has a side switch. I know you prefer tail switches.

I am not disagreeing with you. For 1xAA, NW fans, the offerings are not as plentiful as they are with cool-white.

WarRaven said:

How do these look to you guys?
Two lights, last picture is side by side.

Click to expand...

Not sure what these are supposed to be pictures of...

Just general foliage KIL.
One is a Fenix.

KeepingItLight said:

I am not disagreeing with you. For 1xAA, NW fans, the offerings are not as plentiful as they are with cool-white.

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This is my main point right here. Us 1xAA and 2xAA fans don't have the selection of NW as other battery platforms do. I also would just like to see more Fenix options. I like Fenix rather well and would buy mainly everything Fenix provided there were more neutral tint options. I feel like they offer a wide variety of lights that cover all my needs yet only a couple are neutral tint. Their prices are very reasonable on most lights and the performance of them all is plenty acceptable for me. I know there are other manufactures and in the end I may have to try them but it doesn't mean I can't hope Fenix will release a few neutral models. If the E12, E20, LD02, LD09, & HP25 had neutral models I would be happy as a lark.

Anyways, lets just focus on Fenix offering more neutral options and we can compare other brands somewhere else, we have both gotten a little of topic.

KeepingItLight said:

Not sure what these are supposed to be pictures of...

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Yea I'm a little confused what those are too, whatever the brighter of the two are it just washes everything out.

WarRaven said:

Just general foliage KIL.
One is a Fenix.

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I think the lower output looks the best of the two but thats mainly because I can't tell much of the other

Sorry for the one on blast mode.
The one on right is a PD35.
Wife had one, son another and we looked at foliage, geese, muskrats, trees of every type in pitch black night of last evening.
There was not a single thing we could not identify in darkness with cool tint lighting.
Yellows, reds there was no issue, as can be seen.
Just saying it's not a deal breaker to 95% percent of buyers as even myself have a hard time finding weaknesses in cool and I hang here at CPF.
So being devils advocate, options are nice, but not giving me anything more then rose colored glasses can.
Cheers, have a great one.

WarRaven said:

Sorry for the one on blast mode.
The one on right is a PD35.
Wife had one, son another and we looked at foliage, geese, muskrats, trees of every type in pitch black night of last evening.
There was not a single thing we could not identify in darkness with cool tint lighting.
Yellows, reds there was no issue, as can be seen.
Just saying it's not a deal breaker to 95% percent of buyers as even myself have a hard time finding weaknesses in cool and I hang here at CPF.
So being devils advocate, options are nice, but not giving me anything more then rose colored glasses can.
Cheers, have a great one.

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I agree it isn't a deal breaker for most and that is fine. I can understand in the grand scheme why cool white is so dominant in the flashlight industry, it gives the most lumens which sells lights and for 98% of the market it is just fine. All I'm saying is I would like to see the option for neutral tint for those of us who like it, even if it was a limited run of lights.

I'm not saying don't give consumers option, I'm just thinking from my view that it's hard to fault them honestly for not offering them.
They seem to be very capable as is in my experiences.

Now, what you just said, that sounds like the winner.
Limited edition runs like the UE from Fenix.
+1

So a limited edition of the E12, E20, LD02, LD09, and HP25 would tickle me fancy. Anybody else have a light they would like to see in neutral? I would really like to see the TK45 rereleased with neutral tint XPL HI but I know that won't happen

WarRaven said:

Sorry for the one on blast mode.
The one on right is a PD35.
Wife had one, son another and we looked at foliage, geese, muskrats, trees of every type in pitch black night of last evening.
There was not a single thing we could not identify in darkness with cool tint lighting.

Click to expand...

Now I get it. Like you, I prefer the one that was not overexposed, but that is a camera issue, rather that a problem with your flashlights. If the exposure were set by measuring the bright beam, then the dim one would be just that, dim. In that case, I would probably prefer the bright one.

Tac Gunner said:

I can understand in the grand scheme why cool white is so dominant in the flashlight industry, it gives the most lumens which sells lights and for 98% of the market it is just fine.

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Some will always favor the higher output of blueish lights, but I continue to believe that many simply do not know about the disadvantages of poor tint and low CRI.

Knowledgeable readers will hate the analogy, but I have been toying with the notion of comparing blueish flashlight beams with the blueish automobile headlights that are common these days. "Do you like the blue headlights you see in your rearview mirror? Well, that's the same blue your flashlight is producing." I like the analogy, because it is one that a non-flashaholic will readily understand. No confusing explanations of CCT and CRI are necessary.

Before someone jumps in to explain that blue headlights are generally HID, let me say it first.

fenix store said:

We have sent this thread to the Fenix engineers so please continue to share what you would like for them to know. Thanks for this conversation. This is exactly what we want to happen here. Such conversations by the expert users are extremely valuable in making Fenix continue to improve and be the top flashlight in the market.

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Hope it helps!