Emisar D4 owners- tint questions

Considering a D4 (if they are ever back in stock lol) would really like a very white tint without any green or yellow. Seems like the photos I 've seen are not very consistant in the colors of the different emitters. I like the idea of the XPL Hi V3 1A being a little cooler and brighter but different photos show a bluish or yellow cast. Nichia 219C looks nice but really dim compared to the others. Any input or photos would be appreciated.

I solved that by getting the D4vn with the Nichias. Still brighter than the X-PL HI stock

I've had 4 different tints 5000k and below. Best for white was the XP-L 5000k version of all that I handled. My personal favorite is the XP-G2 4000k which has a slight pink tint.

XP-L according to all the listings and info are brighter than the Nichia. And run cooler. Nichia run the hottest and step down extremely quick.

Correct, the XPL HI would be the brightest version

The Nichia 219C version should not be really dim compared to the others. It should be slightly dimmer, mainly due to being spread out in a large beam. The comparisons you've seen might not have been taken with the same camera settings.

I think this is one of the best comparisons I've seen so far:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?436522-Emisar-D4&p=5133817&viewfull=1#post5133817

You'll notice the D4vn "PDT" version has a noticeably tighter beam than even the the XP-L HI version.

I'm told Vinh dedomes the XP-G2 emitters himself, which improves the throw, then picks out the copies with the better tints for use in his PDT lights. The measurements he reports indicate the total lumen output is actually less than 2/3 that of the XP-L HI version, but because of the tighter beam, the throw is improved a decent amount.

The XP-L is prone to having a bit of green or yellow tint, although staring at a while wall makes it seem a lot worse than how it is in real use. 6500K like the V3 1A bin is perceived as blue-hued to a lot of people, myself included, but photographs tend to exaggerate that effect.

Regarding stock, I ordered one last Tuesday from International Outdoor. It didn't ship until yesterday, but that may have been due to a big holiday in China. So it seems like there is some stock available, although who knows when another batch will reach Mountain Electronics.

The cool XPL-HI is a slightly blue white. It's definitely cool, no visible green or yellow tint in the one sent to me.
Ramping up from low, comparing it in the shade with North light on a blue sky day, it was slightly bluer/cooler than the daylight.

On low in the dark it has that grey/blue moonlight tint, not at all the yellow/green that I prefer for dim light.

I know a lot of people here lean towards the neutral side but there is just something about a bright, pure white light. I have a Shining Beam S mini and I love its pure white light. I just got an Olight X7 and while I like the light itself, the greenish hotspot, not so much. I watched a couple of the Flashoholic D4 videos and in one the XPL HI 1A looked great but in another the same light looked really blue. On a German forum the same light looks a little yellow.

Does anyone know how long Mountain Electronics normally takes to restock the D4's? I really like the gray version but International Outdoors does not list it and also wanted to order a couple Sony batteries which IO does not stock. IO shows 56 in stock no matter what color or tint you select. How do you know which ones are actually in stock ?

I definitely prefer warm to neutral tints in most low-light situations, but I'm also starting to become more aware of situations where a cooler tint is a better match for conditions. The main reason I went with the 5000k stock Nichia option for my order instead of the 4000K version modded by Vinh is because I expect this to be my main light for using around twilight when it will complement the normally cooler-toned light from the evening sky.

You can't often trust pictures or videos to give you an accurate sense of tint unless the person producing the media controlled the white balance consistently, and even then, differences in tint tend to seem exaggerated. They're a rough guide at best.

International Outdoor is the main source, as far as I know, and Mountain Electronics is an additional buying option I guess they partnered with for US customers. International Outdoor hasn't updated their in-stock quantity on the website in at last 2 weeks since I started considering the light. I get the impression they're swamped with demand. I'm guessing Mountain Electronics won't have more in stock until International has a chance to catch their breath.

Hence why ordered mine from International instead of Mountain.

So Mountain Electronics got some D4's in but there are no pocket clips listed and they are out of Sony VTC5's. So much for "one stop shopping" lol. Would the VTC6 be enough to achieve max brightness safely and where would I get a clip?

I would aim for the 219c, side effects its the hottest running....................none of them can run long anyway, so might as well get the colour temp you like!. My 219c is a clean white beam, thats what i wanted and got! Clips wise, the better option is probably oveready or darksucks, just dremmel the inner part a little to fit over threads. Yes a $25 clip, if you like the light(pretty much guaranteed) then its worth it to secure the light and imo looks far nicer than the cheap clip on clips. Subjective!

As for less bright................3800lm is hardly dim. Will not throw quite as far as the HI versionn but reaches out enough for most uses. Maybe a few 100lm less.............in the scheme of things it would not be a deciding factor for me. Colour temp/tint is what you will be looking at , the 219c is nice all the way through the levels.

Battery wise, i have run vtc6 issue free, 20a which is pretty much near the demand what some have read. I have also used samsung 30q without issue which are 15a constant(not sure on pulse) but the high output is short lived and maybe not much longer than a pulse! VTC5a would be my 1st choice, then vtc6, then 30Q but all will work with the light.

Maukka, in his usual thorough manner, has tested several batteries in the D4. The VTC6 was the best performing of those he tested, and the VTC5A is even more capable. See here:
http://budgetlightforum.com/comment/1166865#comment-1166865

One tradeoff is the higher output batteries will cause the light to begin thermal step down slightly sooner. On the other hand, the higher output batteries will be able to maintain the best peak output throughout the battery life.

Personally, I ordered both extremes so I could see which I like better: a VTC5A for max output use, and a Panasonic 18650GA for max runtime in lower modes. Illumn had both in stock last week.

I think others have mentioned Solarforce as making a reasonably priced clip that can be dremeled to size for the D4. I'm forgoing a clip for the time being.

Well, was not sure how quickly ME would run out of stock so I "bit the bullet" and ordered a gray XPL 1A, black Deep Pocket Clip and 1-VTC6. I had emailed ME about the clip and they said it would fit but would scratch the D4 finish. I figured for $1.10 I'll see if I can mod it some how to prevent any scratching before using. I hope I like the 1A tint. It just seemed to add a certain brightness compared to the 219C in all the examples I saw online. If it runs a bit cooler that's a plus too. VTC6 since they are out of VTC5's will hopefully be ok. Thanks for everyones expertise and will post my impressions when it arrives.

Puffcat said:

I know a lot of people here lean towards the neutral side but there is just something about a bright, pure white light. I have a Shining Beam S mini and I love its pure white light. I just got an Olight X7 and while I like the light itself, the greenish hotspot, not so much. I watched a couple of the Flashoholic D4 videos and in one the XPL HI 1A looked great but in another the same light looked really blue. On a German forum the same light looks a little yellow.

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The Kruithof curve theory, or observation, it bears out for me.
I like warmer lights and I'm usually using fewer lumens. Warm firefly and moon modes are pleasant to me, cool white firefly and moon are downright unpleasant to me, distractingly so.
I don't mind the cool white D4 at all on its higher levels, but really don't like the tint at all on its lowest 10+ levels.
I agree that the same light that was sickly blue at low intensity higher intensity levels becomes a useful, creamy white at high intensity.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kruithof_curve

Just wanted to add my compliments to Mountain Electronics! I had signed up for their Notify Me when back in stock feature and it worked like a charm. They also responded almost immediately to 2 emails I sent. A lot of companies talk about customer service but it seems like ME is one of the few that delivers!

Richard is awesome at mtn elecs!!! Sure his wife helps out with his shop also.

Puffcat said:

Just wanted to add my compliments to Mountain Electronics! I had signed up for their Notify Me when back in stock feature and it worked like a charm. They also responded almost immediately to 2 emails I sent. A lot of companies talk about customer service but it seems like ME is one of the few that delivers!

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Yes, very nice company to deal with, kind about answering questions, and fast shipping on custom items that they warn might take up to 10 days.
Under promise and over deliver is a winning model.

staticx57 said:

Correct, the XPL HI would be the brightest version

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It also runs cooler so much more useful time over 2000 lumens.

Puffcat said:

Just wanted to add my compliments to Mountain Electronics! I had signed up for their Notify Me when back in stock feature and it worked like a charm. They also responded almost immediately to 2 emails I sent. A lot of companies talk about customer service but it seems like ME is one of the few that delivers!

Click to expand...

Intl-outdoor.com seems to sell them right now in stock. 12 business days shipping though.

I also got a pocket clip straight from them one stop shop.